On the twelfth day of Christmas

My true love gave to me, a goat?

How about an Ipod, a new outfit, or even a new tie, but a goat?  This is one of the things our family did this year.  We decided to give a goat through World Vision.  It’s an extremely modest gift really.  $75 doesn’t compare to what we spend on ourselves.

I wrote a post about the Advent Conspiracy back in June or July.  At the time I was seriously contemplating doing away with all expensive and material gifts at Christmas.  In the end, we made lots of reductions and the decision to focus on others during Christmas, but we weren’t ready to go cold turkey yet.

It was really fun going through the World Vision catalog as a family and picking out a gift to give away through their program.  I think this is a new family tradition in our home.

We also decided to start a new birthday tradition.  Each of us gets to choose a World Vision gift for their birthday.  We give a World Vision gift of their choosing, in their name, up to a certain amount.  The birthday person then adds to that if they want to do something even bigger.

My daughter has a December birthday so she chose another goat but the one she chose includes an extra $25 that goes where it can have the most impact.  For the extra donation she’ll get a stuffed goat that will remind her of the needs around the world every time she holds it.

My son has a birthday in January and he is busily working out his list to figure out his World Vision gift.  It’s great to see the kids just as excited about these gifts as any material gift for themselves.

Remember whose birthday it is this week.  Open your hearts and give to those that have little or none.  Be a wise man, and lay your gifts at the feet of Jesus.

Matthew 2:11 (ESV)
¹¹ And going into the house they saw the child with Mary his mother, and they fell down and worshiped him. Then, opening their treasures, they offered him gifts, gold and frankincense and myrrh.

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Faith and Doubts

If you are a believer in Jesus, do you ever doubt your faith?  If you doubt, does that mean you don't really have a saving faith or that your faith is weak?

I've had this discussion a couple of times with my ten year-old son.  He has been raised in a Christian home.  He accepted Jesus as his Lord and Savior when he was five.  This is young, but he has always been a very thoughtful boy and he was serious about this decision.  It was my blessing to be able to baptize him and a couple of years later his younger sister.

Now that my son is older, he's thinking more about his faith and what he believes.  Some things in the bible sound a little far out.  Once you learn that Santa Claus is just a nice story, you start to question other stories you've been taught, even ones you're taught in church.  So one night my son comes to me, with tears in his eyes, wondering if he can really be a Christian if he has these doubts.

I told my son, if he has doubts, he needs to seek out answers.  Like I said, my son is a very thoughtful young man.  I had to answer questions like,

Why did God create Satan if he knew he would rebel and be evil?

If I am saved and have the Holy Spirit in me, why do I still lose my patience with my little brothers and sisters and do mean things to them?

These are just a couple samplings.  I thank God for His Spirit to help me as a field these tough questions.  Amazingly enough, these types of questions will often come after I have studied a similar topic or listened to a teacher\preacher like John Piper talk about them.  I don't always give a great answer.  Piper makes answers to these types of questions seem so logical but they are much tougher when talking about them with your ten year-old son.

However, the best answer I gave my son was to take his doubts to God.  Read his bible, pray, but most importantly, remember what he knows to be true.  He has some great anchors of God working in his life to hold on to.  I wrote about one of these experiences this past spring.

My son is working out his faith.  He is so much further ahead of me than where I was at his age, in some ways, further than I am now.  It's scary for a father to watch his son work through his doubts?  What if he chooses not to believe?  All I can do is love him, teach him, lead by example, and be honest when I fail in my own faith.  God has to do the rest.  My son's faith is ultimately between him and God.

I was inspired to write this post because of a story I read about a man that has lost his faith.  You can read Dan's story here.  I don't believe anyone can snatch any believer from Jesus (John 10:28-29).  When I read Dan's story, it sure sounds like Dan had a saving faith, so how could he have lost it?  I don't know.  I don't know what was really in Dan's heart before and I don't know what is really there now.  Was he never really saved?  Or is he just now in a dark valley where he will eventually emerge more confident than ever in his faith?

That's not the point of Dan's story.  The point is how he claims his wife and his pastor have responded to his story.  The response he describes is tragic and it's not how Jesus would call us to respond.  I'm not assuming Dan's story is true and I'm not assuming it's false.  I don't personally know any of those involved.  However, it is a story we all need to pray about.

Pray for Dan and that while he believes he has turned his back on Jesus, that he learns that Jesus will never turn his back on him.

Pray for Dan's wife and their children.  Whether these accusations are true or false and whether Dan ever comes back to the Lord or not, this experience their family is suffering through is heart wrenching.

Pray for Dan's church and community, for those that know Christ can respond in love and those that do not know Jesus will see a response in love where it appears love has been lacking.

Pray for yourself and your family.  Pray that God will give you the faith and wisdom to not fear your doubts but to embrace your doubts as you work out your faith and seek Him who promises to answer (Luke 11:9-10).

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Who is your neighbor?

 

Back in July I wrote a post expressing my frustration with myself for not loving my neighbor as myself.  Here is a follow-up post as I continue to work through this problem as I seek to work out my faith.

In my previous post I wrote about wanting to pray for a dying co-worker but in a short time forgetting about him as I got caught up in my own life again.

