What if I woke up tomorrow and everything was different? What if I lost my job? Lost my house? My savings vanished? What if our whole American system collapsed? What if there was a nuclear holocaust and I was one of the survivors?
If those things - or worse - happened, what would be my response? Would I, as Job's wife suggested (Job 2:9), "curse God and die"?
How morbid, right? Then let me phrase the question another way, a way suggested by one of our worship songs at church yesterday. It was my first time attending this church, Christ Fellowship in West Palm Beach and it was an awesome time of singing! So as we were singing, the words just jumped out at me as if the Lord were speaking directly to me:
Should this life hold nothing but my Savior,
I will praise you always.
And then later in the same song (What A Savior, Hillsong Worship),
Should this life I live hold nothing but the cross
Where Jesus took my shame,
Then with arms stretched wide and my hands held high,
My every breath will breathe again.
So here's the thing - when I sing that, how much do I mean it? It's easy to say all we need is Jesus. It makes for a nice emotional song on Sunday morning. But really. If life held NOTHNG but Jesus - nothing - would I praise him? Would you?
But that's what real faith is. Repenting and believing in Jesus - salvation - is not a formula to give us "fire insurance." Or just a ticket to heaven. It's not saying the magic words in a prayer and then going on our merry way. It's turning to him with our whole lives. And when we do that, we realize that we exist for his glory, not for our comfort.
Knowing that Jesus is all we need is where real freedom is. Because once we reach that point, we don't have a fret about elections. Or the economy. Or ISIS. Or anything else.
Take it all, but give me Jesus. Did you sing that Sunday? Did you mean it?
Well, as many of you - at least those who are my Facebook friends - know, I recently discovered Facebook's new tool. (At least, it's new to me.) It seems like a great way to discuss how the gospel applies to life. I have done three videos so far: One on the nature of truth, one with some thoughts from Batman vs. Superman, and one about what it means to have single mindedness.
My friend BJ has referred to what I've done as a "vlog." I've got to admit it's a pretty cool way to communicate. Not only do I get observations out there quicker than with a written blog, but there also seems to be a bigger audience.
(This is actually a concern for me, because I never want to publish or post for pride. I want to influence as many people as possible to live life as it was meant to be lived, in fellowship with our Creator, and have some dialogue about how to do it. Motives are a funny thing; I pray that mine would be as pure as possible.)
If it's going to be worth doing, a lot of viewers/readers is a good thing. So, unless and until it gets old, I think I'm going to keep that up. But...
There's nothing that replaces writing, is there? It requires thought, style, and the ability to organize information in an interesting way. And it's easy to save for future reference, and thus is a good way to create a legacy.
So, the writing is not done. I will continue this blog as long as I think it can make a difference. Sometimes I will write about the same topic as a video. Sometimes it will be something completely different. But it will always be based in what the Lord is teaching me, both through life and the Scriptures.
Recently I was blessed to hear and excellent motivational speech. It included a lot of good principles for being a good decision maker and creating a positive, productive atmosphere. At the end of the speech the presenter shared a video to illustrate the last point: "Choose happiness." In the video, there was a drummer who absolutely stole the show. A young woman was singing, but the drummer was having so much fun they moved the camera to watch him. He really was choosing to enjoy himself:
Fun!
But I could not completely enjoy the moment; I got distracted by the song choice in the video.
My Way is a ballad written by Paul Anka and popularized by Frank Sinatra. It has a catchy melody, builds to a powerful crescendo, and has very proud, even defiant lyrics. I have no doubt that many successful people have considered it to be their anthem as they have looked back over their lives. I know I have heard of it being sung at funerals.
How sad.
"I planned each charted course, each careful step along the byway, and more, much more than this, I did it my way."
"Through it all, when there was doubt, I ate it up, and spit it out. I faced it all, and I stood tall, and did it my way."
And saddest of all, the ending...
"For what is a man, what has he got? If not himself, then he has not...The record shows, I took the blows, and did it my way."
The anthem of successful people? More like the anthem of the road to hell.
The Scriptures could not be any clearer on what has separated us from our Creator. Start with the garden, where the man and woman decide they know more than God and are going to choose their food their way. A few chapters later, humanity declares "My way!" and tries to build a tower as a monument to themselves - the Tower of Babel. The children of Israel cry out "My way! My way! My way!" as they worship false gods over and over, finding themselves in Babylonian exile.
On and on it goes. Rulers build empires and kingdoms. Businessmen build large successful corporations. Politicians manipulate the system to their own gain.
