Monday, December 6, 2010

Profile of the Lukewarm

As I was sipping my lukewarm coffee this morning, I was reminded of Revelation 3:16, where God describes the stagnant faith of one of the seven churches. Francis Chan lists out the characteristics of a Lukewarm Christian in his book "Crazy Love" and they are good to reflect on as we can so easily slip into comfortable Christianity.

Lukewarm people:
1. attend church fairly regularly
2. give their money to charity and to the church...as long as it doesn’t impinge on their standard of living.
3. tend to choose what is popular over what is right when they are in conflict.
4. don’t really want to be saved from their sin; they want only to be saved from the penalty of their sin.
5. are moved by stories of people who do radical things for Christ, yet they do not act
6. rarely share their faith with their neighbors, coworkers, or friends.
7. gauge their morality or “goodness” by comparing themselves to the secular world.
8. say they love Jesus, and that He is a part of their lives...but only a part
9. love God but they do not love Him with all of their heart, soul, and strength
10. love others but do not seek to love others as much as they love themselves.
11. will serve God and others, but there are limits to how far they will go or how much time, money, and energy they are willing to give.
12. think about life on earth much more often than eternity in heaven.
13. are thankful for their luxuries and comforts, and rarely consider trying to give as much as possible to the poor.
14. do what is necessary to keep themselves from feeling too guilty.
15. are continually concerned with playing it safe; they are slaves to the god of control.
16. feel secure because they attend church, made a profession of faith, were baptized, come from a Christian family, vote Republican, or live in America.
17. do not live by faith; their lives are structured so they never have to.
18. probably drink and swear less than average, but besides that, they really aren’t very different from your typical unbeliever.

Friday, December 3, 2010

Known By God

I will admit that I have a growing fascination with other languages. Maybe it's because of the exposure I have had to several now, or maybe it's the fact that my eyes are being opened to a depth in the meaning of words in other languages. For instance, in English, we have one word for love, while the Greek language has several words to convey different types of love.
The word that I have been chewing on for a year now is Nolwazi, a Siswati word meaning "God has known her from the womb". I first encountered this word when a young girl that I met last year in Swaziland named her daughter this. God has known her from the womb....this young baby was born as a product of incest and rape, and is destined to live a tough life in Swaziland...yet God has known her from the womb.I have been thinking about it lately, because my new nephew was (finally) born this week, after months of anticipation, and a couple of weeks of impatient waiting! As I have prayed for this little one, I have been overcome by the fact that God has known him from the womb. I love how Psalm 139 reminds us that even before we are born, God has ordained every one of our days! As I have been working on a blanket for my nephew, I was reminded of how the Psalmist continues to talk about the fact that God knit our parts together in our mother's womb. God knows the passions & dreams He will put on my nephews heart; God knows the ways He has wired my new nephew to bring Him glory & tell people about Him!And I am humbled and amazed by this even more today, as I celebrate my own birthday - that 31 years ago, when I was in my mother's womb and my parents were anticipating the birth of a 7lb baby boy, and out came a 10 lb baby girl, God knew me. He knew the unique ways He would wire me, the ways He would pursue me, the ways He would lead me through trials and hardships in order to refine me and draw me closer to Him. He knew me from the womb, knowing all of the days of my life before one of them came to be!
And still, after all of these years reflecting on this, I still am overwhelmed that God knows me. That the God who named the stars, who knows how many grains of sand are on the beaches, who knows all of history and all of the future, who made the sun rise this morning, who created gravity and DNA, who is completely perfect and holy....that God knows me.

"But whoever loves God, is known by God."
1 Corinthians 8:3

Wednesday, December 1, 2010

World AIDS Day

Today is World AIDS Day, and if you're like me, you sometimes are numbed by the statistics and overlook the fact that individual lives are devastated daily by this horrible disease. Here is a great video that shows a realistic picture of what it looks like to live and die from AIDS in Swaziland.

And here is a woman who died from AIDS while I was in Swaziland...ironically, her (now) 2 year old orphaned son's name means HOPE.

Monday, November 29, 2010

Recognizing My Idols

Money, image, a missionary lifestyle, children, success, marriage, ministry, status, health, education, comfort... I have been convicted lately about how easily I am recognizing the idols in the lives around me while growing numb to the idols in my own heart. As I have been reading in Isaiah lately, I realize I am not alone in growing numb to idols. The Israelites return to their idols over and over even though God warns them over and over through various tests & prophets. God reminds them (and us) through Isaiah that the man-made things we turn into idols are useless.
"All who make idols are nothing, and the things they delight in do not profit...Who fashions a god or casts an idol that is profitable for nothing?" (Isaiah 44:9-10)
Even good things (like family, friends, health) can become idols when they become ultimate things in our lives. We don't wake up in the mornings intent on making idols, but rather take a step down that slippery slope every time we allow anything else besides the Lord of the universe to be THE ultimate thing in our lives. So how do we prevent this?
Here are 13 great questions from an old Puritan sermon that help us to recognize our idols, that we may turn from worshiping created things back to worshiping the only ONE who deserves all of our worship.

1. What do I most highly value?
2. What do I think about by default?
3. What is my highest goal?
4. To what or whom am I most committed?
5. Who or what do I love the most?
6. Who or what do I or depend upon the most?
7. Who or what do I fear the most?
8. Who or what do I hope in and hope for most?
9. Who or what do I desire the most? Or, what desire makes me most angry or makes me despair when it is not satisfied?
10. Who or what do I most delight in or hold as my greatest joy and treasure?
11. Who or what captures my greatest zeal?
12. To whom or for what am I most thankful?
13. For whom or what great purpose do I work?