This is not an isolated incident. I often have great intentions of praying for others and serving those in need. However, in spite of my best intentions, my life is usually wrapped up around me. It’s hard to love your neighbor when you don’t even think of your neighbor.

It’s not a lack of desire. I want to love others. The problem is how I perceive love. Like most people, when I try to love others, I try to “feel” love for them before I “act” with love for them.

Jesus explained this to his disciples when he gave them a new command.

John 13:34 (ESV)
³⁴ A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another

Jesus, the rabbi whom these men had given up all to follow for the past three years had just washed their filthy feet. This was a job for a servant, not a teacher, not their Lord. However, Jesus was teaching them and teaching us, how to love.

Love is serving others. Love is putting others needs before your own. Love is not merely an emotion although there may be no emotion stronger. However emotions are fickle, the action of love is real.

Calling my sick co-worker to check on him was nice. It was a step in the right direction but it was a very guarded step. When I asked if there was anything I could do for him, I was relieved when he said he did not need anything. Really, a dying man, whom I am fairly confident did not know Jesus, does not need anything?

I accepted his answer because I was afraid not to. Isn’t that one of the main reasons that even though we want to love, we don’t. Acts of love on our part often open our hearts to more than we dare let in.

We all know the story of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:25-37). I think we hear that story and we tell ourselves that if we come across someone dying in the street that we will stop and help. Well, people are suffering and dying all around us. Sometimes we have to cross the street (or the tracks) to find them.

You may not know anyone dying of AIDS, but they are there. You may not know anyone homeless and starving, but they are there. You may not know any scared unmarried teenage mothers or mothers to be, but they are there. They are there, waiting to be loved, fed, and comforted. Where are you?

You don’t have to wait to stumble across someone dying in the road. You don’t have to wait for a co-worker to get sick and die. The time to love your neighbor, your enemy, and the stranger is now. If you wait to “feel” the love, it will never happen. I know...

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Remember the Refugee

A little boy is squatting with his brother and sister outside of the small hut-style home.  They are playing a local village game, laughing and giggling.  Suddenly their mother comes running over to them, "Come quickly! We must go now!  The soldiers are coming."

The children are confused.  Where is their father?  When can they finish their game?  When will they go back home?

What if this was your child?  What if this was your family?  What if you had to run and leave home, and leave everything behind?

We've seen this even in our own country after natural disasters.  However, we've never seen this where we had to leave because either the government or rebels where killing those that stayed behind.

There are around 11.4 million refugee's in the world today.  Most of these men, women, and children have been forced to leave their homes and possessions.  They have nothing but maybe what they were able to carry.  Many of them are in warehouse type camps where they have no rights and survive only on what compassion their host country or charitable organizations provide.  In many cases, they have no hope, as they have been displaced for years.  They are foreigners, but not by of their own choice.

Unfortunately, many of us are desynthesized to the plight of these people.  We quickly click through the news flashes if they get much coverage.  It's part of the fallen world we live in.  What can I do anyway?

You can get involved (from www.refugee.com).

• Sign up to receive our Bulletin
• If you represent an organization, endorse the Statement Calling for Solutions to End the Warehousing of Refugees
• If you are a refugee, write to share your experience of warehousing with us and others
• Link this page to your personal or professional website
    (http://www.refugees.org/warehousing)
• Donate to the Anti-Warehousing Campaign
• Write to Members of Congress to make the U.S. Millennium Challenge Account refugee-friendly!

 Deuteronomy 10:18-19 (ESV)
¹⁸ He executes justice for the fatherless and the widow, and loves the sojourner, giving him food and clothing. ¹⁹ Love the sojourner, therefore, for you were sojourners in the land of Egypt.

 Care for the refugees because if you are in Christ, you are one too in this this world.

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The Question Song

1 Timothy 4:12 (ESV)
¹² Let no one despise you for your youth, but set the believers an example in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, in purity.

My ten year-old son wrote this song about his internal wrestling with what it means to truly follow Jesus.  I thank God that He has blessed me with a son that has a heart that is seeking Jesus so deeply at such a young age.  I pray God equips me to disciple my children as they seek Him.

Why do I hurt a lot of people?

I know it's all a sin

But I have to remember, once Jesus was my age

And he never gave in.

Why do I have answers to questions

But I only answer them to me?

And then I see a lot of non-Christians

I don't know where I should be.

I wanna care

And I want to love

But it's just so hard to do.

I don't want to give in

And I don't want to die

All that I want to do is fly.

I only have one question for God

That if there's so much trouble on earth

Why in the world would he leave it be

When he can do something.

But I'm afraid

That he just might

Fire that question

Right back at me.

I don't want to give in

I don't want to die

I wanna love and care

And I don't know why.

I have a little voice

That wants me to

It's asking if I will

And I want to say I do.

I'm getting all confused

If I could say I do

If I should or not

Or if it's even true.

I think I should stop

And just not do it

Or maybe I'll keep going

On and on through it.

I just don't know

If I should go.

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Out of Africa: Prayer for the Fatherless

Psalms 10:17-18 (ESV)
¹⁷ O Lord, you hear the desire of the afflicted; you will strengthen their heart; you will incline your ear ¹⁸ to do justice to the fatherless and the oppressed, so that man who is of the earth may strike terror no more.

