Long Distance Race

Much of my life has been spent in a sprint. Spiritually, I've either been in a huge hurry to be God's servant or racing to please my flesh. Ultimately, I've fatigued of one or the other and then ran the race of it's counterpart. EXHAUSTING!!!! Especially for those in my life trying to keep up with me during it all.

Hebrews 12:1-13 describes the discipline that it takes to run a long race, which life is. In Alistair Begg's daily devotional today, he explores He explores Hebrews 12:2, and relates that the Holy Spirit's role is to turn our eyes from self and onto Jesus. Whereas, Satan is fully intent on us focusing on self, self, and more self.

Excerpt from the devotion: He (Satan) insinuates, "Your sins are too great for pardon; you have no faith; you do not repent enough; you will never be able to continue to the end; you do not have the joy of His children; you have such a wavering hold on Jesus."
During my sprints, Satan has been pleased with my rapid fatigue and the wavering and self-doubt that went along with it. The end result was fractured relationship between my heart and the Father.

But, check this out, there's good news. Here is some more from the devotion: Remember, therefore, it is not your hold of Christ that saves you--it is Christ; it is not your joy in Christ that saves you--it is Christ; it is not even faith in Christ, although that is the instrument--it is Christ's blood and merits.

So, whether you are riding a spiritual high sprinting hard for Jesus' sake or riding a spiritual low feeling separation from Christ and The Father, keep your eyes off of self and onto Jesus. Pray that.

If you want to read more of the devotion, here it is: Looking To Jesus

Gospel for Asia

I am not worthy of speaking of missions or the mission field, but Gospel for Asia really strikes me as a well structured, well thoughtout and extremely Christ-focused orgazination making a dramatic impact. 3 points that really grabbed my attention: 100% of dollars sent to field, focused on the unreached and the training/sending of native missionaries.

K.P. Yohannan is the founder and president of Gospel for Asia, a mission organization involved in evangelism and church planting in the unreached regions of Asia. K.P. has a introductory video online, and he appears well-centered in Christ. This video can be viewed by requesting a free book.

Mission and Distinctives
Our mission in life is to be devout followers of Christ and to fulfill the Great Commission among the unreached in Asia through training, sending out and assisting qualified laborers in partnership with the Body of Christ.

100 percent of Support Dollars Sent to the Field

When a donor sends in the monthly support for their missionary, nothing is deducted for administrative purposes--100% is sent directly to the mission field for its intended purpose.
Focusing on the Unreached

Our focus and goal as a ministry is to reach the 2.7 billion people in the 10/40 Window who have never heard about the love of God. In India alone, there are over 500,000 villages with no Gospel witness.
Training and Sending Native Missionaries

Native missionaries have few or no cultural barriers to overcome. They can readily share the Gospel with those who, unlike their western counterparts, have never heard. While national workers do face difficult obstacles as they take the message from village to village, they still have an enormous advantage over their coworkers from North America and other non-Asian lands.
GFA currently has 54 Bible colleges where nearly 9,000 students are preparing to become full-time church planters among those who have never heard.
Tremendous Results by God's Grace

Currently, more than 29,793 churches and mission stations have been planted by Gospel for Asia native missionaries where no church existed before. On average, our missionaries establish approximately 15 fellowships every day in Asia among unreached villages and people groups.
But none of this has come easily. Our native missionaries are paying a high price of suffering, hardship and intense persecution to see churches established.
The churches planted in each culture are truly indigenous in character, self-governing, self-propagating and, as soon as possible, self-supporting.
Training Tomorrow's Leaders at the GFA Biblical Seminary

Over 600 students now attend Gospel for Asia Biblical Seminary in India, where they are being trained to become devout followers of Christ and to fulfill the Great Commission in Asia.

The Many Faces of Biblical Humor

I have come across a book that seems to have captured some of the funniest items in the Bible.

The Many Faces of Biblical Humor examines how the Bible writers intentionally used humor, irony, and sarcasm to argue their points concisely. This work begins with the dysfunctional families of Genesis, continues delightfully through every book of the Bible, and ends with a glorious fulfillment in Revelation. Along the way, the reader is presented humorous stories, pathetically funny characters, and poignant quips and quotes from prophets, poets, and principals. The author paraphrases each biblical text in an engaging prose that highlights the humor of that passage – humor that may not have been previously noted by the reader. Between the paraphrases, the author sets the historical and linguistic setting, allowing the reader to see how the humor (and puns) of the text enrich the biblical understanding of God's message. Also included are applications of these marvelous passages to our daily lives as we see our own foibles portrayed in the biblical characters. In many ways, this is a Bible commentary with an accent on the humorous. In another sense, it is simply a delightful book that makes the Bible come alive through the latent humor of its characters and their stories.