Wednesday, November 24, 2010

Suffering: A Means Of Grace In The Hands Of God

"Even suffering is a means of grace in the hands of God. In Judges 3:1-2 God leaves other nations in the promised land 'to teach war' to his people. As each generation confronted hostile armies, it was faced with the need to trust God for itself. Adversity tests, strengthens, and personalizes faith. SInful desires can lurk in our hearts unnoticed because those desires are neither threatened nor thwarted. But suffering stirs the calm waters of latent sinful desires. It reveals the true state of our hearts. It's God's diagnostic tool, preparing the way for the medicine of gospel truth. Deuteronomy 8:2 says, 'You shall remember the whole way that the Lord your God has led you these forty years in the wilderness, that he might humble you, testing you to know what was in your heart.' Horatius Bonar comments:
'The trial did not create the evil: it merely brought out what was there already, unnoticed and unfelt, like a torpid adder. Then the heart's deep fountains were broken up, and streams of pollution came rushing out, black as Hell...Even so it is with the saints still. God chastens them that He may draw forth the evil that is lying concealed and unsuspected within...When calamity breaks over them like a tempest, then the hidden evils of their heart awakens.'
So suffering always presents us with a choice.
We can get frustrated, angry, bitter, or despondent as our desire for control, success, love, or health gets threatened. Or we can take hold of God in a new way, finding our joy in him and comfort in his promises."
From You Can Change by Tim Chester

Monday, November 22, 2010

Caught In The Middle Of A Morreshet

Middles can be good or bad - people don't like the middle seat on the airplane, but they love the middle of an oreo. We have stereotypes for the middle child, and many times the middle is overlooked. But in most cases, the middle of something is the key link and without it, the whole of that thing would be compromised! Middles are necessary and blessings in disguise. At times there is more pressure on the middle than on the ends, because it often holds things up or holds them together. And as I have been reflecting lately on the role God has called me to be in the middle of a morreshet, I realize how key this middle role is here as well!
Morreshet is the Hebrew word for spiritual legacy, totally separate from their word for a physical/material inheritance. You can imagine how frequently this term was used as the Jews passed down their spiritual legacy from generation to generation. Unfortunately, we have become numb to the responsibility of passing down the spiritual legacy from one generation to another. We underestimate the importance of shaping future generations spiritually, and we will be held accountable for that one day. Yet passing on a spiritual legacy is hardwired into who we are as people and families, and has been since the beginning of creation.
"Hear O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down and when you rise." (Deuteronomy 6:4-9)
My life this month has been a realistic picture of what it means to be the middle generation of passing on a spiritual legacy. I spent a few hours a couple of weeks ago going through some old pictures and mementos of my grandparents. Included in these things were confirmation pictures, prayers, and Bibles. I am blessed to have both of my grandmothers' Bibles, but was captivated by some of the older Bibles I still have. A couple of these Bibles are written in German, and I imagine they accompanied my great-grandparents on their cross-country journey to settle in Colorado. As I look at the tattered pages and faded birth, baptism, marriage, & death records, I am reminded of what Charles Spurgeon said "The Bible that is falling apart usually belongs to the person whose life is not." I can imagine the many nights of hardship during the depression, during the unknowns of traveling across the country by wagon, during the early days of settling on the farm and raising a family...that these Bibles and the God revealed in and through them were the things that sustained my ancestors! I am reminded of their deep faith that called them to help start & build a church here in Loveland that is still standing today. And I am thankful for their faithfulness throughout the years - who knows how much of my life today is a fruit of the prayers they prayed for the future generations of their family.
Yet, I am caught in the middle because there is already another generation of our family, hungry to know the God who created them. I am thankful to live so close to my nieces and nephews, to be able to pray with them and talk with them about God. I love their brutal honesty, and curiosity about God, and their simple faith. And I may never see the fruit of the prayers I pray for them, but I know those prayers don't fall on deaf ears, because God hears each and every one of them, and is faithful to complete the work He has begun in each of them. And as we await the newest baby in our family, I pray that we, as a family, would take seriously and be faithful to the role that God has called us to - to raise this baby to know who God is, what He is like, and that salvation can be found in Him alone. More than learning how to read & write, more than learning how to talk & ride a bicycle, this child needs to learn about the God who created it and who has every day of its life planned out, even though it isn't born yet! May God give us the grace, strength, courage, and wisdom to be faithful to the role He has called us to.
"O God, from my youth you have taught me, and still I proclaim your wondrous deeds. So even to old age and gray hairs, O God, do not forsake me, until I proclaim your might to another generation, your power to all those to come." (Psalm 71:17-18)

Wednesday, November 17, 2010

Every time it snows...