There are no good stories behind how one becomes an orphan.  However, there is something extra repulsive when a child becomes an orphan by the hand of man's hate.

This is the story throughout Liberia and in particular in the Fairfield Baptist Mission orphanage in Liberia.  Every child in this orphanage is a war orphan.  This was a war of hate which is often the root of most wars.  However, as I listened to the people talk about the war, it was clear that in this war, there was no side on the side of justice.

Prince

My third night at the orphanage (still on my own) I hung out on the back porch with the teenage boys.  One of them had a cell phone.  Cell phones are abundant in Liberia.  One may not have bread on the table but still have a cell phone.  Nobody was making any calls.  My guess is that there are rarely any minutes available on this phone.  We were all sitting around listening to the musical ring tones like you might expect to see a bunch of teenagers doing in the US sitting around a boom box.

They were laughing, singing, dancing and making fun of each other like teenage boys do.  I decided that I would share some American music with them so I pulled out my iPod and let them listen to Toby Mac.  I did not have speakers so the boys took turns listening on the headphones.  Toby Mac was a big hit.  However, the bigger hit was the pictures on my iPod.

As we huddled around sharing the headphones, we browsed through my family pictures.  These boys were all excited to see pictures of my kids and my wife.  There was not a sense of sadness of seeing pictures of a family they did not have.  I sensed more a presence of hope.  A hope that there was a world beyond the orphanage where there were moms and dads and families.

A young man named Prince told me that he did not have a mom and dad.  He told me that the president killed them both.  I knew he meant in the war of hate, the government soldiers killed his parents.  I have no idea why, but why does not matter when a 10-year old boy has his parents killed by his government.

Prince is 15 now and has been without a mom or dad for 5 years.  He told me that night, that now I was his dad since he did not have one.  I was his dad, why?  Because I had shared some music and pictures?  No, because I was there which meant to him, I must care.

Prince did not ask to come home with me.  He only asked me for some flip flops.  His had busted.  There is a real sense of needs versus wants when you visit a country buried in poverty.  "I have an American visiting and he wants to know what he can do for me.  I'll ask for my hearts desire, a new pair of flip flops."  Is that the request I would get from a typical teenage boy in America?

Moses

Moses was with us as we looked at the pictures.  Being the celebrity that had actually been to America, he started to tell the other boys how great America was and how bad Liberia was.  This did not go over well with Maude and she rightly admonished him that he should not talk that way about his country, a country she has chosen to stay in to care for children like himself.

Moses does not like to be corrected (do you know any other thirteen year olds like that?).  His emotions that he had been keeping in came out.  He wept in the midst of his friends for most of the rest of the night.  It was heart wrenching.

The good news is that the next day we had a successful visit with a lawyer in Monrovia.  There is a Liberian family in our church in Cypress that wants to adopt Moses.  This lawyer was fairly confident that he would be able to get the paperwork through a system that had been bogged down to this point as Liberia investigates child trafficking problems.

One of the reasons he was confident in our success was the legitimacy earned by bringing Moses back when his medical visa expired.  While Moses does not understand why we had to take him back (he asked my why I did not just call the President and explain his situation) it pays to honor God by following the laws of the land.

Pastor Anthony and I correspond each week.  He says he is praying with Moses and helping Moses to understand and learn patience waiting on God.  This is a hard lesson for us grown-ups.  It has to seem like an impossible task to a 13-year old boy.

Princess

We met Princess my last day at the orphanage.  We were eating with the kids in their lunch hall (a dark mud-brick building with two long tables for 70 kids).  A 9-year old girl came over to Pastor Bill.  Unlike all of the other children here, Princess was not wearing a smile.  As soon as she came over, Pastor Bill began to cry (I can't even write this without tears).  He explained to us that she had seen rebel soldiers kill her parents.  In fact, she witnessed a rebel soldier slice her dad's throat from behind.  Princess was 4 at the time.

The boys and girls in this orphanage are well fed thanks to Christian Aid.  However, Christian Aid can only supply food for 50 children as Liberian law only allows 50 orphans per orphanage.  There are 75 orphans being cared for by the Fairfield Baptist Mission in Liberia.  Nonetheless, all the children are fed.

The needs are great.  At one level, the needs seem too great and too overwhelming.  However, when you ask the children what they need the answers are simple.  A matchbox car, a baby doll, but really a request that someone knows they exist.  I can't tell you how many of these kids wanted to make sure I knew their name and wanted to know my name, my wife's name and my children's names.  They want to be connected.

Our church is working with an organization called BrightPoint to do just that.  Our goal is to match up every child in the orphanage with a family sponsor in our church.  A family that they can call their own.  A family that will know their name, pray for them and write them.  They want a mom and dad because "man who is of the earth" stole theirs .  We hope that together with Bright Point, God can use us to bring them that desire of their heart.

If you or your church want to get involved and reach out to the fatherless and the oppressed you can do it.  Check out organizations like BrightPoint and Children's HopeChest.  There is really no reason to ignore the fatherless, whether in Africa or your own backyard.

However, I must warn you.  Once you open up your heart to hear what is on God's heart, your life cannot ever be the same again.  There is no telling what God will have you do.

