A Simple Vessel

Inclusivism...NOT! (Part 2)

2008-01-16T23:02:00.000+07:00

As a missionary and church leader, the topic of what happens to people who die without ever hearing the Gospel comes up frequently. This post is part 2 of a series that contain an unpublished article I wrote on this issue some time back after devoting serious time and effort to studying this issue. When I need to refresh my memory on the relevant Bible verses and arguments, this article is still what I turn to as a starting point. Please feel free to ask questions or challenge any of my Biblical interpretation, reasoning or conclusions.

Go to Part 1

The other evangelical answer concerning the question of the unevangelized is known as exclusivism or restrictivism. This view has been the one historically preferred by the church and, until recently, has clearly been the dominant view among orthodox Christians. Among the most prominent defenders of exclusivism are Augustine, John Calvin, Jonathan Edwards, Carl Henry, R.C. Sproul, and Ronald Nash.[1]

Exclusivists affirm several beliefs that comprise their argument. First, all are guilty and without excuse before God, even the unevangelized. Inclusivists agree with this point, but they have a problem with the exclusivist view that, without special revelation, men and women will always suppress the truth. The only special revelation valid for salvation after the incarnation, death, and resurrection of Christ is the explicit gospel message as communicated by a human witness or by the written Word of God, although some allow for supernatural communication of the gospel through visions, dreams, or heavenly beings. In other words, a person must place explicit faith in Jesus Christ, including His atoning death and His resurrection, in order to be saved. The exclusivist position enjoys the best support in scripture and will be argued in more detail in the following paragraphs.

Exclusivists and inclusivists agree that every individual on earth needs to be saved. As Paul clearly states in Romans 3:10-18, quoting a litany of Old Testament passages, “There is none righteous, not even one; there is none who understands, there is none who seeks for God; all have turned aside, together they have become useless; there is none who does good, there is not even one…destruction and misery are in their paths, and the path of peace have they not known. There is no fear of God before their eyes.” The reason the unevangelized are included among the unrighteous is “because that which is known about God is evident within them; for God made it evident to them. For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what had been made so that they are without excuse. For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God, or give thanks…and their foolish heart was darkened” (Rom 1:19-21). While there is great debate regarding the content of the revelation that can be gleaned from nature and human conscience, the context of Romans 1-3 clearly suggests that the only sure result from this knowledge is just condemnation for rejecting it.[2]

The point that exclusivists make regarding these truths is that individuals are guilty and subject to judgment because they are sinners who have rejected God. Biblically, it is inappropriate to say that God sends people to hell “because they have not trusted God through what they have.”[3] It is not even appropriate to suggest that God condemns people for rejecting an explicit gospel presentation. God saves people because they have trusted Jesus Christ, but he condemns people for their sin. An important truth to grasp is that God is not obligated to save anyone! Whether He is just or not does not depend upon His decision to make salvation available to all. Thus it is true that the unevangelized are not guilty of rejecting the explicit gospel message, nor are they condemned for this sin. They are guilty, however, of rejecting God as He has revealed Himself to them and they are born tainted with original sin. For these reasons, they are judged.

More to come in Part 3.

[1] Sanders, ed., What About Those Who Have Never Heard?, 20.

[2] See R.C. Sproul, Reason to Believe (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1978), 50-52.

[3] Millard Erickson, How Shall They Be Saved: The Destiny of Those Who Do Not Hear of Jesus (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1996), 194.

Inclusivism...NOT! (Part 1)

2008-01-12T20:21:00.000+07:00

As a missionary and church leader, the topic of what happens to people who die without ever hearing the Gospel comes up frequently. The following few posts contain an unpublished article I wrote on this issue some time back after devoting serious time and effort to studying this issue. When I need to refresh my memory on the relevant Bible verses and arguments, this article is still what I turn to as a starting point. Please feel free to ask questions or challenge any of my Biblical interpretation, reasoning or conclusions.

What happens when a person dies? Every human alive who is mentally able to consider such a question has pondered the answer. In a world where the concept of a “global village” is increasingly becoming a reality, an individual can choose from any one of a multiplicity of answers to this “big question.” In fact, a growing number of people would answer by rejecting the need to decide on one answer to the question.

Christians who believe in the God of the Bible answer that a person will either face judgment after death in hell or experience reward and blessing in heaven. Who goes to heaven and who goes to hell? Evangelical Christians also agree, against pluralism, that heaven will be occupied only by those who have been saved by the blood of Jesus Christ, through faith.

What is the fate of the unevangelized who do not have the opportunity to hear of Christ? Is salvation possible for this incredibly large group of people? Is it possible to be saved apart from knowledge of Christ and conscious saving faith in the atoning death and resurrection of Christ? Among professing evangelicals, there are different answers offered to this question.

Among evangelical believers, there are two main answers given to this all-important question.[1] The first is widely known as inclusivism. Leading defenders of an inclusivist perspective, in past and present generations, include Justin Martyr, John Wesley, C.S. Lewis, Clark Pinnock, Wolfhart Pannenberg, and John Sanders.[2] Inclusivists answer “yes” to the question concerning the possibility of salvation apart from explicit faith in Christ. In the formulation of an argument for this position, there are several key tenets.

First, almost every inclusivist places emphasis upon the scriptural truth that God desires the salvation of all humans. Key texts cited in support of this truth are 2 Pet 3:9, “The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance,” and 2 Tim 2:4 which speaks of God “who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.”[3] Sanders speaks of the “theological axiom” of “God’s universal salvific will” and identifies this truth as a “control belief” which guides inclusivist reflection on the issue at hand.[4] The truth of God’s universal salvific will leads inclusivists to deduce that God must, therefore, make salvation accessible to all humans.

The second “control belief” of inclusivism is the affirmation by all evangelicals of the finality and particularity of Jesus Christ.[5] No person can be saved apart from the atoning work of Christ. A familiar text which supports this notion is John 14:6, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father, but through Me.”

After inclusivists decide that salvation is universally accessible and affirm the particularity and finality of Christ, they then conclude that salvation by Christ must be possible for the unevangelized. To suggest that salvation is not possible for those who have never heard is either to require a radical change in the definition of God’s desire that all be saved or to deny the sovereignty of God. Neither alternative is acceptable for inclusivists.

Discussion then turns to the question of how this salvation is possible. Inclusivists claim that salvation for the unevangelized comes through “implicit faith” which might be described as a response to the light of general revelation which they have. As Pinnock states, “According to the Bible, people are saved by faith, not by the content of their theology.”[6] Support for this concept involves assertion that general revelation can provide substantive and even saving truth. Also, appeal is made to the numerous examples in Scripture of people who were saved apart from explicit faith in Christ. Among these believers are Old Testament saints like David, “holy pagans” like Melchizedek, and “God fearers” like Cornelius.[7] In the words of Augustus H. Strong, the unevangelized may “be saved by casting themselves as helpless sinners upon God’s plan of mercy, dimly shadowed forth in nature and providence.”[8]

(to be continued in Part 2)

[1] Pluralism is not an evangelical option. Postmortem evangelism is held by evangelicals, but will not be dealt with in this paper.

[2] John Sanders, ed., What About Those Who Have Never Heard? (Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 1995), 20.

[3] Unless otherwise cited, all scripture quotations come from the New American Standard Bible.

[4] John Sanders, No Other Name: An Investigation into the Destiny of the Unevangelized (Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 1992), 25,32. See also, Clark Pinnock, A Wideness in God’s Mercy: The finality of Jesus Christ in a World of Religions (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1992), 18.

[5] Sanders, ed., What About Those Who Have Never Heard?, 10.

[6] Pinnock, A Wideness in God’s Mercy, 157.

[7] For OT believers, see Millard Erickson, “Hope for Those Who Haven’t Heard? Yes, but…”, Evangelical Missions Quarterly 11, no. 2 (April 1975) : 125; Sanders, No Other Name, 224-228. For holy pagans, see Pinnock, A Wideness in God’s Mercy, 94-95. For God fearers see Sanders, ed., What About Those Who Have Never Heard?, 39-41.

[8] Augustus H. Strong, Systematic Theology, vol. 2 (Grand Rapids: Erdmans, 1952), 646.

Friday Photo

2008-01-11T16:51:00.000+07:00

In a shameless example of stealing what seems to be a good idea from another blogger, I've decided to devote each Friday to sharing a favorite photo. Those of you who know me know that photography is a hobby of mine that has grown considerably over the last 5 years or so. I have always been fascinated by God's creation. I love the joy of capturing images of His creation to share with others and to enjoy myself when I can't be in those beautiful places myself. Anyway...here's installment number 1!

November and December are the months when the sunflower farms in central Thailand are blooming. The home group from our church had a wonderful outing to see these fields of yellow!

Daddies of Abortion

2008-01-10T19:54:00.000+07:00

Dr. Albert Mohler makes reference to an interesting group of people who are often overlooked in the abortion debate in a recent blog post: fathers of aborted children. Check it out and continue to pray that God will use all means possible to communicate the truth about this horrifying injustice to Americans and the rest of the world.

Could 'One Issue' Be Making A Difference?

2008-01-08T22:52:00.000+07:00

Almost two months ago I posted on One Issue Voting related to Pat Robertson's endorsement of Rudi Giuliani for President. I made clear my displeasure with a candidate who is unwilling to take a moral stand for the rights of unborn children in America. Back then, Giuliani looked like the most likely Republican who could beat the Democratic front-runner at that time, Hilary Clinton. How times can change in an election year!

Perhaps Iowa was an indication that there still exists a large and influential part of American society that is strongly attracted to a leader who is willing to stand up for traditional values and who is not a member of a 'Christian' cult. I'm not excited about Huckabee just because he is a former Southern Baptist pastor:) In fact, I believe someone can be a fantastic president without being a Christian believer. I'm not sure who I'll vote for if my primary absentee ballot gets here to Bangkok fast enough (and I probably won't tell even if I do get to vote since IMB missionaries are not supposed to get too tied up into politics)...

I simply feel compelled to point out my gratefulness that Republicans (at least in Iowa) haven't capitulated on one of the major issues of justice that still faces our nation. We'll have to pray and wait to see what happens with the primaries. After that, we'll have to assess and look towards election day. Praise God that He remains in control!!!

God Bless You This Christmas!!!

2007-12-24T20:58:00.001+07:00

May you and your loved ones enjoy a blessed Christmas and a joy-filled New Year!

(I'll be offline until January 7, 2008)

Christmas 2007 (Part 4)

2007-12-23T20:34:00.000+07:00

This post is the fourth in a multi-part series on Hebrews 1:1-4.

Go to Part 1, Part 2, Part 3

As we’ve seen in parts 1-3 of this series, if we’re going to listen to God this Christmas, we must listen to the words of Scripture. We must remember that God has spoken in the past. One of the main reasons the author emphasizes God’s past revelation, however, is to highlight His present revelation. We must not simply remember God’s voice from the past, but we must also realize that God is speaking now!

Verse 2 states that “in these last days, [God] has spoken to us by His Son.” The “last days” are right now for us just as they were for the original readers. God not only speaks now, but he also speaks “to us.” How many times do we hear a good sermon and think, “That’s a good word! So and so needs to hear that, I wish she were here.” We are so quick to pick up on the message that God needs to get across to everyone but us. We need to hear and heed God’s word to us!

God speaks now, God speaks to us, and God speaks through His final word, Who is His Son. This is a singular revelation as opposed to many ways of revelation in the OT…

Remember the guy that missed all the different ways God was trying to speak and help him escape from the flood? Well, there was another man who was hiking in the mountains when he tripped and fell over the edge of a 100 foot high cliff. After falling about 10 feet he miraculously grabbed hold of a root which halted his fall. Hanging on for dear life, he called out, “Help! Is anybody out there?” A voice answered him saying, “Yes, I am here.” The man was a bit spooked and called out, “Who are you?” The voice responded, “I am God. Let go of the root and I will catch you.” The man paused to think for a few moments, his fingers slowly sliding from the root, before desperately screaming, “Anybody else out there?”

The answer given by the book of Hebrews to the man’s final question is an emphatic “No!” Jesus is God’s final word. Even the OT revelation is now to be interpreted in light of who Christ is and what He has done.

That Jesus is our final and authoritative place to listen for God’s word is the message of Hebrews. To an audience facing persecution and the temptation to abandon the distinctives of the Christian faith, the author cries, “Listen to Jesus! Look at who He is! Look at what He’s done!” As we struggle to grasp the true meaning of Christmas, we need to hear the same message!

So who is Jesus according to this passage?

Jesus is heir of all things (v.2b)
Jesus is the One through whom God created the world (v.2c)
Jesus is the radiance (or brightness) of God’s glory (v.3a)
Jesus is the exact imprint of God’s nature (v.3a)
Jesus is the One who upholds the entire universe (from atoms to galaxies) by the word of His power (v.3b)
Jesus is seated at the right hand of the Majesty on high (v.3d)
Jesus is greater than the angels (v.4)

WOW! Jesus is qualified to guide and direct our lives!

What has Jesus done? In verse 3, it’s almost easy to miss, but it’s really the center of attention for this part of the verse…Jesus has “made purification for our sins.” This is a statement foreshadowing the author’s development of Jesus as our great High Priest and Sacrifice.

Only Jesus came from heaven, offering himself up as a flawless sacrifice for our sins and tearing the curtain of the temple in two, forever making it possible for us to know God. Without the sacrifice that Jesus made on the Cross, it is impossible for us to know God and it’s impossible for us to understand the meaning of the baby in the manger whom we celebrate at Christmas. We can’t get to heaven any other way because “there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved." (Acts 4:12).

Who has the authority to speak in your life? Who are you listening to this Christmas season? Which voice out of the crowd claims your primary attention when you are facing some of life’s toughest choices?

Who do you listen to?

· Who do you listen to when you have to decide whether to work late to get ahead or spend some much needed time with your family?

· Who do you listen to when you can either be “cool” or you can be obedient to Jesus?

· Who do you listen to when you’re frustration tempts you to raise your voice in anger to your spouse or your children or your friends?

· Who do you listen to when you have to decide whether to be harsh or gentle with your tongue?

· Who do you listen to when you’re alone, on the Internet “surfing the Web,” and you know that there’s a virtually limitless supply of pornography just three clicks away?

· Who do you listen to when someone asks you to listen to damaging gossip about someone in our church or in your workplace without confronting that person first?

Who do you listen to?

Pray that, in the power of the Holy Spirit, the ear of your life will be focused solely on our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Jesus is supremely qualified to give us all the loving help and guidance we need in life! He is God’s last and final Word sent to the world as a baby laid in a manger. We can hear him speaking through the pages of Scripture. O that we would grasp the intense love of our qualified intercessor and Lord. What each of us needs this Christmas is a word from God, born in a manger so long ago! May we hear Him...and listen!

Christmas 2007 (Part 3)

2007-12-21T21:54:00.000+07:00

This post is the third in a multi-part series on Hebrews 1:1-4.

Go to Part 1, Part 2

Here are a few more thoughts relating to the importance of God’s Word for our lives and witness…

Hebrews 4:12
“The word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.”

The older I get, the more the Lord has been challenging me, asking me if I really believe that the Word is living and powerful. Do I really believe that the Word is what pierces the soul? God has been saying, “Do you really trust My Word to speak to the questions and needs of people around you or do you feel like you have to rely on your intellect, or your ability to ‘connect’?”

For example, I’ve been teaching a discipleship class on Wednesday nights for the youth at our church (International, English-speaking). They ask some incredibly insightful questions. They also ask some that are just plain hard! I’ve at least thought about most of the issues they raise, and I usually know something of what evangelical Christians in general believe about the issue. I also have my own ideas and opinions on the issues. The challenge and question for me though concerns where my foundation lies for the views I hold and the things I teach…

As the truth of this verse becomes more real to me, I grow even more confident in the sufficiency of the Word to address every issue that could ever come up! When I am faced with a question from one of the youth, I strive to only give an answer that is grounded in the Word of God. If I don’t know precisely how the Bible speaks to the question, I will find out and then give an answer.

