Just another Christian servant trying to keep pace with the cyber revolution. It's a great way to challenge the world around me, as well as to challenge myself.
Monday, October 27, 2008
SPREAD YOUR OWN WEALTH AROUND!
I have a message for the gentleman who would be my president; SPREAD YOUR OWN WEALTH AROUND AND TAKE YOUR HAND AWAY FROM MY WALLET! The same goes for the next elected congress. Get away from my wallet! I work hard for what little I earn.
When you speak of redistribution of wealth, you are singing a Marxist song. We have done enough when it comes to stripping away our rights. Let's not take the next step this man asks us to take. It will be a fatal one for all Americans, not just the ones with a little money.
Sunday, October 26, 2008
A Song of Praise
Think of it: around the world in the past several hours men, women, and children confessed that Jesus Christ is Lord. Some did it for the first time, giving control of their lives over to the one whose name is above all names. How many times today do you suppose the pure joy over repentant sinners caused the halls of heaven to thunder with praise to the Lamb? In that glimpse of heaven, John said the praise to the Lamb was thunderous, like the sound of many waters. And to think, we had the opportunity to unite our voices with theirs, bringing glory to the Lord all over the world.
And the Lord has to be praised. Jesus said that if man did not praise God, the rocks themselves would cry out. All creation praises the Lord. Those pesky birds we hear at daylight praise God. The cricket in the middle of the night praises God. The lion roaring out in the wilds of Africa praises God. Everything that has breath will praise God, because God will be praised.
All mankind will confess Jesus as Lord; some will do it now (May it be billions who do so!); some, sadly enough, will do it as they suffer forever in a hell God never wanted to send them to.
Confess the Lord Jesus now. Praise him now. Honor him now. Sing to the Lord a song of praise.
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
Decision 2008: What's at Stake?
One of these times there will be an appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court; or perhaps another attempt at federal legislation. With the legislative branch controlled by the libs, plus a socialist lib in the White House, one can expect the kind of social activism that only causes the hoardes of evil to rub their hands together in glee. If a liberal wins the White House, you can expect appointments of activist judges that will continue what Bill Clinton began in 1992. That includes appointments to the Supreme Court. If you are a follower of Jesus, you don't want to see that.
Our founding fathers said that this government will only function properly for a Christian people. If non-Christians ever take power, the government of the people, by the people, and for the people will cease to be for us and by us. In other words, America as we know it, will cease to be.
If we do not humble ourselves and pray, plus put feet to our prayers by voting and encouraging others to vote a conservative ballot, we have no one to blame but ourselves. We will reap what we sow.
Sadly, some see the voting booth as an a-moral place; that is, there is no right or wrong in your decision. Not so. Vote for a man or woman you know has made evil legislative choices and you are directly responsible for the evil he or she continues to legislate or execute. You will not be held unaccountable when God renders judgment.
What's at stake? Your children's future. The integrity of the nation. You. That is what is at stake.
Sunday, October 19, 2008
America, Others Are Praying for You!
Then came the very good message on being involved in the missionary task. The pastor preached with pathos, pleading with us to get on board and go with him to win this country and the world for Christ.
Then, as the service ended, in the pastor's final prayer, he shifted gears and prayed for America. He prayed that we would once again return to a positon of power through virtue. He prayed for justice. He prayed for America to once again have spiritual power. Men and women all around us cried out their agreement to what Samuel prayed.
The current economic and political situation weighs on many around the world. But believers in the Lord Jesus Christ know that the right and best answer is found in repentance and return to the Lord. And they are praying for America.
Take heart, America; others still love you enough to pray for you.
Friday, October 17, 2008
What Have our Supremes Done?
My trust in the system wavers just now. But think of this: the next president will have the power to recommend for appointment other justices. Do we want more of the same that we are getting through the Ohio debacle?
I think not.
Thursday, October 16, 2008
We Voted!
