Insights from India Part 2

2 Timothy 4:2  "Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine."

This verse sums up a lot about what I learned about ministry in India.  The word "instant" is translated "ready" in other translations.  Paul is telling Timothy in this verse to preach the word, and to be ready to do so "in season", when he's expecting it, and when it's time for preaching, and also "out of season", when he's not expecting it.  In other words, be ready to preach the word no matter what the circumstances.  You don't have any time off of this great commission.  Then he tells him to reprove, rebuke and exhort with all longsuffering...because when you're doing these things and working with people, it requires a LOT of patience...and with all doctrine, because the time will come when they will not endure sound teaching, but will heap teachers after their own lusts, having itching ears.  We are to be ready at all times to preach the word, and to do it with patience and right teaching.  One story from my time in India stands out to me as a good lesson to be ready in all circumstances.

We were in two places in India mainly.  We started out in Chennai and the surrounding villages for a few days, then moved south into the mountains, and worked in Kodikanal and the surrounding villages.  When we got to the mountainous region of Kodikanal, we were in a much nicer and cooler climate, and staying at this nice English-built stone lodge, with a lake and place to eat nearby.

When we arrived, one of the pastors was telling us about our itinerary.  Most of the days, we would be going to a school assembly in the morning and presenting for the kids, then going to villages in the afternoon.  But there were two days when we'd have the afternoon free to do touristy things, because Saturday there was a youth crusade in the morning, and the other day there was a pastor's conference.  So we're all thinking, "Hey, that's a pretty good deal!"  But suddenly, our team leader, Dr. Castelino, raised his hand and said, "Actually, we didn't come to do touristy things.  We came to minister.  So if you could find another village or something to go to in the afternoon, we'd rather do that."  And we were all thinking, "Whaaaaa?"  (Just kidding--that was probably just me.  The other members of the team were much more spiritual.)  The pastors had a quick conference with each other in Tamil, then said they weren't sure what they could work out, but they'd try, which contented Dr. Castelino for the time being.  But that ministry glint was in his eye.

We went to a school, called the Zion school, which had the biggest assembly of English-speaking kids we'd had thus far.  We presented the skit of Achan, illustrating the concept of Romans 6:23, and that God is always watching, even when you think nobody else is, and told about the gift of life that He gives us through Jesus Christ.  The only group of kids that were missing were the 10th and 12th graders who had huge exams that they had to study for, making them exempt from the assembly.  We went inside to have tea (which we were served everywhere we went, it seemed...which was okay with me, because it was delicious!) and cookies, courtesy of the principal.  While we were partaking, the principal brought in the 10th and 12th graders for us to pray a blessing over them.  The guys laid hands on the guys and the girls on the girls and we prayed.  Afterwards, we were able to interact with them in English which was a pleasant change of pace for us.  As we were talking with them, Dr. Castelino walked over and announced, "I have been talking with the captain of their state champion volleyball school, who challenged us to a volleyball match on Saturday.  I have accepted on your behalf!"  The translator's eyes widened and he said, "Wait, at your request, we already started looking for other ministry opportunities and had set up something with an orphanage!"  They had a hurried, whispered conference, and then announced that we'd do the youth crusade in the morning and into the afternoon, then volleyball after that, then after dinner around 6, we'd go over to the orphanage.  So now, far from being a day of free time, we had a packed schedule for Saturday!

Saturday rolled around, and were told ahead of time to be expecting young people ages 14-25 to attend, and we were asked to focus a little on relationships since that was a big issue in India, with all of their movies very focused on romance.  We conferred amongst ourselves in the evenings trying to come up with some good ways of teaching these principles to an older audience than we were accustomed to, but the only ones offering testimonies about that sort of thing were the girls, and otherwise, we were just going to do the skits we had already been doing and practicing.  As we were talking about the skits, we also tried to come up with some new ideas, since we had been doing the same ones since our arrival in India.  The idea was tossed out there for a skit about the story of Joseph in the Bible.  But as we tried to assign characters and a narrator and scenes around the campfire, we gave up, deciding there were too many characters and the story was too complicated to tell.

Saturday morning when we arrived at the building where the youth crusade was to be held, the translators came to us looking a little grave.  "Because of the big exams coming up, all the schools decided to hold school again on Saturday," they explained.  "So we have some of the Christian girls from the Zion school, and a few orphanages sent all of their little kids."  Suddenly, we had a completely different audience than we were expecting, so rather than try to focus on relationships, we decided to just do the skits we already had prepared, focusing on the commands of Christ.  As we were performing, the Lord moved on a few members of our team to set up something separate with the girls on our team and the older girls from the Zion school.  They met together outside and began talking about relationships, with several of our girls sharing their testimonies that they had planned on sharing with everyone.  After their talk, several girls were crying and one girl came up to one of the members of our team with tears in her eyes and told them, "I was praying you would talk about relationships today!"  So even though it was in a completely different format than we had anticipated, we prepared an offering for Him, and He used in the way He wanted to.

We finished performing all our skits, and then went to the volleyball match, where we were trounced by the high school team.  But it gave us another opportunity to interact with the kids we'd met the day before.  Afterwards, we headed back for dinner, and then it was time to go to the orphanage.  By this time, we were beat.  We were used to the day ending with dinner, and this had been a full day.  Also, all the kids from the orphanage had been at the youth crusade and so had seen all of our skits and we had nothing left to present!  Nonetheless, we packed up and headed over to the orphanage, hoping to be able to just play with the kids.  No such luck.