While Denver has continued to stay warm into November, I have been blessed to be up enjoying a few days of winter this week! And I'm constantly amazed (and giddy) as it snows, as it is a tangible reminder that even though we muck up the world and make it dirty & ugly, God can turn it into a wonderland of clean, pure, refreshing whiteness in a matter of minutes. Over the past couple of weeks, in a couple of conversations, I was reminded of the ways that God speaks through His word about how we can compare the purity & completeness of our forgiveness to the whiteness of snow. And as I have been soaking in it (well, actually sitting warmly inside while watching it snow out the window) over the past couple of days, I have been reminded of the complete and permanent forgiveness we have been offered through Christ again.
"Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool." (Isaiah 1:18) "Cleanse me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow." (Psalm 51:7)

Friday, November 12, 2010

I Thirst To Be Made More Thirsty Still

“O God, I have tasted thy goodness, and it has both satisfied me and made me thirsty for more. I am painfully conscious of my need of further grace. I am ashamed of my lack of desire. O God, the Triune God, I want to want thee; I long to be filled with longing; I thirst to be made more thirsty still. Show me Thy glory, I pray Thee, that so I may know Thee indeed. Begin in mercy a new work of love within me. Say to my soul, “rise up, my love, my fair one, and come away.” then give me grace to rise up and follow Thee up from this misty lowland where I have wandered so long. In Jesus’ name, amen.” (A. W. Tozer, The Pursuit Of God)

Wednesday, November 10, 2010

A Matter Of Perspective

It seems as though my mail increases this time of year with all of the holiday specials and sales. I have random advertisements stuck to my door, encouraging me to buy one thing or another for someone as a Christmas gift. The other night a salesman came to my door, offering me a great deal on cable and internet. When I told him that I don't have cable or use internet at my house, he looked at me with such shock that you would have thought I told him I have a giraffe in my condo. He continued his sales pitch, encouraging me to buy the package deal so that I have something to do when it's snowing outside. He ended his speech with a question that has still been haunting me over the last few days...he said "it's only $50...what else are you going to do with $50"?
Well, as I closed my door, my mind started wandering...thinking of all of the people who I know that would do anything for $50 a month!

  • I thought of several missionary friends of mine who live off of $1000 a month - and a commitment of $50 a month would add up to $600 for them over the year (which doesn't seem much to us, but when you live off so little or in a foreign country, it will go a long way).
  • I thought of a ministry I have worked with that can get meals to kids at a cost of 25 cents a meal...which would mean that $50 a month would provide 200 meals to kids whose parents can't afford to feed them.
  • I thought of the many child sponsorship programs around the world where you can contribute to a child's physical, spiritual & educational well-being for around $30 a month (the 'community center' here provides a meal for dozens of kids each day in Swaziland, who otherwise wouldn't get food every day).
  • I thought of so many parents I have met around the world who work endlessly to provide for their families, yet still don't have enough money to buy their children shoes so that they can go to school...imagine what a one time gift of $50 dollars could do (the house in this picture is where the teacher - one of the few working men in the village in Haiti - lives with his wife and their 9 children)!
So while I don't think that everyone needs to cancel their cable and internet, I do think that we should think creatively about our finances and look at it from a different perspective, willing to sacrifice a few of our comforts so that others can simply have a few necessities. As we shop for Christmas presents and budget for 2011, let us remember that most of the rest of the world lives on less than $1 a day, and that it's only by the grace of God that we find ourselves on this end of the equation (wondering how we can give) instead of the other (wondering how we are going to feed our families or keep them warm during the winter)...and let that impact how we spend our money!
The next time the cell phone salesperson asks you if you want to upgrade your phone for $20 more, take a minute to think about what you need instead of what you want, and about how God could multiply your $20 for His glory and people's joy! The next time you get a cup of coffee, get a size smaller and start collecting the extra 50 cents in a jar - knowing that you can donate it to provide 2 meals for kids!
As we enter into the most materialistic season of the year, in one of the richest countries in the richest times in history, may God protect us from the lies of the culture & the enemy, and give us a new perspective on our money, and give us discernment about how we should spend it.
"...your abundance at the present time should supply their need, so that their abundance may supply your need, that there may be fairness." (2 Corinthians 8:14)

Monday, November 8, 2010

How Do I Think??

If someone tells me to think about something, what do I do? How long can I realistically think about it before my mind wanders down some random rabbit trail? My ADD mind often has trouble focusing on one thing for a long time, unless I am in a blank room with no sounds. So, as you can imagine, it makes it hard for me to follow all of the exhortations in Scripture to "meditate" on God's word, character, law, etc.
One of the Biblical words used for meditating on Scripture actually has ties to how a cow digests its food. With multiple stomachs, a cow eats something, digests it partially, regurgitates it to a different stomach, digests it more, passes it to a different stomach, and so on...until the end product comes out. So by the time it has thoroughly processed it, it's absorbed as many nutrients as it can and broken it down as much as possible. And that is how we are supposed to read/meditate on Scripture?!
It seems to make sense, but I still have had a hard time putting practical legs to this until I heard how Martin Luther taught his barber to pray as he meditates on Scripture (I actually heard it on a podcast, and pulled over on the side of Berthoud Pass to take notes because it was so impactful!) To say this has revolutionized how I read & pray Scripture is an understatement, so here is what Luther wrote in that letter to his barber, encouraging him to ask these questions as he is reading the Bible.
1. How can this passage/concept/word lead me to adore God?
2. How can this passage/concept/word lead me to confess sin?
3. How can this passage/concept/word lead me to petition [ask] for grace?

4. How is Jesus the ultimate revelation of this attribute; solution to sin; source of grace?

May this teaching bear fruit in your heart and your life as you feast on God's word!

"Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; but his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night. He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers."
(Psalm 1:1-3)

Friday, November 5, 2010

Asking Expectantly

What have you been praying for lately? In your prayer life, do you pray hesitantly or expectantly? I confess that often I pray timidly, not totally praying in faith for God to answer my prayers and meet my needs. You would think that after all of the examples of His faithfulness in my life, I would pray expectantly, knowing that He would sovereignly answer the prayers of my heart. Yet He used a 3 year old girl to remind me that too often I pray hesitantly and not expectantly.
While in Juarez, I bonded with a tiny 3 year old girl, who fell asleep in my arms
within hours of me meeting her. Over then next 48 hours, we shared many songs, car rides, naps, and smiles...even though I could only speak a little of her language, and she could speak none of mine. She captured my heart as she sang, danced, and wouldn't let me put her down before we left. While her face will remain in my mind, the way God used her to teach me about prayer will remain in my heart!
A little while before we left, I was talking with some of the older girls, and this little 3 year old walked up to me, tapped my leg, handed me her two ponytail rubberbands, and turned around. Without a word of communication, or even really thinking, I squatted down to put her pigtails back in her hair. I didn't ask her what happened or wait for her to tell me what she needed, I just acted out of seeing her need, and her boldness of knowing she could ask me to do this for her and I would respond.
And I realized that just as she approached me, knowing I would help her, that is how I am to approach God with my needs and requests in prayer. Jesus taught us that through Him, we can bring all of our requests, prayers & needs to God...knowing that it is natural for Him to answer them because of who He is (Matthew 7:7-11).
So as we go through our day, let us come humbly,continually, and expectantly before the sovereign God of the universe with our needs.
"Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need." (Hebrews 4:16)
"...do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God." (Philippians 4:6)

Wednesday, November 3, 2010

Forgotten People

Recently, I was blessed to be able to spend some time in Juarez with some very special kids at an orphanage. These kids, who have been abandoned by their families, are living very tough lives in a city that is known for it's violence and evil. The atrocities that are happening in this town are at times hard to comprehend, and so often when we can't comprehend something, we ignore it. Or we hear the statistics so often that we become too familiar with them and can become numb to them. But as I spent time with these forgotten kids, I was convicted.Convicted because one of the comments I heard from several people in Juarez was that they felt like the church just over the border in the US had become so numb to the deadly statistics that they just forgot about their brothers and sisters who were suffering just miles from where they are living in comfort and safety.
And I am among the guilty! Juarez isn't that far from where I am, yet I haven't even consistently prayed for what is going on there. I confess that I am not prompted to pray enough - even as I read more stories on the killings in Juarez or hear another story on the news.
Not only was I convicted about Juarez, but it also spurred me on to ask what my Juarez is here in Denver. Who are the people who are suffering that I am often overlooking? Who are the people who are suffering that I have become numb to as I hear their stories?
Lord, let me be more like the Samaritan who has compassionate eyes to see those in need, and less like the man who asked "Who is my neighbor?" as he tried to avoid the messiness and danger of getting involved in serving those in need.

Monday, November 1, 2010

Radical Or Obedient?

I confess that for a time I used to think that missionaries and people in full time ministry were super-spiritual. I thought that they had something that I didn’t or that somehow God liked them better. I know it’s stupid, but I honestly thought that the more you served God, and the harder your circumstances were, the better off you were with God. As if our good works or radical living could somehow improve our status with God. I’m not the only one who thinks this though. And it’s nothing new - people have been trying to push this line for a long time, thinking that God will like them more if they live off of less or in harder circumstances - people making their own clothes, eating only organic, not using electricity. It doesn’t just go back to the 1990’s or the 1970’s, but it goes even further back to the desert fathers - the monks who thought they could increase their holiness by depriving themselves of more and more things.
But, that’s not the Gospel - that’s a works based system of salvation, where I am in control and it is all up to me. The truth is that
“We are accepted before God based on how righteous Jesus is, not how radical we are. Radical living flows from righteous standing”(David Platt).
And that truth should impact how we live - for some of us, it should free us to realize that we don’t have to put on the “radical” show - that our status before God doesn’t depend on what we do.
And for others of us - it should cause us to get up and live differently - that the fact that we have righteous standing before God will cause us to reevaluate how we spend our money, how we serve God, how we live our daily lives. And if our lives aren’t any different than the world we live in, we need to spend time reflecting on the righteous standing we have been given - and the cost it came by!
So the question I am asking myself this morning is “Am I trying to live more radically to make God like me better or am I striving to live more obediently as I continue to surrender to the promptings of the Holy Spirit?” Since I have been bought at a price and am not my own, I can’t put limits on how God calls me to serve Him. So, while it may seem more radical to go to another country to live and serve God, I am called to live obediently, right now meaning I must stay where I am and serve Him in the circumstances I am in. Radical & obedient living may mean to downsize in order to give more away; it may mean to quit your job here in the US to move overseas to do the same thing in a place where it is more needed; but it may also mean staying faithful & married in a hard marriage; reaching out to your family who doesn’t know Christ; or something else here where we find ourselves today.
As you & I reflect again on our righteous standing before God today, may it lead to radical living for His glory, His fame, and the furthering of His kingdom!