My journey is now leading me back to Africa once more.  This time, Ethiopia, where God has a fatherless child that he has prepared for our home, to change our lives forever.  Read more over at Hipp is my middle name.

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Back to Liberia - For now

Genesis 50:20 (ESV)
²⁰ As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today.

I don't know why I was born healthy and have enjoyed a life of physical and material blessings here in America.  I don't know why Moses Kollie was born in poverty in Liberia.  I don't know why his mother was killed by rebels when he was only weeks old.  I don't know why God let Moses lay trapped under his dead mother for a week causing him to live his childhood with a deformed hand. 

All I know is that God is sovereign and God is good.

Moses' visa is expiring so we are taking him back to Liberia on Tuesday.  I'll be traveling with Moses from Houston to Chicago to Brussels to Monrovia.  We'll meet up with our pastor and another brother from the church in Brussels.

Meeting Moses has changed my life forever.  If you've noticed my passion on this blog for the poor in this world, Moses is who God used to light that spark.

When our family took Moses in to live with us for a couple of months, we really thought God was opening a door for us to adopt him.  We believed this was God's calling for us to get involved in living out God's love.  However, that was not what was in God's plan.  You can read more about that in other posts here on Moses. 

Moses is a typical 12\13 year-old in a lot of ways.  We had our ups and downs adjusting to a teenager in our home but we prayed our way through it and God softened ours and Moses' heart.  He'll always be a part of our family.  We love him because of who he is and because of how God has used him to change us from the inside out.

I'm still waiting for the other shoe to drop but we are pretty sure that God has much bigger plans for my family than we have or can imagine, which is usually the case.  Now that I know what I know and have felt what I have felt, there is no going back to life as I knew it.  Step one in my journey is my trip to Liberia.  I don't know God's end game.  I just know He has told me He wants to show me something in Liberia.  It might be the people, it might be the poverty, it might just be me.

Please pray for our safe passage to Liberia and back.  Please pray for Moses as he leaves this Disneyland we call America and returns to real life in a Liberian orphanage.  Pray for God's sovereign will to continue to reign in Moses' life.

And a special prayer...God has brought forward a Liberian couple in our area that has met Moses and wants to adopt him.  They have two children in college already and two younger children still at home.  There are a lot of obstacles still to be overcome but God is supreme.

I'll be out of blog contact for the next week.  I look forward to sharing when I return.

Grace and peace y'all.

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The Lord's Prayer - Deliver us from evil

Matthew 6:13 (ESV)
¹³ And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.

Here Jesus asks us to pray that our Father not lead us into temptation.  However, this is exactly what the Holy Spirit did to Jesus at the beginning of His ministry.

Matthew 4:1 (ESV)
¹ Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.

We also know that we are going to be tempted throughout the day.  Just turn on the TV, listen to the radio, walk out the front door and you are faced with temptation.  We live in a fallen world with temptation at every turn.  What does it mean to ask God not to lead us into temptation?  Even if we were to move into the desert we could never evade the temptations in our own minds.

There are avoidable temptations.  Maybe this prayer is for God to help keep us from walking down the slippery slope of temptations that we could and should avoid.

We don't have to watch those TV programs or movies that put impure thoughts in our heads, ready to pop out when we least expect it.  We don't have to let ourselves dwell on thoughts of envy, anger, or lust but we do.

The second half of this verse is a prayer for our Father to carry us through the temptations we do face.  These are temptations from the evil in our own hearts and temptations from Satan himself.

This part of the Lord's prayer is a great reminder that we cannot face the temptations of this world alone.  We are promised that we will not face any temptation that is beyond our ability.  However, we are are also taught that we must wear the full armor of God to resist the schemes of the devil.  We can never be so cavalier as to think we can resist the evil in this world on our own.

Jesus added this last verse because evil is real, Satan is real, and we need our Father's protection.

P.S. Are you protecting your own children?

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Ignorance is No Excuse

Ignorance is not bliss. It can actually be quite dangerous. See if you can follow me as I point out two examples.

This weekend a verse came to my mind. It was not one of the very few that I have memorized (I am convicted to do much better at this). It was one that I probably heard quoted in a sermon sometime but I don't know when. The gist of what I remembered was, "to whom little is given, little is expected and to whom much is given, much is expected."

As I thought about this passage I thought about how much Christians in other countries have little but have to suffer much and how Christians in this country, that have much, suffer little. I started to find myself on my soapbox again about how God has given Christians much in this country and expects much, yet we give little compared to our persecuted brother and sisters around the world.

I went to look up this passage that I roughly remembered so I could write a blog post on this conviction I was feeling. I found the verses in Luke 12:42-48.

Luke 12:42-48 (ESV)
⁴² And the Lord said, "Who then is the faithful and wise manager, whom his master will set over his household, to give them their portion of food at the proper time? ⁴³ Blessed is that servant whom his master will find so doing when he comes. ⁴⁴ Truly, I say to you, he will set him over all his possessions. ⁴⁵ But if that servant says to himself, 'My master is delayed in coming,' and begins to beat the male and female servants, and to eat and drink and get drunk, ⁴⁶ the master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he does not know, and will cut him in pieces and put him with the unfaithful. ⁴⁷ And that servant who knew his master's will but did not get ready or act according to his will, will receive a severe beating. ⁴⁸ But the one who did not know, and did what deserved a beating, will receive a light beating. Everyone to whom much was given, of him much will be required, and from him to whom they entrusted much, they will demand the more.

