No More

The above image is from The Joyful Heart Foundation's No More Campaign.  No More means more than just no more domestic violence and sexual assault.  It means No More behaviors that enable it to happen, such as No More Silence, No More Blaming The Victim, etc.  It's No More Fill In The Blank as pictured below:

I'm hoping to add my voice to the No More campaign by doing a No More series on this blog.  God has given me a passion to fight the injustice of abuse.  I've heard several testimonies from suvivors of abuse that the church has not been much of a help in fighting abuse, and in some cases, it has even made things worse.  This is not always the case, but it is heartbreaking to hear how often it is the case.  In this No More series, I will address some common behaviors and attitudes that are found within the church that have a tendency to enable abuse, look at why they do so, and what might be able to be changed to help fight abuse.

A big inspiration for this blog series has been the "A Cry For Justice" blog.  This is a Christian-led blog that exists solely to address the issue of abuse and the church.  I believe it is a valuable resource for Christians that seek to understand the dynamics of abuse and who are looking for a Biblical understanding of how to deal with abuse when it occur within the church.  Here is the link: http://cryingoutforjustice.com/.

The Hope On Which Our Faith Rests

Happy Easter, everyone!  He is risen!  The grave is empty.  Death has been defeated.  The curse that led to death has been broken by the new Adam who brings life to all who believe in Him.  This is the hope on which all of our faith rests.  As Paul says in 1 Corinthians 15:14, "And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith."  If Christ had not been raised, our faith would be completely useless.  But because He has been raised, we can have a true hope in redemption that will be worked out in this life and ultimately when we see Him face to face.


The fear of death no longer has power over us.  This is how the world was transformed.  Christians were willing to die instead of rejecting Christ because they trusted that He had been raised and trusted His promise that He was only the first of many who had put their faith in Him.  It's kinda hard to stop someone who whole-heartedly believes that.


Christ died.  Christ is risen.  Christ will come again.  Simple words and so easy to take for granted.  Yet they are the deep foundations of our faith.  God Himself came down as a man, died, was raised to life in the same body that was crucified, and will return.  Simple words, yet altogether life altering when we realize just what they mean and choose to believe them.

The Day In Between

Holy Saturday.  It's the day in between death and life.  The day when the harsh, unbelievable realities of the day before began to sink in.  The day when there seemed to be little hope for the future.  A day of confusion and pain.  A day that reminds us just how hopeless we'd be if Jesus had only been crucified and not raised from the dead.  His death is crucial to our salvation and His resurrection is equally as crucial.  There is no hope in death if the promise of new life is not fulfilled.  The time in between is important too.

Throughout our lives, sin will cause many deaths and God will bring about new life. But we will also have to face the time in between.  How we deal with the time in between is crucial to the direction our faith will go.  Will we believe all is hopeless, get angry at God, and lose faith?  Or will we rely on what He has taught us thus far and dare to keep believing against all hope?  There is a reward for this who dare to trust Him even when all seems hopeless- restoration.  The time in between May be the most difficult because it forces us to come to terms with a death brought about by sin.  It's painful.  We often feel powerless. Hope seems to have died.  But His mercies are new each morning.  His plans are to prosper us, not to harm is.  To give us a hope and a future.  He will do something we wouldn't have believed even if we had been told if we will watch and pray.  This is the time that are faith is tested and stretched.  This is where drastic growth can take place.  But all 3 days are crucial to this process.

The Problem Of Evil

The Good Friday service at my church tonight was especially powerful.  The message was about taking responsibility for our individual sins that put Jesus on the cross and how doing so is a crucial part of accepting the forgiveness that Christ extends to us.  During communion, we had the option of dipping our hands into red paint and then placing them on the cross to acknowledge our guilt.  We then were invited to take communion and then go to another station to wash our hands as a symbol of the cleansing provided by Jesus' death on the cross.  The bowl of water quickly became red, making the stains difficult to wash off, similar to how there was only one way that our stains could be washed off and it was not easy.  

As powerful as those reminders were, there was one part of communion that really got to me.  I had the privilege of serving communion tonight.  I got the grape juice.  As anyone who has served communion at my church knows, this can be a bit of a messy job as some of the grape juice inevitably ends drips off of the bread.  Tonight was especially powerful as I felt the grape juice stream down my hands at times and saw spots of it spattered on the floor, all while telling person after person, "The blood of Christ spilled for you."  It was almost like feeling that blood spilled out over me.  My hands were shaking by about half way through.

Today is a day of mourning.  A day of mourning Jesus' death.  But it is not sufficient to only mourn His death.  True repentance comes in mourning the reason for His death.  So often we focus on the fact that Jesus died because He loves us.  While this is true and fully supported by John 3:16, it is not the whole truth.  Because of our sin, we were separated from God.  A perfect sacrifice had to be given in order for us to be reconciled to Him.  Our sins had to be placed on that sacrifice.  The cross is not about God overlooking our sins; it is about God placing them on His one and only Son and punishing Him so that we may live by putting our faith in Him.

Jesus didn't just die on the cross because He loves us.  He died on a cross because our sins grieve Him and He wants to remove them.  That was the only way.  I don't think it is possible to  show proper appreciation for the sacrifice Christ made without grieving our sins that put Him there and realizing just how awful those sins are.  At some point in our lives, we have all chosen to yell, "Crucify Him," spit in His face, and mocked Him.

One of the major philosophical issues, especially in regards to religion, is the problem of evil.  How could a God who is all good, all knowing, and all powerful allow evil to happen.  Christ's willing death on the cross is never mentioned.the thing is, why would a God who doesn't absolutely detest evil take on flesh, allow Himself to be handed over to His enemies, and willingly die one of the most brutal and humiliating deaths in all of history in order to rid people of their sins- and not just so they can go to Heaven, but that this redemption would take place here and now?  I look at Jesus and see a God who cares far more about the problem of evil than any of us do.  And He conquered it on that cross.