Here is list of the authors favorite Biblical one-liners.

Silver Ring Thing 434

Apparently, there has been a youth group movement over the past few years called the Silver Ring Thing that is based upon I Thes: 4:34. It is a committment to service, relationship and abstinence until marriage.
Check out there website: Silver Ring Thing website.

Well, of course, service, relationship and abstinence is bound to upset somebody because we all know how terrible they can be when mixed together (humor intended - sarcasm). Sure enough, here is an article from FoxNews.com regarding a girl who is in trouble at school for wearing her ring. Silver Ring Thing girl trouble.

I have read this on the heels of reading an article where a school district has made a formal apology for trying to edit a photo of two homosexual males kissing from their school's year book. Now tell me, has the world just gone nuts or am I missing something here?

World Changers

Here is another organization to look at if you are interested in putting your faith in action and impacting the world around you.
World Changers is an organization that seeks to provide Christian youth and adults with opportunities to meet the physical and spiritual needs of others through practical learning experiences of servanthood and personal commitment to missions. Over 24,000 students and their adult leaders have committed to grabbing hammers, saws and paintbrushes this summer to make a positive change to the world one project at a time.
Participation is exclusively for Christians who have demonstrated spiritual maturity in their home church. Take a look at the stats page from 2006, and you will see why. They are not only making needed repairs to peoples homes, but allowing the Holy Spirit to repair broken lives through them.

Acts 1:8 Challenge

Acts 1:8: "And when the Holy Spirit comes on you, you will be able to be my witnesses in Jerusalem, all over Judea and Samaria, even to the ends of the world."

This month's edition of OnMission features a story describing the participation of a few churches in a program called Acts 1:8 Challenge. The feature story shares one pastor's comments that "We are a church of rednecks." And he goes on to say that they don't try to be something that they are not, and yet they have found that what they are consists of being a church that loves they the Lord, and they are living their love through their actions. It is inspiring to read about "normal" folks going out and doing the abnormal. They make it sound so easy.

Take a look at the story: OnMission feature story.

And take a look at the Acts 1:8 Challenge site.

Adopt An Annuitant

I learned about GuideStone Financial Resources via an article at the back of our church bulletin yesterday. Paul encouraged the Galatian believers to do something with their faith - to worship with their actions throughout the week as well as with their hearts and voices on Sunday. This organization's Adopt An Annuitant ministry allows you to make a positive impact for retired ministers and their widows.

Taken from The GuideStone website:
In 1918, the Board of Ministerial Relief and Annuities was born of a vision in the heart of Dr. William Lunsford. Burdened by the plight of retired Southern Baptist pastors and their widows, Dr. Lunsford sought to provide care for his brethren and their widows in their declining years. Decades later, GuideStone Financial Resources continues its commitment to Dr. Lunsford’s vision and to those who have labored in the Lord’s work by offering an array of personal investment, retirement, life, health, and disability plan option. But the realization of Dr. Lunsford’s dream is seen most clearly in the Adopt An Annuitant ministry.

Through the Adopt An Annuitant ministry, GuideStone provides financial assistance to retired Southern Baptist ministers, workers or their widows whose regular income is insufficient to meet their needs. Often, this small monthly income makes the difference in paying the electric bill or obtaining needed medications. The Adopt An Annuitant ministry relies on the support of churches and individuals to provide this vital assistance.

You can participate in this ministry by sending a gift, funding a Charitable Gift Annuity, designating the ministry as the beneficiary of your life insurance, will or estate plan, or requesting materials to share with others.

Movement

I have stumbled upon a guy's blogspot that I find remarkable and refreshing. He appears to be living a fairly heroic Christian walk. His profile states, "Joe co-leads an effort in Mexico City to launch missional Christ-centered movements on more than 400 university campuses before 2010. He joined the staff of Campus Crusade for Christ in 2003 and served for three years in Albuquerque, NM, where he launched movements with Latino students and athletes that are still active today. In 2006 he moved to Mexico City to work with "Enfoque Mexico", the Campus Crusade church partnership strategy he helps lead today. "
If you are interested in knowing what it takes to launch your own movement, here is a good starting point. "How to Launch Your Own Movement"
Regardless, if you are a regular blog reader, add Joe Cross' blog spot to your regular destinations. Check out his profile, because in addition to his personal spot, he is also co-blogger on a few other blogspots that are worth checking out.

What's InYour Wallet?