The recent concern over voter fraud is growing. The media now report that as many as 200,000 registrations in Ohio alone have irregularities. That, along with the other states where voter fraud is capturing the spotlight should concern us. Our election system was built on honor, a Christian virtue. We are demonstrating that we are spiraling downward when it comes to virtue. Dishonesty and deception should not characterize any aspect of American society; but it has become too common.
I hope you exercise your right to vote. But do not do what some have promised in their sick slogan, "Vote early and vote often."
Monday, October 13, 2008
Has Our Savior Returned?
Only Jesus Christ, born of the virgin Mary, crucified for our sins, raised the third day, ascended to the right hand of God, ever living to make intercession for the saints, and returning in the glory of the Father--only he is the hope for mankind. Only Jesus can save you. Only Jesus can change the heart of mankind. Only Jesus offers lasting peace.
Our hope does not rest with any man or woman on this planet. God is not going to share his glory with Mr. Obama, or Mr. McCain. He is a jealous God who demands our loyalty to him.
Our Savior will return. When he does, every eye will see him. Everyone will know it. There won't be any question as to who he is.
Until then, we need to beware of those that would tell us otherwise, of those who are willing to accept the title of Messiah.
Watch how you vote! You may be sustaining a false god when you do.
Sunday, October 12, 2008
Pray for Cuba
Pray for Cuba and other nations that have been so adversely affected by the recent rash of hurricanes in that part of the world. Pray for open doors to both minister to physical needs and meet spiritual needs. This could be one of those tools God uses to open wide the doors to a nation like Cuba.
Friday, October 10, 2008
Which Way, America? (pt. 2)
Who else supports Obama for president? Among others, a man named Terrence Bean. Read about Mr. Bean here. [caution: the previous link is to a PG-13 article, filled with disturbing news]
Let's not forget our old friend, that racist Louis Farrakhan. What does he believe about Obama? He said that when Obama speaks, the Messiah is speaking. For Farrakhan, Obama is the voice of the Messiah. Are you frightened by that? You should be!
Do we want a president who is supported by the porn industry? I don't! Do you want a man who is lauded by one of America's most notorious hate-mongers? I don't! Vote, but choose wisely. A vote for Obama is a vote for more smut and more perversion. A vote for Obama is a vote for socialism. A vote for Obama is a vote for hatred and division.
Thursday, October 09, 2008
Which Way, America?
America will make choice soon. We will choose whether our wallets control us, or whether we are still a people of reasonable judgment. I fear the choice we will make. I pray for reason, not finances, to prevail. There are a few choices out there for leadership that may be able to make a reasonable difference in America's future, both economically and morally reasonable. There is one choice that is plain immoral. That choice is Barak Obama. He lacks judgment. He is duplicitous. He is dangerous.
Consider the following factual item:
Though the above video is a pro-McCain video, it's not so much I am for him as it is that I am against any voice of insanity, no matter the political affiliation. But the choice for president will come down to McCain or Obama; we have to be realistic here. And given the choice between those two, if we choose to become an Obama-nation, I fear the final consequences.
My desire is for revival and repentance in America. Perhaps we need to do something stupid like vote for Obama. Perhaps that is the only way we will finally come to our knees and repent.
Before we do, though, please consider that this election includes more than the economy. This president will probably appoint 2 or 3 Supreme Court justices. Obama will choose activist judges, both on the S.C., as well as lower courts. We will reap the consequences for a very long time.
This election is not about the economy. To rephrase a former campaign slogan, "It's NOT the economy, stupid." It's the moral direction of our nation. Please be aware of that. Please choose your candidate with discernment, not with dollars.
Sunday, October 05, 2008
An American Carol: What Message Does It Send?
Maher and his kind represent the intellectual stupidity and spiritual deception that Paul wrote of in Romans 1:22 - "Professing to be wise, they became fools...," Why? Paul said in the verse prior to this, that their foolish heart was darkened. They refused to acknowledge God.
So go see this movie. Go see it and make your stand for Jesus Christ.
Saturday, October 04, 2008
IS AMERICA READY TO REPENT, YET? PROBABLY NOT!
Not anymore.
Not even close.
We are a shadow of what we once were.
