The Cost of Staying in Touch

On a recent Sunday three of our teens shared  about their summer overseas adventures.  One served as a student ambassador in Spain, France and Italy; another worked with missionaries in Poland to up-fit an old building as a homeless shelter; the third served in the jungles of Ecuador among the indigenous people there.

Their stories were inspiring, of course.  They saw God at work around them and through them.  They all agreed that it was easier to notice God and stay in touch with God on their trips.  They saw God at work in circumstances, in people and in their own hearts.

Back home, however, they found it hard to maintain that connection with Jesus.  This seems to be a common experience for short term missionaries.

I wonder why that is.  Maybe we are just too distracted in our normal lives.  We have so much clamoring for our attention, that we lose sight of God in the fray.  The natural overtakes the supernatural.

Or maybe we pay better attention when we are out of our normal routine.  We don't know what to expect, so we count on God to take care of us.  We are constantly praying and looking for him to answer.  At home, we get complacent and imagine that we can handle life without troubling God for his help.

Now the question is:  Which way would we rather live?  Lots of people, I imagine, would rather live in touch with the supernatural. 

So the next question is:  Are we willing to rework our lives so that we pay more attention to God?  We would need to set aside our distractions (oh, let me check my email real quick...).  We might need to be less entertained and risk (dare I say it?) boredom.  In the quietness, God speaks.

We may need to vary the normal routine.  We could volunteer at the school, at the hospital, or homeless shelter.  We could take on projects that will fail unless God shows up.  We could embrace opportunities to get out of our comfort zones.

I know it is worth it.

Rich Thoughts

Most people know the story of Jesus and the Rich Young Man.  He asks Jesus, the "good teacher," what he must do to inherit eternal life.  Jesus reminds him that no one is good but God, and that God wants us to keep the commandments.  The man seems to believe that he has fully kept God's commands since childhood.  He must think that he's good, even though only God is good.

Jesus then brings it home.  In love, Jesus tells him, "One thing you lack.  Go, sell everything you have and give it to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven.  Then come, follow me."

Of course the man was disappointed because he did not want to get rid of his stuff.

As I read that story, I wonder why Jesus told the man to sell his possessions.  Couldn't he just give his possessions without selling them?  Why did Jesus add the extra step?  I have a few ideas.

Maybe Jesus wanted the man to see again and catalog all of his possessions.  Even before he sold anything, he could see how his abundant possessions owned him.  It would be a cathartic experience to part with the items one by one.  At the end of the process he might understand that having a relationship with God was the only thing that mattered anyway.

Maybe Jesus wanted the man to take the time to organize the sale of his worldly goods.  He would have to arrange for his rich friends to come and buy his possessions.  In planning the process, he would learn about human nature and the corrupting power of wealth.

Maybe Jesus wanted the man to witness the contrast between the rich who purchased the items and the poor to whom he gave the money.

Maybe Jesus wanted him to witness the surprise and joy of the poor who received the money.  Maybe Jesus wanted him to put a face to "the poor."  He would have to meet and make friends with the needy.

Following Jesus is not easy.  There is a lot that gets in the way.  Whoever we are, Jesus wants us to give up everything and follow him.  When we let go of our possessions, they let go of us.

Adoption Sunday

On our Hope Sunday in May, we encouraged people in our church to consider sponsoring a child through World Vision.  It was such a great success -- with nine new children sponsored -- that we decided to have an Adoption Sunday.

This Sunday, August 14 we will hear stories about adoption from adopting parents, children who were adopted, and siblings of adopted children.  We want to see first hand how adoption changes lives and shows the love of Christ.

Adoption really reflects God's love, because only through adoption can people have a relationship with him! 

Our goal is not to have every family commit to adopt a child.  Rather, we want to encourage everyone to see how important adoption is to God.  After all, every person is created in the image of God and needs a loving family.  We hope that everyone will have a greater heart for adoption.  We hope that they will decide to pray for children to be adopted, to help adopting families, to support adoption agencies, to support orphanages, to consider foster parenting, or to sponsor a child on another continent.

And maybe some families will hear God calling them to adopt.

The Power Within

What would life be like if every day were filled with excitement about God's work in your life? 

It is easy to get excited about God's work when you hear about it from someone else:  a mission trip, a healing, a great VBS week, someone getting a new job.  We may get excited about news from an orphanage in Africa, a great sermon we heard on-line, or the latest book by a favorite author.