Imagine my surprise. What I thought I was remembering as scripture is not really there. Now I'm not saying that American Christians should not be convicted to do more to support their persecuted brothers and sisters. Actually, more than likely, our own time will come. My point is, I was making up scripture in my head based on some input I had received somewhere. That's dangerous.

The second example of ignorance being dangerous comes right from this scripture that I mis-remembered (Roger Clemens taught me that word).

This passage talks about rewarding the faithful steward (v 43) and punishing the one that actively abuses others (v 46) and the one that knows God's will for their life but does not act on it (v 47). However, the one that is ignorant of God's will for their life is punished as well (v 48).

I'm going to assume that most of you are not purposely abusing and hurting others. However, how many of us ignore God's calling for our lives because we prefer our own course? How many of us don't know God's calling for our lives?

I heard a sermon from John Piper the other day titled Holy Ambition. Do you know yours? Ignorance is no excuse.

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Carrying Your Own Cross

First, I want to say that I truly appreciate all of the encouraging comments I've received on my recent posts as I wrestle with God over what He wants me to do about the plight of the poor. However, this is not just about me. This is much bigger than a question about how much of my disposable income should be given to charity. This is about all of us, Christ's body, seeing the problem with Jesus' eyes, not just when we read about it, but it should be part of our every thought and every dream.

Warning - I am going to attempt to put a visual in your mind that will never leave. Stop reading now if you'd rather not think about it.

The stadium in the picture above is Kyle Field. The seating capacity is 82,600. Every week, during football season, this stadium is packed with Aggie football fans. That is a lot of people. That is more people than the entire population in most small towns in America.

Every week, all year long, 98,000 children quietly die directly from starvation or indirectly from their inability to resist common diseases. That number is small compared to the number that are suffering, hurting, and crying but just not dead yet.

This football season, when you see a packed stadium, remember that a stadium full of children died because of starvation this week and thousands more are just waiting their turn.

Each of us has a different calling from God on what to do about this issue. I am also well aware that this is just one of many problems in our world. As Christ's body we are full of different parts and different roles. However, we each do have a part and a role.

Luke 14:27
27 "Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple.

Carrying our own cross does not mean carrying our own problems and burdens. Our own problems and burdens are to be handed over to Jesus. Our cross is the spiritual and physical problems and burdens of others.

It is obvious that God is telling me that my cross includes the starving children around the world. It's not so obvious yet, all that He wants me to do about it, but I'm seeking. I encourage you to know your cross, but more importantly, to actually pick it up and carry it.

If you're living a comfortable life most days, chances are there may not be a cross on your shoulder. If you're living under your own stress most days, chances are there may not be a cross on your shoulder because your shoulders are already weighed down with your own burdens.

This is not just about me. It's much bigger than that.

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How do you celebrate Christmas?

I ran across this video today and had to post it.

My wife and I talk about ways to celebrate the "true spirit of Christmas" each year.  We've often thought about cutting way back on the presents and focusing more on Jesus.  However, each year, our Christmas has more and more stuff.

We do focus on Jesus at Christmas.  We go to church on Christmas Eve.  This year I wrote a Christmas story, taking a quick bible tour from Genesis through the Gospels, and we read it as a family.  We visit a local assisted living center each year with one or two other families and sing Christmas carols to the elderly residents on Christmas morning.

However, with all of this, the presents steal the show.  Its not our kids fault.  They're kids.  If you load up the tree with presents, that's going to be the highlight of the day.  Christmas stories and carols to lonely, elderly strangers are ok, but the new Wii is the bomb.

I believe the problem we experience with Christmas is the problem with many churches today.  We preach and teach spiritual messages from the Bible but we mix in so much consumerism, that the spiritual message is forgotten behind the "church experience".

This Christmas, we're going to do something about the consumerism.  This Christmas, we're going to join the Advent Conspiracy.

What if we start a Worship Conspiracy and truly have Christmas all year long.  After all, this message is too good to celebrate only once a year.

Luke 2:10-11 (ESV)
¹⁰ And the angel said to them, "Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of a great joy that will be for all the people. ¹¹ For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.

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The rest of the story

Has this ever happened to you... You're reading your Bible and come across a familiar passage.  You are subconsciously nodding along, recognizing the truths you are reading.  And then, POW!  Where did that verse come from?  God lays a new truth on you that has been there all along, you just missed it until now.

I had that experience this weekend.

I came across this familiar passage in Luke:

Luke 12:22-31 (ESV)
²² And he said to his disciples, "Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat, nor about your body, what you will put on. ²³ For life is more than food, and the body more than clothing. ²⁴ Consider the ravens: they neither sow nor reap, they have neither storehouse nor barn, and yet God feeds them. Of how much more value are you than the birds! ²⁵ And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? ²⁶ If then you are not able to do as small a thing as that, why are you anxious about the rest? ²⁷ Consider the lilies, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. ²⁸ But if God so clothes the grass, which is alive in the field today, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, how much more will he clothe you, O you of little faith! ²⁹ And do not seek what you are to eat and what you are to drink, nor be worried. ³⁰ For all the nations of the world seek after these things, and your Father knows that you need them. ³¹ Instead, seek his kingdom, and these things will be added to you.