We played with the kids for about an hour, then the owner of the orphanage called us into this crowded, humid, stuffy room with all of the kids and told us, "Okay, it is time for your presentation.  Go ahead!"  Uhhhh......

As our team started doing songs with the kids, I had a quick mumbled meeting with Dr. C.  "What are we going to present?  We already did all the skits we had prepared!"

He thought for a minute then said with a smile, "Why don't you do the story of Joseph?"

"Uh because we haven't planned it out or practiced it or anything!  Besides we were arguing about whether I would play Joseph as the narrator, or have someone else narrate and...we're just not ready.  Which version would I even do?"

He smiled and waved me off.  "Ah, you'll be fine."  Then he started doing the hand motions to My God is So Big.  Thanks a lot, Dr. C!

So as the songs ended, I jumped up in front of all the kids, with all the members of our team wondering what on earth I was about to do.

"Hi kids, I'm going to tell you a story from a loooooooong time ago, about a young man named Joseph.  But I'm going to tell you as if I'm Joseph."  I took a deep breath and plunged in, explaining about my big family and how my brothers didn't seem to like me, though my father loved me.  As I spoke, I grabbed Dr. C to play the father, and motioned for Jake and Adam to come up and play the brothers.

It was one of the best skits we did the entire time.

All of the team members were fantastic, jumping in and ad-libbing and acting out the parts as I told the story, producing some hilarious lines, that probably made us laugh more than the kids!  I would say something along the lines of, "Dad sent me out to go check on my brothers!  Oh, there they are!"  Then I'd wave enthusiastically and Jake and Adam would frown in my direction.  "I wonder why they don't look excited to see me?" I'd tell the kids.  Then I'd approach Jake and Adam and say, "Hey, good to see you guys!"  And through a little bit of dialogue, they would end up grabbing my multi-colored scarf (a prop thrown up to me by one of the girls on the team), and saying, "You see that hole Joseph?  I think this scarf looks good on me, and I think you'd look good in there!"  Then Jake grabbed my arms and Adam grabbed my legs and they swung me out over the audience to the kids' squeals of delight.  The entire skit was like that with every character whether they were playing Potiphar, Potiphar's wife (a situation I tried unsuccessfully to handle delicately), the jailer, Pharaoh, the butler, the baker, etc.  Throughout the whole thing I kept saying things like, "And I don't know why God put me in this situation, but I'm going to trust Him no matter what!" which became the theme of the story.

As we finished, I told the kids, "And now, I'm going to tell you about how this applied to my life.  My father died when I was seven years old.  But God became a father to me, just like the Bible says.  'God is a father to the fatherless.' "  And as I was saying that, that's when it hit me.  God had orchestrated this entire evening.  Here we were in an orphanage, surrounded by kids who had no mother or father, or whose parents had abandoned them or couldn't take care of them, subjected to hurt and extreme poverty.  When we had arrived, we hadn't planned on doing the story of Joseph and I hadn't planned on telling my testimony.  But the Sovereign Hand of God had orchestrated that we would tell THAT story, and that I would be the one narrating it.  As I applied the lesson to their lives, it was so quiet you could have heard a pin drop.  I saw tears in people's eyes.  I told them, "Everyone bow your heads and close your eyes and I'm going to pray for you."

This whole incident served to show me that even the best laid plans may fall through.  We had a certain idea for how the day would go with the youth crusade, but nothing came about exactly like we thought.  However, if we have the mindset of ministry like Dr. Castelino did, and apply the principles of 2 Timothy 4:2, being instant in season and out of season and using longsuffering and right doctrine, God can shape the events and use our faulty plans to bring glory to Himself and produce an effect far greater than any we could have imagined.

How does that apply when not in India?  The exact same way.  I find that oftentimes, when we go on a missions trip where it's our "job" to serve and reach out to people, because that's what we're there for and what we're "supposed" to do, we have a ministry mindset and look for opportunities to influence and impact.  But for some reason back in the states we lose that attitude. Isn't it true that it's our job to serve and reach out to people wherever we are, because that's what God has put us on this earth for and what we're supposed to do?  I challenge and encourage anyone who took the time to read these words to have that mentality!  In your day-to-day life start looking for opportunities to serve people and to point them to Jesus, and we can't even imagine what He will use that for!  And I look forward to hearing and reading your stories. ;)

Insights from India

“There are many ministers working for Christ.  But I can count on my hands the number of people doing it without a second motive.”  The statement hit me hard, as the bus hit a pothole hard swerving to miss a cow. The translator was holding onto a railing as he shared his testimony, rocking back and forth on the bus that seemed absent of any shocks, except the shock on our faces as we took in the driving style of our bus driver.  “Without a second motive.”  Honk, honk.  And that quote is what stuck with me as one of the most memorable lessons I witnessed by example while I was in India.

The Lord did a lot of amazing things on our trip.  I was amazed at the prayers that were answered and hearts that were changed.  Many times a surreal feeling would creep over me as I looked around and what we were doing.  Andrew would be standing there, preaching about the Prodigal Son to a crowd of barefooted children, as dogs, goats and chickens meandered around the thatched roof huts lining either side of a narrow street used by cows and motorbikes.  Exactly what I’ve pictured reading so many missionary stories but never imagined that’s what I’d be doing.  Countless kids coming up for prayer, sharing the gospel in small, smoky, one-roomed huts, preaching on the streets, sharing testimonies at orphanages, leading people to Jesus…the Lord worked powerfully.  But through all that, the constant nagging question was, “How do I take this sense of ministry home and apply it in the states?”  I saw God working so effectively through the pastors and in the villages we were ministering in.  The pastors and ministries found a way that worked in those rural Indian villages.  But the cultures and attitudes are very different in the States.  And yet, our attitude about service and prayer and faith should be consistent, I believe no matter where we are!