Sunday, October 24, 2010

Battling Anxiety

I am surrounded by people battling anxiety...it seems that no matter where I go, in whatever crowd, country, or place, I meet people of all ages who struggle with anxiety. And I know that even though I don't experience it like some, I do my share of causing anxiety to my family by following God's call to some unpopular places! Jesus promised us, "Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid." (John 14:27). This is a great promise to remember, but recently I have been reflecting on a blog by John Piper, where he gives practical & specific verses to battle different kinds of anxiety with:
- When I am anxious about some risky new venture or meeting, I battle unbelief with the promise: "Fear not for I am with you, be not dismayed for I am your God; I will help you, I will strengthen you, I will uphold you with my victorious right hand" (Isaiah 41:10).
- When I am anxious about being too weak to do my work, I battle unbelief with the promise of Christ, "My grace is sufficient for you, my power is made perfect in weakness" (2 Corinthians 12:9), and "As your days so shall your strength be" (Deuteronomy 33:25).
- When I am anxious about decisions I have to make about the future, I battle unbelief with the promise, "I will instruct you and teach you the way you should go; I will counsel you with my eye upon you" (Psalm 32:8).
- When I am anxious about facing opponents, I battle unbelief with the promise, "If God is for us who can be against us!" (Romans 8:31).

- When I am anxious about being sick, I battle unbelief with the promise that "tribulation works patience, and patience approvedness, and approvedness hope, and hope does not make us ashamed" (Romans 5:3-5).
- When I am anxious about getting old, I battle unbelief with the promise, "Even to your old age I am he, and to gray hairs I will carry you. I have made, and I will bear; I will carry and will save" (Isaiah 46:4).
- When I am anxious about dying, I battle unbelief with the promise that "none of us lives to himself and none of us dies to himself; if we live we live to the Lord and if we die we die to the Lord. So whether we live or die we are the Lord's. For to this end Christ died and rose again: that he might be Lord both of the dead and the living" (Romans 14:9-11).
- When I am anxious that I may make shipwreck of faith and fall away from God, I battle unbelief with the promise, "He who began a good work in you will complete it unto the day of Christ" (Philippians 1:6). "He who calls you is faithful. He will do it" (1 Thessalonians 5:23). "He is able for all time to save those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them" (Hebrews 7:25).
- When I am anxious about my ministry being useless and empty, I fight unbelief with the promise, "So shall my word that goes forth from my mouth; it will not come back to me empty but accomplish that which I purpose, and prosper in the thing for which I sent it" (Isaiah 55:11).

"Be still and know that I am God."
~Psalm 46:10

Friday, October 22, 2010

Schooled in the Gospel by a 4 year old


Recently, while my nephew and I were chopping & freezing apples, we were practicing his memory verse for Awana:
"for my eyes have seen your salvation" (Luke 2:30).
We were talking about what salvation means, and after some clarifications from me, he said, "So we are the apples' salvation from the worms & birds eating them because we picked them first." Yep, right on, professor 4 year old! I was reminded & humbled of how simple the Gospel is by my nephew! The apples needed help if they were not to be destroyed by worms & birds, and helpless to do it themselves, they needed a savior. They didn't need an example of how not to be worm infested, they didn't need encouragement not to be worm infested, they needed a savior to do something they were helpless to do themselves!
The Gospel is that simple, even though we so often try to make it more difficult than that. Reality is, I need a savior - not an example, not encouragement, but a savior to pay a price I am utterly helpless to pay...and the bigger reality is that IT HAS BEEN PAID! Through the cross, I get to exchange my sin (and all of the guilt, consequences, & death that go with it) for Christ's righteousness & eternal life...and I don't have to worry about being eaten by worms! Lord, thank you for the simplicities & complexities in the Gospel...keep them both in the front of my mind & fresh on my heart!
And yes, immediately following the profound statement about salvation, my nephew asked me if I was done chopping apples yet so that we could play operation. And yes, the analogy breaks down because the apples will be eaten by us instead of by worms and birds...and I'm looking forward to it!

Thursday, October 21, 2010

Now & Later - more than just a chewy candy!

What do you think about? Do you spend much time thinking about the future?
My sister is 8 months pregnant, and it is causing our whole family to think a little more about the future - wanting to meet this new little boy or girl, wondering how its 2 older siblings will respond to it, dreaming about the baby's personality, passions, gifts, looks, and future.
Yet what if I told you that my sister and her husband haven't changed their lifestyle at all since finding out they are pregnant with their third child. What if they didn't consider their insurance plan, their birth plan, prepare their other two children for it, buy maternity clothes, buy prenatal vitamins, go to the midwife, stop drinking caffeine, prepare a place in their house for the baby, etc. You would probably say they are crazy and so would I! It would be as if they are living in denial of this upcoming event, as if that's going to change anything about the event happening.
Realistically, their knowledge of this future event (birth of the baby) should inform how they live for these 9 months and they should be preparing for that! We don't call pregnant women "expecting" for nothing!
Yet, my confession this morning is that so often I live my Christian life focused more on now in this present world than later in eternity...and I end up looking like I am crazy and in denial. As if denying or not thinking about eternity is going to change whether it happens or not. Regardless of how I live or believe, history isn't cyclical, Jesus is coming back, there will be a day of judgment, there will be a day of redemption & restoration. But it doesn't mean that we are to sit around with our silly formulas trying to figure out when Jesus is coming back (that would be as stupid as my sister & brother in law sitting around using formula trying to figure out exactly when the baby is coming), but rather we should let the reality of the future events inform how we live today. We should live in expectant anticipation!
How would I live today KNOWING that Jesus is coming back, that I will stand before a judge, knowing that the injustices and bad things will be redeemed and restored? How would my life be different today if I lived not just thinking about now, but also about later?