But before we point fingers at the powerful...we all do it, don't we? We base families on the sand of giving our children a better (more comfortable) life - we do it our way. We spend our leisure time and our money on whatever makes us happy. We make minute by minute choices based on our way, without a thought of our higher purpose.
All the while subconsciously singing along with Ol' Blue Eyes.
You and I were created for a purpose. Like the rest of the universe, we are designed to reflect the glory of God. What a messed up world we've created by our insistence on our own way. What if more and more of us realized that "my way" is a dead end? That we were made in the image of God and should reflect that image? That we are not like the sun, giving out our own light, but like the moon, reflecting the light of the sun?
It will happen in totality one day, when all who have ever lived will bow down before Jesus. (see Philippians 2:9-11 and Revelation 5:6-14) In the meantime I pray that you and I will, with God's help, live life, not our way, but his way.
Not too long ago, I came across an article about the political phenomenon that is Donald Trump; the article was entitled How Christianity Explains Trump. In the course of the article a reference was made to the book Bad Religion: How We Became a Nation of Heretics.by Ross Douthat, a columnist for the New York Times. As I look around at the state of faith in my country today, I found the premise fascinating. So it didn't take me too long to read it. I recommend it to anyone who wants to understand the history of 20th and 21st century American religion, and what it means for us today.
The book is divided into two main parts. First, it traces major trends in religion over the past 100 years or so. This may sound like a tedious exercise and at times it really is. There is a lot of history, a lot of names, and no shortage of facts. While this is laborious, it is necessary to lay the groundwork for today's issues. He starts with a period of time where faith was grounded in the historic Christian tradition. While there were the usual denominational disagreements about doctrines, the foundation was the historic view of the nature of Jesus, the Trinity, and God's purposes for the world. The church was growing in popularity and figures like Billy Graham helped spur unprecedented levels of church attendance. He then shows how the church moved into what he calls "the locust years," where people (and clergy) were leaving the church in droves. Much of the church then responded with "accommodation," which was based on the idea that if we could just water down the message, people would come back to a faith that didn't demand much of them. It didn't work. So then came "resistance," characterized by pushback against the softness of accommodation. It led to active political involvement of evangelicals and is the basis of much of the support from Christians that Republicans enjoy today.
And then we come to today's world, and this is where I think Douthat has hit the nail on the head. All of these forces have led us to a pair of religious philosophies that he labels as heresies. My first reaction was, "Whoa, that's strong language!" But as I look back on the warnings of Jesus and the writings of the apostles about false teachers, I think he may have something. Both of these heresies are driving the public debates of 2016.
The first is the prosperity gospel - the unscriptural concept that God's primary goal for Christians is that we have riches, or at least an easy life. If we pray hard enough or have enough faith, God stands ready to give us all that we ever wanted. Put another way, God owes me the American Dream. This is an insidious distortion of the gospel, but why is the subject for another post.
The second is when we turn American nationalism into a religion. Somehow, a large number of us have come to believe that we are some sort of latter day Israelites, the chosen nation of God. And as such, we claim the promises of God to his people (made up of "people from every tribe and language and people and nation" - Revelation 5:9) and act as if they were made specifically to our nation. This leads to a sense of entitlement and religious snobbery toward our Christian brothers and sisters around the world. It show up on the liberal side in a belief that the USA is the solution to all the world's problems. On the conservative side, it shows up as a deep pessimism: Woe is us, for our nation which used to serve the living God is sliding down the path to destruction. If only we were God's people like we used to be.
The fact is (conservatives) that God's people have always been a remnant in every nation. It should be out goal to expand the kingdom of God one person at a time.
And it is also true (liberals) that our country is not the church and so we can not expect it to meet the needs of all the people; that's our job.
I believe the book gives an excellent diagnosis of the deep divisions we have in this country. So how should we respond as Christians? I believe we must:
Commit ourselves to the kingdom of God as our first loyalty,
Recognize that our material blessings are a gift of God, not a right as Americans,
Use more of our resources (time and money) for God's kingdom, including finding ways to meet the needs of the poor,
Make sure our political thinking is kingdom-based, taking a stand on each issue separately rather than allowing ourselves to be pigeon-holed into one box or the other, and, above all,
Avoid voting out of fear or with our pocketbooks; vote for what's right without regard for self.
Again, I highly recommend this book for anyone who is wondering why Christian influence is divided and waning. And then I recommend a lot of prayer about what you can do.
Blogging is now well over a decade old, and certainly it has been changing. As a new medium, it was the home to all sorts of clutter - daily ramblings about any and every thing that might be on a person's mind. As well as any and every thing they did. Then it moved on to have themes...sometimes. Today, there are so many blogs that it's hard to tell which ones are worth reading.