And that's what affected me most in India: the pastors and their mentalities of ministry.  At one of the pastors' conferences we attended and presented at, some of their mentalities sunk in, and I jotted down notes, praying that I could have the same kind of attitude back in the States.  Here's a few of the things I learned.

One of the quotes that stuck out to me was "Jesus told us He would built His church and the gates of Hell would not prevail against it, and told us to go and make disciples of all the nations...and yet, we're building churches."  The emphasis at Serve India Ministries was on discipleship.  "Too many times," one of the pastors told me, "pastors emphasize the number of believers they got.  They talk about how many conversions, how many baptisms.  But what I want to know is how many disciples do you have?  That's what Jesus told us to make.  Disciples."  I see that trend in America.  We love having an impact!  We love seeing fruit!  But if we get them in, get them to make a profession of faith, baptize them...then they leave and continue leading lives like they always did, what have we accomplished?  It's not about the numbers...it's about the heart changes in people.

Paul warned us against this mentality in Galatians 6:12-15:

Galatians 6:12-15 "As many as desire to make a fair shew in the flesh, they constrain you to be circumcised; only lest they should suffer persecution for the cross of Christ.  (13)  For neither they themselves who are circumcised keep the law; but desire to have you circumcised, that they may glory in your flesh.  (14)  But God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world.  (15)  For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision, but a new creature." KJV

The Galatian church was dealing with Judaizers who were constraining the Gentiles to be circumcised, saying they needed to be circumcised to be saved.  But Paul reveals their true motives: they wanted to glory in their flesh!  If they could produce some visible change, they could say, "We got this many circumcised!" and glory in their numbers.  People do that today with many external things, like standards of dress and other things.  But Paul says we only glory in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ!  In Him, the only thing that makes a difference is not whether you've been circumcised or not (an external change) but whether or not you've been born again and are a new creature (an internal change)!

Too often we build a church or a ministry and invite people to come.  But in India, these pastors go into village and find people to disciple, and the churches grow up organically from that!  It's possible also to begin discipling people before they're saved!  If they know more about Jesus and who He is and that His teachings work, they will be more likely to commit their entire lives to Him and get to know Him personally!  We cannot have a second motive when ministering the gospel.  It must be chiefly the glory of God and our love for Him and what He loves--which is people!  People have many second motives, whether it be money, the opportunity for education, a chance to showcase skills, one's own glory in acquiring a position, or feeling accomplished because of what a difference you've made.  But God's glory MUST be our primary motive!  In a future post, I will tell a story from my time in India to illustrate how I believe our attitudes should be as we go through our lives looking for disciples.  God bless you all! 

Sanctify the LORD (or Moses' Mistake)

Kind of an odd phrase isn't it? I mean when you really stop and think about it. 

No not the second one in parenthesis-- the first one: sanctify the LORD. 

I know what you're thinking... you want to get to the part when you find out why this punk kid is presuming to say that the great prophet of God and liberator of the children of Israel had some mistake that I'm going to call him out on. Well hold your horses; I'll get there. But think about that phrase first. It always kind of confused me. 

When we think of the word 'sanctify' what do we think of? (Ok so you might not think of that word that often but on the rare occasion when you're reading the King James Version of the Bible...) the word sanctify means to make clean or holy, to purify, venerate.  Its usually used in Scripture to describe something that God does to us. However I came across this phrase in the classic apologetics verse: 1 Peter 3:15.

1 Peter 3:15  But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear: 

What's he talking about? Sanctify the Lord God in your hearts? Usually we focus on the last part of the verse but what in heaven does that first part mean?? Can we add anything to God? How can WE make the Lord God clean and holy in our hearts? That's supposed to be something He does to US right? That's not the only time it's used either!

Isaiah 8:13  Sanctify the LORD of hosts himself; and let him be your fear, and let him be your dread. 

Before I tell you my conclusion about that let me tell you something else that's always bugged me in the Bible. (I mean, since we're already talking about it.) In fact, this is something I know has been confusing to a lot of people that I've talked to about it! 

Here it is: why didn't God let Moses go into the Promised Land?!?! I mean what is up with THAT?? Moses of all people! This is the guy who didn't even want to go at first because the people wouldn't believe him. This is the guy who's put up with a stiff necked stubborn people who are continually complaining and questioning his leadership and doing stupid stuff! This is the guy who stood as an intercessor between God and the people when the LORD'S wrath was kindled and He wanted to kill them! Then seemingly in one moment he loses his temper (rather justly I feel! Just like God seems to have done with this people on occasion) and suddenly--just like that--he's not allowed to go in. WHAAAAAAAT????? That seems just a wee bit harsh if you ask me. (I know you didn't, but just play along.) The punishment wasn't even that severe when he broke all ten commandments at once! (Haha see what I did there?) But seriously after all the guy's had to put up with? Check out a couple of these statements out of Moses' own mouth:

Numbers 11:11-15 KJV  And Moses said unto the LORD, Wherefore hast thou afflicted thy servant? and wherefore have I not found favour in thy sight, that thou layest the burden of all this people upon me?  (12)  Have I conceived all this people? have I begotten them, that thou shouldest say unto me, Carry them in thy bosom, as a nursing father beareth the sucking child, unto the land which thou swarest unto their fathers?  (13)  Whence should I have flesh to give unto all this people? for they weep unto me, saying, Give us flesh, that we may eat.  (14)  I am not able to bear all this people alone, because it is too heavy for me.  (15)  And if thou deal thus with me, kill me, I pray thee, out of hand, if I have found favour in thy sight; and let me not see my wretchedness.