As we obey the command of 1 Peter 3:15 to “always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks [us] for a reason for the hope that is in [us]”; what are we trusting as our authority. If someone asks us a question about our faith, are we prepared to answer them with the confidence that comes from a solid grounding in Scripture? If we find ourselves in a situation where we are not completely confident of the Bible’s teaching, are we humble enough to admit we don’t know and committed enough to find a biblical answer? Or are we content simply to relate our opinions, whatever their origins?

This Christmas, if we are celebrating with true and intense focus on Christ, we will get questions from family, friends, neighbors, colleagues and classmates. When we answer, I pray we will answer with words of truth that are consciously grounded in Scripture.

Go to Part 4

Christmas 2007 (Part 2)

2007-12-20T17:03:00.000+07:00

This post is the second in a multi-part series on Hebrews 1:1-4.

Go to Part 1

In this passage, God is speaking to us through the author of Hebrews. No one is quite sure exactly who wrote the book of Hebrews, but we know that he was likely a leader or pastor writing to a small house church or group of house churches in Rome. The church was probably made up of mostly Jewish people who had become Christians. We do know, because we find this letter in our Bibles that the author speaks the very words of God. God is teaching us, even exhorting us about our need to listen to His voice. This passage contains valuable instruction on how to listen to God so we can hear Him amidst all of the confusion and conflicting messages that come from society, even at Christmastime.

My prayer this Christmas is for us be captured by the amazing reality that God is speaking to us! I pray that He will build in us an earnest longing to hear and obey His voice. If we don’t hear from God this Christmas, all festivities are meaningless.

The first thing we have to do if we’re going to hear God speaking is to remember that God has spoken in the past.

It’s kind of like the man whose house was being threatened by rising flood waters. The waters were rising and the city issued evacuation orders. The man refused to go, claiming that He was trusting God to save him. The waters rose and filled the first floor of his house. He was standing at a second story window when a police boat came and told him to get in and be saved. Again he refused, claiming faith in God’s provision. The rising waters finally forced him to the roof of his house. As the waters were about 3 feet from the peak of his house, a rescue helicopter flew in, dropped a rope ladder and urged him to climb up to safety. Again the man refused because he was convinced God would rescue him. The waters finally rose above the man’s house, and swept him away to his death. When he found himself in heaven, facing God almighty, he asked God, “Why didn’t you rescue me when I had so much trust in you?” God answered saying, “Well I sent you an evacuation order, a boat, and a helicopter! What more do you want?”

This man was waiting on a word from God and he died without realizing it had already come. Not only had God’s word of rescue already come, but it had come in many different ways! Verse one serves two similar functions for the author of Hebrews. It is a reminder to his 1st Century Jewish Christian congregation not to neglect God’s word spoken in the Scriptures, what we refer to as the Old Testament. It also emphasizes the fact that God has spoken in many ways as recorded in the Old Testament.

We too must realize the richness of God’s revelation in the Bible. God has spoken to us in many different ways throughout the pages of Scripture, giving us instructions and stories of people living in real-life. These instructions and stories always tell us something about who God is!

Who can read the account of God’s creation in Genesis 1 and 2 without being amazed at God’s power and majesty?
How can we tell the story of the exodus, when God delivered His people from the hands of Pharoah, without getting excited about a God who saves and delivers His people?
Can anyone miss the grace, mercy and forgiveness of God towards the faithless people of Israel as pictured in the attitude of the prophet Hosea toward his wayward wife Gomer?

The Bible is filled with the words of God that make us rejoice, weep, shudder, and wonder at His goodness, grace, wrath, and might.

Appeal to the Word of God was extremely important to the author’s arguments concerning Christ. It is impossible to read through the book of Hebrews without being almost overwhelmed at the abundance of OT quotations and allusions. One commentator suggests that there are thirty-one explicit quotations and four more implicit quotations, a minimum of thirty-seven allusions to OT passages, nineteen instances where OT material is summarized and thirteen more where a biblical name or topic is cited without reference to a specific context.” The author grounds everything in Scripture. It must be the same for us today.

If we don’t speak the message from the Word of God, we simply give our opinions and our words lack the power and authority that comes only from the very words of God given to us in the Bible.

Go to Part 3

Christmas 2007 (Part 1)

2007-12-19T20:31:00.000+07:00

How can we cut through all of the mess in order to emphasize the real meaning of Christmas?

It was God in the manger!

I can’t begin to understand the mind-blowing concept that GOD was born in a manger…not a warm, cozy bed…A feeding trough in a BARN! How can the baby worthy of receiving gold, frankincense and myrrh have, as His first bed, a food bin for cattle?

I believe the dismal, dirty circumstances of Jesus’ birth serve to remind us about how amazing and incredible it is that the God of the universe chose to become human! How can that be? I don’t think our minds will ever be able to comprehend the realities involved. As John MacArthur writes in his book The Miracle of Christmas:

“[No one can] explain how God could become a baby. Yet He did. Without forsaking His divine nature or diminishing His deity, He was born into our world as a tiny infant.

He was fully human, with all the needs and emotions that are common to us all. Yet He was also fully God--all wise and all powerful.

For nearly 2,000 years, debate has been raging about who Jesus really is. Cults and skeptics have offered various explanations. They'll say He is one of many gods, a created being, a high angel, a good teacher, a prophet, and so on. The common thread of all such theories is that they make Jesus less than God. But the biblical evidence is overwhelming that this child in the manger was the incarnation of God.”

The good news of Christmas is that God has spoken in the person of Jesus!

One Christmas memory from my teenage years is related to sports. My sport of choice was wrestling. Now, you might be wondering why in the world I had a desire to dress up in odd-looking underwear, weird shoes, and foam bowls on my ears so that I could roll around on a mat for 6 minutes with another sweaty guy! The key factor was that the other guy was always about the same size as me…very important for an American high school kid who only weighed 119lbs! (I’ve grown a bit since)

So…it was my Senior year. Semi-finals of the Christmas Wrestling Tournament held at my high school. Overflowing stands filled with fans. Final period. Thirty seconds left. Down by one point....

These were the conditions that I faced as I stood face-to-face with my opponent. Me knowing I had to take him down to win. Him knowing he just had to hold out thirty more seconds and he was in the finals of the biggest mid-season tournament in our town. In the midst of the thunder of the cheers and the thoughts inside my head, there was one voice that stood out. One voice that I had been trained to listen to and listen for. That was the voice of my wrestling coach. The words I heard were “SHOOT, SHOOT!!!” And so I did, I dove for my opponent’s legs. It was the only way for me to possibly win the match...

I wish I could say I got the take down, but I can’t. I shot for his legs, but time ran out and I didn’t score. Instead, I became a missionary! The thing that will always stand out to me, however, is the loud, clear voice of my coach...and his later congratulations for an excellent match in which I tried my best.

Do you ever feel like you’re in the final period in your Christian life and everyone is shouting at you? Do you ever feel confused by all the many voices? Don’t you long for a clear, definitive voice of guidance in your life as a disciple of Christ?

As Christians, I know we need a clear, guiding voice at Christmastime! We’re swimming in a sea of secularism and other religions in places where so much of ‘Christmas’ seems to involve shopping and Santa Clause! We’re truly in danger of missing the true meaning of Christmas!

In Hebrews 1:1-4, the author tells us that because God has spoken finally and supremely in His Son, Jesus Christ, we must listen to Jesus’ voice above all others in addressing the concerns of daily Christian life and the concerns of God’s church. In the next few posts, we’ll take a look at what God is saying in these verses and how it relates to our lives.

Hebrews 1:1-4
1 Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets,
2 but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world.
3 He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high,
4 having become as much superior to angels as the name he has inherited is more excellent than theirs. (ESV)

Go to Part 2

Signs of Christmas Confusion

2007-12-17T20:36:00.000+07:00

On a lighter note...

1. Your child looks at the nativity scene nestled serenely beneath your tree and says, “What’s that camel doing in Santa’s workshop?”

2. Little Johnny is writing a letter to Baby Jesus at the North Pole, asking for a pony like the one Mary Christmas rode in the pageant at church last year. You gently correct Johnny’s error: it was a donkey.

3. You sing “Amazing Grace” to the tune of “Frosty, the Snowman.”

4. Your pre-schooler adds a green Play-Doh creature to your manger scene insisting, “Mommy, you forgot the Grinch.

5. In the plywood caravan of magi on your roof, the lead camel sports a red 200-watt nose.

6. Your kindergartner comes home with a story that wise guys from back East (probably from Brooklyn) gave the first Hanukkah presents to three kids named Golda, Frankenstein, and Murray.

7. You’ve been searching your Bible for the story of Amahl and the Night Visitors.

8. You’re surprised when it isn’t eggnog in those tiny cups at communion.

9. Your spouse repaints the front yard nativity scene and gives Joseph a red suit and white beard.

10. You remember the Bible says Jesus was living in a “house” when the wise men arrived; this explains how they were able to come down the chimney.

Merry Christmas!

From 'A View From the Back Pew' by Delia Stewart

New Album: The Altar and the Door

2007-12-14T19:58:00.000+07:00

My friend introduced me to a great new album by Casting Crowns while I was on vacation a couple of weeks ago. Last week, I downloaded the entire album from iTunes and I love it. Musically, the album has style (go here and click on 'Listen to samples' to get a taste). The lyrics, however, are what really get me because they're pretty deep and they don't pull any punches...

Here are the lyrics for the most popular song on the album:

East To West
Written by Mark Hall and Bernie Herms

Here I am, Lord, and I'm drowning in your sea of forgetfulness
The chains of yesterday surround me
I yearn for peace and rest
I don't want to end up where You found me
And it echoes in my mind, keeps me awake tonight
I know You've cast my sin as far as the east is from the west
And I stand before You now as though I've never sinned
But today I feel like I'm just one mistake away from You leaving me this way

Jesus, can You show me just how far the east is from the west
'Cause I can't bear to see the man I've been come rising up in me again
In the arms of Your mercy I find rest
'Cause You know just how far the east is from the west
From one scarred hand to the other

I start the day, the war begins, endless reminding of my sin
Time and time again Your truth is drowned out by the storm I'm in
Today I feel like I'm just one mistake away from You leaving me this way

I know You've washed me white, turned my darkness into light
I need Your peace to get me through, to get me through this night
I can't live by what I feel, but by the truth Your word reveals
I'm not holding on to You, but You're holding on to me
You're holding on to me

Jesus, You know just how far the east is from the west
I don't have to see the man I've been come rising up in me again
In the arms of Your mercy I find rest
'Cause You know just how far the east is from the west
From one scarred hand to the other
One scarred hand to the other
From one scarred hand to the other

Predestination (Part 4)

2007-12-13T14:03:00.000+07:00

Today, I came across a meditation on Acts 16:14 written by John Piper and I was amazed at how well it fits with what I posted yesterday relating to how predestination and evangelism fit together because they are both taught in the Bible. Piper's article adds more Biblical weight to what I said yesterday as he explains why some who heard Paul's Gospel message did not believe and why some believed. If yesterday's post intrigued you in any way, I encourage you to give Piper's article a read: How the Lord of Life Gives Life

Predestination (Part 3)

2007-12-12T20:05:00.000+07:00

If predestination is true, why are you wasting your life as a missionary? God's going to do it all, right?

The simplest explanation for why belief in predestination does not conflict with active evangelistic efforts is that the Bible teaches both. As Bible-believing Christians, we must be careful to believe and defend everything the Bible teaches, nothing less and nothing more. Even though it seems ‘logical’ that belief in predestination renders evangelism meaningless, that view goes beyond the Bible. We must be willing to live with mystery in our lives, realizing that we won’t be able to explain and completely understand how every clear teaching of the Bible fits together with every other clear teaching of the Bible.

Another way to look at things is to realize that God, the One who predestines, has every right to choose the way he works out the salvation of those whom He chooses. According to the Bible, the ONLY way God chooses to effect salvation in those who are chosen is by connecting that person with the Gospel truth (via evangelistic witness, Bible reading, etc.) in such a way that willing, joyful faith is birthed in the heart of that person. In other words, evangelism is THE key tool used by the Holy Spirit to work salvation in all who are chosen.

Predestination (Part 2)

2007-12-11T22:57:00.000+07:00

This post will be more meaningful if you read Part 1 and Romans 9 first...

In my view, unless simply ignore what the words of Romans 9 are clearly saying or do some very fancy interpretation, you will find that God makes a sovereign choice, according to His purposes and wisdom, about individual destinies. In other words, predestination is clearly taught in the Bible.

The most important truth to remember in this whole debate is that every human (except Jesus) is, by nature, a rebel traitor against God who deserves eternal punishment. If we want to speak of fairness, the only fair thing is for every human to be condemned to hell. What is manifestly unfair is that Jesus, sinless and perfect, was crucified on a Cross. If only one human in history was ever saved (say, for example, the criminal on the Cross with Jesus), God would be just to send everyone else to hell because they would all remain rebels. For God to choose some to be saved does not cause God to be unfair or mean to those who are not chosen (all remain deserving of hell because all are rebels); instead, God's choice magnifies His mercy.

It’s important to remember that all who believe in Christ alone for salvation are our brothers and sisters in Christ. This issue should always be discussed with gentleness and humility. Also, we should remember that our primary task as Christians is to tell those who are lost how they can be saved, not to convince Christians to believe in predestination (or any other aspect of a particular theological system). Still, this debate has serious implications on how we view God, especially in how we view God in relation to ourselves. Are we going to be God-centered in our Christianity or man-centered?

Predestination (Part 1)

2007-12-10T16:33:00.000+07:00

Recently, I had a short email conversation with someone who was interested in my views regarding predestination. I've adapted my responses for others who might be interested in the subject...

Is predestination true? Does the Bible really teach that God chooses who will be saved and who won't?

I'll answer this question in two parts...

If you believe the Bible is true, read Romans 9, seeking to dispense with any preconceived notions about what is ‘obviously true’ or what is ‘fair’. Interpret the chapter in a straightforward manner and you will have your answer about predestination. Before you read Romans 9, you should know a few Bible words that relate to the predestination issue:

Election: This is a Bible term for God’s overall work of predestination. I.e. God elects (chooses, selects, picks) those who will be saved.

Calling: This is what God does in the life of one who is predestined/elected/chosen which ensures they will believe.

Now, read Romans 9, being mindful of these definitions. What do you think? Pray about the meaning of this chapter (especially vv. 6-26) and record your thoughts on the matter (preferably before reading part 2).

Back online on December 10

2007-12-03T08:43:00.000+07:00

Due to vacation and work travel last week and this week, I will be unable to post. I look forward to sharing regularly again starting December 10. Blessings!

Persistently

2007-11-23T21:53:00.000+07:00

Jeremiah 35:12-15
"12 Then the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah: 13 “Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Go and say to the people of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, Will you not receive instruction and listen to my words? declares the Lord. 14 The command that Jonadab the son of Rechab gave to his sons, to drink no wine, has been kept, and they drink none to this day, for they have obeyed their father's command. I have spoken to you persistently, but you have not listened to me. 15 I have sent to you all my servants the prophets, sending them persistently, saying, ‘Turn now every one of you from his evil way, and amend your deeds, and do not go after other gods to serve them, and then you shall dwell in the land that I gave to you and your fathers.’ But you did not incline your ear or listen to me."

The faithfulness of God is astounding! When I read these words in Jeremiah, especially within the larger context of Israel's unfaithfulness during that period in history, I am amazed. The depth of Israel's rebellion against the Lord, over and over again, juxtaposed with God's continued mercy, forgiveness and grace simply leaves me at a loss for words when I really get to thinking. The word that stands out to me in the passage quoted above is 'persistently'. God has spoken to His children persistently and He has persistently sent prophets to warn and teach the people how to follow His ways. What an incredible effort expended by the Almighty on a bunch of rebels!