When I realize just how much was given in order to pay for my sins, I hate my sins.  I hate my sins that put the God I love on that cross.  The cross is where my desire to turn from my sins is strongest.  I'm repulsed by the way they marred my beloved Savior.  And in this I find my desire to take up my cross and follow Him- to die to myself and to find a new and better life in Him.

Control

Control.  It's something we all need yet something that can cause major problems if misunderstood or used in the wrong way.  There are many times where we think we have more control than we actually do and many times  that we think we have less.  Not being realistic about how much control we have and what we rightly have control over can be extremely destructive to ourselves and others.


Sometimes we try to control God by bargaining with Him.  If He gives us what we want then we will give Him what He wants.  But this mistakes several things about God's character.  First, it assumes that the same God who was willing to give His only Son as a sacrifice doesn't care about our needs and desires when He in fact cares about them more than we do.  However, He sees the whole picture and knows what is best.  But sometimes it is hard to trust that.  Second, it assumes that obedience is a way to get God to give us things, but in reality, God already has good things planned for us, but obedience is to His will is the only way that those things are capable of being received by us.


Sometimes we have to acknowledge that we are powerless in certain circumstances and can do know more than leave the situation in God's hands to deal with.  This doesn't mean that we're powerless; it just means that our power is found in prayer and trusting God to work in the situation.  I've found that some of my best moments with God have been some of the most difficult in my life when I acknowledged how powerless I was and submitted to a God who I trusted was for me and would see me through.


Sometimes we try to control our circumstances by controlling other people instead of ourselves.  This is wrong and if it is habitual it is usually deemed as abuse.  Sometimes we fail to acknowledge that we have as much control as we do.  This is wrong also and can lead to victimization.  Boundaries is an excellent book that I have found very helpful in helping me realize what things I am responsible for and to and what things I am not.  It offers help for both side of the equation.  Often the two go hand-in-hand in relationships and the cycle requires at least one person in the relationship to have a clear picture of responsibility and control and make change based on that understanding in order to be broken.


I think a lot could be changed in our relationships with God and others if we learned what our responsibilities to God and others are and what we have control over and used that control appropriately.  Perhaps that is a crucial part of what it means to love God and love others.  It involves taking responsibility for the way we choose to exercise the gift of free will.  I think that one of the core things of love is using our free will for the benefit of another, and not to harm them.  It's a choice not a feeling.  And sometimes it's a very difficult choice.  Jesus talked a lot about submision, probably because it is required in fulfilling the top two commandments, which all the other commandments happen to fall under.  His whole life was about submission to the will of God, even death on a cross to reconcile us to God.  I think Paul says it well in Phillipians 2:

"2 Therefore if you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any common sharing in the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, ² then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind. ³ Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, ⁴ not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.

⁵ In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus:

⁶ Who, being in very nature^[a] God,
    did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage;
⁷ rather, he made himself nothing
    by taking the very nature^[b] of a servant,
    being made in human likeness.
⁸ And being found in appearance as a man,
    he humbled himself
    by becoming obedient to death—
        even death on a cross!

⁹ Therefore God exalted him to the highest place
    and gave him the name that is above every name,
¹⁰ that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
    in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
¹¹ and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord,
    to the glory of God the Father."

I think that submission to the will of God is the key to true and healthy control.

When The Old Can't Hold The New

Sometimes being broken isn't a bad thing.  Sometimes it just means that the old can't hold the new.  It hurts all the same, but sometimes God allows us to break in order to make room for the new and allow it to grow.  It may still be caused by sin on some level in these cases, and likely that sin is what would have hindered our growth if things would have remained as they were.


The strange thing is, that the more we've encountered Christ and His love and the more ready we are to grow, the less it hurts.  When I've experienced all that Christ has to offer and how much better it is than what anyone or anything else has to over, the more I am willing to embrace that brokeness if it leads me closer to Christ.  I become more ready to throw off everything that hinders me in my walk with Him and to keep my focus on Him.  He is my prize.  Even if I lost all else, He would still remain.  And He is greater than all else.  He satisfies even the deepest longings of the heart.  If He's leading me out of something, I can trust that it's for my good and that He's leading me into an even better place to bear fruit.  And there's a strange sense of peace that accompanies this brokeness, a peace that helps me let go and move on.

Unmet Expectations

I'm one of those increasingly common people in their mid-twenties who is single, still living at home, and still trying to finish school.  I don't live up to society's expectations, or at least not American society's expectations.  In Taiwan it is normal for a single person to live at home until they get married.  I haven't lived up to my expectations for myself either.  This is definitely not what my high school self saw my life looking like.


However, there are good things my high school self didn't foresee either.  She didn't see mission trips to Taiwan, Niger, and France.  She didn't foresee helping plant a church and helping build that church's youth ministry, kids ministry, and drama team or serving a two year term on the leadership council or leading a mission trip to France through that church.  She never envisioned getting to participate in making a decision to purchase property for the church.  She never envisioned getting to love on foster kids for a week every summer or helping kids from abusive situations at the Justice Center.  She never thought she could break free form her insecurity and other issues.  She never envisioned helping Burmese refugees.  She never imagined the ways she would come to trust God and take risks for Him.  Yet all things and more have happened.


By society's standards, it doesn't appear that I am super successful.  But I think God is proud of me.  I think He is there saying,"Well done, good and faithful servant; keep going!!!"  After all, his own Son failed to meet a lot of expectations, as well.


Many of the Jews of Jesus' time expected the Messiah to be a military leader who would free them from Roman rule.  Instead He came to free them from sin.  He didn't fight Roman rule and even told them to give to Caesar what was Caesar's.


He didn't meet His family's expectations for Him either.  There were times they were embarrassed by His behavior and thought He was crazy.


The religious leaders expected someone who followed their strict rules.  Jesus broke some of the rules when keeping the rule would have made the rule lose it's purpose.


Peter expected Jesus not to die.  He got majorly rebuked for it.


The Jews expected a great king.  They got a man who died a humiliating criminal's death on a cross after being crowned with thorns.  "King of the Jews" was meant to be an insult.  Those that had followed Him with high hopes for the future were left confused and disappointed.