This is Moses who interceded for the people!  But look at this story, and try to explain to me the harsh punishment inflicted on him.


Num 20:1-13 KJV
(1)  Then came the children of Israel, even the whole congregation, into the desert of Zin in the first month: and the people abode in Kadesh; and Miriam died there, and was buried there.
(2)  And there was no water for the congregation: and they gathered themselves together against Moses and against Aaron.
(3)  And the people chode with Moses, and spake, saying, Would God that we had died when our brethren died before the LORD!
(4)  And why have ye brought up the congregation of the LORD into this wilderness, that we and our cattle should die there?
(5)  And wherefore have ye made us to come up out of Egypt, to bring us in unto this evil place? it is no place of seed, or of figs, or of vines, or of pomegranates; neither is there any water to drink.
(6)  And Moses and Aaron went from the presence of the assembly unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, and they fell upon their faces: and the glory of the LORD appeared unto them.
(7)  And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
(8)  Take the rod, and gather thou the assembly together, thou, and Aaron thy brother, and speak ye unto the rock before their eyes; and it shall give forth his water, and thou shalt bring forth to them water out of the rock: so thou shalt give the congregation and their beasts drink.
(9)  And Moses took the rod from before the LORD, as he commanded him.
(10)  And Moses and Aaron gathered the congregation together before the rock, and he said unto them, Hear now, ye rebels; must we fetch you water out of this rock?
(11)  And Moses lifted up his hand, and with his rod he smote the rock twice: and the water came out abundantly, and the congregation drank, and their beasts also.
(12)  And the LORD spake unto Moses and Aaron, Because ye believed me not, to sanctify me in the eyes of the children of Israel, therefore ye shall not bring this congregation into the land which I have given them.
(13)  This is the water of Meribah; because the children of Israel strove with the LORD, and he was sanctified in them.

I've heard people say that it was because he got angry. I've also heard people say it's because he disobeyed. You know? God said to speak to it and he hits it twice. But I find that hard to swallow and can't help think there's something deeper going on here. Then I thought: Hey let's see what God says about what HIS reason was for keeping Moses out of the promise land. He says it twice; once here, and once later in Scripture. Let's take a look.

Numbers 27:14  For ye rebelled against my commandment in the desert of Zin, in the strife of the congregation, to sanctify me at the water before their eyes: that is the water of Meribah in Kadesh in the wilderness of Zin. 

One phrase stands out to me in both: "to sanctify me...in their eyes".  Again, a slightly confusing phrase.  Several times prior to this, the LORD has said He wants to prove that He is the LORD that sanctifies them, that makes them holy.  That makes sense.  But for us to attribute holiness to God?  So back to the original question.  What does that phrase mean?

In the context of 1 Peter 3, he's talking about when we suffer for righteousness's sake, and he says not to be troubled but to sanctify the Lord God in our hearts.  When I was studying this chapter once, it dawned on me.  Whenever we're going through trouble wrongfully (or even sometimes if we deserve it) who gets the most blame...especially if we seem to be doing everything right?  God does!  We say, "God, I'm faithfully serving You!  Why are You letting all these bad things happen to me?  It's not fair!  It's not right!"  We know in our heads that God is just and holy...but when it seems like it's the opposite case, we become troubled.  But Peter warns us against that, and tells us to sanctify the Lord God in our hearts!  We have to change our perspective of God, and acknowledge that He IS holy.  The Hebrew word for 'sanctify' means to ceremonially pronounce as holy.  So when we pronounce God as holy in the midst of our suffering, that stands out to people because it seems completely counter-intuitive!  God is allowing us to suffer for doing what's right, but we still say He's holy, and we still hope in Him!  That will prompt some questions, and we need to always have a meek answer ready for those who are wondering about this hope that it is in us.

The context of Isaiah 8, is again one of fear and turmoil.  The mighty, cruel, vicious Assyrian army is marching against Israel, and King Ahaz wants to go to other nations for help.  But Isaiah is telling him to trust the Lord!  Let Him be your fear and your dread, and sanctify Him!  Don't trust a confederacy...trust the LORD!  I know it's scary right now, Ahaz.  I know it doesn't seem like the promises of God for Israel are going to hold true.  I know it feels like you should be coming up with your own plans.  But instead of that, pronounce God as holy!  Acknowledge that He knows what He's doing even in these troublesome times!  Sanctify Him, and He will be a sanctuary to you.  Ahaz needed to set an example of sanctifying the Lord and trusting Him for his entire nation.

So from what I can see, sanctifying the Lord means to pronounce Him as holy, even in the midst of strife, and trouble, and suffering.