This is a great passage about stress and worry.  God is sovereign.  He will meet all of your needs.  Seek His Kingdom and everything else will be taken care of.

I've heard many lessons and sermons on this passage and I was nodding along as I read.

Then, I had to read the rest of the story...

Luke 12:32-34 (ESV)
³² "Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom. ³³ Sell your possessions, and give to the needy. Provide yourselves with moneybags that do not grow old, with a treasure in the heavens that does not fail, where no thief approaches and no moth destroys. ³⁴ For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.

Can you see the verse that struck me between the eyes?  Verse 32 is comforting.  Verse 34 is a truth that is often preached and well known.  Who's going to argue with that?

However, what is up with verse 33?  Sure, I know that Jesus challenged the rich young ruler to sell everything and give the proceeds to the poor.  That's because He was dealing with that rich guy's heart.  But who is Jesus talking to here?

I am more than happy to claim the "don't worry, be happy" message here, but can Jesus really be talking to me about selling my possessions and giving to the needy?  He must mean I need to be prepared to do that if "called." 

Right?

Or does He mean what He says?

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Radical Christianity

About six years ago, I was sitting with my then four-year old son watching TV.  On the screen they showed one of the recently captured terrorist.  His hair was ruffled, his eyes were puffy, and he looked like an overall wreck.  To me, he looked like he was breathing, so he looked like he was doing too well.  My four-year old on the other hand, he asks, "Do you think that man knows that God loves him?"

Wow.  I remember thinking back then how awesome it was that God can speak directly to your heart through your own child.  I'd like to say that I've been praying for terrorists for the past six years but that would be a lie.  My epiphany on loving my enemies lasted all of a day or two. 

How can I love someone that would kill innocent women and children?  How can I love someone, that if I was ever in the wrong place, at the wrong time, they would kill me and my family because I'm an American or because I worship Jesus and not Allah?  How could God ask me to do that?

I guess maybe...because the cross is bigger than their sin...and without the cross...my sin is just as great.

I blogroll this site called, There's Something Deep Inside.  On it there's a post about this site called, Adopt a Terrorist for Prayer.  This brought back memories of when God spoke to me about loving my enemies through the innocent eyes of my son

Now this is radical Christianity.

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What is your World Vision?

This is Lewal. Lewal lives with his parents and 2 brothers. His parents struggle to provide for the family. His father is a farmer and his mother is a farmer. Despite their efforts it is difficult to meet the family's needs.

Lewal is growing up in a farming community in the Kwame Danso region of Ghana, almost 300 miles from Accra. A typical home is built of heavy mud with a thatched roof.

My family has been sponsoring Lewal through World Vision for about 5-6 years now.

There is a lot of poverty and hunger in the world. We forget that sometimes in our comfortable homes. We worry about mortgages, taxes and who's going to win the World Series. Across the world, other people, just like you and me, are wondering if they are going to have anything to eat tomorrow.

If you honestly sit down and think about all of the pain and suffering in the world it can be overwhelming. That's why many times it is easier just to block it out. It's much easier to go back to worrying about our own petty problems than worrying about life and death around us. What can we do anyway?

There is some good news. The good news is that it's not your problem to fix the world. God has a plan of redemption and a promise to bring forth a new heaven and new earth. However, it is your calling to have love and mercy for the poor and the oppressed in our current fallen world.

God has a purpose for each of us in our lives. I have a really good hunch that none us have a divine purpose to just accumulate wealth or just tread water in our lives, every day until we die. Our calling is to show the world the love of God to others.

For some, that calling takes them into the ministry, and in some cases it takes them into the mission fields far from home. For some, that calling has them living in the suburbs where their mission fields are their neighbors and their co-workers. Frankly, I'm not sure which calling has more challenges.

Regardless of where God calls us to serve, we are all called, as Christians, to take care of the poor, the hungry, the sick and the oppressed. There are no valid excuses for ignoring the suffering around us.

There are many ways you can serve. World Vision, offers a way for those of us with much to help the children in this world that have less than even a little. Through World Vision, you can sponsor a child or an entire family for about the cost of a tall coffee from your local coffee shop each day. You can make a difference, providing clean water, nutritious food, health care, education and spiritual nurturing.

Fixing the suffering in the entire world is an overwhelming task. However, the opportunity to help the world, one child or one family at a time is available to you today.

Visit my sponsorship campaign page for more information about joining me in helping to change a child's life. Isn't it time that you had a "World Vision"?

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Faith of a Child

We had a pretty uneventful Memorial Day. We just went to the Grandparents to swim and then came home, ate burgers, watched a movie, and went to bed. However, it was a great day. Anytime you can just hang-out and relax with family and friends is a great day.