I really thought that the current economic "crisis" would be enough to cause us to repent. AIDS did not do it; droughts did not do it; storms have not swayed us. Terrorist attacks almost did it, but not quite. Failed wars, politically known as "conflicts," did not do it. So I thought massive bankruptcies and foreclosures would lead us to repentance. And perhaps yet it will.
But it seems that Americans have replaced a strong faith in the Lord Jesus Christ with a faith in the government. Let the government bail us out! Let the government fix our poor spending habits. America, you have sold your soul for a mess of porridge.
Now I fear that we will turn our hearts farther away from the God who calls out to us and we will vote for men and women (both congress and the presidency) who will lead us farther away from the once-solid foundations that characterized America. Why? Because we no longer have spiritual discernment. We think with our wallets, not with our brains and hearts. And we will forget the pressing issues that really matter. So we call for "change," but not the kind of change that the word "repentance" means. "Repentance" means a change of your mind/heart that leads to a change in one's behavior. But we want a change in government, not in ourselves. After all, it's far easier to lay blame on external sources than to accept our mess as one we have created.
If America is to thrive, America must repent. And we better be about it soon.
Let's pray for repentance and revival in America.
Saturday, September 27, 2008
The Day After Yesterday
This suit (seen above), though, shows a clear belief that mixing the worship of creation with worship of the Creator is acceptable for too many.
[Now, before you wag your head in dismay, check out your own church! What from the lost world influences your worship? That should be cleaned up, too!]
We are home now. It is good to be back. Yesterday was good. But now it is the day after yesterday, and life in this part of South America calls out to us. And we must answer, while it is still called, "today."
Sunday, September 21, 2008
IMB to Face Sweeping Changes
It's not the first time in the IMB's long life that they have changed. The more recent changes included moving from areas to regions in 1997-98. As a result, there are currently 11 regions through which more than 5,000 men and women engage the unsaved peoples around the world. Those men and women have largely worked in a team format; some teams were quite small and uniquely North American. Other teams were large and included both national believers and North Americans. Together, we sought to challenge the world with the gospel.
Now we are moving to 8 points of focus. These points of focus are to be called, "Global Affinity Groups." Most of them relate to the people groups in Asia; that is logical, since the majority of the world's population is there. But also included in the mix is the European Peoples and the American Peoples.
The groups will be led by Affinity Strategists, who will also have their team of assistants, just as regional leaders do. Within each affinitygroup there will be a varying number of clusters. Within each cluster will be a varying number of teams. Within each team...; you get the point.
Why am I mentioning this in my personal blog? Because I want you to pray for us. Some people will be asked to change roles. Some will take on more responsibility; others may have to take on less than they have right now. Some will have to move, though most will not.
Also, with change comes a disruption of our personal comfort zones. We have adjusted and acclimated to a certain lifestyle--complete with all the emotional and social implications, as well as physical comforts (or discomforts, in some cases). So when someone sends a note and says, "Get ready for change," one's heart can become unnecessarily unsettled. After all, the Lord holds us tightly in his hand. He is not at all surprised by what we are living and experiencing these days.
That's true about you, too. I don't and can't know what each reader faces. But I know this: nothing you face takes God by surprise.
Personally, we are encouraged by what we hear from Dr. Rankin and others. We feel the better days are still ahead, not behind us. Besides, in a world that changes as quickly as this one does, I am thankful to God for a discerning leadership that seeks to keep pace and stay on the cutting edge.
Thanks for praying.
Friday, September 19, 2008
The Harvest
Today was no exception. Not at all. I went out with two of our finest. I took them to Lima's south cone. There we walked on hill after hill, talking to men and women that I had worked with in prior times. But this time things were a little different. On one hill where we stood, a lady we did not know came to us. She said, "Please come back. Please help our people. We need so much help here. Many of us are starving. Come back at Christmas and have a hot chocolate night." I asked the woman her name; she is Soledad T. Her name means "Solitude (as in, peaceful)." It can also, however, mean "loneliness." I did sense a deep loneliness and longing in the lady. It was obvious Christ was calling out to us through her.