Now we get back to Moses.  Now, I still feel like there's a lot of nuances to the story that I'm just not getting (so if you have any insights, please feel free to comment and tell me about them!) but I think this may be one aspect.  Apparently, he did not sanctify the Lord in the eyes of the children of Israel based on what He did.  What did He do?  God told him to take his staff and speak to the rock so that they could all have drink when they were complaining to Him that He was not taking care of them.  Moses gets angry, takes the staff, strikes the rock twice, and yells, "Ye rebels, must we fetch water out of this rock?"  I believe Moses did not accurately represent the holiness of the Lord in this situation.  God wanted to give water to His people.  He wasn't planning on leaving them out there to die with no water.  The people were striving with Him.  That's what Meribah means...strife.  But God wanted to show them that He IS holy.  He didn't bring them out there to die.  Moses, however, portrayed God as angry and frustrated with the people.  Moses represented God to the people, we know this was a pattern from Exodus 4 through Exodus 7:1 through Exodus 19 and 20 and 34.  God wanted him to represent him accurately in spirit.

We know from verses like Leviticus 10:3 that God wants to be shown as holy in the leaders over His people, and, therefore, He holds His leaders to a higher standard.

We also know from verses like Ezekiel 20:41, that He wants to be shown as holy among the heathen and all the nations, in His people by the things He does among them.  I'll show one more verse to illustrate what I believe is an absolutely vital point:

Ezekiel 36:23  And I will sanctify my great name, which was profaned among the heathen, which ye have profaned in the midst of them; and the heathen shall know that I am the LORD, saith the Lord GOD, when I shall be sanctified in you before their eyes. 

God's people represent Him.  When we, as His people represent Him inaccurately, we profane His name.  We make His character look unholy, and defiled and impure.  God's desire is to be represented accurately in the way HE acts.  He wants us to sanctify Him in the eyes of others, so that they can know His TRUE character.  We identify with Moses, because his reaction is very human and makes sense to us.  He had a right to be frustrated, we think.  These people were constantly challenging the faithfulness and holiness and love of God even though they'd seen it time and time again.  The way Moses went about giving them water from the Lord was not pleasing to Him.  Moses didn't sanctify Him in the eyes of the people.  He didn't make Him look holy.  Thus, Moses didn't get to go into the Promised Land.  It's very serious.  We may justify the way we handle a situation sometime because we're right.  We're doing what's right and they're treating us badly, so we treat them badly in return. (Even though that's not what Jesus did when He was being led as a lamb to the slaughter.)  We see trouble arising and we want to appeal to logic and reason and put things in place to protect ourselves.  (Even though God said He would protect us.)  We're fed up with people and treat them harshly when we give them what they're asking for. (Even though they're upset with God...not us.)  We're representing HIM...let's sanctify Him in our dealings with others.

A Thanksgiving Thought

For Black Friday my family and I went hiking up in the mountains.  If I'm going to be trampled , I'd much rather be trampled by elk in the mountains than people in a clothing store!

As we were hiking, there were several times when I'd realize I was only looking down at my feet and the path in front of me, which was kind of a lame view.  Whenever I'd realize that, I'd look up around me at the view, which was spectacular.  We were surrounded by snow-capped mountains, aspens, evergreen trees, snow, different kinds of plants that had survived the winter...we walked through a herd of deer, came upon a herd of elk, and the scene was made that much more picturesque by the rays of the sun bathing the landscape in a golden light, as the sun sank behind the mountains.  I'm a sucker for beauty like that.  Even though I've grown up in Colorado, I haven't lost all wonder at the beauty of the scenery around me.

Yet, sometimes, I DO grow used to it.  I drive parallel and towards the mountains every day, and it can easily escape my attention.  I see them, but often don't NOTICE them.  Even when hiking, I've noticed people have a tendency to look only at the path in front of them, rather than the view.  Some of that is necessary, or you'll slip and fall off a cliff.  But I think it's good to stop every once in a while and look at the view.

All this made me think of life.  Especially in our American culture, we're just focused on getting things done and on the next step we're taking.  We're looking down at our feet, at the path, the next place we're going.  So much so that we sometimes fail to recognize the glory of the place in which we're located.  With Thanksgiving-y thoughts going through my minds, I resolved to stop for a minute and notice what was around me.  I believe it's essential to do as we go through life.

Each season of life is different.  While we're always moving towards a new season, it is so important to stop and appreciate the season we're in.  That's where true contentment and thankfulness comes in.  We appreciate where we're at.  I often look back at certain times and remember how awesome it was, even though there were problems and complications, that season had certain aspects that will never be experienced again!  I want to live in the moment, appreciated each time of life, whether college, working, singleness, childhood, teenage years, whatever...I want to appreciate for what it is at at that time.

Stop a moment and think about the people that are in your life right NOW, the location you're in right NOW, the activities you're involved with right NOW, and look around at the scenery of your life.  Then, thank God for it.

Me being introspective.

Lovest Thou Me More Than These?

I tend to derive my worth from how much of an impact I perceive I'm making in people's lives.  We all want to feel like we're accomplishing something--that we're making a difference.  I also tend to let my perception of impact dictate my emotions.  Recently, I was discouraged because there was a high time when it seemed like I was impacting a lot of people, but suddenly that high dropped.  I felt like I wasn't seeing fruit in the lives of many of those I thought I'd been impacting.  But in church on Sunday, God changed my perspective a little.

First of all, I realize that we can't always measure impact.  Seeds are planted and people are affected by the work of God in their lives through people years and years after the fact, and many times we may not even see the effect we have.  But there's still a problem with wanting only to have an impact in the world.

We were singing a song:
More than anything,
More than anything,
I love You, Jesus, more than anything.
More than worldly wealth,
More than life itself,
I love You, Jesus, more than anything.

As we sang, suddenly the words of Jesus came into my head: "Lovest thou me more than these?"

The words come from the epilogue of the gospel of John.  Here's the context.

