Sunday, July 11, 2010

A Little More Time with Daddy


I had the chance to visit Colorado recently and was awe struck once again by the majesty of all of God's creation. During my visit though something even more significant happened. It went something like this.
I was playing with my son and daughters after a day of hiking, still mesmerized by the natural beauty. I was missing something even more significant. The next day when asking my son what he enjoyed most about the day, his response was not the hike or the playground, but rather he said it was his "time with Daddy".
What an awesome thought. So often we experience time with our heavenly Father and miss out of the true significance of the moment. We fail to practice what Brother Lawrence referred to as the Presence of God. Our time with "Daddy" is not the most significant time, and it should be.
Our missionary friends around the world seem to have a better understanding of this. For them sometimes "time with Daddy" is the only thing they have to sustain them. They have bought into the promises of God as our Abba - Father. Isn't it time we did the same?

Sunday, June 13, 2010

Gifts


I've been studying the book of Romans with my Sunday morning caregroup/Sunday School class. We've be dissecting Romans 12:1-10 for about three weeks now. Good times! Seriously though the book of Romans is truly an amazing work. So much meat and potatoes on the one hand, and yet filled with the basic milk of salvation on the other. I have enjoyed our study and look forward each week to its continuance.


Our study this week focused on the "manifestation of the Spirit" and spiritual gifts. The Holy Spirit working in me and through me to accomplish God's purposes in ways that I could not on my own.


What a great picture of mission work. Our partners in the field recognize the fact that the call to reach every tribe, tonuge, and nation is impossible on their own, but "with God all things are possible." Note that little work all. Not some, not most, but all! What an encouragement!


Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift[s].


Grace and Peace


chris

Sunday, May 30, 2010

Heroes


It has been a while since last I wrote. The end of the school year always seems to be a hectic time. But hopefully I can be a little more consistent for all of you who follow these meandering thoughts of mine.


Today I would like to simply think about heroes. As we approach Memorial Day in the United States, I would like to say thank you to America's heroes. Those who give of their time and efforts in order to promote the safety, security, and peace we enjoy in this great land. Thank you to all those serving in the Armed Forces. Thank you especially to those who made the supreme sacrifice. Thank you to our veterans as well.


Thank you to our civil servants as well. Our police, fire, emt, and other medical persons who work tirelessly to keep our cities, towns, villages, blocks, and streets safe and our family, friends, and neighbors healthy.


Thank you to those government officials, teachers, and public attorneys who still strive to do what is best for us as a people not just for themselves.


Finally thank you to all who have served under the banner of Christ, for the sake of the advancement of the Gospel. Many of you have made the ultimate sacrifice and given your own lives for HIS glory's sake. May I rejoice in heaven with you soon.

All of you are heroes, and this blogger thanks you greatly.

Friday, April 23, 2010

Responsibilities

As an educator, many of the things I am asked to do in my job are mandated from sources outside the classroom. The state and federal government place requirements on educators that do not always provide for effective classroom instruction, however because they are mandated, I must comply. Sometimes I am even asked to participate in programs that aren't fully developed or explained. (Race to the Top for example.)

In the field of missions, there lies some comparison. Like education, missionaries (and all Christians for that matter) are called to do something that may not make any sense. They are given a mandate that they are compelled to follow. The missions mandate of making the Gospel know to every tribe, tongue, and nation (ethnos) seems impossible at worst, and impractical at best. Also like the education field, the missionary going to the field also must "go to work" and participate in programs yet unseen or understood. To the casual (or non-believing) observer this seems like a recipe for failure, not success. But this "reality" of the missions mandate could not be further from the Truth.

You see, unlike the human-directed field of public education, the mission field as mandated in the Bible is God-directed. God cannot lie and he does not do anything to discredit HIMSELF. If HE has directed it then it must be good. Likewise the difference between education and missions is also apparent in moving forward into the unknown. With education uncertainty and doubt may abound because we know the plans are human created and quite possibly, are still being formulated. With God's plan for missions, the plan has been set from the beginning, with faith in Christ being the key to understading and completing the plan. The uncertainty and doubt, give way to confidence and purpose through Faith built in a relationship with CHRIST.