The grandparents have a pool and my kids love to swim. Well, they love the water. The two oldest ones swim well but the two youngest ones not so much. The four-year old is easy to keep an eye on in the pool. She just hangs out on steps wearing a full life-jacket. The six-year old is the problem. He can't swim well on his own yet, but he has no fear. That's our fearless, non-swimming six-year old taking the Nestle tea plunge in the picture above.

Our youngest son keeps us on our toes, but I am so jealous of how he loves life. When I look at how he embraces and enjoys life I can't help but see the analogy of the abundant life promised to us from Jesus (John 10:10). Why do I find it so hard to live the abundant Christian life?

One of the reasons that our son embraces life is that he rarely thinks about any negative consequences. Now, this is much to the dismay of his parents and we have our work cut out for us. However, when it comes to matters of faith and our Christian walk, that is the exact attitude we need to have. If we worry about what "bad" things might happen if we follow Christ completely, we will miss the abundant life promised to us.

What are some of the fears that prevent our abundant life?

• I barely have enough money in the bank to pay my bills, how can I afford to give some of it away?
• If I share my faith at work or school I may offend someone?
• If I put boundaries on my kids that are more stringent than the boundaries set by their friends' parents, I won't be the cool parent or my child might rebel.
• If I don't sacrifice my family time for work I may lose my job or lose opportunities to advance at my job. How will I provide for my family if I am not successful with my career?
• If I don't have my children in year-around extra-curricular activities, they won't be as athletic, as graceful or as popular as the other kids their age.
• If I join a small group at church the others in the group might find out that I really don't have it all together?
• How can I serve the church? I don't have any gifts that could be useful.

I'm sure there are many more fears that you can think of and that you may even face yourself in your walk.

It's time that we "grown-ups" take the Nestle tea plunge with our Christian walk and live fearlessly for Christ.

Mark 10:15 (ESV)
¹⁵ Truly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it."

Please comment to this post with any fears you have faced in your walk but more importantly, any examples of the abundant life you have experienced by fearless embracing what God has set before you.

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Great Expectations

My vision and my desire is for a church where the members are constantly challenging themselves. Each day we should be asking ourselves, am I doing what God wants me to do? Am I willing to give it all away? Am I loving those around me, believers and unbelievers? How am I showing that love? Am I too comfortable with my life?

Is this vision a reasonable expectation for me to have for my church?

I know I don't live up to these expectations, at least consistently. I easily fall into a comfort zone and don't worry about the world around me and what I am supposed to do to impact it. However, I know this is the expectation God has for me because his Spirit is not satisfied within me while I'm comfortable. If this is God's expectation for our lives how can we as a church not have that expectation from our members which means having that expectation for ourselves?

Church leadership is failing the church if this is not the expectation for every Christian member of the church. Jesus is creating a great work in us. He's not done but we act like he's done all he can do until we die and get to heaven. If your church is not growing spiritually beyond a certain point the reason is probably that too many people in the pews are just fine where they are at and where the church is at (as long as the church provides enough activities).

The big church-wide events are great and important to reach out to the community and expose people to mission opportunities. However, we must raise the expectations with our members that Christian living does not revolve around particular church-wide events.

I have this expectation for myself and as I said, I often fail at it, but it is still an expectation. I also have the expectation that my church and my church pastors and church leaders have this expectation from me. If I am failing to challenge myself, I expect my church, in love and grace, to let me know. This expectation has to be clear from the top and pushed down so that every member feels a little uneasy whenever they feel too comfortable with their Christian walk. Are my expectations too high? I hope not.

The next question is, how do we challenge people if we don't know where they're at spiritually? One person's challenge might be to love and honor his wife while another's might be to join the mission field.

This is a tough challenge for any church once it reaches any significant size. I have a hard time imagining any church reaching it's full potential without small groups (see disciples), accountability partners (see Paul and Barnabas) and mentors (see Paul and Timothy or Titus) as a way to challenge and inspire its members to continue to run the good race.

God's word tells us that Jesus will draw all men to himself. This word draw means to drag and haul which sounds like we have to be drawn kicking and screaming. We hold on to our comfortable life with all we have. I pray God draws His church to himself.

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Here I am

What is the very first thing that crosses your mind when someone calls your name?  If you're like me, it will often depend on what you're doing at the time.  If I am busy, my very first thought may be "What now?" even if I quickly filter it and respond, "Yes?"  This is not a "Yes" - I am eager to serve but a "Yes" - I am acknowledging that I hear someone calling my name.

How come my first thought isn't "Great, someone needs me, how can I help?"  I know the reason for me personally.  For me it's because the world really revolves around me.  If I think I'm being called for something that will directly benefit me then my initial thoughts are excited but if I'm otherwise busy, my initial thoughts are much more annoyed.  The problem is I'm basically selfish.

This is a bad enough attitude when dealing with people, but it's an attitude that carries over with my relationship with God.  If my wife calls my name, I can filter out my initial selfish thoughts and respond nicely.  When God calls on me, he knows my heart immediately.  He knows when I'm just being a poser.

There is a great example of the attitude I want for myself in 1 Samuel 3:1-10.  Samuel is lying down when he thinks his elderly mentor, Eli, is calling for him.  His first thought is not, "What now, I'm tired" but he runs to Eli's side and eagerly says, "Here I am; you called me."  Eli tells Samuel that he did not call him and sends him back to bed.  This happens twice more and each time Samuel eagerly runs to Eli's side to see how he can help.