I have been introduced to a polling application by Brian Green, and thought it would be interesting to begin asking random questions from time to time to see what those of you who visit this blog think of different issues.
So, take a moment and take a look at the poll question in the right column. The poll is completely confidential, and I won't know who answered what. Furthermore, as soon as you make your choice, you will be able to see the current results of the poll.
It will be interesting to see how many of you actually participate in the poll.
Thanks Brian.

Pastor Einstein

This is a quote shared today by the CEO of the hospital where I work:
"Everything is determined, the beginning as well as the end, by forces over which we have no control. It is determined for insects as well as for the stars. Human beings, vegetables or cosmic dust, we all dance to a mysterious tune, intoned in the distance by an invisible piper." -- Albert Einstein
I've heard it said by non-believers that the belief in God is for small minded, ignorant sorts that feel a need to believe in something because of their inherent weakness. That's odd. I had never heard these terms used to describe Einstein before.
This quote and others can be found at QuoteWorld.org.

Biblical Humor

I love finding humor in the Bible, especially some of Jesus' exchanges with the Pharisee's (for example, "Why are you so concerned about the speck in your brother's eye when you have a plank in your own?"), and Jer 5:13 referring to some self professed prophets as speaking wind (flatulence) instead of words.
Here is a link to a page that explores Biblical humor in an in depth way: Biblical Humor.
It is not the easiest reading, but if you sift through it a bit, you will find some gems. Here are some examples:
Puns/wordplay – the naming of people throughout Genesis, such as Jacob and Esau (25:25–26); Jeremiah 5:13 plays on ruah , ‘word', ‘wind' (with implications of flatulence) in the mouths of false prophets.
Ambiguity – Haman is led up the garden path (Esther 6).
Sarcasm – Paul's anger at the Judaizers (Galatians 5:12).
Scatological references – Eglon's servants thinking he was relieving himself (Judges 3).
Mention of the taboo – sex and prostitution (Ezekiel 16:33); priests and prophets vomiting drunkenly (Isaiah 28:7–8).
Misfortune of others – Balaam humiliated by his donkey (Numbers 22); the Philistines' god Dagon flat on his face and the people covered in tumours (1 Samuel 5).
Absurdities/the ridiculousness of others – Abraham and son repeating old and increasingly silly errors (Genesis 12, 20, 25); arrogance of the builders in Genesis 11; bizarre and repetitive episodes in Samson's career (Judges 13–16).
The grotesque – Eglon's fat belly swallowing up Ehud's blade; Nebuchadnezzar reduced to an animal (Daniel 4).
Things unexpected, out of place or incongruous – a camel through the eye of a needle (Matthew 19:23–24); stagey bargaining in front of Sarah's corpse (Genesis 23); the Lord 's mockery of creatures asserting their superiority to their creator (Isaiah 10:15).
Irony – Jesus' teaching throughout the gospels; Philip's comment that nothing good comes out of Nazareth (John 1:46); Caiaphas noting that it is better for one man to die for the people (John 11:50).
Satire – against the king of Babylon in Isaiah 14; but also through Jeremiah and most Minor Prophets.
Parody/lampoon – the Lord 's mimicking of Pharaoh (Ezekiel 29:3–5); the Lord 's taunt to priests and prophets (Isaiah 28:9–10); Israel's priests are dogs calling for beer (Isaiah 56:9–12).

Total Eclipse of the Heart

Prior to beginning our Vision Committee meeting last night, I read this passage from Psalms 55:1-11 "1 Give ear to my prayer, O God, And do not hide Yourself from my supplication. 2 Attend to me, and hear me; I am restless in my complaint, and moan noisily, 3 Because of the voice of the enemy, Because of the oppression of the wicked; For they bring down trouble upon me, And in wrath they hate me. 4 My heart is severely pained within me, And the terrors of death have fallen upon me. 5 Fearfulness and trembling have come upon me, And horror has overwhelmed me. 6 So I said, "Oh, that I had wings like a dove! I would fly away and be at rest. 7 Indeed, I would wander far off, And remain in the wilderness. Selah 8 I would hasten my escape From the windy storm and tempest."
9 Destroy, O Lord, and divide their tongues, For I have seen violence and strife in the city. 10 Day and night they go around it on its walls; Iniquity and trouble are also in the midst of it. 11 Destruction is in its midst; Oppression and deceit do not depart from its streets."
The images these words convey are of pain, fear, hopelessness and misery. Now compare this imagery to the words offered in verse 22: "Cast your burden on the Lord, And He shall sustain you."
Both of these images are brought to life in drama, obviously created by a high school aged youth group, that I happened upon today. In light of the scripture reading last night and the topics discussed, this video seems very appropriate to share. Total Eclipse.