Either God is really quite thick-headed and unable to figure out that these people are so self-absorbed they will never incline their hearts towards Him...or He has a redemptive plan so powerful and amazing that it almost defies human comprehension. Think about what this persistence in the face of rebellion says about the character of God. Knowing that I serve a God like this merciful is incredibly comforting to me. At the same time, it makes me tremble.

Our lives as Christians too often parallel the nation of Israel. We profess deep faith that produces great love for our Savior...then we go off and willfully disregard His will in simple issues of obedience, illustrating a shocking lack of faith. It seems that the Rechabites (read verses 1-11 for more context) among us are far and few between (no, this post is not at all about the issue of alcohol consumption).

Lord, please help me to consider Your persistent action on my behalf to communicate the fullness of your beauty, greatness and love to me, Your enemy. My the power of Your grace working by the Holy Spirit produce in me the will and desire to obey You in all things great and small. I don't want to 'go after other gods to serve them' as I have done so often in the past. Increase my faith, Lord! Amen.

Happy Thanksgiving!

2007-11-22T21:10:00.000+07:00

You may have heard the story of Thanksgiving as a national holiday in its current form. For those who haven't heard, I've copied it below, as posted in a wonderful blog called Girl Talk (Focus: "Conversations on Biblical womanhood and other fun stuff"):

“The Woman Who Brought Us Thanksgiving”
by Harold Ivan Smith

Most Americans associate Thanksgiving with the Pilgrims. Fifty-one survivors of the Mayflower gathered to celebrate after their first fall harvest. Governor William Bradford proclaimed it a day of thanksgiving.

But during the next century and a half, thanksgiving was an irregular celebration, varying from community to community, dependent at times upon the religious and political climates and the attitudes of individual governors.

Then the victory of the Americans over the British at Saratoga in October, 1777 prompted the Continental Congress to set aside December 18 as a day of thanksgiving and praise to be observed by all the colonies.

On September 28, 1863, Sarah Josepha Buell Hale wrote President Abraham Lincoln urging him to make the annual Thanksgiving “a national and fixed Union Festival.” By this time, she had built the circulation of her magazine, Godey’s Ladies Book to 150,000. Hale’s letter could not be ignored. Nor her editorials. Her annual Thanksgiving editorial in Godey’s opened with Nehemiah 8:10: “Then he said unto them, ‘Go your way, eat the fat, and drink the sweet, and send portions unto them for whom nothing is prepared; for this day is holy unto our Lord; neither be ye sorry; for the joy of the Lord is your strength.’”

Hale argued, from her strong Episcopal faith, that if Nehemiah set aside a time of thanksgiving in a time of national stress, “in a time of national darkness and sore troubles, shall we not recognize the goodness of God never faileth, and that to our Father in heaven we should always bring the Thanksgiving offering at the ingathering of the harvest?”

Lincoln weighed the matter and decided that the timing was right for something that would promote national unity. He ordered Seward to draft the proclamation.

Early on October 3, Lincoln read the proclamation: “The year that is drawing toward its close has been filled with the blessings of fruitful fields and helpful skies. To these bounties, which are so constantly enjoyed that we are prone to forget the source from which they come, others have been added, which are of so extraordinary a nature that cannot fail to penetrate and soften the heart which is habitually insensible to the ever watchful providence of Almighty God.”

Seward wrote, “No human counsel hath devised, nor hath any mortal hand worked out these great things. They are the gracious gift of the most high God, who, while dealing with us in anger for our sins, hath nevertheless remembered mercy.”

Lincoln commended Seward for a project “well done” and then focused on the last paragraph: “I do, therefore invite my fellow citizens in every part of the United States, and also those who are at sea and those who are sojourning in foreign lands, to set apart and observe the last Thursday of November next as a day of thanksgiving and praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the heavens.”

Three things struck me as I heard this story read at a Thanksgiving dinner we shared with friends this evening:

The strong Biblical motivation expressed by Sarah Josepha Buell Hale in her editorials urging Lincoln to proclaim a national day of thanksgiving.
The unashamed focus on God by Lincoln in his proclamation. (For more God-focused talk by Lincoln, go to the Lincoln Memorial and read the text of his Second Inaugural Address that is engraved on the wall...or read it here)
Lincoln's inclusion of "those who are sojourning in foreign lands" as part of his proclamation...that's me!

God bless America!

Homosexuality Awareness for Christians

2007-11-20T20:54:00.000+07:00

As Christian believers, it is important for the world to know us by what we are for more than by what we are against. We are for spreading knowledge, excitement and life in and through Jesus Christ! We are against sin, yes, but we are against sin, not because we enjoy being against things and/or people, but because we don't want it to cloud the goodness and glory of Jesus.

Within this mindset, I believe it is important for Christians to understand the culture as it relates to the issue of homosexuality. The reality is that popular opinion and perception of homosexuality has changed incredibly in recent years. The following blog entry by Albert Mohler offers important insight into the current cultural climate on this issue. You can read it here.

As we seek to share the life transforming power of the Gospel with those who commit homosexual acts (yes, their lives do need to be transformed, as any sinner without Christ), we should have accurate awareness of the issues we will face in this process. I pray that we will not be disheartened by our changing cultural climate. I pray it will heighten our awareness of our need to sacrificially and lovingly share the Gospel with those who are lost.

Mindful of the 'Millennials'

2007-11-19T22:27:00.000+07:00

As one who is within the age range usually given to define 'Generation X' (~1964-1980), but on the younger side, I feel a bit schizophrenic when I read articles like The "Millennials" Are Coming. I can certainly identify with some of the things said in the article about the 'Millennial' generation. Still, my typical response is to take all of the good things said about Generation X, lump them together with the admirable qualities of the Millennial Generation and claim the result as a pretty good description of me and 'my kind' (this post is really about humility, can't you tell)! Seriously, I was intrigued when I read the article and thought it might make some light bulbs go on for any of you out there who are over 30. Blessings!

Let the Little Children Come!

2007-11-17T21:06:00.000+07:00

Today was moving day at the House of Grace orphanage in Chantaburi Province, Thailand! The orphanage is run by a Thai pastor and his wife, but 2 members of our home group from church have been intimately involved in the work. Over the last year, a new home has been constructed for the approximately 50 children who, until today, have been housed in cramped quarters at an old school.
Now, the children will live in two sets of dormitories, one for boys and one for girls. Each dorm has 3 wings that are designed to house 8 small children, 2 teenagers, and one houseparent, for a maximum of 60 children. There is also a wonderful dining hall with a large multipurpose educational/worship room upstairs.

There is one thing that makes the House of Grace unique. About half of the kids here are HIV positive. In this loving environment, the children are helped by administering the confusing regiment of drugs and diet restrictions that keep the virus at bay. There is also a dorm that has apartment-style rooms where AIDS widows can stay with their children.

There are tears in my eyes right now as I reflect on what an honor and privilege it was to see this wonderful work firsthand. I was also humbled to meet the Thai couple who have given their lives to those many consider the untouchable refuse of society. Their faith throughout the process that has led them to this day is nothing short of miraculous. Praise God!

'One Issue' Voting

2007-11-16T20:30:00.000+07:00

Pat Robertson has recently raised some eyebrows with his endorsement of Rudi Giuliani for President. The eyebrows are raised because Giuliani's position on abortion is, to quote the Washington Post,

"I hate abortion," which is "morally wrong." But "people ultimately have to make that choice. If a woman chooses that, that's her choice, not mine. That's her morality, not mine."

Columnist Michael Gerson's overall reasoning is sound when he questions the validity of Giuliani's position:

But the question naturally arises: Why does Giuliani "hate" abortion? No one feels moral outrage about an appendectomy. Clearly he is implying his support for the Catholic belief that an innocent life is being taken. And here the problems begin.
How can the violation of a fundamental human right be viewed as a private matter? Not everything that is viewed as immoral should be illegal; there are no compelling public reasons to restrict adultery, for example, or to outlaw sodomy. But when morality demands respect for the rights of a human being, those protections become a matter of social justice, not just personal or religious preference.

John Piper expresses a similar argument in his article, One-Issue Politics, One-Issue Marriage, and the Human Society.

I'm sure Pat Robertson has heard and considered these arguments. His endorsement hinges on the belief that, whatever Giuliani's personal view on abortion, his promise to appoint conservative, 'strict constructionist' judges to the Supreme Court means voting for this particular pro-choice Republican candidate will potentially do more to protect the unborn than support for an unelectable pro-life candidate.

Here is where I cry foul. If the decision is up to me (and it is when I'm in that voting booth), when a candidate has refused to take a stand on an issue of justice, who cares how his presidency might promote an issue I hold dear if such and such and such happens down the road? The bottom line is that there really are single issues that disqualify someone from public office.

In the end we, as Christians, need to remember that we serve a sovereign God who does not require the assistance of the Republican party to ensure that all is right with the world. I won't get into to it now but, in many areas, I feel like I've been 'sold a bill of goods' by a slew of Republicans who, at heart, don't share my convictions about the unborn or other social and moral issues. I feel 'courted' because these folks know they can't win without my 'Evangelical right' vote. So that I don't overstate the issue, let me assert my belief that there are many godly men and women serving in elected positions throughout the country, intentionally glorifying God by their service.

I've lived overseas for many years now in countries (Malaysia and now Thailand) where Christian views have absolutely no impact on the political process. Christians in these countries routinely glorify God and the government never asks their opinion when making policies for the country. America is certainly a bit different. Still, I have to face the fact that 'Republican controlled government' is most definitely not synonymous with 'Motivated by a desire to glorify God-controlled government'.

Based on these observations, I will still continue to exercise my right and responsibility, as an American, to vote. In my mind, however, my vote will serve more as an expression of my Bible-based beliefs than as a tool for making America a more God-centered place (at least in a Clinton-Giuliani-everyone else race). I will not support a candidate who is unwilling to stand up for the rights of America's most oppressed population segment, the unborn.

Let me know what you think. I don't have all the answers on these issues! I'm happy to dialogue with those who disagree.

Prayers in Many Languages

2007-11-15T08:16:00.000+07:00

Our international church in Bangkok recently had a prayer time for the new building that is currently being constructed. The largest room in the new building is designed to be a fellowship hall but it will also serve as a temporary sanctuary seating up to 450 people that we will use until a larger auditorium-style sanctuary can be built on the location of our current, smaller sanctuary.

During the prayer time, a large group from the congregation met together and, with permission from the builders, went into the large, unfinished room to pray. Each of us had with us a permanent marker that we used to write prayers and Scripture verses on the floor and walls of this new room (all will ultimately be covered by carpet and paint).

I was excited about the time because I thought it was cool to be able to write all over the floor and walls! When we started the process, I was blown away by how powerful the experience was. After I finished writing my Scriptures, I started walking around the room and looking at what other people were writing. I started noticing many other languages! Eventually, I started counting until I realized that there were 13 different languages represented on the floor and walls!

I praise God for the wonderful unity within cultural diversity that He has created at our church. I also praise God for the English language which enables all of us to come together for worship, fellowship, and cooperation in outreach to a lost world!

Commission Stories Website

2007-11-13T07:11:00.000+07:00

Please have a look at a new website put out by the International Mission Board called Commission Stories. A few years ago, production of the excellent printed magazine called The Commission was discontinued for financial reasons. Now, through this website, the quality journalism is back with stories about what God is doing around the world. Unlike a printed magazine, the website offers videos and other interactive media to help you get a glimpse of what is happening in places both near and far.

Co-ed Combat and Cultural Cowardice

2007-11-12T11:51:00.000+07:00

I recently ran across the following article by John Piper entitled Co-ed Combat and Cultural Cowardice. It struck a cord with me because our church is currently going through a transition phase where we are making decisions on gender issues as related to church leadership.

Whatever your views on these issues, I encourage you to read Piper's article. It's so shockingly counter-cultural that you will either dismiss Piper immediately as an outdated fool, or you will give the issue some serious thought. I'm certainly not 'egalitarian' or supportive of 'Christian feminist' perspectives. Still, Piper's article was a stretch for me. What I learned is that I need to give the issue more thought and, more than anything, make sure my perspectives are informed by the Bible. As I attempt to let the Bible inform my views, I need to be aware of how powerfully cultural perspectives from the world around me can exert influence as well.

The Fire of God

2007-11-08T19:20:00.000+07:00

Jeremiah 20:9
"If I say, 'I will not mention him, or speak any more in his name,' there is in my heart as it were a burning fire shut up in my bones, and I am weary with holding it in, and I cannot."

Do you ever experience the presence and the power of God in ways like the prophet Jeremiah describes? I pray that God will work in my heart, drawing me nearer to Himself so that I have clear understanding about God's words to me and to those in the church and world around me. As God gives me confidence of His words, through the Word, I pray that God will give me grace, wisdom, faith, and boldness to proclaim those words in exactly the way He intends, to His ultimate honor and glory.

That all might sound great and spiritual, but it's actually very simple: Seek God, hear and understand His Word, obey. Simple yet hard to accomplish because of the sin that continues to dwell in us, even as believers.

Perhaps you or I have experienced God working in us and then through us to communicate life-giving truth into someone's life. It's an amazing experience! We might read Jeremiah's words and wonder what his problem was. Why would he even want to hold God's words inside? Why, if he was right with God and clearly understood God's message, wouldn't he hurry to communicate the truth? To get the answers to those questions, we need to read the rest of the passage and book of Jeremiah.

Jeremiah spent over 40 years proclaiming messages from God that nobody wanted to hear. He started out during the reign of King Josiah (a good King who is cast in favorable light) with a message from God for people to truly repent in order to avoid coming destruction. I can imagine his listeners thinking he was a bit over the top since they were, obviously, in a much better state because of all the reforms Josiah was instituting. 'Just go with this good flow! Don't get so negative on us!'

All the kings after Josiah went downhill morally, leading the kingdom of Judah into multitudes of sins. Jeremiah's message from God shifted to proclamation of God's coming judgment on Judah because of the peoples' continued rebellion against God. These folks definitely didn't want to hear Jeremiah's message. There were at least two plots to kill him along with beatings and imprisonments.

Now, we get a better understanding of why Jeremiah might have desired a break from being the bearer of bad news! Yet he kept preaching. More than that...he was incapable to stop proclaiming God's messages to the people.

When I consider some of the sorry excuses and rationalizations that lead me to put a muzzle on the truth that comes out of my mouth at times, I am ashamed. I've never once been beaten for proclaiming the truth. I've never been in prison. I've never knowingly had my life threatened. It's not threats like these that keep me from proclaiming. Instead, I keep quiet for reasons as ridiculous as finishing the next chapter in a novel.

Lord, please enliven the vibrancy of my relationship with You. Reveal to me the truth You have each day for my life and the truth You wish to convey to others through me. Help me to have the faith to believe that a broken conversation about You with a Buddhist taxi driver will bring more joy than a few pages in a mindless spy novel. Let Your fire burn so brightly in my bones that it has no option but escape through my life! Amen.

Hollywood Writers Strike

2007-11-07T17:31:00.001+07:00

I have recently read a few stories about the current strike by Hollywood screenwriters that has already started to affect some popular shows. Others may go off the air by January or February if the strike continues.

I'm intrigued by the range of emotions I've experienced while reading this news. My first thought was about how this would affect some of the shows my wife and I enjoy watching (we get the DVD versions after the seasons are over and watch at our own pace). Hints of sadness at the thought of being forced to wait longer before I know what happens between Jim and Pam on The Office. I was even a bit put out at the thought of not being able to know how in the world the folks who bring us Lost will continue on after the rather bizarre ending to season 3. What new disaster will Jack Bauer thwart this time (although it can be convincingly argued that the disasters of the last couple of seasons weren't exactly 'new')? We may not find out for quite some time...

Do I feel sorry for the writers who are arguing for more pennies from each DVD sale to come their way? Or do I get angry at the ridiculously rich and greedy studios? What about the actors? What am I to think about all this craziness?

Finally, I drifted back to this reality: Me, myself, and I (along with my multi-million member band of cohorts around the world) am the ultimate source of this madness. If we never bought any DVDs, tuned into a show at the right time or clicked the mouse to visit an official website of my favorite show, there wouldn't be any shows at all! It's that whole supply/demand thing.