When I began my blog in 2010, the original motivation was to write about my missions to Africa. To let people know what God was teaching me, what he might want them to know, and yes, to hash out my feelings. But it was never intended to be especially focused. Here is a quote from my first post:
So here we go. (I won't post) every day or maybe even every week. I plan to post when there's something that would be fun, interesting, or informative.
Yeah, pretty vague.
Almost a year ago, I developed some sort of writer's block. It's been weird posting so infrequently, but at the same time I think it has allowed me to think more about why I did this. I need for it be focused and regular. In other words, if I want you to give me your precious time to read it, I want to respect and honor that decision. So now I plan to start back. This is what I want it to look like:
Frequency:
Weekly, on Mondays.
Extra posts when something significant is going on, like posting from Africa while on a mission.
While writing fewer posts, share links to them more often so that they will show up in more newsfeeds.
Topic:
Insight on living life as a follower of Jesus. This will include things I've learned from Scripture, observations on culture where the right questions are being asked (TV, movies, books, music, etc.), and observations from around me. I will try to relate everything to this overall theme.
So here's the first post from the new blog. In the next few weeks, I will touch on:
A book I recently read that nails what's going on in American Christianity,
Batman vs. Superman,
A motivational presentation that was good, but missed the mark,
And more.
I hope those of you who used to read will jump back on. I hope others will take advantage of the newfound consistency to start following. In any case,
On the eve of Super Tuesday, in which we Alabamians will be casting our votes for the party primaries, social media is abuzz with opinions about who and who not to vote for. As we prepare to vote, I pray for God to give us all wisdom. Speaking of wisdom, here are some Scriptural principles that I believe we Christ-followers must build into our thinking:
The Lord God reigns over the affairs of his earth, no matter how it might look...
Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and your dominion endures throughout all generations. (Psalm 145:13 ESV)
O Lord of hosts, God of Israel, enthroned above the cherubim, you are the God, you alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth; you have made heaven and earth. (Isaiah 37:16 ESV)
Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. (Romans 13:1 ESV, italics mine)
Fear should never be the motive for our choices, including our vote...
Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. (Isaiah 41:10 ESV)
For God gave us a spirit not of fear, but of power and love and self-control. (2 Timothy 1:7 ESV)
There is no fear in love, for perfect love casts out fear. (1 John 4:18a ESV)
We must allow our politics to become an idol, on which we hinge our hopes (See my previous post on this: Politics and Idols)...
"I am the Lord your God...you shall have no other gods before me." (Exodus 20:2-3)
We must pray - for wisdom, for the election process, and for the leaders who come out of it, no matter who they may be...
Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:6-7 ESV)
First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, for kings and all who are in high positions. (1 Timothy 2:1-2a ESV)
So, with that in mind, I offer up this prayer from author Max Lucado:
Dear Lord,
You outrank any leader. You hold sway over every office. Greater is the occupant of Heaven's throne than the occupant of the White House. You have been good to this country. You have blessed up in spite of our sin and you have guarded us in spite of our rebellion. We unite our hearts in one prayer. Let your kingdom come. Let your will be done. Please, speak through the electoral process to reveal your leader. This we pray in the name of Jesus.
Amen.
Yes, I admit it. What a geeky title for a blog post. Bear with me a little though, if you will.
There is a Christmas song I heard on the radio the other day. I've known it for most of my life, and I've even sung it as part of a choir. It is a beautiful sentiment, and makes its point powerfully. Its name is Some Children See Him.
Yes, it is a beautiful song. Here is one of the best renditions ever, recorded by James Taylor:
The main point of the song is a good one. The gospel is intended for all people everywhere. At the time when Jesus lived on the earth, many of his fellow Jews felt that the Messiah was coming exclusively for them. So many parables, so many actions, so many teachings were designed to show that he had come for the whole world - Jew and Gentile. The gospel, the Kingdom, was for the nations. The message was there throughout he Hebrew Scriptures, from Adam, to Abraham, to Moses, to Isaiah. But they just didn't get it. After his resurrection, Jesus said to go into ALL the world. Reaching out to all people, of all races, with all skin colors.
And we in the Western church can be just as stubborn as the people of 1st century Palestine. So much of our Christianity is centered in what's good for us. We see a lily-white Jesus who wants to make all people more like us. We may not say it, but it creeps into our subconscious so easily. And I think that is what the song is speaking to.
But to me there is one thing we have to watch out for as we sing these lyrics. The objective is good, but the execution may be flawed. You see, one of the biggest dangers to faith today is the idea that truth is relative. "That may be true for you, but it's not for me." The word of the day is "tolerance," and it's clear that as a society we are defining it as total acceptance of everyone's belief's as equally true.