Scars of Life

Lena Brown shared this story with me today. The story itself may not be true, but the representation of God's love for us is. This is a story that I will likely share for a long time. Thanks Lena.

SCARS OF LIFE

Some years ago, on a hot summer day in South Florida, a little boy decided to go for a swim in the old swimming hole behind his house. In a hurry to dive into the cool water, he ran out the back door, leaving behind shoes, socks, and shirt as he went. He flew into the water, not realizing that as he swam toward the middle of the lake, an alligator was swimming toward the shore.

His father, working in the yard, saw the two as they got closer and closer together. In utter fear, he ran toward the water, yelling to his son as loudly as he could.
Hearing his voice, the little boy became alarmed and made a U-turn to swim to his father. It was too late. Just as he reached his father, the alligator reached him.

From the dock, the father grabbed his little boy by the arms just as the alligator snatched his legs. That began an incredible tug-of-war between the two. The alligator was much stronger than the father, but the father was much too passionate to let go.

A farmer happened to drive by, heard his screams, raced from his truck, took aim and shot the alligator.

Remarkably, after weeks and weeks in the hospital, the little boy survived. His legs were extremely scarred by the vicious attack of the animal. And, on his arms, were deep scratches where his father's fingernails dug into his flesh in his effort to hang on to the son he loved.

The newspaper reporter who interviewed the boy after the trauma, asked if he would show him his scars. The boy lifted his pant legs. And then, with obvious pride, he said to the reporter, "But look at my arms. I have great scars on my arms, too. I have them because my Dad wouldn't let go."

You and I can identify with that little boy. We have scars, too. No, not from an alligator, but the scars of a painful past. Some of those scars are unsightly and have caused us deep regret. But, some wounds, my friend, are because God has refused to let go. In the midst of your struggle, He's been there holding on to you.

The Scripture teaches that God loves you. You are a child of God. He wants to protect you and provide for you in every way But sometimes we foolishly wade into dangerous situations, not knowing what lies ahead. The swimming hole of life is filled with peril - and we forget that the enemy is waiting to attack. That's when the tug-of-war begins - and if you have the scars of His love on your arms, be very, very grateful. He did not and will not ever let you go.

Meaning of the Flag at Military Funerals

Here is an interesting insight into the symbolic meaning of the folding of the flag at military funerals. It really brings to the forefront how seriously our founding Fathers held their Christian beliefs as an integral part of what our country should be about.
The folding of the flag is almost entirely about honoring God the Father and Jesus the Son........
The existence of the USA should be almost entirely about honoring them as well.
The Meaning of the Flag

Cozy With Sin

I have heard it said a multitude of ways: Your prayers are a reflection of what is in your heart. So, it can be said, if you are praying about selfish needs, you posses a selfish heart; if you are praying about fearful needs, you posses fear in your heart; and if you are praying about the Kingdom needs of others, you posses a selfless heart that is Kingdom focused.
I am definitely capable of being selfish and being fearful, but I would have to say that the obstacle that hinders my prayer-life on a most frequent basis and to the greatest degree is unconfessed sin. I'm not necessarily talking about any majorly thrilling sins that would be tabloid fodder, but just minor things that I allow to fester and thrive unchecked for a period of time. At times, it seems that we humans enjoy allowing certain little sins into our lives with an almost entitlement-type attitude. "I have worked hard, or I have been so good for so long, or this or that has happened to me, so I deserve to........." fill in the blank. And then, instead of recognizing our sinful nature, we just bask in that sin despite how miserable it may be making us.
It reminds me of a college dorm mate of mine who came to my room one night and announced, "I need to find me a bad habit; I just can't decide which one to choose."
Psalms 66:18-20 is a good example of the relationship of sin with an effective prayer life:
If I had been cozy with evil, the Lord would never have listened. But he most surely did listen, he came on the double when he heard my prayer. Blessed be God: he didn't turn a deaf ear, he stayed with me, loyal in his love.
Alistair Begg's daily devotional also hit on this topic reflecting on Psalms 97:10. He explores how cozying up with sin has the ability to wreck your life in so many ways. Here is a small excerpt:
You have good reason to "hate evil," for just consider what harm it has already caused you. What a world of mischief sin has brought into your heart! Sin blinded you so that you could not see the beauty of the Savior; it made you deaf so that you could not hear the Redeemer's tender invitations. Sin turned your feet into the way of death and poured poison into the very fountain of your being; it tainted your heart and made it "deceitful above all things, and desperately sick."