John 21:10-22 KJV
(10)  Jesus saith unto them, Bring of the fish which ye have now caught.
(11)  Simon Peter went up, and drew the net to land full of great fishes, an hundred and fifty and three: and for all there were so many, yet was not the net broken.
(12)  Jesus saith unto them, Come and dine. And none of the disciples durst ask him, Who art thou? knowing that it was the Lord.
(13)  Jesus then cometh, and taketh bread, and giveth them, and fish likewise.
(14)  This is now the third time that Jesus shewed himself to his disciples, after that he was risen from the dead.
(15)  So when they had dined, Jesus saith to Simon Peter, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me more than these? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my lambs.
(16)  He saith to him again the second time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my sheep.
(17)  He saith unto him the third time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me? Peter was grieved because he said unto him the third time, Lovest thou me? And he said unto him, Lord, thou knowest all things; thou knowest that I love thee. Jesus saith unto him, Feed my sheep.
(18)  Verily, verily, I say unto thee, When thou wast young, thou girdedst thyself, and walkedst whither thou wouldest: but when thou shalt be old, thou shalt stretch forth thy hands, and another shall gird thee, and carry thee whither thou wouldest not.
(19)  This spake he, signifying by what death he should glorify God. And when he had spoken this, he saith unto him, Follow me.
(20)  Then Peter, turning about, seeth the disciple whom Jesus loved following; which also leaned on his breast at supper, and said, Lord, which is he that betrayeth thee?
(21)  Peter seeing him saith to Jesus, Lord, and what shall this man do?
(22)  Jesus saith unto him, If I will that he tarry till I come, what is that to thee? follow thou me.

The disciples had returned to fishing after Jesus' crucifixion and resurrection.  But Jesus hadn't called them simply to fish--He had called them to follow Him, and become fishers of men.  I've heard preaching on this passage before...some believe when Jesus asked if Peter loved him more than "these" he was referring to the fish, and some to the other disciples.  Either way, I was convicted.  

Our love for Jesus has to be more than anything.  I realized our reaching out and loving people needs to stem first from our love for Him.  It can't be the reverse.  I can get so focused on what kind of impact I'm making, but really it doesn't matter.  Jesus should be the most important thing in my life.  I realized I want to feel like I'm having impact because it means that I'M doing something, I'M doing something cool for God, I'M making a difference.  But it isn't about doing something cool for God...it's about God.  It's about having a relationship with Jesus.

If we love Him, it doesn't matter what He asks us to do.  It doesn't matter if it seems like what we're doing isn't making any difference (if success is measured in terms of impact, Jeremiah sure had a floundering ministry, and Ezekiel was told straight out that people wouldn't listen to him).  It doesn't matter what anybody else is doing.  All that matters is if HE asked us to do it, and if He did, we do it out of our love for Him for the rest of our lives.  It's not about what WE are doing.  It's about what HE is doing.  Don't go back to fishing...don't compare yourself to John.  Simply follow Jesus, and feed His lambs and His sheep.

I shared what I had been convicted of with the church family I was with and someone brought up an old hymn, But I Love Jesus Best of All.  It's important to keep priority on Jesus. My mom read me a portion of a story about this televangelist who was very successful in a worldly sense who raised $17 million a year just to keep all of the many ministries he started going.  But he didn't know Jesus, and admitted that later in life when everything else failed.  "What does it profit if you gain the whole world and lose your soul?"

It's just a reminder...Jesus at the center of it all.  At the center of everything we do for Him. :)

Under Drake's Flag-an exciting new drama!

I am blown away.  I just finished listening to "The Extraordinary Adventures of G.A. Henty: Under Drake's Flag."

A friend of mine, Aaron Fullan, whom I met attending the first Lamplighter Guild for Creative Disciplines in 2011, is working for a company called Heirloom Audio Productions, which just produced it's premiere of an exciting new series of dramatizations based off G. A. Henty's amazing historical fiction novels.

It's natural to be skeptical when encountering anything new.  Who knows what the quality of the sound, acting, content, and message will be?  But I had no need to fear!  Using actors, writers, and sound designers who have worked with programs like Adventures in Odyssey, Radio Theater, Lamplighter Theater, and much more, the Heirloom Audio team has produced a captivating, edge-of-your-seat drama that will keep listeners engaged, entertained, and impacted.  The production of the entire story is phenomenal.

G. A. Henty wrote action-packed adventure stories that weave in historical occurrences from all different locations and time periods.  Under Drake's Flag centers on the 1500s during the time of Sir Francis Drake.  These dramas will be invaluable tools for parents and teachers desiring to communicate the treasures of history to students who think it's boring in an engaging and memorable way.

Not only does it communicate history in an exciting fashion, but key character qualities are emphasized and taught through the stories and characters.  Overcoming fear through faith and courage is a key element of this drama.  The main thing that stood out to me, though, is the theme of becoming a man.  In a culture where manhood is undervalued and underdeveloped, stories like these are essential for communicating the truths that boys need to know as they become men!  The main character, Ned, grows up without a father, but he learns what it means to be a man through the influence of men like Sir Francis Drake, but most of all through the trials and tests placed before him by his Heavenly Father.

I definitely recommend looking into this exciting new audio drama series!  Don't just take my word for it...listen to this 60-second promo, then go to http://www.hentyalive.com/ and download a copy for yourself!  You won't be disappointed...the story carries you along into inspiration to not live your life passively and cowardly, but passionately and courageously!