How is it that Hollywood pulls millions and millions of dollars from the economy every year? The answer is simple. People like me watch. We usually watch the ads as well. We buy the products that are advertised. That money goes into more ads and that money pays for more TV shows and movies.

What I'm really trying to point out with all this rambling is that it's hard for us to realize the true value that something has for us in our lives until it is gone (at least potentially) and we can gauge our reaction. How much of my life's energy is spent being entertained? How high up on my list of priorities is 'fun'? In the end, I'm reminded of a quote from St. Augustine that hangs beside my desk:

"He loves Thee too little who loves anything together with Thee which he loves not for Thy sake."

Where does Hollywood fit?

Relational Evangelism (Part 2 of 2)

2007-11-06T17:59:00.000+07:00

Go to Part 1
What does it look like to relate to a non-believer in a ‘real’ way while, at the same time, seeking to share the Gospel with that person? I’ll be the first to admit that I’m no authority on the subject. I regularly struggle to find the right balance. I often find myself retreating into comfortable relationships with my family, Christian friends, or a good book in lieu of intentional, real, and meaningful interaction with non-believers. Of course, in Thailand, I have the added communication challenges that come when a foreigner tries to build a relationship with someone from a different culture who speaks a different language! Still, one thing that is non-negotiable is that my relationship with Jesus shines…“You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.

Matthew 5:14-16
“You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.”

If I’m to have a real relationship with a non-believer, we won’t get past the first few conversations without him realizing that Jesus is central to my life. In fact, if I found it easy to interact for weeks or months with a non-believer without making a ‘big deal’ about my faith in Christ, I’d be worried! To me, that would evidence that Jesus hasn’t yet taken control of many aspects of my activities and thoughts about the world around me.

Will a non-believer think I’m strange at times when I express God-centered and Bible-informed views on the things in the world? Of course! Will some decide they don’t want to continue in relationship with me because I’m too ‘out there’? Probably. The number who choose to discontinue the relationship will be much smaller, I’m convinced, than most people fear. God has built people to worship their Creator. Yes, sin has turned us from the worshipers we were intended to be in to rebels to the core, but we’re still hard-wired for worship! As someone relates to me over a period of time, they will begin to get, I pray, a picture of my God-centered worldview. I truly believe that God will use this picture as one tool to draw that person to Himself.

Let’s combine sincere, God-given joy in relating to non-believers with an unashamed willingness to let them see the ‘real us’, especially the real part that desperately seeks to honor Jesus in every aspect of life.

Relational Evangelism (Part 1 of 2)

2007-11-05T20:16:00.000+07:00

What is the essence of our responsibility as believers to share the Gospel? Is going to church enough? What about praying before we eat at a public place? Do we actually have to open our mouths and tell someone we believe in Jesus? Is the goal of 'sharing the Gospel' to get someone to bow their head with us and 'pray the sinner's prayer'? What about street preachers? Should we always rely on a tried and true system to make sure we say everything and don't leave parts out?

So many questions! Often, today, I hear people boil their approach to evangelism down to one word, 'relational'. That sounds good, but what does it mean to do relational evangelism? In my view, it simply means that we share the Gospel with another person within the context of a personal relationship. We don't view people only as potential converts, rungs to climb on the evangelistic effectiveness ladder. We view people as people; people who are worth our time because we have been filled with love for them. Because of this love, we enjoy other people. We enjoy interacting, discussing, and joking. Spending time with people is not the necessary evil required to achieve the goal of glorifying God by that person's conversion. No, spending time interacting with non-believers is, itself, glorifying to God. The Gospel is shared as we intersect our lives with those who are lost.

There is a stream of 'relational' evangelism that bothers me, however. I've heard people describe their interactions with unbelievers as the process of 'earning the right to share the Gospel'. Typically, this means the believer is interacting with a non-believer on various levels in order to 'build the relationship' and 'establish trust'. Almost always, it's implied that this phase should involve little or no verbal discussion about spiritual truths in order to make sure the non-believer doesn't get 'turned off' because the relationship 'hasn't reached that level yet.' According to this view, non-spiritual interaction needs to continue until the right moment arrives and Gospel truth can be shared. The time required for this initial phase varies, but it is usually measured in weeks and months, not in days.

I understand that proponents of the sort of ‘relational evangelism’ just described are reacting against people and methods that insist upon sharing a prepared ‘Gospel presentation’ during every encounter with a non-believer. I, too, do not agree that we should be aiming to steer every conversation toward ‘spiritual matters’ so that we can deliver the full ‘Gospel presentation’ that will be followed by a call for belief and ‘praying the prayer’. Still, ‘relational’ evangelism that tells Christians to interact with non-believers on a non-spiritual level for a long time goes too far to the other extreme.

Here’s the crux of the matter. How can a style of evangelism be relational when a key part of the process involves withholding discussion about the most significant part of the believer’s life? As a Christian, if my relationship to Jesus is central to every aspect of my life, how can I have a true relationship with a non-believer if I intentionally refrain from conversation in this area? That’s not relational, it’s deceptive! If a non-believer doesn’t understand that everything significant about my life relates to Jesus and His work, there is no real relationship.

In Part 2, we’ll look more closely that the type of relationship we should seek with non-believers as we share our very lives with them (including the most important part—Jesus).

Only Hope

2007-11-02T22:45:00.000+07:00

The words of the song Only Hope by Caedmon's Call spoke to me as I was sitting in traffic today. I share them with you here:

Depth of mercy can there be
Mercy still reserved for me?
Can my God, your wrath forbear
Me the chief of sinners, spare?

Chorus
It's my only hope
You're my only hope
It's my only hope of Heaven
At the cross forgiven...

I have long withstood your grace
Long provoked you to your face
Would not harken to your calls
Grieved you by a thousand falls

There for me the Savior stands
Shows his wounds and spreads His hands
Face to face before the Son
And like Isaiah I'm undone

Depth of mercy, vast and free
So much deeper than the sea
God of love, you heard my cry
Now into your open arms I fly

Not All 'Baptists' Are Created Equally

2007-11-01T11:22:00.001+07:00

I was appalled today as I read one of the lead news stories as sorted by Google News. Here's the link. The story is about the settlement awarded to the family of Lance Cpl Matthew Snyder, a marine who died in Iraq last year. Apparently, a church from Kansas picketed his funeral, waving signs suggesting that American deaths in Iraq are due to America's tolerance of homosexuality. I was appalled, not because the court ruled against the church (I'm thankful for that ruling on many levels), but because of the church name: Westboro Baptist Church. The news story points out that the church is not affiliated with any major denomination. In other words, even though it has the word 'Baptist' in it's name, it is not part of any major Baptist convention in the USA; it functions independently.

Yes, living a homosexual lifestyle is sinful and a person who continues in an unrepentant state, ignoring the Bible's teaching about their sin, will go to hell when they die. As Christians, we cannot ignore the seriousness of sin! At the same time...

We must not ignore the majesty and wonder of God's love, mercy, forgiveness, grace, and life-transforming power that is freely available in Jesus Christ for all who will believe!

It is true that a person needs to understand the true meaning of their sin in order to be saved: without Christ, every person is a depraved rebel against our holy and righteous Lord. EVERY human is in desperate need of salvation, hopelessly lost in their sin without Jesus. However, any message that stops there, with only a message of hate and judgment, is NOT a Christian message!

As Christians, let us do the hard work of loving those in society who do not agree with us. Part of loving means we must not condone sinful behavior and we must be honest about the real consequences of sin (in this life and the next). Part of loving also means we continually hold out the hope of Jesus to unbelievers and we continue to act with love towards them even if they do not believe or stop their sinful behavior.

Happy Halloween (or is it?)

2007-10-31T15:00:00.000+07:00

What will you and your children do tonight, October 31, 2007. For much of the world, even Bangkok, Thailand, there will be Halloween parties and kids out trick-or-treating. For believers who are concerned about spiritual things, how should we respond? Whatever we decide, it should be based on a thoughtful desire to honor the Lord. Basing our decision on reasons like 'that's the way I grew up and I turned out alright' or 'it seems harmless enough' is not adequate.

For a thoughtful review relating to Halloween as well as an outline of various Christian response, check out what Southern Baptist speaker, author, and seminary president (he's also my former theology professor), Al Mohler, has to say about Halloween on his blog.

Mobile Fellowship

2007-10-30T20:39:00.000+07:00

Philippians 4:11-13
"Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. I can do all things through him who strengthens me."

Tonight, my wife and I left our house in Bangkok at around 5:45pm to go over to a friend's house for dinner at 6:30pm. Our friend gave me directions over the phone earlier today so I was not worried. At around 6:20pm, I felt we might have missed a turn so I phoned our friend to get some advice, but received no answer. We kept driving.

Eventually, after passing a few bridges and going along the river for a ways, we pulled over to consult the map. Two more phone calls went unanswered and we headed back in the direction we had already come, looking intently for the appropriate landmarks. More phone calls went unanswered. Eventually, we passed the place where we had turned originally, noting the jam of cars a few kilometers long now congesting the way back towards our friend's house. It was now almost 7:00pm.

Our friend called, apologizing that her phone had been on silent mode. I told her we should probably take a rain check on dinner since it would likely take another 40 minutes or more to make our way back towards her place. She understood and encouraged us to have a 'date night.' That sounded good, so we headed to a mall, getting there at about 7:15pm and enjoying dinner together.

After dinner, we boarded the Skytrain and headed to a night market where we stopped at a vendor selling DVDs. We chose a movie to watch together and headed back to the Skytrain, boarding and going to the stop near our house. We then got in a taxi where we realized, once we were 5 minutes from home, that we forgot our truck in the mall parking lot! Now we have to figure out whether or not to go pick it up tonight (traffic issues) or wait until the morning (high fee)...

Speaking honestly, nights like this can eat away at our sense of contentment and joy at our circumstance of living in one of the planet's biggest cities. For two kids (we're not grown ups yet) who grew up tromping around in the Appalachian mountains, Bangkok can feel fairly suffocating. We just go back from a short vacation to a beautiful new (to us) island. It seems that whenever we get away and breathe fresh air for a while, reacquainting ourselves with aspects of the planet other than concrete and asphalt, we have a discussion related to how sure (or not) we are that God wants us in Bangkok and not some mountain or beach getaway (people need Jesus there too, right?).

My phrase for what we experienced in the car tonight is 'mobile fellowship.' It's my humble attempt to apply the verses quoted at the beginning of this blog. We truly want to be content in all circumstances! Which is more enjoyable, sitting in the car for 1.5 hours and getting lost or having an edifying conversation with my wife, without kids? Well, they were one in the same tonight...praise the Lord! Yes, its' a small thing, but it illustrates a crucial point for our Christian walk: What dictates our contentment? Circumstances or the Lord? We certainly don't have it all figured out! We are truly thankful for God's Word in passages like this one that helps focus our hearts and minds in the right direction.

(I still don't know what to do about the truck.)

How Deep Are Your Roots?

2007-10-29T21:28:00.000+07:00

Jeremiah 17:7-10
7 “Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord,
whose trust is the Lord.
8 He is like a tree planted by water,
that sends out its roots by the stream,
and does not fear when heat comes,
for its leaves remain green,
and is not anxious in the year of drought,
for it does not cease to bear fruit.”

9 The heart is deceitful above all things,
and desperately sick;
who can understand it?
10 “I the Lord search the heart
and test the mind,
to give every man according to his ways,
according to the fruit of his deeds.”

As I read this passage a while ago, I immediately asked myself, "How deep are my roots?" I began reflecting on the depth of my spiritual life in the Lord. As I reflected, the Lord called my attention to verse 9 and I was tempted to despair! What good will it do to think about the depth of my trust in God if my heart is so deceitful? Won't my heart just deceive me into thinking that I'm much better off than I really am? (For some the heart might deceive in the other way, loading a person with guilt...that's not my problem)

In the end, I realized once again that God's wonderful grace will sustain me. My relationship with God is not based on theological truths running through my head, or my status as a missionary but on His grace given to me in Christ. Trusting that grace is the only way to be saved. At the same time, the deepening of my spiritual roots is not dependent on my excellent powers of self-reflection and introspection but on the same grace that justified me in the first place!

It's good that the Bible reminds us that we need to root our lives deeply in the Lord. It's also good that the Bible warns us of our deceitful hearts that can easily fool us and lead us astray. In the end, it will only by by the grace of God that we grow ever deeper in our trust of the Lord, weathering the storms and trials of life as we honor Him.

How deep are your roots?

More to come on October 29

2007-10-23T22:15:00.000+07:00

Many thanks to those of you who have been reading regularly. Our family was on a short vacation Oct 20-23 and I will likely be without Internet access while at a meeting Oct 25-28. Blessings!

Listen to the Poor...and Learn (Part 2)

2007-10-19T18:13:00.000+07:00

"Listen, my beloved brothers, has not God chosen those who are poor in the world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom, which he has promised to those who love him?"
James 2:5

Go to Part 1

Why does the passage excite me? In spite of the sin of partiality that remains in my life at times, God has been gracious to show me examples that prove how much there is to learn from poor brothers and sisters in Christ.

In a recent trip to a restricted Southeast Asian country, I had the wonderful privilege of visiting a house church comprised of local believers. The church meets in the home of the core family, an aging mother along with about 8 family members (several unmarried daughters as well as some children from married siblings who are working elsewhere). The house is quite small (probably smaller than the combination of an average living room and kitchen in the USA. What struck me, however, was the uneasy feeling created by the fact that the house appeared as if it would fall down at any minute! There was literally a 40 degree slant to a few walls. Other walls were leaning in different directions and the ceiling was sagging in various ways. Suffice it to say that this family and the church that meets in their house are not well off!

These wonderful brothers and sisters taught me so much in the few short hours I spent with them! The light and joy of Jesus Christ was evident in their lives. I did not bring them money. I did not bring them gifts. The camera I took out of my bag to take pictures could have been sold to repair their entire house! Still, their excitement to see me was based on anticipation that I would share with them from the Bible. I'm convinced that I could have taught them for hours and hours and they would have never grown weary of hearing God's Word!

Their eagerness was not a show. I learned that the church meets daily for extended times of prayer. They meet longer on Wednesdays so they can have Bible time together. On Sunday, over half of the day is spent in worship and study of the Bible. On Saturdays, they go out in strategically planned ventures to share the love of Christ with those around them in their town and in surrounding villages. All of this is in addition to a work schedule that would cause most of us to quit in an instant!

Theses brothers and sisters are truly 'rich in faith.' They taught me about priorities and what it means to live lives that are truly centered around the Lord. The sobering reality for me is the realization that there are likely people just like them in my own church that I don't recognize because of my partiality.

Lord, please forgive me for sinning against poor brothers and sisters, however sub-consciously it may be. Forgive me for missing the valuable lessons You want to teach me through them. Please guide me to see people with Your eyes, never agin missing the Kingdom lessons of faith You want to bring my way through poor brothers and sisters. Amen.

Consider the Poor...and Learn (Part 1)

2007-10-18T22:02:00.000+07:00

"Listen, my beloved brothers, has not God chosen those who are poor in the world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom, which he has promised to those who love him?"
James 2:5

These words from James come in the midst of a section where he warning Christians against showing partiality in the church. As I read the words of James 2:1-13, I get convicted and excited at the same time.

My conviction comes from the realization, as I examine my own life, that I am often guilty of showing partiality based on economic status. I think my subconscious mind goes through a process like this: Poor implies less educated or less diligent either of which gives less weight to what this person has to offer.

How wrong! Yes, it may be true that the perspective of someone with a 3rd grade education should be given less weight when discussing certain topics (like nuclear physics). Also, the Bible has things to say about sluggards which should inform our interactions with lazy people. Even so, there is absolutely no good reason for me to assume either of these things based on someone's economic status. Furthermore, even if one or both of these things is true about a poor person in the church, I need to realize that the rich, educated, and workaholic people also have sins and shortcomings in their lives.