They expected Him to stay dead, but on the third day He rose from the grave!


Peter was probably expected to spend his life as a fisher of fish and not a fisher of men.  Paul could have been a high up Jewish religious leader, but instead he gave his life to preaching the Gospel, even when that meant being followed and nearly stoned to death by mobs of angry Jews and imprisoned.  The name "Christian" began as an insult.  Yet these are the people who turned the world upside down because they put Christ above everything else.


Here's the thing: some of the things that the world considers success are good things.  But Christ is better, and sometimes following Him requires us to sacrifice some of those things.  Maybe temporarily, maybe permanently.  Many of us are familiar with the story of Jesus and the rish man in Mark 10:17-31:


"
¹⁷ As Jesus started on his way, a man ran up to him and fell on his knees before him. “Good teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?”
¹⁸ “Why do you call me good?” Jesus answered. “No one is good—except God alone. ¹⁹ You know the commandments: ‘You shall not murder, you shall not commit adultery, you shall not steal, you shall not give false testimony, you shall not defraud, honor your father and mother.’^[a]”
²⁰ “Teacher,” he declared, “all these I have kept since I was a boy.”
²¹ Jesus looked at him and loved him. “One thing you lack,” he said. “Go, sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”
²² At this the man’s face fell. He went away sad, because he had great wealth.
²³ Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, “How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God!”
²⁴ The disciples were amazed at his words. But Jesus said again, “Children, how hard it is^[b] to enter the kingdom of God! ²⁵ It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.”
²⁶ The disciples were even more amazed, and said to each other, “Who then can be saved?”
²⁷ Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but not with God; all things are possible with God.”
²⁸ Then Peter spoke up, “We have left everything to follow you!”
²⁹ “Truly I tell you,” Jesus replied, “no one who has left home or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or fields for me and the gospel ³⁰ will fail to receive a hundred times as much in this present age: homes, brothers, sisters, mothers, children and fields—along with persecutions—and in the age to come eternal life. ³¹ But many who are first will be last, and the last first.”


And about the costs Jesus said are associated with following Him in Matthew 8:18-22:


"¹⁸ When Jesus saw the crowd around him, he gave orders to cross to the other side of the lake. ¹⁹ Then a teacher of the law came to him and said, “Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go.”
²⁰ Jesus replied, “Foxes have dens and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.”
²¹ Another disciple said to him, “Lord, first let me go and bury my father.”
²² But Jesus told him, “Follow me, and let the dead bury their own dead.”"


When Jesus began His time of ministry, He gave up His home and job.  He dedicated His time to minsistry and had followers that offered material support.  Not all of us will be called to this, but some of us will.  We will all be called to sacrifice something to follow Jesus.  Let's be willing to make those sacrifices.  Let's also support our brothers and sisters that are making those sacrifices and celebrate with them as they hit God's milestones, even if they don't always hit society's. 

Catalyst

There are a few common phrases that I absolutely hate when it comes to things that are contrary to God's will.  They include phrases like, "It's normal," "Everybody does that," "That's life," and "That's just who I am."  These are all phrases that serve to take away our responsibility and pretend like we don't havepower to do anything about whatever is being spoken of.  I don't think God will accept these answers when asked why we didn't do anything to help change some of the things that are contrary to His will but have come to be seen as normal.


Porn has become normalized.  Instead of fighting it, it is common for people just to expect that men will view porn and in many cases view them as odd if they don't.  Not appropriatley dealing with conflict has been normalized.  It has the power to damage and even end relationships, but it's viewed as a normal part of life and rarely seen as something that needs to be changed unless perhaps violence is involved.  Only investing in the people we want to invest in and not those that God puts in our paths that might be a challenge to love is seen as normal and totally accepted.  Being so busy that we don't have time for what's actually important and not having solid priorities is seen as normal and even as a good thing.  It's seen as just a part of the way the world works when some people suffer from lack while others have beyond what they need, and I'm not just talking about material things here.  It's also not uncommon for us to rationalize having more by saying that we did something to earn it and the other person didn't.  Rarely is failing to keep one's word thought of as an issue, and if someone is hurt by that, they're considered to be too sensitive.  This is just a small list of things that have become rationalized as being normal.


We have the power to change these things and that power begins with acknowledging that they're not just normal.  They may be normal in the sense that sin is normal, but that doesn't mean that God approves of them.  We have the power to refuse porn and there is help for those who need it.  There are healthy ways of conflict that can help build relationships if we are willing to learn and practice them.  Loving is a command- a call to action that is based on God's love and not our feelings about a person; we can show His love to the people that are difficult for us to love.  We can choose our priorities and fix our schedule around them.  We don't have to be so busy all the time.  It may require sacrifice, but we don't have to be so busy.  We can generously give to those who lack what we have extra of.  We can do what we say were going to do and be more aware of what we commit to.  Al of these things require sacrifice on our part.


Jesus gave the ultimate sacrifice to help us change these things- His life.  The Holy Spirit work in us to change these things.  Jesus gave us an example of how to live that flew in the face of everone's definition of normal in some way, both then and now.  Jesus was a catalyst.  He didn't care about normal; His mission was to change people's hearts and have them embrace Kingdom values instead of the norms of a fallen world.  Sometimes they're the same, but sometimes they're not.  I've focused on the things that are normal that need to be changed, but there are also things that may not be normal that should be embraced.  Sometimes those go hand in hand with rejecting the things that are normal and not beneficial.  Jesus challenged the status quo and not just for the sake of challenging it.  He wants for His followers to be catalysts as well.  His disciples did an excellent job of this and turned the world upside down.  We can do the same if we are willing to examine the Bible and our traditions and rely on God's truth instead of norms.  The Holy Spirit is waiting to help us.