In fact, this drama will inspire you to pray along with the words of a prayer penned by Sir Francis Drake himself:

Disturb us, Lord, when
We are too pleased with ourselves,
When our dreams have come true
Because we dreamed too little, When we arrived safely
Because we sailed too close to the shore.

Disturb us, Lord, when
with the abundance of things we possess
We have lost our thirst
For the waters of life;
Having fallen in love with life,
We have ceased to dream of eternity
And in our efforts to build a new earth,
We have allowed our vision
Of the new Heaven to dim.

Disturb us, Lord, to dare more boldly,
To venture on wilder seas
Where storms will show Your mastery;
Where losing sight of land,
We shall find the stars.

We ask you to push back
The horizons of our hopes;
And to push back the future
In strength, courage, hope, and love.
This we ask in the name of our Captain,
Who is Jesus Christ. - See more at: http://www.hentyalive.com/#sthash.9aIiVe0g.dpuf

SEEST Thou This Woman?

One thing we all have to deal with no matter who or where we are is relationship. Relationships. With other people.  Which isn't one thing, I guess, it's a lot of things, but it all falls under one sub-heading. :)

We are relational beings.  That's why even when people are stranded on islands in literature they inevitably end up talking to coconuts or making friends with cannibals.  But sometimes relationships can be RIDICULOUSLY difficult...especially if you're friends with a cannibal.  Relationships are so complex and intertwined that it can be very hard to know how to handle them.  There isn't a one-size-fits-all answer, because every single relationship we have is different.  However, there are certain principles that will NEVER change whether it's a:

• romantic relationship
• a relationship with your parents
• or children
• or siblings 
• or other obnoxious family members 
• with coworkers who drive you up the wall
• a boss who's hard to please
• people in church
• even the people we pass on the street. 

The biggest thing I've learned is that to know how to treat people we have to get an accurate picture of how God sees them.


I'm going to throw this out there: right now the gospel of Luke is probably my favorite book in the Bible!  That'll probably change when we begin studying another book in our Bible study once we're done with this one, but there is such a richness and depth in studying and comparing the gospels and Luke is what I've been focusing on.  When you dig deep into the gospels, understanding where the writers are coming from, and who their original audience is, we can learn so much about what they were trying to communicate about our Savior, the Son of God!  As we've studied Luke, I've begun to develop a picture of how He views people and how He wants us to do the same thing.
First off, let me give you somethings to guide you when YOU study Luke so that you understand where I'm coming from:

Some Major Themes:
- The Kingdom of God is not what you'd expect.
- Jesus reaches and accepts those who are generally looked down upon or rejected.
I see these two things over and over again as I study Luke, and the two constantly overlap and connect with each other.

These themes also make sense knowing a little about Luke.
Luke was not one of the original disciples.
He was a physician.
He was a companion of Paul, the apostle to the Gentiles.
Most likely, he was a Gentile, because of his name and the fact that Paul doesn't include him in the list of the circumcision in Colossians.  If so, he was the only Gentile writer of the Bible.

It makes sense that Luke would be giving a picture of Jesus' kingdom which focuses on accepting those who aren't generally accepted, just as he himself was accepted by Jesus when he wasn't part of the Jewish nation.

As we read through Luke we see a focus on women, children, Samaritans, tax collectors, diseased, Gentiles (like the centurion and Legion), widows, etc.  Even in just a comparison of the birth stories between Matthew and Luke, we can see the writers' different focuses.

Matthew

• Tells the story from Joseph's perspective
• Starts out with a Hebrew genealogy tracing from Abraham (the father of the Jews) to Jesus
• Visitors to Jesus are the magi or wise men bearing precious gifts
• Herod the king is jealous of this newborn king and orders the slaughter of the innocents

Luke:

• Tells the story from Mary's perspective
• Ends with a genealogy that tracks backwards from Jesus all the way back to Adam (the father of all mankind)
• Visitors first told of Jesus' birth are lowly, uneducated shepherds
• Mary and Joseph are portrayed as poor, but recognized and told by influential people like Elisabeth, Zechariah, Anna, Simeon, and the angel Gabriel, that Jesus is the one who is coming to bring about the kingdom of God in which all will be saved.

Do you see a pattern?  Matthew focuses on Jesus as the Jewish messiah who fulfills the prophecies and has come as the King of the Jews, and what that kingdom represents to His followers!  Luke focuses on Jesus as the accessible savior of all mankind!

Okay, so you may be saying, That's interesting, but what does that have to do with me?  I'll focus in on a story about Jesus and how he treats people that's unique to Luke and then tell you what he says about how we're supposed to treat people.