Let's pray and ask God to reveal the sinful ways we show partiality to those around us in church. May He grant us wisdom to grow and to know what we are missing.

In Part 2, I will talk about why I get excited when I read this verse...

Worship & Rest...or 'Fun'?

2007-10-16T19:47:00.000+07:00

Think of the way you spent your last 4 Sundays. What did you do? What was the focus of your heart, mind, and soul? Did your family focus on the Lord together? Did you rest?

In another good article from the Wall Street Journal's Opinion page, Molly Ziegler Hemmingway offers insightful analysis about Sundays in the ever-expanding consumer age. Check it out here.

I'm certainly not one who wants to become a Christian 'Pharisee' with a long list of do's and don'ts about the Sabbath! Still, my own heart is convicted as I ask myself the question, "What do my Sunday activities reveal about the true passions of my heart?"

Speak and Let Speak

2007-10-15T20:54:00.000+07:00

"Will some of them boo? Yes, of course. So what? Too bad. That's the price you pay for being truthful at a tough time. And in America it's always a tough time." --Peggy Noonan

Peggy Noonan recently published an excellent column in the Wall Street Journal. I strongly encourage you to read it here.

As Christians, let's take the lead in boldly proclaiming what we believe with careful, well-thought discourse. Let us also take the lead in boldly listening to what others have to say and being willing to engage them with the truth. America needs this! Of course, to be useful in this type of discourse we, as Christians, need to be rooted in God's truth and mindful about how that truth informs the world around us...

Do You Tremble?

2007-10-13T20:08:00.000+07:00

Jeremiah 5:22a
"Do you not fear me? declares the Lord;
Do you not tremble before me?"

Many times when we think of ways to express our desire to grow in our Christian faith, we use words like these:

LOVE - FAITH - JOY - CONTENTMENT - INTIMACY - DEVOTION - TRUST

All of these words represent aspects of a faithful Christian walk that are indispensable. Still, there are two words in Jeremiah 5:22 that we don't hear too often in discussions about Christian growth:

FEAR - TREMBLE

What's the purpose of these concepts for a Christian who is saved? Aren't the realms of fear and trembling for those who are not believers and, therefore, are facing eternity without Christ? For Christians, there is no need to fear these things since our sins are forgiven and heaven awaits, right?

The words that come just before the verse quoted at the beginning of this post in Jeremiah 5:21 are sobering:

"Hear this, O foolish and senseless people, who have eyes, but see not; who have ears, but hear not."

In verse 20, the Lord instructs Jeremiah to "declare this in the house of Jacob; proclaim it in Judah." House of Jacob! Judah! Wait a minute, those are God's people! They aren't supposed to fear and tremble...God is on their side! Not in this section of Jeremiah. God is warning of the coming judgment that will result from the people's rebellion against Him. Over the years, their zeal for the Lord grew cold and they turned to worthless idols for satisfaction.

If my 'Christianity' is anything less than a life-changing, all-consuming, ongoing encounter with the Lord Jesus Christ, there is much room for fear and trembling in my life. If I'm just going through religious motions, but my true passions lie in other things, how am I any different from Judah in Jeremiah 5? Do I cling to the 'sinner's prayer' that I prayed when I was 15? Do I visit the signpost I planted on the day of my baptism? Do these events have any meaning in the face of a life that is not truly fueled by Jesus Christ? For all who claim Christianity, yet fail to see fruit that comes from faith in their lives, fear and trembling need to play a significant role as motivators for faith and repentance.

Suppose my life is fueled by a growing and dynamic relationship with Jesus. Suppose I have assurance of my salvation that has grown as I've witnessed God-wrought changes in my life that only happened because of the free grace given to me in Christ. Do fear and trembling have a place in my life?

Absolutely! If my focus as a believer is on God, not merely on His gifts (like heaven), my number one passion will be to exalt His Name and spread that passion to other people. There is one major obstacle to fulfilling that passion, however...me! Fear and trembling come in because I know how weak I am; how incapable of bringing honor to God; how hopeless as a guide to the lost and perishing in the world. I'm like Paul in 1 Corinthians 2:3-5:

"And I was with you in weakness and in fear and much trembling, and my speech and my message were not in plausible words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men but in the power of God."

My greatest desire in life is that people will see and know the beauty and wisdom and power of God! I pray that the Lord will help me fulfill that desire with fear and trembling that serve to keep me humble and faithful in pointing people to Jesus rather than myself.

Introduce them to Jesus

2007-10-12T17:28:00.000+07:00

The other day, as I was re-reading the first chapter of John's Gospel, I was reminded of a message given by one of the pastors at our church. Think about what comes to your mind when you hear the following names: John, Peter, Paul, Moses, Abraham, Andrew. Many might nod their heads until they get to 'Andrew.' Who was that guy anyway?

Your memory might be helped by my John 1 reference. In John 1:35-42, we read about Jesus' calling of the first disciples. We hear that two disciples of John were standing with him when they saw Jesus and He invited them to follow Him. One of these two disciples was Andrew. What did Andrew do after meeting Jesus and spending a little time with Him? Verses 41-42 tell us: "He first found his own brother Simon and said to him, 'We have found the Messiah'...He brought him to Jesus."

What immediately happens once Andrew brings his brother, Simon, to Jesus? The focus shifts to Simon! "Jesus looked at [Simon] and said, 'So you are Simon the son of John? You shall be called Cephas' (which means Peter)" (John 1:42). From what we read in the rest of the New Testament, we know that Peter is a very dynamic, up-front sort of guy. We can imagine the way his personality caused him to overshadow his brother, Andrew. Still, Andrew did not hesitate. He brought his brother to Jesus, perhaps giving up influence and notice for himself. Andrew's love for his brother and his desire to honor the Lord resulted in a leader like Peter, who was used by God to bring thousands to faith (see Acts 2:41)!

There is another setting in John's Gospel where Andrew plays a significant part in another opportunity to highlight and emphasize the power of God through Jesus. Remember the story of Jesus feeding the multitude? He took a small boy's lunch of 2 fish and 5 loaves of bread and distributed it to 5000 men plus women and children. In the face of all those mouths to feed, who brought the boy to Jesus? Andrew was the one (John 6:8-9).

What about us? Whatever gifts, skills, and abilities God has given. Whatever God's call on our lives. Are we willing to be like Andrew? Are we willing to operate in the background, giving our lives to the simple, yet powerful, process of introducing people to Jesus? Whether or not God calls any of us to be great and powerful leaders for His glory, I pray that we will all realize that the real power in the Gospel only happens when people get introduced to Jesus.

The Christian's Most Ridiculous Sin (Part 2 of 2)

2007-10-11T20:51:00.000+07:00

In part 1 of this post, I suggested that worry in a Christian’s life might be a pointer to unbalanced priorities or undue attention to what others think when they are disappointed by our Christ-centered decisions. Sometimes, however, we do our very best, for God’s honor and glory and we still worry! The reality is that circumstances don’t always work out the way we plan, even with the best, most God-honoring intentions.

When it seems like living our priorities is getting us nowhere, what is our response? First, we should check our priorities and get counsel to make sure we’re not missing the boat. But what comes next? Worry in these situations, no matter how important the issues, can represent a lack of trust on our part.

It’s like the famous tightrope walker at Niagara Falls, ‘Blondin.’ He walked across the falls pushing a wheelbarrow! Later, in the New York Times, he communicated that he would gladly push any lady across for free (guys had to pay for the ‘privilege’)!

Would you get in the wheelbarrow? If you say that you believe he can do it with no harm, but won’t get in, do you really trust him and his ability? Maybe you go, but worry the whole time. That’s belief, but without complete trust (Like the Christian who strives to keep Godly priorities but gets in a jam and lets that ruin him). Or maybe you go with the faith of a child completely trusting and enjoying a thrilling ride unlike anyone else in the world!

We must believe we are God’s children and trust Him with our lives and priorities. We’ve got to obey the Lord by letting Him control our priorities. Finally, we need to pray that He will give us the joy-filled, childlike faith to trust Him when the priorities He has given conflict with the priorities of our sinful nature and the priorities of the world.

God’s Word is very clear. Do not worry! Pray instead with a thankful heart. This is the path to peace and joy that will shine brightly in the world because it is so peculiarly wonderful!

Philippians 4:6-7

“Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

In Memory of Khun Samien

2007-10-10T22:43:00.001+07:00

Ecclesiastes 7:1-4
1 A good name is better than precious ointment,
and the day of death than the day of birth.
2 It is better to go to the house of mourning
than to go to the house of feasting,
for this is the end of all mankind,
and the living will lay it to heart.
3 Sorrow is better than laughter,
for by sadness of face the heart is made glad.
4 The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning,
but the heart of fools is in the house of mirth.

Tonight I attended the funeral of Khun Samien, caretaker/handyman/guard at our church in Bangkok, Thailand. For most of the time we have been at this church, Samien has been sick with liver cancer. As a result, I didn't know Samien and I can't recall if I ever met him. Still, his funeral was something special because Samien knew Jesus and he led his wife and two daughters to follow Jesus as well. As a result, his service was one of celebration!

I truly believe that funerals are better than birthdays and weddings. Why? Funerals cause us to reflect on the truly important things in life. When a baby is born or two lovebirds are married it's easy to feel 'joyful' in ways that give little or no acknowledgment to the Lord. At a funeral, the only true joy possible comes from focusing on the Lord.

At this funeral, after singing, a recorded testimony from Samien himself, and heart tugging, challenging words from our pastor, the floor was opened to stories and testimonies from those present. I was amazed. Almost every story was one that described how Samien's life and words brought someone to faith in Jesus Christ. One man who knew Samien years ago declared publicly his desire to renew his commitment to Jesus!

I realized tonight that Samien lived well. He was a poor servant to a 27 year stream of (mostly) American pastors and staff members who lived at the church. Yet he was rich in the Spirit of God and his life was used powerfully to impact many.

I also realized that Samien died well. As cancer ravaged his body and frayed the edges of his family's emotional and spiritual stability, Samien remained rock steady in his faith. Praise God!

Lord, I did not know Your servant Samien, but his life impacted the hearts of many people who are dear to me. I praise You for him. I pray that You will work powerfully in my life during these 'easy' times, building my passion and joy in You. Strengthen me so that when tragedy, sickness, and death impact my life, my 'default mode' will be praise and joy! You are the King of life! Amen.

The Christian's Most Ridiculous Sin (Part 1 of 2)

2007-10-09T20:26:00.000+07:00

Almost everyone will acknowledge the need for priorities in life. After all, there are only 24 hours in each day, 7 days in each week, and 52 weeks in each year. We are constantly faced with the need to decide what things in life are more important than other things? As Christians, the trick is to discern God’s priorities. We often look to verses like Matthew 6:23, “But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you” as guidelines for our priorities. A typical Christian priority list might look like this…

GOD - FAMILY - CHURCH – WORK/SCHOOL – OTHER PEOPLE

Planning our lives around priorities like these is essential. However, as we trust God and remain faithful in these priorities, conflicts will arise (back to the 24 hours in one day thing). What is our response when priorities conflict and we face the constant struggle between what is ‘best’, the ‘tyranny of the urgent’, and the pull of our worldly desires?

Enter in: The Christian’s most ridiculous sin…worry. For many of us our response is to become anxious and frustrated because we cannot seem to accomplish everything we ‘need’ to do in a way that brings joy and fulfillment. We worry in spite of the Bible’s clear command that tells us not to worry (Phil. 4:6). What might our worry be telling us if we are willing to have a look?

Worrying may be a signal of not following God’s command in Colossians 3:23: “Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men.”

When we choose to spend time indulging our flesh (even if no blatant sin is involved), then we might find ourselves ‘without time’ for other things that are clearly more important. Selfishly indulging our ‘wants’ does not count as ‘working heartily’ and does not keep God at the center of our activity.

On the other hand, it might not be our selfish desires that rob our Christ-centered energy. Instead, we sometimes allow the responses of other people dictate our anxiety level. There will be times when a well-balanced and God-focused Christian disappoints people by making the best decisions. If we are working for men more than for the Lord, anxiety will inevitably arise when living our priorities conflict with the expectations of others.

Bottom line: Are we truly pouring out our lives through prioritized involvement in God-focused work? If the answer is ‘yes’, I believe we will be a step closer to a life of joy and contentment that is free from worry.

Go to Part 2

The Worth of the Word

2007-10-06T21:00:00.000+07:00

Psalm 119:72
“The law of your mouth is better to me than thousands of gold and silver pieces.”

Would you be willing to give up your God-given blessing of having and reading His Word if someone paid you $1 million? Of course not! What about giving up the Bible for two or three months for $1,000? Again, a real Christian would not be interested. As Christians we agree with the psalmist when he writes “The law of your mouth is better to me than thousands of gold and silver pieces” (Psalm 119:72). We all nod our heads to this Scripture, but do we really believe it? Do we live it?

In reality, we sell out our opportunities to read and cherish God’s Word for a lot less than $1,000. Consider a Christian who desires to know God and, therefore, seeks to read the Bible everyday. Life gets busy and follow-through only happens on 4 days of the week. That’s 3 days per week without the Bible, which adds up to 5 months and 6 days per year, which, from college graduation to retirement, adds up to more than 18 years!

If you do an ‘average’ job of reading your Bible 4 days per week throughout your working years, you will sell out over 18 years worth of days for what? Extra sleep? That TV show you really don’t want to miss? More time at the office? Think of the days when you fail to read the Bible. Is there ever a day when you don’t spend 30+ minutes doing something at the ‘watch-the-TV’ level or less? Probably not many and the reality is that spending time with God in His Word is more important than eating (Job 23:12)! Nevertheless, we sell out the Bible for things that have no real value at all.

Let us get on our knees together and repent before the Lord for the way we have belittled the value of His most precious Word. Let us pray for the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with a passion for the Bible unlike anything we have ever imagined. Let us pray for the courage and the discipline to plan priority time each day that is centered on the Bible.

Christ's Example of True Love (Part 3 of 3)

2007-10-05T22:46:00.000+07:00

This post is part of a multi-part series that is examining 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 to discover the nature of true love.

Go to Part 1, 2

How can we hope to love with the same sort of life-encompassing selflessness that is described in 1 Corinthians 13:4-7? To ask how a sinful person like you or me can show forth the love of Jesus in every area of our lives is like…
• A caterpillar asking what he needs to do to fly
• A tadpole asking what he needs to do to jump
• A seed asking what it needs to do to smell like a rose!

• For a caterpillar to fly, he must be transformed into a butterfly
• For a tadpole to jump, he must be changed into a frog
• For a seed to smell like a rose, it must fall to the ground and die and then rise up, transformed into the beauty of a sweet-smelling rose

For you and me to have love like we see in this passage…
• We must be changed
• We must be transformed
• We must be born again
• We must be made new creatures by the grace of God through faith in the shed blood of Jesus Christ who died on the Cross and then rose from the grave, defeating sin and death, and making it possible for us to know our Creator!

When Christ changes our lives, he gives us the gift of love like that which is described in 1 Corinthians 13! Is your life characterized by this gift of love? Obviously, all Christians still struggle with sin, but does it bother you when one of your actions, words, or thought is not characterized by love? A true Christian’s life will show the fruit of true love!

You can be a faithful churchgoer; you can do great things to help those in need; and you can speak spiritual words of wisdom which seem to come from the mouth of God himself…You can do all these things….and more…without love!

All of us who would claim to be Christians must examine our lives to see if they are characterized by love! If not, we need to hear the warning of this passage! “If we do not have love, it profits us nothing.” Nothing! Nothing in this life or in the life to come!

My father-in-law is a big NASCAR fan, and I enjoy watching the races from time to time. Several years ago, I was in a NASCAR store in the USA. Inside the store, they had a real race car! I think it was from a famous driver at the time. I remember looking at it in amazement! … There was only one thing missing…the engine!

The car looked great on the outside, but it was lacking the one thing on the inside that makes it do what it is intended to do! Without that engine, what was sitting in the store was worthless racecar! It was only good for a store display!