But how often do we get excited about what God is doing in our own lives?  When it comes to my own life, I exercise extreme caution.  "Yes, I suppose that's God working, but..."  When I look at my friends' lives, I can share unbridled enthusiasm.  My own life feels more fragile. 

God is doing something good, but it could go horribly wrong at any moment.  How's that for faith?

If I trusted in God more, I would realize that he is really taking care of me -- emotionally, physically, financially, spiritually.  I would see him as my loving Father, who is guarding me and guiding me.

With that kind of assurance, I can really take on the world!  I can get excited about God's work in my life without reservation.  I can look at the good and the bad, and know that God is up to something of eternal importance.  I can live every moment with anticipation of God's goodness.  I can take bold steps, following God's lead.  He can really use me to make a difference

Now, what if the church stirred this fire in every person, the fire of excitement for God's work in their own lives?  He could use us to change the world.

Fun with Pandas

We are in the middle of our Vacation Bible School now.  It's Pandamania!  With a panda bear theme, we are learning how God is wild about us.

Today we heard the "growl" of pandas.  Not real ferocious.  We also learned about Elijah, who challenged the prophets of Baal to prove that their god was real.  Then he let the real God show off a little bit.

My favorite part of VBS is being with the kids!  They get so excited about everything -- the music, the skits, the games and crafts.  They really throw themselves into the experience, and they get a lot out of it.

I want to live life more like that:  throwing myself into the experience, living in the moment.  It's so easy to miss out by not living the "now" of life.  Enjoying the moment helps me experience God himself.

Dying town, living people

Last Saturday I rode through a dying town.  This old mill town, where I was born, was home to a booming textile company 50 years ago.  Probably dozens of my relatives worked there, including my dad.  Now a ride through town reveals architectural relics of the company that used to employ 10.000 people.  Someone has bought the real estate, and they are selling off the old lumber inside the mills.  Apparently after they salvage the guts of a building, they demolish it.  There are no cars parked there, no shift changes slowing traffic.

Downtown about half the storefronts are empty.  New car lots are now vacant lots.  Even the streets are virtually empty.  A few cars pass by, but there is probably never a rush hour. 

I also noticed something else about the town.  Everyone seems friendly.  In the hospital where I visited a relative, most people passing in the hallway gives a sincere greeting.  A one-legged man in a wheelchair caught the elevator with us.  After saying hello, he joked, "I was looking for someone to play double-dutch with me.  I can even jump on one leg!" 

Here's a man in a dying town, with only one leg, and he cheerfully cracks jokes about his disability.  For him life is good.  He has chosen to see it that way.

I wonder how many towns will become like this one.  The signs in the economy are not good.  The experts try to tell us that the recession is over.  The problem is that no one can tell it.  The media is full of less-than-cheerful news. 

The good news is that we don't have to let life become miserable just because the economy is bad.  As we learn to cope with the new realities, we can re-evaluate what really matters to us.  We can share the good news that God has something better for us than material prosperity.  Our souls can prosper, even in the worst of economic depressions.  Even if we only have one leg, we can jump rope!

Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.  I'm glad of that!

Vison of Hope

As we gathered for worship yesterday, we celebrated "Hope Sunday," a day to focus on helping children out of poverty.  With the help of World Vision, we learned about ways we can really help eliminate poverty.  We heard from several folks at Crossroads who already sponsor children, and it was a moving experience.  Helping these children has really brought us closer to Jesus.

At last count, we had 9 children around the world who had new sponsors!  (Please let us know if you signed up as a sponsor at home, so that we can see how many children have been blessed through Hope Sunday!)  It was especially encouraging to see our teenagers leading the way, being the first ones to "adopt" these children. 

I especially like World Vision's approach to helping the poor.  On their website, World Vision says,

"We seek to facilitate an engagement between the poor and the affluent that opens both to transformation. We respect the poor as active participants, not passive recipients, in this relationship...The need for transformation is common to all. Together we share a quest for justice, peace, reconciliation, and healing in a broken world."

Giving people food and shelter may help temporarily, but it can leave them waiting for the next delivery of aid.  When we work to transform their living environment, we see sustainable change.  This happens when we actually share the love of Jesus, through education, medical aid, clean water, economic opportunity and the gospel. 

As we share Christ's love holistically, he can change their hearts and truly transform their lives.

And, as World Vision says, we who give are also transformed.  We began to see that yesterday.