In Luke 7, we find this very interesting story:
Luke 7:36-50 KJV
(36)  And one of the Pharisees desired him that he would eat with him. And he went into the Pharisee's house, and sat down to meat.
(37)  And, behold, a woman in the city, which was a sinner, when she knew that Jesus sat at meat in the Pharisee's house, brought an alabaster box of ointment,
(38)  And stood at his feet behind him weeping, and began to wash his feet with tears, and did wipe them with the hairs of her head, and kissed his feet, and anointed them with the ointment.
One thing Luke is also very fond of is contrasting those who should get it but don't, with those who shouldn't get it, but do.  We have a classic example here.  Here's a Pharisee who knows the law inside and out and should understand the character of God, inviting Jesus in, and here's a woman who Luke only classifies as a sinner, (which makes me think her sin was very in-your-face and obvious) and shouldn't know anything about God, who also comes and begins weeping with conviction and washing Jesus' feet with tears, and wiping them with the hairs of her head, because she doesn't know any better, kissing his feet, and anointing them with ointment.  The stage has been set.  These two characters are already a stark contrast.  The clean, lofty Pharisee with the dirty, lowly sinner woman.
(39)  Now when the Pharisee which had bidden him saw it, he spake within himself, saying, This man, if he were a prophet, would have known who and what manner of woman this is that toucheth him: for she is a sinner.
This is a very significant part of the story.  When the Pharisee looks at the woman, he sees one of his theological classifications.  (We all have them.)  And as he looks, he thinks that if Jesus were a prophet he would know who she is...he would know that she is a sinner!  In reality, Jesus knew who she was better than even Simon, as we'll see, but let's look at his response to Simon.
(40)  And Jesus answering said unto him, Simon, I have somewhat to say unto thee. And he saith, Master, say on.
I love the way Jesus answers him first of all.  The Pharisee only speaks WITHIN himself and Jesus answers what he was thinking, kind of proving that He has more than prophetic abilities to know about people.  But I also love the way Jesus answers him.  Sometimes we can get excited when Jesus bashes the Pharisees and say, "Yeah, that's what I want to do!"  But even though Simon's thinking is wrong in this verse Jesus answers him gently, and tries to reach his heart with a story.  Also, Luke has just been referring to him as 'a certain Pharisee', but Jesus addresses the certain Pharisee by name.  This shows me that he cares about this Pharisee's soul.
(41)  There was a certain creditor which had two debtors: the one owed five hundred pence, and the other fifty.
(42)  And when they had nothing to pay, he frankly forgave them both. Tell me therefore, which of them will love him most?
(43)  Simon answered and said, I suppose that he, to whom he forgave most. And he said unto him, Thou hast rightly judged.
Jesus uses a story to reach his heart...now check this out.
(44)  And he turned to the woman, and said unto Simon, Seest thou this woman? I entered into thine house, thou gavest me no water for my feet: but she hath washed my feet with tears, and wiped them with the hairs of her head.
(45)  Thou gavest me no kiss: but this woman since the time I came in hath not ceased to kiss my feet.
(46)  My head with oil thou didst not anoint: but this woman hath anointed my feet with ointment.
(47)  Wherefore I say unto thee, Her sins, which are many, are forgiven; for she loved much: but to whom little is forgiven, the same loveth little.
I love this!  First of all, look at verse 44...Jesus turns TO the woman.  He's looking at the woman at this point, but he's still talking to Simon.  And he asks this question...I always glossed over this before, but it jumped out at me when I read a book by Michael Card on this subject.  Jesus asks, "SEEST thou this woman?"  You were looking at this woman, Simon, you placed her in a theological category in your mind, but do you really SEE her?  Do you see her for who she is?  And in turn, do you see Me for who I am?  She gets it.  You didn't even treat me with common courtesy and dignity.  But this repentant woman who needs forgiveness of sin loves me MUCH.  It wasn't that Simon didn't have many sins to be forgiven...it was that he perceived his debt as small, while she realized how great her sin was, so she loved much.  It was a difference in perspective.  And Jesus turns to this woman and sees her for who she is, a woman with a name, and responds like this:
(48)  And he said unto her, Thy sins are forgiven.
(49)  And they that sat at meat with him began to say within themselves, Who is this that forgiveth sins also?
(50)  And he said to the woman, Thy faith hath saved thee; go in peace.
Jesus looked at the woman and saw her for who she was and wanted Simon to get that perspective too.  The end result of the way that Jesus sees her is that her faith saves her and she is forgiven of her sins!  The question this immediately prompts is do we see her the way Jesus did?  How do we see people?  Do we see them the way Jesus did or do we automatically put people into preconceived categorized boxes we have constructed for them?
Our problem is that we always seem to think certain people are exceptions.  If they treat us in a certain way and they know better, then we don't need to show them all the love and mercy that God shows us.  But look at the way Jesus describes the way people in the kingdom of God are supposed to act:
Luke 6:32-36 For if ye love them which love you, what thank have ye? for sinners also love those that love them.  (33)  And if ye do good to them which do good to you, what thank have ye? for sinners also do even the same.  (34)  And if ye lend to them of whom ye hope to receive, what thank have ye? for sinners also lend to sinners, to receive as much again.  (35)  But love ye your enemies, and do good, and lend, hoping for nothing again; and your reward shall be great, and ye shall be the children of the Highest: for he is kind unto the unthankful and to the evil.  (36)  Be ye therefore merciful, as your Father also is merciful. KJV
The whole passage is absolutely crucial to read to understand how He wants us to think of and treat people, from who He considers blessed and who He pronounces woe on versus our natural expectation of who is blessed, all the way to His warning against hypocritically pointing out other people's small faults in the face of your own.  So you should definitely go study up on that passage ;).  But these verses highlight that He expects us to treat people His way that we naturally don't want to.  Our enemies, sinners, those from whom we will probably receive nothing.  Why does He expect us to do this?  What justification is there for possibly living this incredibly difficult life?  Because then we will be the children of the Highest.  For HE is kind to the UNTHANKFUL and to the EVIL the very two reasons I most often hear people cite as justification for why it's okay for them to treat certain people poorly.  The standard of our mercy, should be our Father who is also merciful to US. How do we learn how we treat people?  Jesus, the image of the invisible God.  If we look at Him, we see the Father, so as we study the way He lives His life, we will learn how to treat people.  As you look at your relationships...in every context with any kind of people...ask God to give you His heart for them.  Ask to see them the way that He sees them.  He will show you.