A Christian is made to bring glory and praise to God through the love that is displayed in our lives. We have to ask ourselves…Do our lives lack love? If they do, we are like cars without engines. We cannot fulfill our purpose in life of bringing honor and glory to God! No matter how ‘good’ all the ‘spiritual’ things we do make us look on the outside, without love, we can are of no use to God.

I pray that we will examine our hearts, searching to see if our lives are characterized by love.

Christ's Example of True Love (Part 2 of 3)

2007-10-04T20:21:00.000+07:00

This post is part of a multi-part series that is examining 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 to discover the nature of true love.

Go to Part 1

To understand this passage, we need to look at the surrounding passages…Chapter 13 is in-between two chapters that deal specifically with spiritual gifts. This discussion on spiritual gifts comes within a larger section dealing with the public worship of the Corinthians. Apparently, members of the church were having ‘spiritual gift wars.’ Some were boasting about their gifts, while others must have been complaining about not having certain gifts. Whatever their problems were, Paul makes it very clear that spiritual gifts are given by God to bring the whole church closer to God.

When Paul talks about gifts, it’s also important to see that he’s not just talking about things given to ‘elite’ Christians. He was speaking to all the believers in Corinth because every believer is gifted and every believer is expected to use his or her gift.

With this truth in mind, we can see that this passage applies to all of us who are Christians. We can also see more clearly that Chapter 13 is used specifically by Paul to show us that for any part of our lives as Christians to have real value or meaning, it must be characterized by love!

• Relationships
• Marriages
• School
• Job
• ‘Good’ things
• ‘Spiritual’ things

In other words, the love that is described in verses 4-7 must characterize every part of our lives!

I like the way Eugene Peterson describes love in The Message, his paraphrase of the New Testament:

Love never gives up.
Love cares more for others than for self.
Love doesn't want what it doesn't have.
Love doesn't strut,
Doesn't have a swelled head,
Doesn't force itself on others,
Isn't always "me first,"
Doesn't fly off the handle,
Doesn't keep score of the sins of others,
Doesn't revel when others grovel,
Takes pleasure in the flowering of truth,
Puts up with anything,
Trusts God always,
Always looks for the best,
Never looks back,
But keeps going to the end.

In other words, love is that attitude of heart that shows itself by a willingness to sacrifice our desires and needs in order to put others first! May God shine this type of love forth through my life every moment of every day!

Go to Part 3

Christ's Example of True Love (Part 1 of 2)

2007-10-03T21:47:00.000+07:00

What do you think of when you hear the word, “love”? What does society think of when it hears that word? To get an idea, I went to Google and typed in the word ‘love.' In the top 10 sites, there is not one that mentions Christ's love! There's a love calculator, a site that connects love to astrology, several dictionary/encyclopedia entries on love, and a matchmaking site from India, to name a few! Unfortunately, these search results give what is probably an all-too-accurate picture of the moral state of our society! Thankfully, the top 10 don't include the pornographic side of the Internet that lurks just below the surface for that search.

When I consider these results as well as the reality I see all around in Bangkok, Thailand, I am tempted to throw my hands up in the air and cry “What’s the use? Our society’s too far gone!” “The Bible could never apply to this kind of gross immorality!” Actually, there was a specific city during the time of the Bible that probably would have had similar search results if the Internet had been a reality back then. That city is the Achaean city of Corinth, in what is today Greece.

Corinth was the foremost commercial center in southern Greece during Biblical times and it was renowned for its sexual corruption. Aristophanes, the Greek philosopher, coined a new word, corinthiazesthai, which means “to practice fornication, or sexual immorality.” Plato also spoke of “Corinthian girls” to talk about prostitutes. Additionally, it is estimated that theTemple of Aphrodite housed up to 1000 temple prostitutes!

Still, into this city of corruption, God sent Paul to bring the Gospel! The church that Paul established in Corinth was not without its problems, however…If we look in the book of 1 Corinthians, we find a whole chapter in which Paul denounces immorality such as that which was present with a man who was sleeping with his step mother!

It’s within this context that we find 1 Corinthians 13. This chapter is not just thrown in out of nowhere! It applies specifically to the believers in the Corinthian Church and I believe it applies to the church today. In the next few posts, I’ll take a closer look at the following passage from the Bible:

1 Corinthians 13:4-7

⁴Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant ⁵or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; ⁶it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. ⁷Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
Go to Part 2

Righteous Anger? Maybe...

2007-10-02T22:19:00.000+07:00

James 1:19

¹⁹Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger; ²⁰for the anger of man does not produce the righteousness that God requires.

James 4:1-4

4 What causes quarrels and what causes fights among you? Is it not this, that your passions are at war within you? ²You desire and do not have, so you murder. You covet and cannot obtain, so you fight and quarrel. You do not have, because you do not ask. ³You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions. ⁴You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.

For some people, anger comes as a quick flash of temper that rises faster than a flash flood in a narrow canyon. For others, anger presents itself as a slow, simmering heat that almost never shows itself above the surface. Both, according to James 1:20, fail to lead down paths of righteousness.

What do we do, then, when we are wronged? Can’t I be righteously angry at someone who wrongs me as long as I ‘let it go’ sooner rather than later (see Eph. 4:26-27)? Isn’t anger, like what Jesus displayed in the temple with the money changers (see Matt. 21:12-13), sometimes required to ‘produce the righteousness that God requires’? The answer to all of these questions is a highly qualified ‘Maybe.’

The two passages quoted above give me some serious questions to consider before I might consider any anger I might feel is ‘righteous’…

Have I listened (‘quick to hear’) and fully comprehended the situation and the relevant issues before becoming angry?
Has part of my listening involved restraining my desire to argue, trying to make sure my point-of-view is fully heard (‘slow to speak’)?
Has my anger resulted slowly as I’ve listened and, even after giving others the benefit of any doubts, become convinced that there is something seriously wrong and dishonoring to God in the situation (‘slow to anger’)?
If I’ve come to the slow and considered conclusion that my anger is justified, can I honestly say that my own sinful passions and desires for things like pleasure, recognition, power, comfort, or convenience are not significant factors helping to justify my anger (see James 4:1-4 above)?

In my experience, my anger is rarely ‘righteous’ and almost always results because someone has acted or something has happened that does not fit my expectations of how I want my life to go. At root, I get mad because I feel some ‘right’ of mine to a pleasant life has been violated and I want everyone else to be sorry about that (or at least as miserable as I am)!

How can we have this attitude when we reflect on the fact that, “while we were enemies [of God] we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son” (Rom. 5:10)? When we are wronged, we must forgive (Matt. 18:21-22), not angrily demand apologies. When circumstances collide to make our lives difficult, we must not take it out on everyone around us or shake our fists at God. Instead, we must “know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose” (Rom. 8.28).

As one who is not unfamiliar with of a quickening pulse as anger begins to rise, I pray regularly that God will give me the grace to love deeply, forgive freely, and to ‘count it all joy’ (James 1:2-3)!

Why pray, ‘Thy kingdom come’?

2007-10-01T21:01:00.000+07:00

Matthew 6:9-13
“Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil."

This weekend, while I was on a men’s retreat with my church in Bangkok, I was especially touched as we worshiped in song together. During one particular song, we repeated the chorus, ‘Come, Lord Jesus, come’ many times. As we sang these words, I felt, perhaps more than ever, the sincerity and urgency of my desire for Jesus to return to the earth in power. I wanted desperately for His light to break through the darkness of the night outside as He appeared along with legions of angels! I want it right now as well.

Why? Why do I have such a passionate desire for Jesus to return? Is it because I want to go to heaven? Do I want to see all the evil and injustice in the world erased in a moment? Of course I want these things! The reality that formed the base of my earnest desire for Jesus’ return during that song was more personal, however. God enabled me to see beyond the reward of heaven and beyond judgment for all those evil people out there. He poured into my heart a desire to see Him glorified, lifted high for all to see; a righteous anger at the way sin in the world clouds the ability to see clearly the One who is so worthy. At that moment, my spirit was broken within me and tears came to my eyes because I realized that, while He tarries, my sin also steals His glory.

Praise God that He made a way in Jesus to rescue every single glory-stealing rebel like me who repents and believes the gospel! Praise God that He sanctifies struggling saints, making us more and more holy. I know that God has perfect timing in His perfect plan for bringing glory to himself in this world. Right now, I’m not thinking about heaven or the evil of everyone else in the world…I simply want Jesus to come back right now so that no glory will be stolen from Him by even one more sin of mine.

Jesus, I'm NOT in love with You...

2007-09-27T09:20:00.000+07:00

Can an individual Christian believer who lives a life that is passionately devoted to serving Jesus Christ make the statement, 'Jesus, I'm NOT in love with You' and, at the same time, obey Jesus' command in Matthew 22:37 to "love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind"?

Noted Christian author and apologist John G. Stackhouse, Jr. believes the answer to this question is a resounding 'YES!' Check out his blog to see his thoughts on the matter, along with some lively discussion in the comments section there.

Personally, I believe Dr. Stackhouse makes some good points, both theologically and experientially. I am not, in any way, suggesting that we downplay the importance of expressing the depth of our love for Jesus in our songs. As Jonathan Edwards, perhaps America's most important theologian, argues, true Christian religion is a matter of the religious affections, those strong inclinations of the soul that go beyond simple emotion. If we claim to be believers who love Jesus and we don't experience that relationship intensely, to the depth of our being, how can we say that we are wholly committed to Him?

When things like the latest game of our favorite sports team, or a much needed vacation in our favorite spot consume our emotions, intellect, longings, and desires in deeper ways than our relationship with Jesus, something is wrong! Augustine said it another way:

"He loves Thee too little who loves anything together with Thee which He loves not for Thy sake."

All of this is to say that, yes, we have a desperate need to express our love to Jesus...we cannot ignore this fact, no matter how uncomfortable it might be for some. At the same time, as Dr. Stackhouse points out, we should be careful that the language we use to express this love does not miscommunicate important biblical truths, creating misconceptions that could actually hinder our quest for a close, profound walk with Jesus.

Keep Praying for Myanmar

2007-09-26T17:10:00.000+07:00

The Lord is a stronghold for the oppressed,

a stronghold in times of trouble. -Psalm 9:9

Please stop, right now, and go before the Lord in prayer on behalf of the people in Myanmar. According to recent news reports, a mild crackdown on non-violent protests led by the country's monks has begun. Reports of tear gas, warning shots from rifles, arrests, and beatings are coming out of the country.

I won't write anymore so you will have just a little bit more time to pray!

Enjoying Diversity in the Kingdom of God

2007-09-25T21:08:00.000+07:00

Please, don't freak out! I'm not coming out in support of homosexual marriage or the ordination of gay priests/pastors! I'm also not going to unleash a diatribe on racial tensions, prejudices, and discrimination that still exist in America and around the world. Instead, I'm praising the Lord for allowing me to be part of an international church fellowship in Bangkok, Thailand where I get to worship and minister alongside brothers and sisters in Christ from as many as 40 different nations on any given Sunday!

Two Sundays ago, we had a newcomers lunch after our last morning service. I counted 25 new faces at the lunch. As we went around the room, I recorded the home countries of each person. When it was all said and done I realized that these 25 people came from 11 different countries! The countries represented were Australia, New Zealand, United States, Peru, Thailand, Indonesia, Philippines, Hong Kong, South Korea, India, and Holland. If you count England, where one of the Thai women spent the last several years, it's 12 different countries!

Last year, at one baptismal service that stands out in my mind, we baptized a Chinese couple from Hong Kong, an American teenage girl, a Brazilian teenage boy, a Thai man, and a family (1 brother and 2 sisters) from Iraq. I regularly stand amazed at how God is bringing together people from so many different cultures, occupations, and socioeconomic levels.

A guest speaker at church this Sunday suggested that the first recorded church outside of Jerusalem was an international church in Antioch. Just look at Acts 13:1 which reads, "Now there were in the church at Antioch prophets and teachers, Barnabas, Simeon who was called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen a member of the court of Herod the tetrarch, and Saul." Barnabas and Saul (Paul) were Jewish; Simeon was likely African; Lucius was from a Greek city in present-day Libya; and Manaen was a local from Antioch (present-day city of Antakya, Turkey)! It was out of this context that God birthed the missionary journeys of Paul and Barnabas that planted the seeds needed for Christianity to spread throughout the world.

As is true for every Christian group I know, there is some unifying factor outside of the gospel that helps bring people together in a given church, no matter how diverse they may be in other areas (like ethnic origin). For our church in Bangkok, like the church in Antioch, it's language. They spoke Greek and we speak English. International churches are certainly not the only strategy needed to reach international (non-Thai) people in Bangkok. Some groups will require specific strategies in the languages of their homelands. Others will integrate into Thai society and be best reached through Thai-speaking strategies. Still others need specialized approaches that may or may not come through the ministries of international churches (like outreach to 'backpacker' long-term tourists).

At the end of the day, I'm extremely thankful to the Lord for the way He has enriched my understanding in so many aspects of my life and faith through interaction with godly people from such a wide range of cultures. Praise Him!

Pray for Myanmar (Burma)!

2007-09-24T20:27:00.000+07:00

You may have seen in the news of the growing protests against the oppressive military regime that has ruled Myanmar since 1962. Not since a popular 8/8/88 uprising led by university students was crushed with thousands of deaths has the country seen such widespread protests. This time, the Buddhist monks have taken the lead.

I was in Myanmar on August 15 when the government made an unannounced 100% fuel price increase that, in turn, triggered increases in every other area of life (like transportation and food costs). Even before the price increase, as I traveled a bit outside of the capital city, visiting several groups of Christian believers, I commented to my traveling partner that things seemed more tense than I had ever witnessed in 5 years of travel in Myanmar. The believers, especially, were scared to be seen with people like me (i.e. Caucasians) because they feared government officials who are known for their relentless interrogations.

Nobody knows what will happen as the current situation continues. As believers, we must get on our knees and pray that God will be glorified, whatever transpires. Change always creates challenges and opportunities for the spread of the Gospel message.

We must pray that God will grant both wisdom and boldness to national Christians and missionaries alike. This type of prayer goes beyond praying for an end to oppression and a rise of democracy! Throughout history, God has done some of his most amazing work in the midst of severe storms of disaster, oppression, and persecution. God has also done amazing work through liberation, freedom, and democracy coming to nations. The point is that, as believers, we seek whatever will cause the beauty and worth of our Savior Jesus Christ to shine most brightly in the darkness!

Wisdom: Enhanced by Community

2007-09-22T20:06:00.000+07:00

Proverbs 26:12
"Do you see a man who is wise in his own eyes? There is more hope for a fool than for him."

I read this verse today and it struck something within my spirit. Do you know any people who are very intelligent but still never seem to get much of significance accomplished? If others are following these people, they are doing it with reluctance and even bitterness. In my experience, there is usually no problem with intelligence or right answers. Lack of humility is the issue.

If we look back a couple of chapters in Proverbs, we can find the following description of a wise person in chapter 24 verses 5-6: "A wise man is full of strength, and a man of knowledge enhances his might, for by wise guidance you can wage your war, and in abundance of counselors there is victory." Someone who is truly wise, however intelligent, will always know the value of input from others. A wise man might be confident about the truth in a given situation yet still seek counsel from others. He will know there is always more to learn; always some improvement that can be made. When the time comes to make a decision, he will not waver. Still, those around him, even if they don't agree, will be less likely to charge him with arrogance or insensitivity.

This week, I faced some interesting circumstances that required difficult decisions on my part. I was incredibly grateful for perspective and counsel that I was able to get from others. In the end, my overall assessment of the situation did not change through these conversations, but I'm sure it was refined. The decisions I ended up making turned out to be good, as evidenced by circumstances that changed for the better as well as affirmation by others.