Friday, April 09, 2010

Take Me Out to the Ballgame


I recently attended a baseball game at Great American Ball Park - home of my beloved Cincinnati Reds, or was that "deads"? Whatever the case, on this particular night it seemed that the team went from being dead to being alive all with one swing of the bat. Drew Stubbs hit a grandslam homerun to put the team up for good. It was a great night to celebrate, especially after it seemed that the Cubs might be able to come back in the 9th. Things got tense, a narrow putout at first, a homerun, a long flyball out, a walk, two errors and the bases were loaded, but a ground out ended it. The Reds fans were happy!

This game got me to thinking about celebrations and the resurrection of Christ. Easter was this past week and it was a great time to celebrate something really important. Christ was crucified and was dead, but he was raised to life through the power of God to reign as Lord Over All for good. The ultimate comeback story was played out in the Gospel of Jesus Christ! We can all celebrate.


The fact that we know the outcome of eternity's "game" should be a blessing to us. No matter how much pressure life throws our way in the later innings of life, we can still celebrate because the final victory is assured. Even when we make errors or when our lives are loaded with suffering there is an undying hope that never fails -- our faith in Jesus Christ.


"Now faith is the promise of things hoped for, the assurance of things unseen."


Now get out there and play some ball!


Monday, March 22, 2010

The Church: Social Benefit or Missions Mandate

I read a well-intended article in the newspaper today (Cincy Enquirer: "Church gives kids secondary support. B8) that really started to make my mission-minded blood boil so to speak. The author began to explain the value of sending her children to church. I was interested in the article but became alarmed when I ran across the statement that said the author, as a parent, he/she "absolutely would not have stayed at a church where teenagers were pressured to believe, witness or preach." The author went on to state how he/she had benefited from the church and his/her children would as well because of the way the church had treated him/her when young and would do the same for his/her children. I'm not fully sure how the author defines "pressured to" but it almost sounded as if he/she would encourage her children to attend church for its social benefits only. There was no investigation into the reason(s) why these benefits existed in the first place, and no mention of a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.

It was at this point in the reading that I realized what was really happening here. This author seemed to be expressing a common trend amongst church-goers today. Too many individuals are attending church for what they can get for themselves. It is the same self-centeredness that lies dormant within many of our own hearts. Church becomes something done for selfish reasons.

This of course would not be a problem if it were not for the fact that the Church exists to promote the Good News of Jesus Christ. It exists (to borrow a phrase) for the benefit of its non-members. If a church does not proclaim the message that Jesus Christ, became man, dwelt with men, was crucified, buried, raised from the dead, and now sits at the right hand of God -- reigning over all as Lord so that we might received forgiveness of sin and the gift of eternal life -- then I would have to argue that it isn't the Church at all. Furthermore, I would also have to question why anyone could expect to be in the Church and not be asked to witness, after all isn't this what Jesus commanded his body, the Church, to do, fulfill HIS missions mandate? Recall the apostle Paul once wrote that he was "compelled" to share the gospel. It was an irresistible force he could not say no to. If an individual is not able to accept this then perhaps the Church is not the place they are looking for.

On a final note, it is possible that the author was simply stating that a person's expression of their faith should be genuinely their own not something forced upon them by persons in the church. If this is the case then I kindly ask the author's forgiveness in misreading the matter.

Keep the Faith
chris

Wednesday, February 24, 2010

A Dusting

Two weeks since the big snow and subsequent dig-out. Its beginning to snow again. What a sweet reminder of the cleansing power of Jesus Christ. Just when we feel we have been soiled and dirtied by our engagements in the world, HE comes along with a gentle reminder -- a kind word from a believer, a meaningful devotion, a powerful verse of scripture, or a gentle snowfall. We are compelled to fall at the feet of Jesus in confession and repentance, and once again the Spirit begins dusting us again with the sanctifying power of HIS sacrifice, and HIS presence.