I want to be redeemed from anything which is considered normal but is not like God's character.  I believe Christ died to redeem me from that.  I alo believe that redemption is meant to lead me to participate in Christ's redemptive work in the world in whatever ways He leads me.  I believe that as I become healthier in my walk with Him, it will affect those around me.  Some may not like it and choose to leave.  Others may stick with me and God may use it to redeem areas of their lives as well and we can grow together.  I think that's a beauty of Christianity that we miss out on because of "normal".

The Ministry Of Kindness

I'm beginning to think that kindness may be a huge overlooked ministry in America.  I frequently hear public transportation workers get yelled at, mostly over things that aren't their fault.  I frequently witness difficult passengers.  I've been approached by a homeless person who considered someone willing to listen to him and pray with him to be as good as money.  Being friends with doctors has opened my eyes to how difficult and thankless their job can be.  Being friends with pastors has opened my eyes to how difficult and thankless their job can be.  

We're pretty good at making it known when we don't like something.  We're good at telling people how wrong we think they are.  We're good at being angry.

But what if we became good at being compassionate and encouraging instead?  How would things change?  I'm finding that even a little bit of thoughtfulness and kindness can go a long way.  It might make someone's day. People may look forward to seeing you again.  It might pay off for you too as you earn favor with people.  It's a simple way to be the hands and feet of Jesus, but one that is too often neglected.  It's not some grand act, but it's powerful.  It's simple and small, but a big way to show someone Christ's love for them.  Listening, thanking, smiling, being patient, etc. are all ways that we can be Jesus in the flesh in the midst of a hectic day.  Let's be people that stand out for being kind and practicing even the smallest acts of love.

Mentoring

Today's a special day to me.  It marks the 3 year anniversary of the first time my mentor and I got together for mentoring.  I got to get together with her for mentoring this week.  I also got to get together and catch up with an incredible young woman I used to mentor and I've had the privilege of watching grow in her faith over the years.  She's currently going to school to be a youth leader.  I'm pretty proud of her.

The mentoring relationships I've been in- whether as the mentor or mentee- have brought me some of the greatest joy.  There have been incredible moments.  There have been tough moments.  There have been a ton of moments that fall somewhere in between.  All of them have helped me to grow.  They've taught me to love better.  They've been safe places for me to take risks and grow- more so on the mentee side with this one.  I've been a part of formal mentoring relationships where we've committed to a mentoring relationship and I've been a part of many more informal mentoring relationships.

There's something highly beneficial about close, cross generational relationships.  Both people in the relationship seem to benefit from it.  It's a great way to develop faith as older generations pass on what they've already learned and younger generations are eager to learn from the older generations.  It can mean the world to someone to know that someone else is willing to invest in their life and it is highly rewarding to watch someone grow as a result of that investment.  

"For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." (Matthew 6:21) One of the best investments we can make in this life is an investment in the life and faith of a brother or sister in Christ!  Mentoring is a great way to store our treasures in Heaven!

Me and my mentor.  I love her and am super grateful for her and the way she's invested in my life over the last 3 years!

Is Social Media Bad?

Social media has a tendency to get a bad rap.  But is social media the problem?

I recently witnessed some people respond to some insensitive comments only to be told by countless people that they were too sensitive and if they couldn't handle it, they shouldn't be on social media.  Here's the thing, though- Facebook didn't post those comments- a person did.  And the fact that it's on social media doesn't make it acceptable. The problem is not that people are too sensitive to be on social media; the problem was people behaving unkindly.

I would argue that social media in and of itself is neutral.  It is what we make of it.  The real "problem" is that it brings our heart issues into the light.  The real problem is that we blame those problems on social media instead of realizing that we have some issues we need to work on and then dealing with them.

Luke 6:45 says that the mouth speaks what the heart is full of.  What do our posts reveal about our hearts?  It's not always bad; sometimes they reveal the good, too.  But the bad ends up there , too.  What could we gain if we had the courage to examine our hearts and change what needed to be changed?  With the knowledge that Christ already seen the bad parts and loves us just as much anyways?  With help from some Christian brothers and sisters who will stand by us and support is while we work on it?  The Christ part is guaranteed; the second part requires that we also step up and be willing to stand alongside others as they grow.

Sometimes looking in the mirror is hard.  We don't always like what we see.  The good news is that God is making us more and more like Him; like His image.  We all have some ugly to face, but if we're willing to face it and submit it to Christ, He'll give us the best makeover ever!  We'll look more like Him.  And gradually, there'll be less and less ugly and more and more beauty.  But we have to be brave enough to look in the mirror and own up to what we see.  And we need to see Christ there with us waiting for us to let Him turn it into something beautiful.

Childlike Faith

Today I spent a portion of my drive listening to children's music on a Christian radio station.  It reminded me of the songs we sing at Royal Family Kids Camp.  In fact, one of the songs was one that we sung at Camp 2 years ago!  Sometimes there are some pretty cheesy songs thrown in; they are for kids after all.  But there are a lot of songs that do a lot for my faith.  They're songs about the simple, yet core concepts of the Christian  faith.

"Jesus loves me, this I know.  For the Bible tells me so.  Little ones to Him belong, they are weak, but He is strong."

"Faith to see beyond what I can see.  Faith to know that You will do great things.  I will trust You, Lord; I'll always believe, as I hold on to my faith, Jesus, You are holding on to me."

"He knows my name.  He knows my every thought.  He sees each tear that falls and hears me when I call."

I heard one today that I couldn't find the lyrics to, but it had a line about imagining where we would go if we would follow where He leads.

These songs are so simple, yet so profound.  Yet so often we take the profound for granted because of the simplicity.  I think adults need to internalize these simple truths just as much as children do.  We need to hear them often.  They're comforting.  Some express joy and some express sorrow.  All express the truth that God is with us and for us.  There's a sense of awe towards God.  There's  a sense of childlike faith- a very simple trust in a good God who looks after us.  

The sad thing is, so many of us grow out of that childlike faith.  Those who weren't raised in the church may not even get the chance to experience it.  While our faith should definitely mature, there's a childlike faith that we are meant to hold onto.  Jesus spoke of it Himself.  These songs present the basics of our faith.  If we believe them and accept them with the childlike faith that God is good, He is with us, He is for us, etc., I think it would drastically change the way we live out our faith.  But what are the implications for our faith if we neglect these basic foundations of it?