This is contrary to both Biblical revelation and common sense. Either your car is red or it's not. We can';t say with a serious face, "That car is red to me, but if you believe it's blue I'm sure that's equally true."
And now back to the geeky title of this post. God entered the world in the person of Jesus, born as a baby. The miracle of the incarnation: the Word became flesh. The creator of space-time entered his creation at a specific time in a specific place.
And with specific skin.
So yes, children all over the world may see Jesus as being like them. And that's great....as long as they are also taught that he was actually one person with one body and one skin tone. He is not a concept, a spirit, a symbol. We must not spiritualize his coming. He was, and is, a person.
The song gets this right: It is likely that most of our depictions have been wrong. He was Jewish and therefore probably had darker skin that most of our paintings. But he had one skin color. He was really in the flesh. We don't know what it was. But we know it was real.
A picky point? Maybe. But I just worry that when we de-emphasize the humanity of Jesus, we lose the truth of the incarnation. The real God of the universe became a real person with real human characteristics based on real human DNA.
Maybe the fact that for almost all of humanity (all but Jewish) he is a different ethnicity from us means this: we don't have a corner on his nature. He's not our Jesus - he's everyone's Jesus. And he came to save people from every corner of the earth.
And they sang a new song, saying, "Worthy are you to take the scrolls and to open its seals, for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation. (Revelation 5:9)
We arrived about an hour before the scheduled start time. Having bought the tickets around two months ago, the anticipation in the air was palpable. For we knew that everyone else in the house had done the same. And there they were, sitting in a nearly-full theater that early.
As the movie unfurled, you would have thought we were watching live theatre. When beloved characters appeared on the screen, there was applause - just like what happens when a lead actor makes their first appearance on stage. There was even applause for the first appearance of a spaceship. When we saw the Millennium Falcon, the place erupted.
It was a marvelous thing, a riveting story in a familiar galaxy with familiar characters, as well as new characters who quickly captured our minds and hearts. Daisy Ridley (Rey), John Boyega (Finn), Oscar Isaac (Poe), and Adam Driver (Kylo Ren) were all amazing, continuing the Star Wars history of introducing new talent that become, and always will be, their Star Wars characters. At least to me.
There were old plot concepts, arcs, and themes that seemed to be a repeat of the prior movies but on a larger scale. My friend Rob commented on this in his blog (which was overall a very positive review):
(S)ome ideas from previous installments get recycled to the point of me wondering if it was just lazy writing.
Yes, some ideas were recycled, and I can see how one might wonder. But I saw something else. Star Wars is a story we know. Not because we have seen the previous movies. no, it's a story we know because it touches on the themes of our history and God's plan of redemption.
We all know that Star Wars is a battle between good and evil, both in the cosmos and in the hearts of individual heroes and villains. The struggle is real for Anakin, Luke, Obi Wan, Han, and now Rey, Finn, and Kylo. It's also real for the rebellion and the empire.
And it's real for us. It's real for you and me, and it's real in the story of humans. God created. We rebelled. God saved Noah through the flood. God saved Abraham to raise a people for himself. God saved Israel from slavery in Egypt. And then, as they progressed slowly toward bringing us the Messiah, they repeated the cycle over and over. Read the book of Judges. Rebellion-consequences-rescue-repentance-rebellion-consequences.... Over and over. And it continued on through the exile in Babylon.
So I'm not surprised at the recycling of ideas. That makes it more real to me. God has a master plan for our universe that has involved a lot of setbacks that led to salvation. And his plan for me does too. So a story where the galaxy has to learn the same lessons over again is one that captures me.
I can't wait to watch the final two installments, where our new friends will learn that the legends are true, evil is real, but good is more powerful. And it's there not just for the collective, but for each one of them.
I also can't wait to watch this one...again. I'm sure there will a ton of stuff I missed.
It's a rich story...as is our story. Thanks be to God who has a larger purpose for it all.
It was a display in our church atrium. I noticed it Sunday while we were preparing to present our annual Christmas musical. It was, and is, a beautiful nativity scene. Angels, shepherds, Magi, Mary, Joseph....and of course the Baby. A picturesque display of the moments after God entered human history.
But isn't the sign a little distracting? Doesn't it break the spell?
Not for me. After all, it got me thinking - how fragile is the nativity scene? The real one.
In one sense very fragile, by choice. God, the Creator of everything, the King of the universe, chose to become a little baby. He needed his mother. He cried. His diapers needed changing. He had to be fed and clothed and shielded from the elements. So fragile. By choice. He became vulnerable so that he could identify with me and my kind. And so we could see that God loved us enough to do that.