Throughout the whole process, I was progressing with fear and trembling because I know my own faults and weaknesses. I sought the Lord through prayer, His Word, and godly counsel. In the end, I believe the actions I took and the words I spoke were wise. The reality of the situation is that any wisdom was not my own, however, but the Lord's. I praise God that, this week, Proverbs 26:12 was true in my life, in a positive sense. I pray for God's grace to continue on this good road.

Suing God

2007-09-21T16:37:00.000+07:00

Yes, the title of the post is correct. Check out the news story of Nebraska State Senator Ernie Chambers who filed a county court lawsuit against God! Apparently, his suit seeks a "permanent injunction ordering Defendant to cease certain harmful activities and the making of terroristic threats."

When I read the story, I was intrigued, especially in light of my recent series of posts "Tyrants, Terrorists, and Tragedies." In those posts, I argued that, even if God does intentionally send disasters of whatever form to the world, he is not unjust because human sin is so serious. Of course, the only brief needed in God's favor is the Bible, which clearly explains the issues involved. The problem is we too often refuse to listen!

Senator Chambers claims that he is not upset with God. He's simply trying to make a point about frivolous lawsuits. Sadly, however, many people all over the world, including some inside 'Evangelical' Christian circles, live their lives as if the lawsuit is valid. Here are some potential responses:

Yes, God is guilty. I would be thrilled if, in the name of justice, God could be banned from causing natural disasters.
Actually, the lawsuit needs to be expanded. God is sovereign and in complete control of all that happens in the world. As such, He needs to be put on trial for every crime that has ever taken place...He had the power to stop them all and he didn't. That makes Him a criminal accessory, right?
No, God is not guilty. He was like a clock maker when he created the world. He made it, wound it up, and now sits back letting it go. Any problems are not His fault.

The list could go on and on. If we believe the Bible, we will remember that God is the one who defines what is good and right. God cannot sin.

Instead of shaking our heads in confusion or shaking our fists in anger, we need to shout for joy and bow in worship before God, the One who created us, saves those who believe through Jesus, and holds every atom in the world together moment by moment! Let God be God!

Letting God Work in Salvation

2007-09-20T20:32:00.000+07:00

Last night I taught the third installment of a basic Christianity class to several junior high students at our church in Bangkok. The topic for the evening was 'How Can I Be Sure of My Faith.' I taught from passages in the Bible that show how God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit play various roles in our life as believers to assure us that we belong, irrevocably, to Him.

One of the key parts of the lesson involved what sorts of things should not be the ground of assurance that we are true believers in Christ. For example, I stressed that assurance should not be based on a 'salvation experience' in the past where a hand is raised to 'accept Christ', the 'sinners prayer' is prayed at an invitation time, or some other event like these. One perceptive student explained it well when she said, "If you don't have faith in God, saying the sinner's prayer doesn't mean anything...it's just words."

A few days ago, a colleague drew my attention to a blog post by fellow Southern Baptist missionary David Rogers entitled Keith Green and 'Spiritual Abortion'. It's worth checking out. More importantly, it's worthwhile for all of us to consider what we and those around us look to as the basis for our assurance in Christ.

Content in the Hands of God

2007-09-19T17:08:00.000+07:00

Imagine the following scenario: You are sitting in a room calmly looking at a beautiful aquarium when, suddenly, a giant who is 3 times your height grabs you in his arms and carries you out into the hot afternoon sun. He then takes you to a massive piece of machinery and balances you on one hip with his left arm while he opens a door in the machinery. Both of his hands then grab you, strapping you into the machine in such a way that escape is absolutely impossible. During the whole process, there is one reality that never changes:

You have no control whatsoever over what the giant does to you!

What would your response be to such an event? Would there be peace and contentment in your heart? Would you smile with joy, even laughing on occasion in the midst of everything? Those aren't the thoughts that come into my mind, for sure!

This exact set of circumstances happened to my family this afternoon in Bangkok, Thailand. My one-year-old son was in my office standing on a chair looking at the goldfish in my aquarium. It was time to go, so I picked him up, proceeded outside to our truck, and strapped him into his car seat. Was he afraid? Did he freak out and struggle against me? Did he fear for his life as I held him in one arm in order to open the door? The obvious answer to all of these questions is a resounding 'No!'

Why was my son content, helpless as he was in this situation?

My son trusts me. I have never done anything that would lead him to believe I mean him harm. I have never picked him up to take him somewhere and ended up dropping him on his head. He is secure in my arms.

My wife commented as I was putting our son in the car that we need to be trusting with God in the same way. How true! Has God ever given us reason not to trust Him? Has God ever caused or allowed any harm to come to us that wasn't for our good and His glory? Do we need to struggle against His guidance in our lives in order to ensure our safety, happiness, and success in this life? Do we need to be constantly wary that God is going to 'drop the ball' in our lives? Again, the answer to these questions is 'No!'

Romans 8:28
"And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose."

Scripture clearly teaches that we cannot manufacture love for God or a life that coincides with His purpose on our own merit. We cannot earn the favor of God that causes all things to work together for our good. If, however, by God's amazing grace, we are transformed into new creatures (2 Cor. 5:17) who love God and live our lives according to His purpose, we have a rock-solid promise from the Bible that God is on our side, with our best interests in mind. No matter how scary the circumstances or how out-of-control we feel in the midst of them, we can have the same wonderful contentment as a little child in the hands of his father!

Tyrants, Terrorists, and Tragedies (Part 7 of 7)

2007-09-18T21:41:00.000+07:00

This is a multi-part series that is looking to the Bible in Luke 13:1-9 for help in answering the difficult questions facing Christians when confronted with evil and tragedy in our world.

Go to Part #1, #2, #3, #4, #5, #6

Luke 13:6-9
⁶And he told this parable: “A man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard, and he came seeking fruit on it and found none. ⁷And he said to the vinedresser, ‘Look, for three years now I have come seeking fruit on this fig tree, and I find none. Cut it down. Why should it use up the ground?’ ⁸And he answered him, ‘Sir, let it alone this year also, until I dig around it and put on manure. ⁹Then if it should bear fruit next year, well and good; but if not, you can cut it down.’ ”

What is the point of the parable Jesus tells in these verses? How does it relate to the broader issue of tragedy, sin, and repentance that were highlighted in verses 1-5?

People in the world are like trees in God’s vineyard. In verse 7, the owner of the vineyard comes seeking fruit on his fig tree. He planted the tree so he could harvest and enjoy the fruit. The purpose of the tree is to benefit the one who planted it! The purpose of God in the world, from His act of creation to His sacrifice of Jesus on the Cross, is not, ultimately, to make humans happy and comfortable.

We exist for God’s glory! There is no one more glorious, no one more valuable in the entire universe than God. There is nothing more important in the entire world for God to do than to shine more and more brightly as the All-Satisfying and Worthy One. That’s why we’re here! Jesus is helping us to turn our focus from human pain and suffering in this world in order to focus on God, the one for whom all humans were created!

Why do bad things happen to good people? I hope and pray that we can all now understand that this is the wrong question. A better question is: Why don’t bad things happen to all people? Or, Why do good things happen to any people?

Paul tells us in Romans 12:15 to “Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep.” When tragedy strikes, we should never respond with a callous indifference that says “Oh well, no big deal, just a few less sinners in the world to worry about…we all deserve it anyway.” NEVER! We should weep. We should mourn. We should comfort those who are hurting.

The difference is that, as Christians, as people who have heard God’s very words from this book, we will know that there is much more to weep and mourn about. We will weep and mourn our own sin and the sin of the world that turns its back on a holy, loving, and gracious God.

At the same time, we will rejoice! Yes, we will rejoice even in the face of tragedy. The horrors that confront us will be a reminder not only of our sin, but of our awesome God who has made a way for that sin to be erased. We will rejoice and, in the midst of tragedy, we will shine forth, displaying the beauty and worth of Jesus Christ for the whole world to see!

Tyrants, Terrorists, and Tragedies (Part 6 of 7)

2007-09-17T20:40:00.000+07:00

This is a multi-part series that is looking to the Bible in Luke 13:1-9 for help in answering the difficult questions facing Christians when confronted with evil and tragedy in our world.

Go to Part 5

I just can’t get over the truth that we considered in Part 5 that, in sin, we turn away from God who is infinitely glorious and wonderful. We truly prefer sin over God! If there is injustice and inexplicable tragedy in this world, dishonoring God in this way fits the description.

In May of this year, my wife and I were able to get away for 3 days to Phuket, Thailand in order to celebrate our 10^th wedding anniversary. Our girls stayed in Bangkok and we took our baby son, Micah, with us. One of the things we enjoyed most was renting a car for a day and driving around the island of Phuket, looking in wonder at all the different breathtaking views and scenery that can be found on the island. We ended our day at Cape Phromthep, at the southwest corner of the island. When we got there we, along with about two hundred other people, were confronted with a breathtaking panoramic view of the sun setting over the ocean.

My picture doesn’t even come close to the beauty our eyes saw! I’m an avid photographer, so I was busy setting up my tripod and finding the best composition for the perfect photograph I knew I was going to take. After taking several shots, I looked up and noticed the huge crowd of people around me. They were staring in wonder and taking many pictures as well. The only difference was that they weren’t taking pictures of the gorgeous sunset…they were taking pictures of my son!

I was dumbfounded. I know that he's a very cute kid and he was a uniquely cute kid in Phuket with his bright white skin and clear blue eyes, but we were standing right there with one of the most majestic and beautiful scenes imaginable right in front of us!

That’s how we are with God sometimes…He is offering to show us Himself, glorious, magnificent, beautiful!...and we choose, instead, to look at a little white boy!

It’s like we are hopeless, dying of thirst in the desert. God comes and opens up a roaring spring of clear, fresh, perfect water for us to drink and be saved and satisfied. What do we do? We turn our backs on the water, dig a hole in the sand, stick our head in it and suck at the sand! What’s worse is that we convince ourselves that we’re happy to live this way!

Let us pray that God will give us the wisdom to see the folly of our misguided and sin-deceived sense of what is truly good and bad; beautiful and ugly; tragic and cheerful. We need God’s help in order to see things as they really are!

Lord, please help me to see the true blessings and tragedies that take place in my own heart and home everyday. Please don’t allow me to be deceived by sin, Satan, or the world. Help me to value You above all else. Amen.

Go to Part 7

Tyrants, Terrorists, and Tragedies (Part 5 of 7)

2007-09-15T22:46:00.001+07:00

In Part 4, we considered the seriousness of sin against a holy God. There is no way to deny the Bible’s teaching that the just consequence of every human being’s sin is judgment and wrath from God. Praise God that the story doesn’t end there! The amazing thing about Jesus is that he takes willful, brazen traitors like you and me and speaks verses 3 and 5 from Luke 13: “No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish."

Jesus speaks these words as a warning to those who would take their sin lightly, but don’t miss the awesome grace and mercy in those words! Jesus’ words in response to real and horrible tragedy are not harsh! They point us to the most amazing love in the universe: God’s love and His mercy towards sinners. The wonderful implication in these verses is that if we do repent, we will not perish.

God’s response to our adultery against him, to our betrayal, was to send His one and only Son into the world to die on the Cross and take the punishment we deserve for our treason!

John 3:16
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.”

What’s the most shocking and appalling thing you can imagine? For many, this question brings to mind events like the ones I have already mentioned: Tyrants like Pol Pot, Hitler, and Saddam Hussein. Terrorists like the ones responsible for 911 in America, the Bali bombings, or the London subway bombings. Tragedies like the Indian Ocean tsunami, the 2005 Kashmir earthquake, or hurricane Katrina. The Bible has a different answer: In Jeremiah 2:12-13, God speaks through the prophet:

“¹²Be appalled, O heavens, at this; be shocked, be utterly desolate, ¹³for my people have committed two evils; they have forsaken me, the fountain of living waters, and hewed out cisterns for themselves, broken cisterns than can hold no water.”

The most mind-blowing, shocking and horrible thing in the world is that God’s people:

people who claim that God is holy
people who claim to know that they are sinful
people who have heard about God’s forgiveness through Christ
people who have publicly claimed to repent from their sins in order to follow Jesus

God is telling the heavens to be appalled that this sort of people are turning away from God, from infinite joy, infinite love, infinite holiness, infinite satisfaction for their souls and, instead, betraying God and looking for happiness in their own way!

Dear Jesus, please capture my heart with the reality of how glorious and beautiful You are in all Your infinite power and might. Help me to be appalled for the right reasons as I look at my own heart and the world around me. Help me to know that there is absolutely nothing appalling about You no matter what circumstances I encounter in this world.

Go to Part 6

Tyrants, Terrorists, and Tragedies (Part 4 of 7)

2007-09-14T20:28:00.000+07:00

At the end of Part 3, I offered my response to the question of why God would allow a tsunami to occur:

“The thing that amazes me most when I think about the tsunami is not that 230,000 people all over the Indian Ocean were wiped out on that day…the thing that amazes me most is that my family, along with the other 11 million people in Bangkok were allowed to live!”

Why do I believe such a statement? The answer is because sin is really that bad.

Sin, my sin, your sin, is really that bad! Sin is like spitting in the face of God, the King of Kings! In David’s Psalm of repentance in Psalm 51, he says in verse 4, “Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight, so that you may be justified in your words and blameless in your judgment.” Not only do we sin against God, we do it in His sight! We sin right in front of Him!

One time in Bangkok, I was riding home in a taxi at about 9:30 at night. When we were almost to our house, the taxi driver said to me, “Do you want a beautiful lady?” I said “No, my wife is at home and I love her.” He said, “Come on, only 2000 baht (just under $60) for a very beautiful lady. Others will charge you 3000, 4000, or 5000 baht, but I’m only asking for 2000. I politely told him again that “I DON’T WANT THAT” and then paid him and got out, happy to come home to my wonderful wife.

What if it had happened this way: The taxi driver asks me if I want a beautiful lady. I accept and he takes me to pick up the prostitute. I have the taxi driver take me and the prostitute to my house where I ask the prostitute to wait outside the front door. I go inside, kiss my wife, and tell her how much I love her. Once my wife and I are ready to go to bed for the night, I ask my wife to wait in our bedroom. I then go downstairs and bring the prostitute up, forcing my wife to watch…

Every time we sin willfully against the Lord, that’s exactly what we’re doing! If we really believe that God sees all and knows all, then when we sin, we are knowingly and willfully betraying our King, right before His eyes.

Yes, I know it’s a very shocking, revolting, and even offensive picture. I was reluctant to even share it. I believe, however, that sharing is glorifying to God because the revulsion, horror, and anger we feel when we consider such a hypothetical scenario pales compared to the response our sin deserves.

No human can be justifiably outraged at God over a tragedy such as the tsunami. The fact of the matter is that there is no person on this earth who doesn’t deserve judgment from God. For the nicest person you know to suffer the most horrible death imaginable would still not come close to being adequate punishment for that nice person’s rebellion against the holy and righteous God of the universe.

Do I know the mind of God as it relates to the Indian Ocean tsunami? Of course not! Am I saying that God caused the tsunami? Not necessarily. There are other explanations in the Bible for evil and tragedy besides God’s judgment. What I am saying is that if God did cause the tsunami, it was a just and righteous action on God’s part.

Again, our sin is really that bad! The good news is that our sin, in all its seriousness, is not the end of the story! More about that in Part 5…

Tyrants, Terrorists, and Tragedies (Part 3 of 7)

2007-09-13T20:24:00.000+07:00

In Part 2, we ended with the very politically incorrect truth from Luke 13:1-3 that there are no 'innocent' people in the world. Jesus is careful to make sure his listeners understand. He won’t let them miss the point of their own sinfulness by emphasizing the evil of a ruthless dictator like Pilate. That’s why he brings up the second tragedy in verse 4.

Luke 13:4
⁴Or those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them: do you think that they were worse offenders than all the others who lived in Jerusalem?

In this example, 18 people were killed, not by an evil dictator or a terrorist, but by a building project ‘gone bad’! It was an ‘accident’! Where was God in that? Wasn’t He strong enough to hold up the tower until nobody was around? Wrong questions, says Jesus…those 18 people weren’t any more guilty than everyone else in Jerusalem…the whole city is guilty and deserves to die like that!