One of the gifts I've received as a volunteer at RFKC is the gift of childlike faith.  Each year, it develops a little more, especially with the songs.  The kids at this camp are all in foster care, which means that they've all experienced some sort of trauma.  How can we ask kids to put their faith in words like these if we can't?  Does my life show that I believe these words?  Is my life changed because of that?  My prayer for all the kids at camp is that theirs would be.  And I pray that ours would be as well.  These aren't meant to be just songs.  They carry truths that should shape our view of God and the world- not just truths we confess, but truths that we live out.  RFKC pushes me to do my best to live those truths out before those kids for the week that I am with them.  To show them that God is all of the things the songs claim He is instead of just telling them.  Their lives are filled with crushed hopes. I want them to know that when they put their hope in Jesus Christ, they are putting their hope in something real.  In the one person who will never fail them.  And I want to do the same.  My faith becomes more tangible to me.  My faith matures as I learn to practice childlike faith.  But sometimes maturing in faith means growing into childlike faith instead of growing out of it.

One of the most beautiful things about camp is witnessing the faith of the children.  It's such a glimpse of Heaven!  There's just something about childlike faith that makes me yearn for it even more...

When Freedom Hurts

What do you think of when you think of Christ setting you free?  I think I'm beginning to realize that I usually tend to think of Him setting me free from things I don't like.  I'm only beginning to realize that sometimes He also sets us free from things that we love and care about deeply, things that may even be good, but that hinder our growth.  Those are often the things that can have the strongest grips on us and keep us in bondage merely by the fact that we don't want to leave.  Yet if we don't leave, we may not experience all that Christ has in store for us.

Sometimes we may not even have to leave.  We may just have to reach the point where we are free enough to be willing to leave and trust God with the results.  Following Him into freedom may mean letting go of something we cherish or it might make it better.  What's important to the freedom process is that fear is replaced with faith.

I love the song "Painting Pictures of Egypt" by Sara Groves.  So often, we like the Israelites, paint pictures of Egypt and leave out what it lacks as God tries to bring us into a better place.  Freedom didn't come easily for the Israelites.  They had to leave all that was familiar to them for the unknown.  All they had was what God had told them.  All they needed was that and the faith to believe it.  But they struggled and clung to the ways they knew and many of them never got to enter the Promised Land because of it.  Freedom is difficult.  How often do we hear that?  How often are people truly set free from all that hinders them from what Christ has to offer, especially the things they want to cling to?  When we reach the point where it hurts to stay but we're scared to go, will we stay and continue to be hurt or will we trust Christ and follow Him to freedom?

Life From Death

As usual, we enjoyed a great discussion in my life group tonight.  We have been going through the book of Acts since September.  One of the things that has amazed us is how much the church grew in times of heavy persecution.  Large numbers of people came to Christ even as the people preaching the Gospel suffered hardships many of us here can't even imagine for sharing their faith.  The suffering wasn't a deterrent.  These people wanted Christ.

Should this surprise us, though?  After all, our faith is built on the horrific death of Christ and the hope that comes from Christ defeating death.  The apostles had seen the risen Christ.  They knew death had no power over them.  As the enemy came after their lives, the church only grew.

A similar situation is currently being seen where unimaginable persecution is taking place.  I've read stories about how fleeing from ISIS has allowed Christians to reach people that had previously been unable to reach.  In Niger, the Gospel is spreading after attacks on the Church. The pastors are filled with joy believing that this will lead God's Kingdom to grow.

All of this has shown me that there are two different ways to look at the situation.  One is to look at it as the enemy defeating the church.  The other is to look at it as as God defeating the enemy. The latter is counterintuitive, but Biblical.  I am choosing to believe the latter and think that it will be proven to be true.  Our God is a God who brings life from death. Death is equated to a seed being planted in order that new life and more of it may be brought forth.  I think that is what will happen here.  I think there will be a large harvest that will come from this time when Christian persecution is at a high.

I think we also have roles to play here.  WE are the Church.  WE are being attacked.  Let's be in constant prayer for our brothers and sisters that face persecution.  Some of us might be able to help financially.  There are groups trying to provide for ISIS victims.  There are groups trying to help Christians who may have lost everything in Niger rebuild. The world is more connected than ever.  I think the most amazing thing that could come out of this would be for the Church to stand together in unity in whatever ways possible in the power of Christ.  I think that would make Satan tremble.  Let's do it!

Making The Abstract Practical

One of my philosophy professors hates the word freedom.  He says he doesn't know what it means.  He only knows that people talk about it a lot and are willing to die for it.

Sometimes I feel the same way about words that get thrown around the Christian community like freedom and love.  We like to talk about how God has set us free.  Free from what?  What does this freedom look like?  How does it affect our everyday lives?  Is Christ setting us free a one time event or a process?  We throw around the word free and people feel good because they're free in Christ and freedom is something to be valued.  But if we never or rarely expand on what the Bible means by that, how many people will actually experience that freedom and not just a warm fuzzy feeling.

We talk about God loving us and us loving Him and others.  What is love?  Baby don' hurt me, no more.  Seriously, though, everyone comes into a sermon, article, eye. with their own concept of what love means and unless they learn otherwise, that is the definition of love they will apply.  How can we expect people to better comprehend God's love for them and to love God and others the way He commands us too if we don't also teach people the Biblical portrayal of love?  It manifests itself in visible, practical ways.  It's patient.  It's kind.  You can find a longer list in 1 Corinthians 13.  We may need to expand on some of these things from time to time, too.  

I think that if we want to see people's lives really being changed the way Gid meant for them to be, we need to move from the abstract to the practical.  I'm a philosophy major and LOVE thinking about the abstract.  But I also think there's equal value in learning how the abstract can be practical.  The freedom and love and other things God wantsto give to us are not just great ideas.  They are realities that are meant to be realized here and now in tangible ways bearing fruit.