But, oh, how powerful. In that manger lay the One who would heal the sick, raise the dead, comfort the afflicted, walk on water, calm the seas, and feed 5,000 men with just a few loaves and fishes. All the power behind the universe was focused in the one bundle of flesh. Doesn't sound too fragile to me.
Fragile:
Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. (Philippians 2:5-8, ESV)
But powerful:
Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. (Philippians 2:9-11, ESV)
So yes, the nativity scene is fragile. As the sign says, "please avoid touching." But it is more powerful than anything else in the world. So instead, let it touch you.
Let the One at the center touch you. And give you life. To the glory of God the Father.
Count your blessings, my mother used to say. She has been gone nine years today, and I still miss her so much. I miss everything about her, and it hits hard on a day like this. But this happens to be a day where this one lesson of hers shines. And it shines through the Christmas story.
Count your blessings. I have so many. Do I dare start listing them? No, I would surely leave off something or someone important. The list is as close to infinite as something created in a finite time can be. Can I at least list categories? Maybe. Family. Friends. Church. Career. Mission. Wow, just to start to list them would be daunting.
But it is a finite number. And I guess I could count them.
So there is this song from our Christmas musical that we sang tonight. And there is this line:
I could count all the ways that my heart has been blessed. But nothing compares to this.
What is "this"? What could there possible be that would dwarf all orther blessings? Take a few minutes to listen:
The gospel of Jesus the Messiah. There is nothing - nothing - that compares to it. The incarnation - God taking on flesh as a baby. The cross - God taking the punishment I deserve on himself and defeating evil. The resurrection - Jesus conquering death, so that one day I will see him face to face.
Truly, it's a story without compare. And it's my story.
There is another song, one that was a favorite of my mother:
This is my story, this is my song.
Praising my Savior all the day long.
It's a story without compare. No, nothing compares with this.
Last week, we finally witness the fourth and last installment of The Hunger Games movie series, based on the books by Suzanne Collins. It did not disappoint. This was a story that gripped me from the first chapter of the first book, and its echoes linger with me today. Unlike some other recent movie adaptations, this whole series captured the spirit of the original story. The finale was no exception.
The interesting thing is that in my first post on this story (2012), I jumped ahead to Mockingjay because the themes of the story needed to be seen from the vantage point of their conclusion. In that post, I made the following observation:
Ultimately, the Hunger Games trilogy is a story of redemption, setting captives free, and standing up for "the least of these." And doing so at great personal cost. It reminds me alot of a true story, one that happened about 3,500 years ago.
And the final movie installment was true to this theme. It was powerful.
SPOILERS AHEAD: COME BACK AFTER SEEING THE MOVIE
The highlight of the movie for me was the scene where District 13 President Coin (Julianne Moore) had gathered Katniss (Jennifer Lawrence) and her friends in a conference room to discuss what to do now that the evil Capitol regime had been overthrown. How do you punish the oppressors? How does such a damaged society move on? Is there room for vengeance? How do you move on?
After the Exodus, the Israelites faced the same dilemma and they didn't handle it so well. They went through judge after judge, trying to find a godly leader to make them the people that God intended when he led them out of Egypt. But the subsequent history consisted of a repeated pattern of 1) promising to serve God and do things his way, 2) failing, 3) reaping the consequences, and then 4) starting over.
Wash. Rinse. Repeat.
And so, as the new makeshift council met, President Coin proposed the unthinkable. A new Hunger Games to kick off the new society, supposedly as a substitute for mass executions.
As the proposal was put to a vote, it was hard to imagine how anyone could even propose such a thing. We began to see in the eyes of Coin and Katniss the same thing, but from a different prospective. This government would be no better than the old. Symbolic gestures designed to keep the people under oppression.
Yep...Wash. Rinse. Repeat.
What happened next gave me chill bumps. Katniss voted for the new Hunger Games, but with a condition. A condition that would allow her to put a stop to Coin. And then, in a marvelous piece of acting by the brilliant Woody Harrelson, Haymitch votes the same way with a look in his eyes that said, I don't know what you're up to, but I trust you."
Stories tell us about ourselves. This one told us about our self-destructive tendencies, our longing to overcome them, and our repeated failures to do so. But it also tells us about hope, about the need for someone to stand up and break the cycle. Thank God for the Messiah Jesus who came to break the cycle for us. If we will follow him, if we will trust him even when we don't know what he's up to in our lives, there is hope.