Because my wife and I work for a missions agency, when we go back to the United States, we spend a lot of time sharing in churches about what God is doing in our part of the world. When we went back in October of 2006, it was our first time since the December 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami. There were many people in different churches who asked a similar question: Where was God when 230,000 people were wiped out on one day? What is your answer to that?

My response was usually the same. I would describe how I was with my family here in Bangkok when we found out about the tsunami and turned on the TV. I would describe the emotions related to the fact that we had vacationed in Phi Phi Island just a month before the tsunami and that the beach where people died in Penang, Malaysia was a favorite of ours for walks and shell collecting. I would describe the pain of returning to Phi Phi Island on the tsunami’s anniversary and talking to people, including a boat driver we knew from previous trips who lost his wife and a child. I would describe all of these things and then, based on conviction and truth from this passage of Scripture (and others) say:

“The thing that amazes me most when I think about the tsunami is not that 230,000 people all over the Indian Ocean were wiped out on that day…the thing that amazes me most is that my family, along with the other 11 million people in Bangkok were allowed to live!”

Yes, I really believe that statement. Why? Because sin is really that bad. More in Part 4…

Tyrants, Terrorists, and Tragedies (Part 2 of 7)

2007-09-12T14:18:00.000+07:00

This is a multi-part series that is looking to the Bible in Luke 13:1-9 for help in answering the difficult questions facing Christians when confronted with evil and tragedy in our world.

Go to Part 1

In Luke 13:1-9, Jesus is responding to news about a tragedy. Pilate, the Roman governor had executed some people from Galilee when they were coming to worship at the temple in Jerusalem. Not only did he kill these people, he took their blood and mixed it with the blood of the animals they brought as a sacrifice to the Lord! Imagine the outrage and confusion felt by those questioning Jesus! How could God let this evil happen? What horrible sins must have been committed by these Galileans for God to allow such a savage penalty!

Jesus’ response can help us understand the evil and cataclysmic events that continue to happen today in the world around us.

Understand sin and judgment from God’s perspective

^{Luke 13:1-3
1}There were some present at that very time who told him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. ²And he answered them, “Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans, because they suffered in this way? ³No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.

In verse 2 Jesus, in his typical fashion, teaches his inquirers with a question that turns the implied questions of their news right back on them! Jesus gives the correct answer to his own question, which is ‘NO! They weren’t more evil.’ Jesus makes it very clear in verse 3 that ALL, including the people coming to Him asking the question, deserve death!

What about today? When an evil dictator slaughters his own people, what are we supposed to think? When Islamic terrorists crash a plane into the World Trade Center or blow people up on the subway in London, what is our response? What about when a criminal kills or seriously injures someone we know? Where is God when evil people do bad things to innocent people? Jesus’ response, from this passage is that there are no innocent people. There are no people who don’t deserve to die in those ways (or worse)...no exceptions!

People today don’t want to hear Jesus’ answer. We want someone to blame! We want to be outraged by the evil actions of someone else. We don’t want to be bothered to think about the evil that resides right inside our hearts! I pray that the Lord will help us take the truth of verse 3 to heart when faced with tragedy in our lives or in the news. Go to Part 3

Tyrants, Terrorists, and Tragedies (Part 1 of 7)

2007-09-11T16:33:00.000+07:00

It’s been 6 years since that horrible day in 2001 when the world was faced with the news that terror, on a massive scale, had penetrated the defenses of the mighty U.S.A. I can still remember getting the phone call from a Chinese friend in Malaysia, where my family had been living for less than 4 months. Because we did not own a television, I ran to his house, injuring myself in the process. I can still remember the horror I felt as I sat bleeding in my friend’s living room watching the live feed of the first tower collapsing to the ground.

What do we do when tragedy strikes our world? As Christians seeking to tell the world about an almighty loving God, how do we respond when 230,000 people are wiped out in one day by a tsunami? Do we have answers when terrorists fly airplanes into skyscrapers and secure government facilities, killing thousands? Do we know what to say or think when faced with other horrifying natural disasters like Hurricane Katrina or the 2005 Kashmir Earthquake? What about personal tragedies, on a smaller scale, like the death of a young wife and mother to cancer?

Many times, we don’t know what to say, or even think in response to events like these. Some of us will get very quiet when our friends or people at work start talking about the latest horrible tragedy in the world. What will I say? How can I talk about God being good when so much bad is happening to normal people? If I speak up, will I get it right? Will I be laughed at and scorned?

Pain, suffering, and death, in whatever form and on whatever scale is not something new in the world. The Bible, the very word of God, contains many examples of events that would provoke front-page headlines and outrage in today’s world. As Christians, we worship the God of the Bible.

We worship the God who destroyed the entire cities of Sodom and Gomorrah in Genesis 19.
We worship the God of the exodus, who killed all the firstborn in the land of Egypt in order to free the Israelites in Exodus 12.
We worship the God who defeated the Amorites in Joshua 10:11..”The Lord threw down large stones from heaven on them as far as Azekah, and they died. There were more who died because of the hailstones than the sons of Israel killed with the sword.”
We worship the God of Numbers 16 who sent a plague that killed 14,700 Israelites in response to the people’s complaining about God’s judgment on the 250 rebel chiefs of Korah who were opposing Moses in the desert.

Still, how are we supposed to understand these kinds of events from the Bible and from our own time? In the coming days, I’d like to examine the words of Jesus in Luke 13:1-9 for a response:

13 ¹There were some present at that very time who told him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. ²And he answered them, “Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans, because they suffered in this way? ³No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish. ⁴Or those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them: do you think that they were worse offenders than all the others who lived in Jerusalem? ⁵No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.”
⁶And he told this parable: “A man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard, and he came seeking fruit on it and found none. ⁷And he said to the vinedresser, ‘Look, for three years now I have come seeking fruit on this fig tree, and I find none. Cut it down. Why should it use up the ground?’ ⁸And he answered him, ‘Sir, let it alone this year also, until I dig around it and put on manure. ⁹Then if it should bear fruit next year, well and good; but if not, you can cut it down.’ ”

Ultimately, from this passage, we will learn that…

Tragedy, in whatever form, should cause all of us to consider our own sin, repent, and bear fruit for God’s glory.

A Christian Perspective on the Coming War With Islam

2007-09-10T15:45:00.000+07:00

A while back, a friend of mine emailed me a copy of an article by Solly Ganor entitled "The Coming War with Islam." As I read, I found myself intrigued and then started wondering what I should think about this whole issue as a Christian. Below is a stub (to use Wikipedia terms) of a response that I hope to flesh out into a real article someday. Any comments and/or ideas are most welcome!

I pray for God to work against the rise of violent Islamic fundamentalism (yes, I know that’s redundant) in military and political ways. Even more, however, I pray that God will fill our hearts as Christian believers all over the world to engage in the active, self-sacrificing work of providing a first-hand witness about the beauty and glory of Jesus to the Muslims who surround us. We need to combine love-in-action with bold, uncompromised proclamation of the gospel. We should still lobby and vote with a mind for increased security and safety in our towns and neighborhoods. At the same time, when it comes to personal action, we should never bow to the god of safety. Instead, we should say, with Paul, “For I fully expect and hope that I will never be ashamed, but that I will continue to be bold for Christ…And I trust that my life will bring honor to Christ, whether I live or die. For to me, living means living for Christ, and dying is even better” (Phil 1:20-21 NLT).

Throughout history, God has raised up nations, using them to execute judgment on the enemies of God. I believe He still does that today as well. I pray for it! As an individual, however, I must learn from Paul in Romans 1:14 that I am in debt to Jews and Greeks (even the Muslim ones) all over the world. Without the gospel, I am as much an enemy of God as Osama bin Laden, the five Iranian mullahs, or Ahmadinejad (President of Iran)! It’s only because of God’s free and sovereign grace in my life that I am no longer His enemy and death, for me, is not wrath, but entrance into life eternal! One result of all this grace in my life is being freed to love, live, and tell the gospel without fear.

I pray that my dismay and even anger over the glory-stealing evils of Islamic fundamentalism will never cause me to think or act in a way that suggests I, or my countrymen, are more worthy of God’s favor than the very ones seeking to destroy us. I pray that my willingness to sacrifice everything in order to display God’s goodness to Muslims will be at least as strong as my desire to see their violent schemes defeated by military strategy and might. Certainly, God calls some Christians to be directly involved in the physical war against Islamic fundamentalism. In America and some other countries, Christian citizens can be indirectly involved through the political processes. Without doubt, however, God calls all Christians to be involved through prayer and sacrificial personal witness!

Sin Can be Tricky

2007-09-08T23:05:00.000+07:00

This morning, my attention was turned to Genesis 6:5, where we get an insight into the condition of the world before God sent the flood of judgment. The verse reads, "The Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually." Wow! It would be hard to make a more emphatic statement about the depths of sin in rebellious human hearts. This sickness continues today, a few thousand years after the flood. Even for believers, we have to be constantly vigilant to fight the indwelling sin that continues to battle against our new natures.

When I heard this verse, I was immediately reminded of some reading I've done this week from the Puritan author, John Owen, in his book Of the Mortification of Sin in Believers (thanks to Crossway Books for the new edition). Perhaps the most famous quote from that work comes from the first chapter where Owen writes, "Be killing sin or it will be killing you." Later, in the second chapter, Owen warns, "When a man has confirmed his imagination to such an apprehension of grace and mercy as to be able, without bitterness, to swallow and digest daily sins, that man is at the very brink of turning the grace of God into lasciviousness and being hardened by the deceitfulness of sin."

Owen is right. If I find myself at a place where sins are slipping by without conscious thought; without grief and repentance, then I have reached a frightening place! This morning, Genesis 6:5 reminded me that sin, in any form, is evil. Without question, if I allow any form of sin (no matter how small, ordinary, or common it might seem) to go unchecked in my life, I will start down a road that may lead to Genesis 6:5. God used this verse to help unmask the deceitfulness of sin that tries to tell me not to worry when I move on in my life, tolerating some sins just as long as there are no 'big' sin problems in my life.

I pray that God will give all of us the power, by His grace, to battle sin in our lives every day. The battle isn't fought so that we can go to bed at night patting ourselves on the back because we engaged the enemy. We fight so that we will be more useful tools in the hands of our God to push forward in our goal to spread His Name all around.

God's Work in China

2007-09-07T09:40:00.000+07:00

Many thanks to John Piper for highlighting the 200th anniversary of Protestant missions to China in his article Mark This Day and Marvel at the Work of God. What immediately struck me as I read was the time lapse between Robert Morrison's arrival in China on September 7, 1807 and the baptism of the first Protestant Chinese believer on July 16, 1814. That's over 6 years and 10 months before any visible fruit was evident from Morrison's labors! Praise God for his faithfulness.

As today's missionaries continue to press forward in pioneer fields among people groups where few, if any, people have ever heard the name of Jesus, we need to be willing to wait for the fruit. Yes, it is crucial that missionaries employ good strategy and minister with boldness, possessing full faith that God can change the heart of a person in an instant. Still, I sense a great need to guard against the widespread cultural value of instant gratification. In America and the West, but increasingly throughout the world, society conditions us to expect immediate results. When the results seem slow, the principles of instant gratification cause us to assume that there is some problem or inherent flaw in what we are doing.

This sort of pressure can have multiple undesirable effects. Missionaries get frustrated and burned out for the wrong reasons. Sending churches and agencies diminish their support (even sub-consciously) because of their need to 'see results.' Missionaries may make compromises for the sake of speeding things up. For example, they might pay less attention to language and cultural study because it takes too long. Some will sacrifice depth of spiritual life in new believers in favor of quickly spreading breadth in evangelism. Others will insist on forcing fast, simple models of church regardless of cultural factors that may or may not suggest otherwise.

Bottom line: Let us all remember Paul's example from 2 Corinthians 6:2-10,

"Behold, now is the favorable time; behold, now is the day of salvation. ³We put no obstacle in anyone’s way, so that no fault may be found with our ministry, ⁴but as servants of God we commend ourselves in every way: by great endurance, in afflictions, hardships, calamities, ⁵beatings, imprisonments, riots, labors, sleepless nights, hunger; ⁶by purity, knowledge, patience, kindness, the Holy Spirit, genuine love; ⁷by truthful speech, and the power of God; with the weapons of righteousness for the right hand and for the left; ⁸through honor and dishonor, through slander and praise. We are treated as impostors, and yet are true; ⁹as unknown, and yet well known; as dying, and behold, we live; as punished, and yet not killed; ¹⁰as sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, yet possessing everything."

Yes, 'now is the day of salvation.' Praise be to God! We just need to remember all that is involved in leading up to this glorious day.

Redeeming the Time

2007-09-06T20:07:00.000+07:00

I'm a suburb boy by birth and, growing up, I always lived close to mountains of some kind. Imagine the shock when our family first moved to Bangkok, Thailand - a concrete jungle of 11 million people! After a few weeks in the city, I finally figured out how to get my driver's license and I started using our truck to get around. It wasn't long before most of my time in the truck was spent frustrated and angry because of the horribly congested and completely unpredictable traffic.

I remember a few times, 45 minutes into what could have been a 15 minute drive, thinking of all the places I could travel in 45 minutes or less from my previous homes in Colorado, Virginia, Kentucky, and Malaysia. Mountaintops, the Appalachian Trail, scenic lakes, and beautiful beaches all came to mind. Here, there are times when I can't even get to the main road in less than 45 minutes! Discontentment and mini pity parties started creeping into my heart and mind.

Thankfully, God transformed my driving time through the ministry of John Piper. All 27 years of Piper's sermons are available for free download as .mp3 files from the Desiring God website. One luxury that is common in Bangkok is high-speed Internet. I quickly downloaded all of the sermons in the Romans series to that date (about 150 messages) and had my parents send me one of those cassette tape adapters that let me plug the car stereo into the headphone jack on my mp3 player. All of a sudden, I found myself hoping that a particular drive would last a few more minutes so I could finish listening to a particular sermon. Sometimes, people would catch me sitting in the parking lot at the office, unwilling to wait before hearing the end of a message!

In Romans 5:15-16 we read,

"Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil."

Paul also reminds us in Philippians to "Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice" (4:4). He then shares that he has 'learned in whatever situation [he is] to be content" (4:11).

Do I still experience times of frustration due to traffic jams? Unfortunately the answer is yes, sometimes. However, I praise God that I can sincerely say that there are many times when I rejoice in the midst of a traffic jam, perfectly content with the situation!

When the News Hits Home

2007-09-05T16:06:00.000+07:00

Yesterday evening, my wife called my attention to this article about a scuba dive boat that sank of the coast of Phi Phi Island in Thailand, killing one tourist. I learned how to dive in the very same place the boat sank. Reading the article caused me to remember another day when Phi Phi Island made the news: December 26, 2004 when the Indian Ocean Tsunami wiped out almost all of the buildings and half of the locals and tourists on the island at the time just over a month after our family vacationed there.

It's always true that we think more deliberately about the issues of life and death when tragedy of some sort comes close to our lives. We often wonder, "How would I react if I was in that situation?" or "How would I respond if it was someone I loved who died in that incident?" As a Christian, the rock-solid realities that govern any such incident are known already in the Bible. Some passages that come to mind as I reflect on this situation include:

Job's words after he received news that all of his children had just died,

"Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked shall I return. The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away, blessed be the name of the Lord" (Job 1:21)

David on the brevity of life in Psalm 39:4-5O

Lord, make me know my end
and what is the measure of my days;
let me know how fleeting I am!
Behold, you have made my days a few handbreadths,
and my lifetime is as nothing before you.
Surely all mankind stands as a mere breath!

Paul in Romans 8:22-23,

"For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now. And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. For in this hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience."

I pray that God will give me strength and build my faith right now, when tragedy is still at arms length. I don't want strength and faith so I can somehow avoid or stop tragedies. I want my life to be a clear picture of God's infinite glory and worth when tragedy strikes.