Lamentations

I bet you can't guess which book of the Bible is my favorite!  It's not one people will often list as one of their favorites.  Actually, if you read the title of this post, you may have guessed it by now.  Yep.  My favorite book of the Bible is Lamentations.  There's just something about it that I'm drawn to.  In Jeremiah's mourning over the way that sin has devastated the once glorious Israel I see glimpses of what Christ must have felt as our sin devastated His body.  As He's watched the effects of sin on His people since the fall of man.  It's not uncommon to hear sin brushed off as not a big deal in our culture.  Lamentations is a brutal reminder that sin is devastating and that the effects truly are something to mourn over.


I was pleased to see this article on Relevant Magazine's Facebook feed today: http://www.relevantmagazine.com/god/practical-faith/are-we-missing-something-important-about-prayer.  It is about lamenting in our prayers and how lamenting is something that is too often left out.  I think the way we view lamenting can deeply affect our theology.


In John 10:10, Jesus says, "The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full."  We have an enemy that uses sin for no other purpose than to steal, kill, and destroy.  Sin is supposed to hurt us, as are the other aspects of a living in a world broken by sin such as disease, natural, disaster, etc.  Things are not as they were meant to be.  They are broken.  And the enemy is cruel.  In 1 Peter 5:8, Peter tells us, "Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour."


I think that failing to acknowledge this fact may cause us to miss out on a few things.  The first is the importance of repentance.  God calls us to repent because sin is a big deal.  Such a big deal, in fact, that He sent His one and only Son to die on a cross to free us from it.  Mourning over our sins leads us to repentance.  But first we have to realize that they are a big enough deal to mourn over.


Second, I think it forces us to be dishonest with ourselves, others, and God.  No one is happy all the time.  Life can be incredibly painful.  God never promises that it won't be; only that He will be with us and that someday He will make all things new.  In the meantime, we are guaranteed to have a spiritual enemy that will come after us.  He can't snatch us away from God, but He can wreak a lot of havoc in our lives.  Pain and suffering are realities.  And it can be beneficial to acknowledge the difficulties we face rather than pretending they don't exist or that we're fine.  Acknowledging them to ourselves allows us to work through them.  Acknowledging them to other people that we trust allows others to stand by us and support us.  Acknowledging them to God can bring us into a more intimate relationship with Him.  He already knows what's going on in our hearts, so why not be honest with Him?  He cares and wants us to come to Him with our hurts and struggles.  The Bible is full of people crying out to God in pain and anger.  Job even got a reply.


Last and I think most important, it causes us to miss an important aspect of God's character and what Christ came to accomplish.  God mourns over the devastation that sin causes.  He mourns for us when tragedy strikes.  He mourns for us in the smaller stuff, too.  John 11:35 is the shortest verse in the Bible.  "Jesus wept."  Jesus wept over a dead man whom He was about to raise back to life.  He knew that everything would work out, but that didn't keep Him from mourning.  The promise that God will work all things together for the good of those who love Him doesn't mean that we don't get to mourn and that there isn't a place for it.  I believe that Jesus still weeps.  The cross was part of the process of removing the sin that gives us reason to mourn.  If Jesus mourns over brokeness of this world, then part of being like Jesus is mourning over the brokeness of this world.

Renewal Of The Mind

Along with Chinese philosophy, I am taking philosophy of mind this semester.  We get to focus on the mind/body problem and argue about whether or not physical happenings in the brain can adequately account for our thoughts and emotions and such.  If there the mind is a separate, nonphysical entity from the brain, how do the two work together?  Fun stuff, right?  Well, at least some of it is anyways.


Some of the stuff that I actually think is fun is learning about the psychological stuff we get to learn about.  A video about neuron communication that we were required to watch this weekend got me thinking about Romans 12:2 where Paul tells us to be transformed by the renewing of our minds.  I think most of us would think of the mind as it's used here in terms of the non-physical stuff such as thoughts and emotions, and I think that's what Paul meant, too.


The video got me thinking, though.  It discussed that communication patterns are formed both by nature and nurture.  The synapses, the parts in between the neurons that carry the chemical messages from neuron to neuron, can actually change because of learned behaviors.  The example that was given was of a mouse being afraid of a cat.  By nature, the synapses will relay a message that produces fear.  However, when a mouse encounters cats and learns to associate certain stimuli with the approaching of a cat, the synapses change in a way that allows for those stimuli to produce the same fear message and allow the mouse to react sooner.


Could it be that there is also a physical renewal of our minds when our minds as in our thoughts and emotions are renewed?  It seems plausible.  Perhaps as we focus on all that is true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent, and praiseworthy and as we obey God with the help of the Holy Spirit our minds are also physically being restored as our synapses and neuron communication structures are being transformed.  We do know that various factors can alter brain pathways.  And God does care about our bodies.  How cool would it be if it does mean both?

Indeed...So Now, Go

"One day, after Moses had grown up, he went out to where his own people were and watched them at their hard labor. He saw an Egyptian beating a Hebrew, one of his own people. " (Exodus 2:11)


Moses had grown up in Pharoah's palace, removed from the suffering of his own people.  This tells us of the moment that Moses saw that suffering with his own eyes.  We know he was angered by what he saw because the next verse says that he killed the Egyptian.  This is the incident that led him to flee from Egypt into Midian where God would later speak to him.


Cue the burning bush.


"The Lord said, 'I have indeed seen the misery of my people in Egypt. I have heard them crying out because of their slave drivers, and I am concerned about their suffering.  So I have come down to rescue them from the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land into a good and spacious land, a land flowing with milk and honey—the home of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites.  And now the cry of the Israelites has reached me, and I have seen the way the Egyptians are oppressing them.  So now, go. I am sending you to Pharaoh to bring my people the Israelites out of Egypt.'" (Exodus 3:7-10)


This may be one of my favorite passages in the Bible.  The first thing that catches my intention is God's use of the word "indeed".  "I have indeed seen the misery of my people in Egypt."  It gives me the feeling that Moses had passionately questioned God about whether he had any idea about what was happening to His people in Egypt.  Moses had seen it.  Had God?  Did He care?  Why wasn't He doing anything about it.  I think these questions burned in Moses' heart the whole time he had been in Midian.  They were probably questions all of the Israelites in Egypt had asked at some point in their lives.  And here's God's answer:  I have indeed seen.  I have indeed heard. AND I AM CONCERNED!


