Me and Ole’ Jonah, Like Two Peas in a Pod

When Pastor Steve told me he would be preaching on Jonah after he wrapped up the book of Romans a couple of months ago, I had the feeling this book from God’s Word would be applying to me.  Turns out I was right.

We’re awfully hard on Jonah aren’t we.  Even non-Christians can tell us about “the man who ran” or “Jonah and the Whale” and put a negative connotation to him.  We look at Jonah and equate him with out right defiance towards God, and remember that God “punished” him for his defiance.  It’s enough to make any sinner quake in his boots if he or she would give the history of God’s Word more credit than a mere children’s story.

I feel for Jonah, and realize much of my situations relates to his.  Recently opportunities have come up that have blind sighted me.  I have a successful job, one where I am trusted, not micro-managed, make a decent wage, and I’m doing what I love.  Such was the case with Jonah, he had a successful ministry, when he spoke, people listened, and he was doing just fine in his career as a prophet until one day God blind sighted him as well. 

God told Jonah to head to Ninevah and cry out against it, to leave his comfort zone and cry out against a city that was wicked and needed to repent in order to escape the judgement of God, but they had to be warned of their sins, and Jonah was the man for the job.  The thing was, Jonah HAD to do what he didn’t want to do in order to do the job.  It cost him some pride, some discomfort (can’t imagine how comfortable being slowly digested by a fish just big enough to swallow you would be) diving into the unknown and his own understanding.

Now I have been faced with a situation in which I am VERY uncomfortable, I am afraid, panic overwhelms me on nearly a daily basis in this new situation that I believe God has called me too.  I believe I am obeying God’s will, but I do not understand why.  It makes me sick that I am so apprehensive on a daily basis, but as I learned today, it is not necessary that I understand the situation, just that I obey what I believe God’s will is.

Jonah did the same, once he was vomited by the fish, he went after his job with all he could.  Deep in his heart, he didn’t understand why God cared so much for these people, but Jonah obeyed, with very little of his own wisdom factoring into his decisions.

I hope I get it right, not making a terribly rash decision in a heat of panic, but I’m obeying…and for now, I pray that is all that’s required of me, not my understanding, and certainly not my emotion.  God help me love what He has given me to do.  Right now I’m just so uncertain….

Saying “Please” to Daddy

For the better part of 7 years now, my wife has worked tirelessly at teaching our children manners.  Simple things, like saying “please” when they want something and saying “thank you” when they receive what they desire.  She incorporates these lessons into their everyday activities.  She’s such a good mother to my children, and rarely do I question her methods or reasons for discipline.

I’m amazed at what the word ”please” will do to my heart as a father.  When my children say “please,” not only does it show their manners, it shows respect for Karen and I as their parents.  It also proves to me how much they love us, as they are obeying those things which we have taught them.  Jesus Himself tells His disciples that if they love Him, they will keep his commandments. (John 14:15)  The relationship I have with my kids often reflects the relationship I should have with my Heavenly Father in Jesus Christ.  When I take into the account the joy that my boys bring me when they obey, I can’t imagine how pleased the Father is with us when we obey Him in the best way we know how.

In Luke 11:9-13; Jesus tells us how important it is that we ask the Father for those things we are in need of.  As someone who believes in the sovereignty and all-knowingness of God, I often had problems with this passage of scripture.  If God knows EVERYTHING, and knows everything I need, isn’t it kind of insulting to God for me to ask him for my needs?  Isn’t it showing very little faith In my All-Powerful Heavenly Father to “bother” Him with the trivial details of my life?  Even at that, He KNOWS my needs, why doesn’t He provide automatically?  In this line of thinking, it almost seems as God is playing games with us, almost in a cruel way, dangling a carrot in front of us.  But I know God isn’t cruel, so there has to be another answer.    

Jesus goes on, “If a son asks for bread from any father among you, will he give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent instead of a fish? Or if he asks for an egg, will he offer him a scorpion? If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!”  This passage of scripture speaks as a son asking from a father, a relationship, a bond,  there must be a relationship between the son and father before the requested item is given!  Yes, God does know what we need, He is capable of providing it, He’s even capable of providing it without us asking.  But could it be that God wants more from us than just our asking as lowly servants to an All-Powerful God?  Could it be that He wants relationship as a father to a son?