“If you read history you will find that the Christians who did most for the present world were precisely those who thought most of the next. It is since Christians have largely ceased to think of the other world that they have become so ineffective in this [world].”
~ C.S. Lewis

Wednesday, October 20, 2010

Glorifying God in Daily Life

What is life about? Some have answered that "The chief end of man is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever"(Westminster Catechism). I can imagine what it is like to enjoy God, but what does it look like to glorify Him? Is it something we can only do in worship on Sunday mornings, or can it happen other times and other places too? What does this look like in between running errands, meeting with people, going to class, cleaning the house, taking care of kids, etc.? The key to glorifying God is to remember that it isn't something we can do on our own, but rather something the Holy Spirit does through us as we are connected to God through Christ. It isn't something else to add to our to do list, but rather a lifestyle that should overflow out of our relationship with the Lord. Kevin DeYoung offers 20 biblical ways that we can glorify God in our everyday life:
1. Give God verbal declarations of praise (Rev. 4:8-9).
2. Live a life of noticeable piety (Matt. 5:16; James 1:27; 1 Peter 2:12)
3. Ask God for things in Jesus' name (John 14:13).
4. Bear fruit and show yourself to be a disciple of Jesus (John 15:8).
5. Declare the truth about Jesus (John 16:14).
6. Love your life less than God (John 21:19; 1 Peter 1:7, 4:16).
7. Worship God as God (Rom. 1:21).
8. Life a life of sexual purity (1 Cor. 6:20).
9. Live a life of generosity (2 Cor. 9:13).
10. Rejoice in God's glory displayed in creation (Psalm 19:1).
11. Do the works of faith (2 Thess. 1:12).
12. Use your gifts in God's strength (1 Peter 4:11).
13. Make sure everyone knows you're not God (Acts 12:23).
14. Live a life of gratitude (Psalm 50:23; 2 Cor. 4:15).
15. In matters of liberty, seek the good of others (1 Cor. 10:31).
16. Extend grace to sinners (2 Cor. 8:19).
17. Be a part of a local church (2 Cor. 8:23; Eph. 3:20-21).
18. Tell God you are wrong and he is right (Josh. 7:19; Jer. 13:16; Rev. 16:9).
19. Obey God (Lev. 10:3; Mal. 2:2).
20. Go from a Christ-despiser to a Christ-worshiper (Gal. 1:24).

Monday, October 18, 2010

What Am I Doing?

I started this blog focused around sharing what God was doing through my trip to Swaziland, and now that I've finally posted so many that I wrote during and about that trip, it's going to be changing a little to various topics. I have found that I really agree with the quote "I write when I learn, I learn when I write" and God is using this blog to continue that pattern. Some days, I continue to ask myself "What am I doing?" and trying to convince myself that it would be ok to quit blogging since I haven't done that much, but I know that God is challenging me through this process & discipline. Writing and journaling helps me to pray through things, process things, gain perspective on things, give things to God, and so much more. So for this next season, these are some of the themes that are on my heart that you can expect me to be writing about:
~ attempting to live life daily surrendered to God...resting in the reality of the Gospel...trying to comprehend that I am more sinful than I can ever fear, but more loved than I can ever imagine. There have been many things/people/quotes that God has used to spur me on in my relationship with Him, and the best thing I can do is to pass those on!
~ wrestling through the call that God has put on my life as a full time missionary - here in Denver and to the ends of the earth. During this season of in betweens where I haven't found the right fit with what God is calling me to do with missions, I know that He has called me to keep serving Him each and every day.
~ reluctantly letting go of our family farm and all of the lovely emotional baggage & crap that comes with sorting through and packing lots of family items. As I have begun to dig through the attic, there have been so many memories coming already, that I hope to write & share some of them here.

I know that through God's sovereignty, He puts specific topics on my heart for me to write about...for His glory, for my joy, and hopefully for your benefit, so know that I am praying for that as I write & share these blogs!

Tuesday, October 12, 2010

Rejoice With Those Who Rejoice

One morning as we were at the care point waiting for the food to be ready for the kids, we started singing a few songs with the preschoolers (any where from 1 yr olds to 6 yr olds). We went through the familiar ones, and then they started singing a song that said,
“The Lord is going to bless someone today....it may be you, it may be me, it may be somebody else.”
I was humbled by the fact that these kids, who have so little, who have been through so much, and who have a very hard life ahead of them are singing about how they can rejoice when others around them are blessed.
So often our first impulse when someone near us is
blessed is to ask where our blessing is, or how we can earn it, or what we didn’t do right....yet true community and God-honoring love comes when we put others before ourselves. To be able to truly rejoice when someone else gets blessed, and not ask "why didn't I get that?" To be able to truly grieve with someone who grieves, without our first thought being, "Whew! I'm glad that didn't happen to me!"
God took me half way around the world to teach me through a bunch of preschoolers that I have a long way to go before I can say with integrity that I live out the command in Romans 12:15...
"Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep.”

Monday, October 11, 2010

Be Careful Little Eyes What You See...

“Be careful little eyes what you see, be careful little eyes what you see, for the Father up above is looking down in love, so be careful little eyes what you see.”
This familiar children’s song is often used in teachings on purity, encouraging us to filter what images we watch on tv, look at magazines, etc. We know that we will be held accountable for all of the images we see, and that those images will affect our minds, even if we just glance at them for a second. I once heard someone say "You become what you behold" implying that what we look at will shape who we are.
Yet what about images of another nature...images of children eating crayons because they are so hungry, images of fathers patching holes in mud & grass houses, images of gogos putting food in their bags to take home to share with hungry family members, images of women in tears rejoicing over a month’s worth of food, images of a mother’s tears as she prepares to die and leave her sons motherless, images of a new orphan who doesn’t grasp the full impact of what just happened as his mother died, images of people hungry for God, images of children wearing clothes that are so worn down that they are see-through, images of illiterate people hanging on every word as someone reads the Bible, images of the three wet wipes it takes to clean one child's face, images of people unable to grasp the gift of a book that they can keep forever because they have no possessions....and so many more.
Those images also affect us, but in God’s sovereignty, He allows us to see things in order to take action. We live in a culture that is so bombarded by images that we are numb to most of what we see. Yet James admonishes us that if we see a brother or sister in need and don’t respond to that need, we need to take a second look at our faith that we claim to have (James 2: 14-17).