I've always loved space travel. Not that I've actually done it, of course. But it has always fascinated me, and as a kid I dreamed that I would go one day. As a 10-year-old, I followed closely as NASA fought to get Apollo 13 home. And I thought sure I would be the first man on Mars. So that's why I was so excited to see The Martian.
It was a fantastic movie, living up to the book by Andy Weir. There were so many things I loved about it. But I think there were three reasons that it resonated so deeply.
It was based on science that seemed to be actually achievable in our lifetime, rather than being fantasy space movies like Star Wars and Star Trek (which I also love). If NASA were to get the funding to send someone to Mars, this is about how they would do it. So it reminded me of how I loved space travel as a child.
It involved going to Mars, which, as I said, was a childhood dream.
It was built around a rescue mission, with similarities to the real-life drama of Apollo 13.
For those of you who don't know the premise, here's a trailer:
There were two strong themes that ran through the movie. First, there was the human spirit shown by astronaut Mark Watley (Matt Damon), who was trapped alone on Mars with no apparent prospect of escape. He proclaimed with determination, "I'm not going to die her." Then, there was the incredible teamwork back on earth (including multiple countries) and from the crew of his ship. So many people working overtime, racking their brains, investing unbelievably expensive resources, with the goal of saving one life.
Those two themes seem, at first glance, to conflict. A movie about individual determination, but also about working together and realizing you can't make it on your own. And yes, both are true.
This is the same apparent - but not actual - paradox we see in the 6th chapter of Paul's letter to the Galatians. In verse 2, he writes, "Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ." And then, just two sentences later (verse 5), he says, "For each one will have to bear his own burden."
Huh?
Yep, it's true. In the movie, Watley had to take responsibility for his own survival. He had to grow food, chemically manufacture water, and use every resource available. But none of that would have meant anything if there weren't others taking responsibility for his rescue. Similarly, as I follow Jesus I have to take responsibility for my growth. I need to pray, study the Bible, and apply its principles to my daily live. But God didn't just called individuals; he has always been calling a people to be his. I can't do it on my own. I need brothers and sisters walking beside me, praying for me, holding me accountable, and enjoying God's creation with me.
So yes, both are true.
I'm glad God loves me personally, individually. And I'm glad he has called a people to be his and by having faith in Jesus I can be part of it. I pray that I will carry my burden in a way that glorifies him. And I pray that I will help my brothers and sisters bear theirs.
Today was kind of a rough day. I started out at work, getting my annual flu shot. Now, I'm not sure whether there's really any effect of how you feel that day; I never had really noticed anything before. But I've heard they can make you feel a little yucky.
Then I went to the doctor for a 9:30 appointment. No big deal - just making sure my prescriptions are up to date, going over test results, and the like. Blood pressure was good, previous blood work was fine. But to get ready for my next follow-up, I did have to go to the lab to update the blood work. They filled somewhere between 6 and 8 tubes - I wasn't counting, but they took some blood, no doubt about it.
So when I got back to work after lunch, I noticed something right away: I was getting a little short with people. Patience was not overflowing, as I could feel annoyance bubbling to the surface. I think being low on blood and having the remaining life fluid gunned up with a vaccine may have been getting to me. So, on to the point...
I was in a meeting with two of our other actuaries, going over some data and how we might organize it to minimize manual work. Impatience bubbled up, and the numbers on the screen were just running together. I wasn't picking up what they were putting down.
At that point, I sent up a short, silent prayer. (When you're lacking patience, "it's what you do.") I simply asked the Lord to send me a little patience and power from his Spirit. And then I felt it in my spirit - an answer from the Lord, as clear as if it were audible.
"Try harder."
And it hit me. I was letting my impatience stand in the way of my effort to really follow what I was being shown. So, with renewed energy, I started asking more questions. Specific questions. And before I knew it, three things happened: I understood what I was looking at, I provided helpful feedback, and...I felt patience starting to take over my psyche.
Now, folks, as believers we have the power of the Resurrection at our disposal. It can be released through prayer and dependence on God. But he wants us to take a step of faith. After all, Moses was instructed to move forward before the Red Sea was parted. In my case - in this case - it was simply taking a closer, slower look at the data. Actually putting forth an effort. And so I did.
And that, friends, was the highlight of the day. When we feel God working through us for his glory, it makes it all worthwhile.
This past Sunday night, the new season of The Walking Dead began with our survivors trying to adapt to life in the so-far peaceful town of Alexandria. The people of Alexandria have been living a sheltered life, almost completely oblivious to the dangers outside. And so comes our group - Rick, Glenn, Maggie, Daryl, Carol and the rest. They have been fighting "walkers" (zombies) for around two years, but they have an uphill struggle convincing their new friends to learn. Because where is the danger?