When we accept the gift that the life and death and ressurection of Jesus Christ brings (peace and blamelessness with God), we suddenly have a relationship with a Heavenly Father, in which we may trust Him, not cower before a Holy King.  Not that He has become less to us, but rather, He has become more to us, a “Dad.”  When I think of how I love to be a Dad to my boys, I am in awe of how much God must love the relationship he has with those who come to Him as children.  Who seeks a relationship as a “little child” with God?  Rest assured God loves you, and He’s waiting for you to ask whatever you need, not because you need, but because you trust.

Worship – Who Has the Time?

Wake up late, fix pot of coffee, go pray, get coffee, read bible,  take a shower, get dressed, shave – no, there’s no more time, and I could probably go one more day anyway, eat bran flakes, brush my teeth, grab the rest of the coffee, grab Bible, journal and book (just in case there’s more time later) and head out the door to drop the kids off by 8:10 am so I can be at work by 8:25, my truck time, not the time clock time, because it’s usually 3 minutes fast.  “Whew,” made it.  So far this hasn’t been a bad day, the only thing that would’ve made it a little better would have been waking up earlier so I could pray and read the bible longer.  Scarcely would I think anything to be missing in this fine morning (this type of morning which happens A LOT).

For anyone who has seen the movie “One Night with the King,” you would probably be interested in the book “Finding Favor with the King” by Tommy Tenney, also author of the “God Chasers” series which I heard was great, though not necessarily my style.  Like the movie, this book is based on the biblical scripture of Esther, a story of a young Jewish girl who was taken and forced into a beauty pageant of sorts for the hand of King Xerxes of Babylon (and Queen of his kingdom).  She took a bad situation that she wasn’t able to escape and made the best of it, winning Xerxes heart and eventually becoming the salvation of the Jewish race.  Tommy breaks this story down into detailed principles and gives lessons which ultimately teach us how we should worship the King of Kings as Esther worshiped her would be husband and King.

I never knew there were so many lessons in the book of Esther.  Though many very good principles, which could be preconceived opinions of the author rather than biblical fact, the basic premise is that we must worship the King for who He is.  The King of Kings is looking for those who love HIM; rather than His royalty, His riches and His blessing. 

I think so many times we get so busy that we do things just because we’ve always done them.  Even “church stuff” like reading our bibles, attending Sunday worship services, praying, singing with raised hands are often for us to satisfy OUR spiritual taste buds for the week, check off our church checklist and move on to whatever is next on the agenda.  Very seldom do we consider that God has this crazy idea that church is for HIM.  We are for HIM.  Mission work is for HIM.  Reading our bibles is for HIM.  It is He who is glorified when we start to do things just because we love Him.  

In the Bible we see the church as Christ’s bride.  I love my bride.  She is my wife, my love, my beloved.  I love to do things for her just because of that love I have for her.  I also love when she does things for me just because too.  In fact, I love her most when she honors me with her actions, it could be anything (cleaning my truck, rubbing my back, saving her money to buy the best grill she could find, etc) I would give her the world when she seemingly does nothing except for the sheer fact that she loves me.  So too should we do just because we love our Lord.  On the other hand, if my wife comes in and showers me with kisses every time she sees me just to grab some money from my wallet so she can go blow it on whatever (kind of like we do when we do our daily bible reading and pray just so we can hopefully cash in on His blessings) I would be deeply disappointed, and probably even feel a bit used.  Now I’m sure my wife would never admit to using me in this way (would we admit it to God?), but facts are still facts, especially if it happens on a consistent basis. 

How many times do we run to God when we get ourselves into trouble or need some kind of boost in confidence?  When was the last time we loved God just because He is who He is?  He is the church’s husband, maybe the church should start acting like a good wife instead of an adulteress who only comes home when she wants something.  Maybe we should give God something of our time like devotions FOR Him, instead of doing our devotions for getting FROM Him?  Think about it.