Our lives are to be full of actions...because of all that we have seen here in our lives, but also because through God's written revelation, we have seen how it ends. We know without a doubt that Christ will come again, that every part of this earth is groaning for redemption (Romans 8), that one day every knee will bow and tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, and that those who are in Christ will be raised to spend eternity with Him.
Yet with this glimpse of how it ends, God calls us to action.
He calls us to act now according to what we know will happen in the future...working towards His Kingdom coming, working towards reconciliation, seeing things in this world for the temporary gifts they are, putting our hope in eternity instead of the fleeting circumstances of today. Just as pregnant parents would be fools to not prepare and start living in the reality of the child soon to come, we would be fools to not prepare and start living in the reality of eternity that is to come!

Friday, October 8, 2010

What's In A Name?

One of my favorite things about the Siswati language is the depth of meaning in their words. Each person knows the meaning of their name, and often there are words that are so unique and specific in meaning that they carry a special significance. In church, our pastor used “basatwani”(I have no idea how to spell it, but this is what it sounds like) at the end of almost every sentence...and it is a word specifically for the people of God/family of God. It is more that just saying my brothers and sisters in Christ, but implies a deeper community and a sanctified people, set apart for the Lord. Last year when I was in Swaziland, we met a young woman who was unexpectedly pregnant and gave birth while we were still in the country. As I visited with her when her baby was a couple of weeks old, I asked her what her new daughter’s name meant...and wasn’t surprised when she said “God knew her in the womb”.
It is amazing to me how someone’s name isn’t merely their present identity, but is many tim
es prophetic over their lives...the teacher who works endlessly to cook for the kids, teach the kids, make Timbali purses, as well as care for her own family is named Gcobile...meaning “one who does good works.” So I was excited and convicted as I met my special friend, a little 3 year old boy who my nephew and I will support, write to, and pray for over the next 15 years...and found out his name is Kuhlakani, which means “he prays.”
Praise God that He knows how He will wire us, gift us, burden us, and use us for His glory...and how He can move the hearts of parents to name their children in a way that declares this!

“Your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.” Psalm 139:16

Thursday, October 7, 2010

Pictures I Did Take...

A lot of these are up on Facebook already, but I thought I would post a few of my favorites here too...it may take a couple of days' posts to do it!











Wednesday, October 6, 2010

Pictures I Didn't Take...

One of my traditions I have started doing on the plane ride home from anywhere is making a list of "Pictures I Didn't Take" on each trip. Most of the times, these are moments when it would just be impersonal and awkward to pull out a camera to take a picture during these special times; others I simply didn't have my camera with me...but for most of them, a camera wouldn't begin to capture the moment! Here are just a few from this trip:
  • getting out of the van our last morning at the care point to have a little boy that I had been building relationship with all week walk over to me to pick him up
  • knocking that same little boy over later that same day...I was standing at our van talking to our driver, and didn't realize this little boy had walked around the van to follow me, and was about to grab onto my leg, but I didn't see him and turned to walk away from the van and walked right into him.
  • seeing the red sun set every afternoon over the hills as we drove on the bumpy, dusty, dirt road back to our hotel
  • having random strangers and children wave to us as we drove past
  • talking to myself, to remind myself I was driving in Africa on the left side of the road, as I drove one of the missionary's car to run an errand
  • watching the women of the church give gifts to the pastor & his wife (for pastor appreciation Sunday) and pray for a long time over he & his wife
  • seeing elementary aged kids caring for their younger brothers & sisters as if they were their parents
  • watching a high school girl's eyes light up over the dress she was given
  • having the kids allow us as complete strangers wash their faces and give them new & clean clothes to wear
  • watching my teammates gently & tenderly wash children's feet
  • hearing about the children laying hands on one of the missionaries to pray for her headache to go away
  • talking with a hotel employee as I sat outside drinking coffee & reading my Bible one morning
  • going on a home-visit where all of the logs holding up the corners of the house were completely missing the bottom 2 feet of the log, and wondering to myself how the house was staying up
  • seeing random flowers & signs of life in fields that looked full of dead grass & weeds
  • seeing kids play soccer barefoot, stopping every so often to pull a 2 inch long thorn out of their foot

Tuesday, October 5, 2010

Priceless...

As I have had a few days to begin processing our trip, there are so many images & moments that stand out in my mind. I keep thinking of the MasterCard commercials, and this is my version: new outfits for 135 kids: $1350; new shoes for 135 kids: $1350; new school supplies & backpacks for 135 kids: $1350; hearing 135 kids pray & sing about the hope they have in the Lord: PRICELESS!
Don't get me wrong, it was great to be able to bless them physically and lavish gifts upon them, but it was moments of hearing them pray the Lord's prayer that brought tears to my eyes. In a world that is so quickly passing away because of AIDS and poverty, the material gifts that we can give them only go so far. But to know that these children are hearing about the eternal hope and salvation that Christ came to give us is priceless...because no matter what happens to their parents, to them, to their country...they can have eternal hope in Jesus Christ! Please continue to pray with me that their hearts would be open to the Gospel, and that the Holy Spirit would be at work in their hearts, enabling them to respond to the offer of eternal life & hope! Please continue to pray with me for the missionaries, Swazi discipleship-team, and the gogo's who pour into these kids regularly.