Tuesday, February 09, 2010

White As Snow but Hard as Ice


Recently I had the "opportunity" to go out and shovel/plow my driveway and sidewalks. I don't really mind doing this, except for on those unusually cold windy days, so the time spent outside can be refreshing.
This time however I finished my work and realized that even though the snow had been removed there were still patches of ugly gray ice that did not want to be removed. It seemed to have a mind of its own and only relented after a lot of hacking, scraping, and salting.
That reminded me a lot of what it can be like to follow Christ. His blood covers us and makes us "white as snow" but often we don't allow this covering to replace the ugliness underneath. We like to cling to our hold habits, customs, cultural norms, and sins. To the world we may look clean, but to Christ we are works in progress.
This is the beauty of following Christ though. He doesn't quit. And although it can be quite painful for us, He continues to gently scrape away layer after layer of sin and debris. Finally to make sure the ice/sin doesn't return, the salt of his word is administered regularly through the work of the Holy Spirit.
I guess this puts shoveling into a whole new perspective for me now.

Wednesday, January 27, 2010

God-sized Moment

I had the opportunity to experience God this evening. It wasn't through some pious action of my own doing, nor was it in a great praise and worship event, rather it was in the fellowship of God's people seeking to participate in something much greater than anyone of them could accomplish on their own. Something none of us could accomplish on our own, even if we were working together. A God-sized task had revealed itself to some members of the church and I was privy to the revelation. We believe that we have been called to help with the disaster relief in Haiti.

At this point many of you may sound skeptical. You might be saying to yourself, why all kinds of people are doing this. To which I reply you are correct. But just because a number of folks are already doing it doesn't mean that God hasn't asked us to join in too. As our group discussed, and planned, a sense of purpose and clarity emerged. But also a sense of how large the task at hand truly was. If this activity is going to work, then God will have to be in it. It was as if God laid the challenge out there and said, take up the challenge and then watch me go to work. The vast sway of ideas progressing forward only served to build my confidence in the One who I had just experienced.

Now comes the hard part. The transition. God has been seen at work in Haiti and has invited us to join Him there. We have taken the step in faith to begin the process, I like others in my team must continue stepping toward where God is in order to be successful in accomplishing HIS purpose for Haiti and for us.

Sunday, January 17, 2010

Prayers for Haiti

Recently I had a friend ask me what she could do to help with the crisis currently going on in Haiti. Of the responses that I offered one was incredibly underrated. I told her to pray. Too often in the course of missions and ministry we simply let these words roll off our lips as if they were another thing to be checked off our "to do" list for the day. We fail the grasp the significance of this tremendous access to God's unlimited power. You see in prayer, real prayer - where we listen to what God has to say, we come into direct contact with the Divine Will. These encounters cannot help but leave us changed for the better. Prayer encourages us, it empowers us to do what we thought we coudn't, and finally it helps us to understand the Father better. When we are able to understand the Father, we are able to respond in obedience to his commands because we know fully what they are and we hear them directly given. We listen and obey, much is accomplished because God is glorified. So please don't discount the value of prayer, especially in this time of international crisis. Remember, its not when all else fails, but rather before all else, pray, pray, and pray some more.

Grace and Peace

Monday, January 04, 2010

Just Like Dad

Recently, as I was recovering from the Christmas blitz and trying to put our house back in order, it was brought to my attention that I needed to hang some pictures on the wall. This is not a particularly exciting event, but an incredibly poignant event sparked my attention. As I had my hammer out ready to hit the nail, I turned around and noticed that my 4-year old son had found his toy hammer and was mimicking my every move. He wanted to be just like his daddy.

What a perfect picture, pardon the play on words, of what it means to be a follower of God. We should strive to be more like our heavenly DADDY each and every day. A part of that effort must come in the form of missions. You see God left his place of comfort. The scriptures tell us He became both God and man in the form of Jesus Christ here on this earth. HIS purpose, simple, to seek and save the lost.

Let us ponder this and try to be just like DAD.