It was a very puzzling plot line for the last few episodes of Season 5. Yes, the people of Alexandria were naive. No, they were not equipped to deal with the dangers of the zombie apocalypse. But why? Why had they been so sheltered? Why were their walls not being swarmed by the walking dead?
And then, as the new season opened, we saw this:
It was a quarry. A ravine filled with hundreds - no, thousands - of walkers. Trapped by the walls, and trapped by some large commercial trucks that blocked the openings. There they were, all these deadly creatures. The town had been safe because they were trapped, trapped nearby, just out of their view. But always out there, always on the verge of escaping. And the time was coming when they would escape. Soon. How would Alexandria prepare? What was the plan?
___________________
And so it goes. For many of us, we are cruising through our day-to-day, mundane lives. We're reasonably happy. We're mostly safe. We have fallen into a routine that we fool ourselves into thinking will go on forever. Or at least for a while, and we'll worry about the after when we get there.
But lurking are the walkers. Just beyond our walls in the quarry. Danger, heartbreak, cracks in the armor. Things that can bring the walls come crashing in. Walkers named...
Cancer
Greed
Accidents
Selfishness
Hatred
Heart disease
Resentment
Hurricanes
Lust
Death of loved ones
Earthquakes
Sexual permissiveness
Laziness
Anger
Tornadoes
..................................
And on and on and on.
Lurking in the quarry, waiting for an opening.
Rick and the residents of Alexandria have a plan. What is your plan?
My only plan, my only hope, for dealing with the hundreds of manifestations of death waiting to devour me is this: Trust in the God of the universe, and put all my hope in the saving death and resurrection of his Son. He is sovereign over the world and over all the forces of sin, evil, and destruction that want to take me down. He won't keep me from having to face them. But his power will bring me through them.
How about you? You have a quarry full of walkers too; I know you do. Please don't just whistle in the dark, pretending they'll never come out. Oh, they will. And what will you do?
Why in the world would I want to read that? Not married. Never been married. Not sure that God has marriage in my future.
But Keller is one of my favorite authors and the premise of this new book grabbed me. You see, whether I get married or not, I firmly believe that the Scriptures portray the union of a man and a woman as the predominant picture of God's relationship with his people.
We have become very cynical about marriage in our culture. The divorce rate...the trend of so many couples living together without the vows...the growing belief (now institutionalized by our government) that a person is free to define marriage however he wants - in so many ways we have let go of the original intent when marriage was ordained by God.
In Genesis it says that a man should leave his father and mother, hold fast to his wife, and they should become one flesh. This was the first picture of how Jesus would leave his father, hold fast to his people the church, and make us all one flesh with him - the body of Christ.
All through the Bible we see God portrayed as the bridegroom and his people as the bride, right up to the culmination of history in Revelation 21. I firmly believe this, as stated beautifully by author G.K. Beale:
As husbands unconditionally love their wives and as wives respond to this liven a faithful manner, they are actors on a redemptive- historical stage performing a play before the onlooking audience of the world. As husbands and wives perform their roles on this stage in the way God has designed, their roles are an object lesson to the watching world that Christ has left his Father to love and become one with his bride, and that those who respond in faith can become part of this corporate bride.
What a beautiful way for a family to tell the story of Jesus.
I definitely look forward to Chapter 7, "Singleness and Marriage." Keller definitely intends for we singles to be part of his audience and I know he'll have a lot to say for me. But even if that chapter were not included, I'd read it anyway. Why? I love the picture of Christ and the church that will be portrayed. It's a portrait of his love for me. And it's a foreshadowing of eternity with our Bridegroom.
So yesterday I got a Facebook message from a friend. It was short and to the point:
"Is the blog dead?"
Yeah, I can see why he asked. I last posted in July, a summary of our latest Visiting Orphans trip to Ethiopia. Over the past five years I've averaged 5-10 posts a month, and suddenly...nothing.
I'm not sure exactly why. I have been learning amazing things through reading the Scriptures, life experiences, and seeing the hand of God in media (movies, TV, etc.). All things that I like to write about. But for some reason, lately I've gotten this nagging feeling every time I started to write: Am I really saying anything new? Am I starting to repeat myself? Is the blogging avenue played out for me?
Let me just say, no. I don't believe that. I can't believe that. I may be more selective about what I write, how often I write, and whether it's fresh. But I'm ready to get back in the game.
So if ever been a regular and you've let your link to this site slide to the bottom of your reading list, maybe try to get back in the habit of checking for posts. I can't promise I'll have anything interesting to say...but then I've never promised that.