Now here's the kicker!  God tells Moses that He has come down to rescue the Israelites from Egypt and bring them to a good land.  And then He tells him, "Ok, now go, 'cause I'm sending you to go do all this."  With His help, of course.


Perhaps before Moses asked God if He saw, if he heard, if he cared, God was asking Moses the same questions when he allowed him to see the suffering of his people.  Perhaps when we learn of some injusticeand it burns in our hearts and we ask God those questions He is asking them of us.  Perhaps He is revealing His heart to us and preparing us for a time when He plans to do something about it through us.  But He needs us to go into it with a heart like His.


Have you ever had that feeling?  Do you have it now?  Are you open to joining with God in doing something about it in whatever way He leads you?

The Veil Of Ignorance

Philosopher John Rwls proposed that justice is determined by asking what kind of society we would create from behind a hypothetical veil of ignorance.  This hypothetical veil of ignorance would prevent us from knowing anything about what our position in society would be, for example, whether or not we would be male or female, what our skin color would be, how much money we would have, etc.  Knowing nothing about our position in life other than having the possibility of ending up in the worst position would cause us to strive to create a society that would benefit even the people in the worst off situations.  This, according to Rawls, would lead to a just society.


Would it really, though?  Or is there something about knowing injustice through experiencing it either directly or indirectly that gives us  stronger reason to fight for justice?  Even though the veil of ignorance isn't a real possibility, I'd like to give a little thought to theses questions.


While I had been praying for Christians being persecuted in other countries and have acknowledged the persecution as horrific, there was still some disconnect emotionally.  That is, until Nigerien Christians got attacked and friends I had made there were filling my Facebook feed with prayer requests for loved ones, knowing that there are people that I care about serving over there, and seeing familiar sights in the pictures of burnt and looted churches.  That is, until I think of Burma and the others like the refugees I've helped while they've tried to adjust here in the States.


While I was in Niger, my mentor and I went through Kelly Minter's Nehemiah Bible study as Beth Moore went through it on her blog.  In one part of the study, Kelly invites the participants to get to know names and faces and emphasizes the importance of that.  I think what I am realizing is the impact of knowing names and faces.  There are many types of suffering in the world and by the grace of God not one us will experience all of them.  But there will be someone who will.  Numbers are overwhelming.  Mere descriptions in an article or some other form of media are impersonal and we may forget them with much of the other information we take in everyday.  It's a lot more difficult to forget a face, or a name, a story of suffering shared face to face.  The more you know and care about the people involved, the harder it pulls at your heartstrings and makes you want to do something about an injustice that has been done or try to alleviate suffering from natural causes.  This is why people tend to fight for causes that have personally affected them or some close to them.  Knowledge, as in intimate knowledge, combined with love packs a much bigger punch than ignorance about one's possible position in society.  It's difficult to imagine what it would like to be in any given position until we have lived it or known people that have, listened to their stories, and cared about them.


Jesus' ministry here on Earth was one of stepping into our stuffering and dwelling among us.  It was highly relational.  He didn't preach about what suffering was like and ask His disciples to imagine themselves in the worst possible position they could be in and go from there.  Not even close!  He commanded them to go out and misister to those who were suffering injustice.  This involved some kind of personal contact.  It involved names and faces and testimonies.  It involved experiencing other people's suffering to some degree.  Bearing other people's burdens.  It meant fighting injustice not merely because you could have been in the same position, but because there are people that God loves and died for that are in that position and loving them because He loves them and because He loves you.  It seems to me like this is a more accurate description of how justice prevails.

Broken

One of the most powerful communion experiences I've ever had was one Sunday morning during the months before my trip to Niger in 2012.  A song about following Jesus had been song either before or during communion.  Fancy that, a song about following Jesus being sung at church.  Who would have thought?  Anyways, something struck me that morning that going on this trip would mean that I would need to be willing to possibly follow Jesus in having my body broken for the sake of the Gospel.  Not necessarily to the point of death, but nonetheless, this trip would mean subjecting my body to a vaccine that had the potential to be fatal and subjecting it to the possibility of diseases such as malaria.  This moment happened shortly before I received the yellow fever vaccine, the one that can potentially be fatal, and at the very least, typically causes a lot of pain.  It was a moment of surrender.  Of mentally offering my body as a living sacrifice before I was asked to physically do so.  A moment of counting the costs and accepting them.  A moment of choosing to follow Jesus even when it meant my body might be broken, all the while remembering the way that His was broken for me so that I might believe and be saved.  Was I willing to offer mine to whatever might happen on this trip in the hopes that others might believe and be saved because Christ had done the same for me?  I was.  Communion that day felt like my acceptance of that.


I ended up not even experiencing any pain from the yellow fever vaccine.  I was spared from all of the ill effects that came with that.  However, I was not spared from malaria, though I only suffered a minor case thanks to the fact that God had a plan in place that was better than any human plan could have ever been and I was able to start treatment within 7 hours of the symptoms starting.  As afraid as I had been of malaria, I didn't feel any of that fear when I actually had it.  All I felt was a peace that surpassed understanding.  I knew it was a risk, but because I entered that risk knowing that I was following God, I felt Him very near to me when the symptoms hit.  I wouldn't trade the moments I had with God at that time for anything; they are some of the most precious I've ever experienced.


Fast forward to communion on Ash Wednesday 2015.  A time to remember God's body being broken for us.  The communion I just mentioned flashed through my memory.  But this time, so did the image of 21 bodies that were recently broken for the sake of the Gospel- the 21 Christians that were recently killed by ISIS.  Thoughts of all the bodies broken for the sake of the Gospel in the middle east and in other countries such as Burma, China, and North Korea just to name a few.  I've read that Christian persecution is at an all time high.