In another community they asked me to explain my long absence. It was hard to explain, since they have no frame of reference for a furlough period. But what I learned broke my heart. All workers we had sent there had left. Some workers who had come in from another church also had left. They were abandoned, when it came to Christian teachings. The men I spoke with asked me to please help with two things: reestablishing the church, and helping them establish a daycare center so that mothers would have a place for their children while they worked.
Again, I was moved. It was not as moving, though, as when some who recognized me, ran to me to greet me with a hug and a kiss. Such Christian affection is a breath of fresh air in such places of darkness.
From there, we moved on to a few other communities, places we sensed God's call to us. I cannot fully explain the sensation and the thoughts that overcome me when I stand in the midst of a large housing community where there is no visible Christian witness. It's painful and at the same time joyful. The mind drums up visions of believers gathering together to worship the King. I can almost hear the praises rising up to our Lord.
Then reality hits. The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few. I am so grateful Jesus told us how to handle that: "pray, therefore, to the Lord of the Harvest, that he send forth laborers." It's his job to send out the laborers. It's our job to pray for him to do so.
Please join me in praying for laborers to carry the message of redemption to the countless hundreds of thousands in south Lima that need a relationship with Jesus.
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
Transference in Church Growth
One thing that must be emphasized in any church growth class is the danger of transference. I know that many will recognize "transference" as a pyschological term. In fact, Wikipedia defines transference in a number of ways. Here is one affirmation: "One definition of transference is 'the inappropriate repetition in the present of a relationship that was important in a person's childhood.'"
Notice the words, "inappropriate repetition." Those words are key for the intents and purposes of this blog.
We often admire the "successes" of some of the mega and meta-churches around the world. To read and hear--better yet, to attend a service--of a church that thousands may attend is something that often makes us yearn for something more in our ministry. To read anecdotes of successful church planting in other parts of the world does much the same for a missionary. Yes, we rejoice in both cases. But often we also hope and strive to see something akin to it where we are.
And it is there that we are tempted to go down a road that is unhealthy for us. We begin to study the church or field in question, and we see what we can pull from it to use in our ministries. But we must be careful. This is where Dr. Wilkes' sage warning comes in. Dr. Wilkes told us early on [probably not his precise wording, but these are from his notes], "Church growth is a complex issue. Do not fall into the trap of oversimplification. Do not attribute church growth to a single cause. Do not assume you can transfer methods from one situation to another."
In a world where responsiveness to the Gospel varies from location to location, we need to heed Dr. Wilkes' advice. We do not need to be guilty of missiological or ecclesiological transference. God's plan and methods for India may not be God's plan for Guatemala. While our message remains constant, our plans and methods must reflect at least three things:
- Prayer - the foundational principle of our work within the kingdom of God
- Local responsiveness
- Local socio-political and other similar factors
I fear we are so intent on not reinventing the wheel that we too often take unwise, poorly thought-out, and untested shortcuts, seeking the most pragmatic solution to immediate results. We need to be more concerned that we have spent enough time before God to have gotten his plan and methodology, concentrating more on the long-term results, than we do on short-term, immediate results.
Take a close look at your ministry, or your church's or mission's ministry; see if transference--the unhealthy repetition of someone else's ministry ideas characterizes yours. If it does, perhaps it is time to call a prayer meeting to begin the changes you need in your field.
Jesus is Lord!
Thursday, September 11, 2008
Tomorrow?
We live in the land of "tomorrow." The workers are coming "tomorrow." They will repair it "tomorrow." The part arrives "tomorrow." The new cell phones can be picked up "tomorrow." Orphan Annie could be here sining, "Tomorrow, tomorrow!"
It is so easy to get into the habit of putting things off until tomorrow when that is all you ever see or hear around you. But we have no promise of tomorrow. None whatsoever. We have today; that's all.
Even if tomorrow comes for you and me, it may not come for someone we know. And what if that someone has no relationship with Jesus Christ? What then? Tomorrow will mean eternal pain and suffering for that one.