But maybe, just maybe, you'll find a nugget worth thinking about. Or laughing at. Or crying about.
Well, we've been home for a few days. It's always a challenge getting adjusted, and this year is no exception. It's my prayer for our team that they would carry the spirit of our time in Ethiopia into their daily lives, and find ways to serve him and others like never before.
Speaking of our team...what a group!
Every single member of this team was amazing. During the time leading up to the trip, we went through a book to help us prepare. It talked about things like teamwork, flexibility, unselfishness, love for the group, being submitted to God's will and many more. I've got to say, these friends of mine got it. Everything they did was about God's glory, loving the children, respecting the culture, and loving each other. It was a joy to work with them. Here they are, in action:
Danny
Trisha
Clark
Kendra
Caroline
Scott
Sarah
Rachel
And then, there was our team member who supported us in prayer all week. Steve really wanted to be with us but circumstances prevented him boarding the plane. But through prayer and encouragement, he was with us all the way:
Steve, 2013
And so we are home. There is still work to do. There are our families and friends who need to see Christ in us every day. There are people in need right here in our hometowns. There are things we can do to support the work in Ethiopia from afar. And then, God willing, there is the opportunity to go back.
Whatever we do, I pray that for each team member, God will use the experience to bring them closer to him, so their lives can be an expression of his glory every day.
An empty living room. Our team has retired for the evening, and all that is left is one more day in Addis - a day that will end with us boarding a plane. I can't believe the time has passed by so quickly. It seems like a day or two ago that I was seeing old friends and meeting new ones in Dulles International Airport. We qucikly meshed into a team, but more than a team, a body of Christ-followers who have grown to love each other. I am staying up a little while longer, savoring the glow of God's love that has filled this place throughout the week.
The last day is always a hard one in the field too. You spend time with kids, share the gospel, visit some of their homes, and see them every day for four days - it's not easy to leave. Thankfully, we still have tomorrow morning with one group of children. But that will be over soon too. I expect to be back soon, God willing. But that doesn't make it easy.
I will write more about the team after we get back - that is after the 43-hour jouney that begins tomorrow night. But I'd like the focus of this post to be on the ones who make this kind of ministry possible. I want to thank all those who have supported our team from back home. I mean:
- The spouses, parents, and other family and friends who will have gone 10 days without seeing their loved one(s).
- Those who have provided financial support for team members.
- Everyone who has been praying for our time here.
- The staff of Visiting Orphans, Out of the Ashes, Mercy Ministries, and Holy Savior Guest Home.
All of you have made a difference in the lives of chidlren and adults here in Ethiopia. Your support has allowed children to know that God loves them enough to send us halfway around the world to see them. And you have been part of spreading the glory of God to the ends of the earth.
God's richest blessings on each of you. God said, "Go!" And you made it possible.
So let me finish with a few more pictures of what we have been doing here:
Thanks again from the bottom of our hearts. God bless you. See you all soon!
Today was another awesome day in Addis Ababa. It had everything we've come to expect: time playing with the children, opportunities to talk about Jesus, meeting some needs by bringing needed materials. And serving lunch to But more than anything else, it has been fun watching our team pour out their hearts to children. Here are a few shots of that...
Hard to really see from pictures - but an amazing day!
We also got to spend some time with the local workers from Out of the Ashes. These dedicated men and women spend their lives year round making sure that the children have their physical needs met while hearing about the One who loves them more than they can imagine. It was an honor for us to get to know them better.
This is a special place. We love being here. Another great day in store tomorrow. We appreciate your prayers.
Hello friends and family! I just wanted to write a short blog post to let you know thigs are going very well here in Addis Ababa. I have not had the internet connectivity I would have liked so this is my first post. And since the clock just struck midnight, it will be short. But I did want to let you know the wonderful things the Lord is doing.
First, our team is meshing and has already become an amazing group. Their selflessness, love for Jesus, love for the people of Ethiopia, and joy is evident. They are fun to be with, which helps to fill the work with enthusiasm. I can already tell this week will be way too short.
One way that spirit showed up today was when the OA staff asked for our help in moving some beds. They are moving some of the children from one location to another and today it was bed moving time. So without hesitation, our team jumped right in and carried these beds a fairly good distance. All with an attitude of wanteing to do whatber they could to serve the local workers - the ones who are with the children all year. God is working through these friends.
So here they are moving the beds:
And just a few more pictures from our first couple of days. Hope you can sense the joy:
Well, that's about enough - gotta get some sleep. Thank you for all your prayers. It's an awesome privilege.