Saturday, October 2, 2010

What sticks?

For many of us, going to church and listening to teachings, podcasts, sermons is a regular part of our lives. But how much do you remember? Can you remember even the main passage or point of the message from last Sunday? How about one from last month or even last year? For many of us we are so inundated by so much information that we don't have time to process it all, let alone hope that it sticks to our memory, or that we might have time to meditate on it! But the Lord reminded me last week that this is not the case in Swaziland...or in most places of the world. In many places people are lucky if they can read and have a copy of the Bible. Some are lucky enough to have pastors who faithfully preach the Word or lead Bible studies. But many are longing for Christian fellowship and Biblical teaching, and when they get it, it sticks in their minds and in their hearts and God uses it to transform them.
Last year, one of the things I did as a team leader in Swaziland was to lead teachings several evenings a week. One of our Swazi ministry partners always loved to come to those times - he was so hungry for the Bible, for worship, and for fellowship that it didn't bother him that he would be hanging out with a bunch of American girls - he just wanted to grow. I never thought much about it at the time, but last week I had a conversation with this old friend that made me think twice.
One afternoon, we were finishing up at the carepoint and saying goodbye to those on the D-team that we wouldn't see again on our trip when he asked if he could ask me a question. I said sure, not having a clue what direction he would go with the question. But he asked if I remembered a quote I used in a teaching last November about being satisfied in the Lord. He said he has been thinking about it for a year and that it has changed his relationship with the Lord, and he was just wondering if I could write it down for him.
I don't remember the exact quote, but I know it was from a sermon that John Piper preached, where he talked about being satisfied in the Lord. He said that for him personally, he must get in the Bible each morning and be satisfied in the Lord before anything else...because if he isn't satisfied in the Lord, he is going to look to everything and everyone else in his day to satisfy him. And here is this young Swazi man, who knows through the poverty in his life that satisfaction can't come from material possessions (because they have so little) and satisfaction can't come from relationships (because life in Swaziland is so fleeting) and is now beginning to experience the reality that true satisfaction comes only from the Lord.
I praise God that He used that one quote from one teaching to draw one Swazi closer to his heart this year! And that He used that conversation last week to remind me to meditate on the many things He is trying to teach me...that they might bear fruit in my life and my relationship with Him for His glory and my joy.
"You open your hand; You satisfy the desire of every living thing."
- Psalm 145:16

Friday, October 1, 2010

A Hard Walk Down A Dusty Road

I write this hesitantly because one of the things I hate about blogs, blogging, bloggers, etc. is that they/we often put things out there that are not our stories to tell. But I am going to go ahead and post this story of one of our home visits in Swaziland for 3 reasons: 1. It is one example of what I've seen now in so many situations...it could be one of many kids in Swaziland or around the world, there's nothing unique about this story, just that it's fresh on my mind. 2. It is a story that needs to be told to a numb, apathetic, affluent, American Christian - to bring reality to life. 3. It is a story that I (as a numb, apathetic, affluent, American Christian) am apt to forget as I leave this culture where poverty is all around me and I head back to my comfortable life...and I don't want to forget it or be numb!

We walked with the boy for several minutes before he pointed and said his homestead was right there. The road we were on was so dusty, a
nd the air so still, that we would all turn away for several minutes until the dust settled when a truck went by. We walked through the opening in the stick and thornbush fence as several cattle lay near by and chickens ran about. The boy ran and got a grass-woven mat and a chair, and brought them over to spread out under the tree several yards from the house. The homestead consisted of a few buildings - a loose stick hut that served as a kitchen, two concrete buildings (about 8 x 10 feet) that were where the adults slept, and a mud & stick hut with a thatched roof where several children slept. The thatched roof had several places where it had fallen apart, leaving it with several holes that were over 6 inches in diameter.
As we women maneuvered to take our shoes off before stepping on the mat to sit down on the ground, the men sat on the chairs, and the boy ran to the field to get his gogo (grandmother). She quickly and quietly came back, followed closely by a 4 year old girl wearing only a sun bleached piece of fabric wrapped around her like a skirt.
When we shared with the woman and talked, she told about how we could pray for her. She shared her health struggles - mostly common ailments of a hard life of a poverty-stricken, hungry, water deprived person in a third world country - sore feet, legs, headache, backache. She couldn't have been over 60, yet her eyes looked much older because of her experiences, and she was still taking care of so many others!

Before we laid hands on her to pray, she had her grandson fetch a coat so she could cover herself as we prayed. I held her hand - weathered by years of hard work outside & caked with dirt in every possible crack. After we prayed with her, we blessed her with a gift of a bag of food and supplies. She sat quietly as we laid out the corn meal, sardines, soap, candles, sugar, tea, matches, beans, and oil. What would cost about $30, and last us Americans less than a week would last this woman and her entire family from two weeks to a month...and she wiped away tears at this gift from strangers.
As we walked along the road back toward where we had come from, "Siyabonga kakuhlu" was what she repeated - "Thank you so much!" And we told her the same thing we had been teaching the children all day...we love because He first loved us.