Having Financial Peace, the Flu, Termites, and a New Outlook on Prayer

I thought I was going to sail through the flu season this year with no problems.  Be one of those lucky (or blessed) few who in the middle of March start bragging that I didn’t catch “the bug,” as though I had something to do with it.  About half the people I come in contact with on a daily basis has had this stuff at one time or another over the past month and I was feeling pretty good, until it hit me 2 nights ago.  Now it’s all I can do to stay out of the bathroom today, though the chills have finally left me.  Hopefully my body is just flushing out the sick from my body.  Despite my sickness, I’m happy to announce Karen and I have met one of our financial goals in paying off the first bill of our “debt snowball.”  A doctor bill that I incurred at the emergency room 4 or 5 months ago, next is the student loan, which has been hanging around so long it’s like a pet.  If the government isn’t lying to us about the “stimulus package” check that we should be getting around the end of May, that nasty thing will be paid off as well; freeing up enough money to hopefully have our truck paid off two years early.  Once all this happens, we will finally be able to start saving up for a real house, while repairing this one at the same time.  Speaking of, we’ve started painting!  Those of you have been here know that’s a huge step for us.  With all the repairs we’re doing, we have had to call a couple of exterminators, lest the termites eat away all our new work, who have quoted us anywhere from $1500 to $1700.  They’ve offered to finance us but we have promised ourselves never to borrow money again unless it’s for a house, so I guess a new envelope will have to be made called “Death to Termites.”  It may take another year to save up enough money, but we will not be saddled with another monthly payment right now.  Orchin Man thought I was nuts, maybe I am. I’ve been studying a lot on prayer lately.  I realize I am missing a lot when I’ve prayed before.  Using God’s name as “Lord” about 50 times in one prayer, but not really praying to anybody.  I’m almost convinced that teenagers pray better than adults every time they bow their head.  For some reason, once we reach adult hood, a lot of us, especially men, stop being personal.  We start putting on the tough guy facade, and pray in the same way.  We are very vague when we pray, “bless this, and bless that,” “bless preacher and his family, bless our church family,” “take care of the sick,” “bless those that are faithful,” and don’t forget the magic phrase we use just to remind God He has to answer our prayers we say, “in Jesus name, Amen.”  I’m convinced that prayer is more than that, and have been learning that as well.  I’m hoping to teach what I learn in our church to a group of men, but am nervous about it.  I’m so much younger than the men who I think would take this seriously.  Nevertheless, today in my devotions I read Jeremiah chapter 1 as this “fear of man” was on my mind.  In it Jeremiah quotes God as saying,    ” Do not say, ‘I am a youth,’       For you shall go to all to whom I send you,       And whatever I command you, you shall speak.        Do not be afraid of their faces,       For I am with you to deliver you,” says the LORD. So, I am going to teach, humbly, but also enthusiastically I hope, enough that God inspires and we start praying and leading our church and community and even more into revival.

Banjara For Christ 2007-2008 (Day 8)

Our teaching sessions ended this evening.  I almost hated for them too, the lessons I mean.  I’ve had so much fun teaching the Pastors of Banjara.  They are so attentive to what I have to say.  To what we ALL have had to say.

Steve has taught all his lessons on church planting, and they are not what a person might expect.  I know I was surprized at what he is teaching; though I don’t know why, all he taught we’ve discussed before.  I guess I had just forgotten what I once had learned.  Steve taught starting churches “the Master’s Way.”  Through a “person of peace” and then after that, theach them to observe those things that I was teaching about, disciplines through the wheel. 

“The Master’s Way” of discipleship is what we called my portion of lessons.  These were ALL methods in which Jesus showed his disciples during his time with them on earth.  Taking in the Word, praying, fellowship, and witnessing centered around the person of Jesus Christ.  All of these of course come after we surrender our lives to Him.  I went through a wheel illustration made up by Dawson Trotman, teaching the four very basic disciplines that every follower of Christ should have.

Richard’s been teaching personal evangelism, “witnessing the Master’s Way.”  He showed us how to use the Ten Commandments as a school master to show us our sin and how to use tracts as a witnessing tool.  He was nervous, but he did just great…I was nervous too.  We found that most of our lessons came across really well any time we involved the men in our exercises in a role playing fashion.  They played in skits, they drew pictures, they laughed and at one point I cried.  Once I had 5 of them laying in the floor piled on top of eachother to tell a parable Jesus taught about prayer.  These times were so precious and the Lord provided so much to say.  I can’t express my joy at these new and old friends we have made.  They are so open and honest and lively.  I love their culture.