After the third time Eli figures out that it is God calling Samuel so he sends Samuel back and tells him to respond to God the next time he hears his name called.  God then calls Samuel's name again and Samuel responds, "Speak Lord, for Your servant is listening".  In other words, "Hear I am, how can I serve you".

I like this example because it shows how Samuel's heart was eager to help Eli, even when it was inconvenient.  This led to Samuel being able to recognize God's voice where he responded with the same eagerness ready to serve God.

If I am too selfish and busy to eagerly help get dinner ready, how ready am I to hear God when he asks me to truly sacrifice.  How ready am I to answer, "Here I am, how can I serve you?"

Great cross references:

Genesis 22:11 (Abraham)
Genesis 31:11 (Jacob)
Genesis 46:2 (Jacob)
Exodus 3:4 (Moses - burning bush helped a little)
Isaiah 6:8 (Isaiah's call - all time favorite example of response to God's call)
Acts 9:10 (Ananias)

And then there is God's response to us, even when we are not ready to call for him...

Isaiah 58:9
Isaiah 65:1

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When opportunity knocks

A few years ago I was at a gas station filling up when a young man nervously approached me. He asked if he could give me a Jehovah's Witness pamphlet. I politely said no thank you and he quickly got back in his car and left. My first thought was, "Wow, that kid was really nervous about talking to me." My next thought was, "Wow, I wonder if I should have talked to him? Maybe God sent him to me."

I'll never know.

I'm sure you have similar times in your life where after the moment is lost you think, "I should have said this or done that." Many times, like in my experience, we recognize it too late. So how do you take advantage of these opportunities before they're lost?

In the corporate world I teach people that there are three principles to opportunities. I think these same principles can apply to opportunities for sharing your faith.

1. You must prepare for opportunities
2. You must recognize opportunities
3. You must act on opportunities
   

Prepare: Write down your own testimony. Memorize verses that that have impacted your life. Pray for God to make you aware of opportunities throughout the day to show Christ's love to others through your actions and your words.

Recognize: The best way to recognize an opportunity is to always be looking for one. Purposefully look for opportunities to impact others throughout the day.

Act: Take action on the opportunities God provides. Don't put off an opportunity you recognize today until tomorrow.

Colossians 4:6 (ESV)
⁶ Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person.

1 Peter 3:15 (ESV)
¹⁵ but in your hearts regard Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you;

What are you doing to be ready the next time opportunity knocks?

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Road Trip: Homesick

My kids saw snow for the first time last week on our family vacation. They loved it; for awhile anyway. However, by day 5 of our 7 day trip they were ready to be back home. They decided the snow was nice to visit but they wanted to get back to the greener pastures of our own backyard.

They were homesick. They missed their own beds. They missed their dogs. They missed their yard. The missed everything about our home, even things that I never even considered.

They weren't homesick because Texas is better than Colorado. Both places have their pluses and minuses. They were homesick because they missed their "home". They all knew, even the four year-old, that as nice as Colorado was, it was not home.

Do you ever get homesick? I don't mean when your on a vacation or on a business trip. I mean do you ever feel like this big world we live in is not really home? As a Christian, this world is not my home. My home is the new earth we'll enjoy someday. The problem I have however, is that I am not often homesick enough.

All too often, I love this world and don't even think about the new home waiting for me. I guess that is expected. After all, I've never been to this new home. How can I miss it?

I should miss it, because it is real and because God's Spirit in me yearns for it. This new home where I belong is not right in front of me where I can touch it. I get too easily wrapped up in my current world and all of its temporary pleasures. I don't have time to give any thought to the fantastic world God has waiting for me.

A good barometer on where I am with my walk with God is whether or not I'm feeling a little homesick. If I start to feel too much at home where I'm at, it's time to spend more time thinking of Him and less of me.

John 17:14-19 (ESV)
14 I have given them your word, and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world.
15 i do not ask that you take them out of the world, but that you keep them from the evil one.
16 They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world.
17 Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth.
18 As you sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world.
19 And for their sake I consecrate myself, that they also may be sanctified in truth.

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God loves the illegal immigrant

Illegal immigration is a hot political issue. This means that there are a variety of opinions on what to do about it, if anything. We're a media driven country, which includes news media and entertainment media. However, all the media has desynthesized us. Illegal immigration is a political issue in our minds but what about the illegal immigrant?

I'm sure there are some illegal immigrants that are criminal in nature and sneaked into our country because of the bounty here for stealing. However, my guess is that the majority of these people are looking for a way to help their families to survive.

I'm not making a political statement one way or another about what we should or should not do about this problem. I just want to make sure we step back and remember, we are not just talking about a political issue. We are talking about real people. Fathers and mothers not knowing if they are going to be able to piece together enough money to feed their family. They are living in a country where the language is foreign to them. There's an obvious hostility towards them from many Americans. Yet many believe this is the only hope they have.

As you think about this problem and vote for your political leader of choice that claims to have the answer, don't forget that the illegal immigrant is a person just like you. If our only answer is to lock down our borders to keep out the poor and oppressed, what is their hope? What would the God of the oppressed want you to do?

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