During worship, Romans 12:1 was shown on the screen.  "Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship."  Although we may not all be called to literally offer our bodies as a sacrifice to be broken perhaps unto death, but Paul certainly meant for us to be willing to go that far.  He was.  Many brothers and sisters today all over the world are doing so. 


The question that remains in my mind is  is, what am I going to do with a faith so precious that the body of the One and Only Most High was broken for it?  That countless others have given their bodies to be broken for?


This is how I want to respond: "Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us,  fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart." (Hebrews 12:1-3)


Ours is a faith that's worth giving everything for, because our God already gave everything for us.  We are promised that he who loses His life shall find it.  We are told that the death of God's saints is precious in His sight.  We are given the hope that not only was Christ's body broken, but it was raised back to life and can no longer be broken and that the same will someday be true for us.  There is a battle being fought that will leave us broken, but as Easter reminds us, Christ took on our brokeness in order to make us whole.  It is this hope that allows us to endure temporary brokeness and perservere while we wait to be made whole with Him.

Li

This semester, I am taking Chinese philosopohy.  What's a a Chinese philosophy class without a study of Confucianism?  In Confucianism, two of the most important concepts are the concepts of ren and li.  Ren is translated roughly into human kindness or compassion and it is that which essentially makes humans human rather than animals.  For anyone that knows much about Aristotle, reason played a similar role in setting us apart in his philosophy.  Li is the expression and practice of ren.  Faith without actions being dead would capture the concept of ren without li.  There must be some practical expression of ren.  Furthermore, li develops ren; it helps it to grow.  It is like practicing an instrument.  Ren is very much seen as a skill and li as seen as the methods by which it is developed.  These methods are considered rituals.  They might be more formal ritual such as weddings or funerals or even less formal, common rituals such as appropriate behavior in given settings.


Confucian values don't seem to mesh very well with American values, especially when it comes to the concept of li.  I wonder if we couldn't learn a few things from Confucius.  Even if our culture refused to look at some of the values found in Confucian philosophy, I wonder if it might benefit the church to look into some of these values and consider the benefits of them, specifically li.  What do I mean by this?


In American culture, breaking away from traditions tends to be valued.  Recently in the church, formalized religion has increasingly grown devalued and is something people are growing suspicious of.  In fact, many Christians are choosing to not use the word religion at all; it seems to have a negative connotation anymore.  Now it's all about the relationship with Jesus- Christianity isn't a religion; it's a relationship.  I was caught up on that bandwago for awhile, too.  Then I did Beth Moore's James Bible study.  In one of the video sessions, she explored the term religion and pointed out that religion merely means devotion to God.  This is a good thing and something we should have!  Somewhere along the line, expression of our faith through ritual received a negative connotation, and I think that it may have something to do with our culture devaluing ritual and tradition. 


So, what reasons are there to suggest that we should value ritualized expressions of faith?  One of the biggest reasons I can find is that God seems to.  In the Old Testament, we see God establish various festivals that the Israelites to remember.  This was to be engrained in their culture and was one of the ways they were to be set apart- not that they had festivals, but what the festivals entailed.  The festivals were a way of remembering God and what He had done for them.  The Israelites had a tendency to forget that and things didn't go well for them when that happened.  Even in the New Testament Jesus commands us to eat the bread and drink of the wine that remind us of His body and blood as often as we will in rememberance of Him.  It's a ritual that allows us to express our faith and serves as a reminder of Christ's sacrifice.


This has been on my heart the last few days as Ash Wednesday has approached.  With my schedule, it would have been difficult to make it to an Ash Wednesday service on time if I went to school.  I have a limited number of classes I can miss, so I wanted to try to go to school and take my chances with making it to an Ash Wednesday service.  However, I also knew there was a chance the train might be running late, I would be tired, and might just end up going home instead.  I didn't grow up going to Ash Wednesday services and part of me thought that it's not about the ritual stuff like services anyways and God will understand.  But the other part of me wondered if I was missing something.  If maybe the ritual stuff meant more than I had realized.  If maybe it was important.


 The fact is, it served the purpose of preparing my heart for Easter.  In our culture, we tend to think of ritual as going through the motions.  But it was a much needed time of reflection.  It was a break from the everyday craziness to refocus on Christ and what's important.  It was purposeful.  It was a break from the motions of everyday life.  It was a deliberate attempt to grow my faith and to express my faith.  In a world that doesn't stop, it caused me to choose to blend in or to be set apart by saying that a church service is more important than anything going on at school that day because what Christ did on the cross is the most important thing in all of life ever.  It re-enforced what I've been studying every week in Acts in my life group- that once a week ritual of studying the Bible with other Christians my age.  As my pastor put ashes on my forehead and said, "From dust you came, to dust you will return.  Repent and believe the Gospel," I was reminded that that was essentially what the first Christians preached.  So simple and so beautiful!  And so much more so after studying it week after week!


Ash Wednesday also ushers in Lent and the ritual of giving something up in order to be reminded of Christ's death and reseurrection.  It's a ritual that has changed my life when I've been faithful to it.  I'm a little nervous about that ritual this year.  I believe God has given me a gift when it comes to writing and that has been affirmed by people in the church.  However, I am my worst critic and it often prevents me from doing a lot of writing.  This year for Lent, I am doing a combination of giving something up/adding something in.  I am giving up my fear of not writing well and adding in a blog post every day (except Sundays, since I get those off!).  So, if you've made it this far, pray for me in completing that goal and pray that it changes me.  I think Confucius may have been on to something, but I don't think he was the only one who had it figured out.


End Note:  None of this is to say that it should end at the ritual stuff.  The Bible is very clear on that and I think making it all about the ritual is part of what has left a bad taste in peoples' mouths about the ritual aspect.  It's merely meant to make a case in favor of the ritual, as I think the baby got thrown out with the bath water.