Tonight was a night for singing and dancing.  Steve got some of it on video.  It was a lot of fun.

We just finished dinner with a Catholic priest who owns the hostel we’ve been staying in.  It was a fine meal but our normal Indian friends were not around.  Tomorrow we get to sleep in, which is a blessing, and then we have one last service to say farewell and then we are heading home.  I’m ready.

Banjara For Christ 2007-2008 (Day 6)

Today is New Year’s Eve.  Sush asked Steve to say a prayer at midnight to bring in the new year.  Besides that they have nothing else they say that they will be doing.  I assume there will be a lot of singing and dancing.

I realized I’ve not commented much on the girl’s lately…

Julie is loving this experience.  She loves to spend time with the children, playing games with them and dancing with the Banjara men and women.  The food may not be settling with her though.  Jana is doing well too.  Always with her light sense of humor she makes us all smile.  She misses home, like we all do.  She’s been hugging a lot more than I remember her doing lately.  It’s strange how a mission trip like this brings a family closer together.  Yesterday she got to put the Banjara’s traditional dress on.  Steve got some pictures of it.  She looked – different, to say the least.  Lisa is doing good too.  She always sings, she does have a pretty voice and uses it to find common ground with these people, half way around the world.  Her and Anand, our translator have been singing together.  Anand loves English praise and worship songs.  He speaks english very well.

Today we went sight seeing with Sush and Sudakar, Damodar’s brother and he’s also the guy that’s been serving us food all week long.  We saw some waterfalls and monkeys.  We also tried some sweet lime juice and some wonderful roasted peanuts, they were GREAT!  Both were a refreshing change from chicken and rice.  I got some good pictures of the monkeys, Dakota and Trevor will like them I hope.

We also taught our first lessons today.  We shared our testimony and gave general overviews of our lessons we’ll be teaching for the next couple of days.  So many were pleased with the lessons and testimonies we all gave.  I am glad they turned out well, but I wish they wouldn’t “gush” so much over what a good job we do.  I tend to get prideful in situations like that.

Tonight there will be a service from 11 PM to 1 AM, I am told to bring in the New Year.  We, thankfully don’t have to teach anything.  But 1 AM is going to make life hard for the first day of the year.  No matter, the Lord is in control now.  Satan has tried to stop the messages we’re going to be teaching but he cannot.  The Lord has delivered us from his hands.

It’s been a relaxing evening so far.  I’ve been able to get to know Richard a little better as the three guys…me, Steve and Richard have been able to just visit with each other tonight.  Julie and Lisa and maybe Jana are downstairs getting painted.  “Hannah” they call it.  Them being here has been good for Sush and the other women.  It is good fellowship they’ve had this week.  I’m enjoying a “natural” toothbrush (according to Sush) right now.  The sticks I’ve seen these guys chewing and brushing their teeth with are not half bad.  Steve pulled one down for me because I’m to short to reach it (says he, well, he’s probably right).  I’ve been gnawing on this thing for the past hour.  A little bitter, but all in all, not a bad pass-time.

Banjara For Christ 2007-2008 (Day 5)

Today is the last day of preaching in the villages (thandas).  It’s also Sunday, which means worship services will be going on.  Lisa and I stop with our group to preach in a thanda before going to a church service.  An old Banjara friend of ours is pastoring the church we visited.  I met Pastor Baloo Naik in Khammum last time we came to India.  It thrills my heart to know this man is still following the Lord, and his congregation is growing.  I asked our interpreter on the way to the service how many people he was expecting.  He said only a few, there weren’t too many believers out there; but when we turned the corner and saw at least 30 people sitting waiting for us, he said “Oh!  There are many Banjara believers in this area!” 

