He looked beyond my faults and saw my need.

Yesterday we arrived in Istanbul, and it was very clear to us that God cares for people. There was a part of me that proudly thought the work in Turkey would stop or slow down with our absence - but just the opposite has happened! Tonight at our wednesday night service, the room was packed with people. A new young girl came tonight, named Arshur, who has been studying the philosophies of Kant and Nietsche in her university. She said afterwards, "I didn't know that a church could be so living." I know that God has a special place for Turkish people, and for all of us. It says in I Peter 5:7 to "cast all your cares on Him, for He cares for you." I have sometimes wondered if God cares for me more than I could ever imagine - and tonight, it was clear to me that He does. Its a miracle Liz and I are here in Turkey. God has taken our cares this summer and given us Turkey as a missionfield. I think this is what happens when we cast our cares upon Him. I told the church in my introduction tonight that we care for people, whether they're poor, sick, needy, empty, lost, or guilty. The Bible says in Proverbs 25:27 that "those who tend to the poor will lack nothing." This is what the church is doing in Istanbul, and there is nothing we lack here. At the end of the month, the church will be moving to the top floor of the building, which has one of the most beautiful views of the Bosporus in the whole city, and its because we've put our cares on the Lord. This is the way the Lord wants us to live, and He explains it in Matthew 6:25-33 - Seek Him first!