So we need to live as though today was all we had. That means being alert to the opportunities that God sends our way. That means both being and doing.
Don't wait for tomorrow. Live for today.
Thursday, September 04, 2008
Neglect Can Infect
So many things have to be done when you come back into a house after so many months. Things get neglected and you don't need to neglect a single room in a house down here. When you do, small problems can be waiting there for you. Like mold. Or leaks. Or large, ugly arachnids.
Give me the leak any day. You can have the spiders. I grabbed something hollow in a corner that had been neglected (even though that room had been used the entire time we were absent) and it was full of a colony of those things, all crawling on top of one another. I did not know I could move so fast, getting that item out of our house.
Then there are the things that tend to malfunction in your absence, like our phones. We have no phone service; it died in the past couple of days. The security service came by to ask if we knew we had a failure in the phone lines. His question was classic: "Why don't you call them and report your line out of order?" I glibly replied that I would if I had a phone that worked. But we don't. He assumed we had a backup plan--the imperative cell phone. Sorry, those have not arrived yet. Unlike some places in the world, where you can leave the store with phone in hand, we have now waited 4 days for the phones that were to arrive "yesterday."
All of this teaches me an important spiritual lesson: neglect leads to decay. If I neglect my spiritual well-being I will, little by little, begin to decay spiritually. A little maintenance goes a long way in preventing decay; a little exercise will keep your muscles toned. A little spiritual exercise will do the same.
Now I need to return to my house and resume the important work of cleaning and repairing those neglected areas. But first, I need to be sure no area of my spiritual self is in need of cleaning and repair...; how about you?
Wednesday, August 27, 2008
About Fishing Holes
Fishing has many spiritual analogies. The place you fish is important. When you fish is important. The bait is important. There are so many things I could say. I am all too aware that one could poke holes in the illustrations at hand. But bear with me.
I want to make one point that stood out to me. It's about the fishing hole. I have one, a pond of just over an acre. For those of you who are fishing enthusiasts, there are largemouth bass and bream, plus catfish that live there. In the short time I was there, looking at this pond, hidden in the woods a quarter-mile off a back road, I was moved by its beauty and the promise of great fishing it held for me.
Sure enough, as I stood there in the silence of those woods, a large one, commonly known as a lunker, rolled over in the water. Off on the other side, a large grey crane flew off. Had I stood there long enough, I have no doubt one of the many deer that live in those woods would have slipped up for a drink of water.
The wind whispered in the trees around me. The occasional bird called out. Squirrels played in the trees beyond me. It was a sight to behold, with sounds that blessed my ears.
But one thing was lacking: there was no way to get down to the water and cast my line. Yes, in my absence the woods crept up to the banks around the pond. The underbrush was so thick that I could only look longingly at this body of water that held such promise of great fishing.
So off I went, in search of another place to fish, the place I mentioned above as I began this blog.
I stood on the banks of the first pond I mentioned, my cousin's pond, casting my line in different directions, looking for that hungry bass. My mind went back to my pond. It was so grown over I could not take advantage of it. I wanted to, but it was a futile attempt.
The overgrowth made me think of my life. It's a lot like a fishing hole, a place for others to be blessed. Is it unattended, as well? If someone wanted or needed to "fish" in my life, would he be able to get close enough to cast his line? Or would my neglect block him out? What would I need to cut away to give someone access to the fruit God has placed within me to bless others with?
What about your life? Is it in good enough shape for someone to be blessed by it? Or have you neglected your fishing hole?
Oh, I did not catch anything today. But the communion with the Lord was worth the 2 hours I stood and cast that line.
Thursday, August 21, 2008
The Growing Anti-family Movement
It's their legal right to join the ranks of perversion. It's my legal right to shop there no longer, so long as they offer such products.
When will this kind of thing stop? When we, the church, turn from OUR wicked ways and seek the Lord.
Anti-family is anti-God, anti-Christ. America is comfortable in being that way because we no longer make America uncomfortable when they wallow in sin. How can we, if we wallow in it alongside them?
Join me in praying for revival in the land. It's only then that we will see a positive change in America.