The church service went great.  Anand, our interpreter who has informed us his name means “Happy” in Hindi, explained to us that “where two or three are gathered together” there the Lord is with them.  So these 30 men and women, began to pray, very loudly, all at the same time.  Some shouted, some whispered, some chanted, but there was no doubt that the Lord would be there.  Later I heard someone from our mission trip say about the experience that it might have been what God hears when he listens to all of us pray.  It was wonderful to see them taking the scripture so literally.  A Banjara woman evangelist gave a long testimony after that, and then I preached to them…I gave my “3rd spoke” lesson a trial run and found that the lesson on fellowship was a pretty clear message.  People understood it and appreciated it.  Not that I was the one who put this together.  The Lord did that.  I sometimes forget that it’s through Him that a message is communicated. 

Pastor Baloo and his wife were so sweet to us.  After the service they provided a bed for us to sit on and rest for a few minutes before they took us inside their home to pray.  Then we went to their church building which seemed so small for the size of the congregation that had gathered today.  The size of that room couldn’t have been any bigger than the bathroom we had back at the hostel.

I tried to call Karen again tonight, again she didn’t answer.  I wondered where she was and looked at my watch to realize I’m 12 hours ahead of her, it’s 9:45 AM back home, she’s in church!  Duh…it’s Sunday for her and the boys right now and they are in Sunday school.  She’s a good wife.  I miss her and the boys very much but also realize my wife is capable of handling just about anything, so I don’t worry.

During our share service tonight I found there were about 6 or 7 people who came to know the Lord in thandas today.  It’s always hard for me to tell.  Nageesh, a huge Indian pastor who I got to know some last year, kept track of names of those who were new believers.  They do this so they can go back and follow-up and feed the new born Christians.  Note for myself next time though – ASK how many are coming to know the Lord and keep track throughout the days we’re preaching.  Write it down even.  Damodar is asking the Americans how many were saved and I’m finding I have no clue who’s accepting the Lord and who’s not.  The very presence of Damodar seems to be one of a gentle nature but also one of respect and authority.  I almost felt ashamed that I didn’t know how many were saved just because I respect the guy so much.  I’ll make sure and know the the next time I come.

Complacent: To be or not to be

Today was a strange day…

I slept in.  I hate sleeping in, but I find myself, more often than not, hitting the snooze button a lot more than what’s necessary and developed a nasty habit of just going back to sleep.  Because of this, I missed my devotion time, my prayer time, and most of all, just my alone time with God.  However, I found the day to be absolutely beautiful and having very little difficulty getting ready for work as I just accepted that my normal “alone time” just wasn’t going to happen because I woke up late.  When I got out the door, with a hot cup of coffee in hand, I was 10 minutes earlier than I normally am.  I had plenty of time to get to work without having to drive like a maniac.

The rest of the day went…GREAT!  Odd as it sounds.  I know, I know…a lot of folks in this mode of thinking would say that they missed their quiet time and so the rest of the day was “off.”  Well, I’m not going to say that I didn’t have that initial conviction…it was there.  But all in all, it was a good day.

I guess because I was in the mode of looking for Christ, opportunities came up today I may not have seen before.  Ways of pointing to Jesus that wasn’t just coming from a “good ole boy” but real issues that Christ looked at and gave stern warnings for.  Things like “beware the leaven of the Pharisees” (Matthew 16).  I was also able to share the verse that made me realize what it meant to actually know Christ and make him Lord of my life (Matthew 7:21-23).  I also was able to share how God is a God of second chances, and third, and fourth and even fifth chances, not that we should tempt Him, but that we should remember He is gracious, no matter how stupid or sinful we are.  Aren’t our loved ones blessed, aren’t we blessed, that when we would normally give up on a person, God says, ” here’s another chance, oh yes, and if they screw this one up, I’ll give them another.”  Praise God for His mercy.

I reflected on how easy it was, to wake up and just go, and have a great day, and the appeal that most Christians have just to run out the door as quick as we have what we “need.”  Not often do we think that the real NEED went sufficiently ignored, in fact, probably not even thought of.  Isn’t it easy to think the next day will be just as good, and the next, and the next?  Soon we are just running out the door everyday, asking the Lord to bless the day (and fooling ourselves that this is enough).  Maybe, this is the danger of complacency.  It sneaks up on you, one day you are serving the Lord, praying for people, having quiet time, genuinely caring for folks, and the next, it’s okay to excuse one ignored area of your life for another…the next…your soul is struggling to catch up with you as you’re running out the door. 

Be diligent church, be diligent to run the race as Paul encouraged us too (1 Corinthians 9:24).  Let us stop being complacent.

Mission trip just around the corner…Pray.

It’s too late to be too deep tonight.  I sure do appreciate everybody checking out the blogs, I’m happy to say it seems to be quite popular these past couple of weeks.  I try to write and link some of the hot topics of the world to the “spritual realm” (not that I see much difference between the spiritual and physical, in my opinion they should be woven together) and it seems that people show a little more interest.

Today I realized just how close I am to leaving for India again, Lord willing.  Our mission trip is not being funded as quickly as I thought it might, so I called up Pizza Hut in Claremore to see if there’s any way I might be able to go up and do a few “mini-details” (good wash of tires and wheel wells with degreaser, body of the car, tire shine) for as much as a person has on their heart to donate.  Well, it seems I’m going to be doing that every Saturday, starting 11/17, up through 12/22 from 9am-2pm at Pizza Hut for anyone who needs a pretty clean car.  I detailed cars everyday for about a year so I’m pretty good at it, although it won’t be a full detail, I do aim to please for as much as I can get.  It struck me that this is only 7 Saturdays, 7 weeks, that’s all we have left. 

Please pray for us in this regard guys, 6 of us have a heart to serve the Lord in this capacity, and it does take a toll on the mind.  There’s always the questions of “What if I had worded my letter different?” ”Why didn’t I start saving for this a year ago?” “What if we don’t get the funds?” ”What if I don’t have enough faith to receive the funds?”  I personally do feel that last question is a load of hogwash, but still, for some folks, it’s there.  Of course, the Lord knows the answers to all these questions and doesn’t want us to dwell, but there is the disappointment and feeling of failure in this regard.  We can’t hear God say “no,” so sometimes it’s a little difficult to swallow that answer.  I personally used to see it as some kind of failure on my own part, but I’m past that I think.  But, for now, pray that we get these funds to fulfill the Lord’s will.  If the funds don’t come, we know that it was bathed in prayer, and the Lord has something better later down the road.  I love all of you and am praying for you myself.

Jeremy

The Earth Travails

And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not troubled; for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet.  For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places.  All these are the beginning of sorrows.   Matthew 24:6-8

A couple of days ago, I read that while Hawaii was bracing for a hurricane to tear across their tiny portion of the ocean, an earthquake of 6.6 magnitude shook them to their core.  The largest earthquake to shake Hawaii since 1983.  The very next day, I read a headline that says an earthquake is responsible for over 300 deaths in Peru, they are now dealing with looters as a result of the chaos that has followed.  Our government is also (last I heard) looking into the fact of whether or not the Utah mine which collapsed, twice now, killing at least 3, was due to “earthquakes” near the mine.

A shiver run down my spine as I thought of Jesus words to his disciples in Matthew 24:6-8.  I didn’t really start taking note of the earthquakes until after the tragedy in Indonesia in December of 2004, when an earthquake caused tsunamis that literally obliterated much of the country’s land and people.   Not that I am an earthquake expert, or that I have a morbid sense of exhileration when a natural disaster like this occurs, but I take note when I see mother nature “travailing,” if you will.  And since that time, I’ve noticed several natural disasters which have occurred; but if it isn’t natural disasters like Hurricane Katrina, it’s terrorist attacks like 9/11, and if it’s not terrorist attacks, it’s wars, like Iraq or threatenings of wars with Iran.

There should be no mistake made, there is one thing after another going wrong in the world today.  A heightened sense of “somethings not right” and we, the human race, for the most part try to blame it on something as simple as “global warming.”  The disasters occurring today are not global warming.  It’s in the Bible, for any who can read to see, Jesus said these things would come to pass.  For the Christian, our Lord commands that we “see that we are not troubled,” because these things MUST come to pass, BUT THE END IS NOT YET.  I as a Christian know what the glorious end of my LORD and His Kingdom shall be.  In the midst of this “travailing” (Romans 8:22), do you know where you stand?  Have you given these disasters any thought as to why thing after thing happens in this small world today?  What end will be yours?