Thoughts of a Servant

My motorcycle batter is slowly dying as I only do short trips to and from work without any chance to charge it fully– and the other night I was just finishing up a salsa lesson, went out to my bike, and tried to start it.  Sure enough, it was in need of a running start.

My good friend Israel was there in an instant offering help, and I am grateful that he is the kind of friend that would do that.  But I had a little history check in my personality that surprised me.  For as long as I can remember, I loved figuring out things on my own– I like the challenge, and to see if I have what it takes to complete a task–  I still, to this day, have a hard time distinguishing what would be easier: asking for help, or doing it on my own.

This instance, with Israel, I knew I could do it myself– But it would have been easier with a buddy pushing the bike.  Sometimes, I have this process in my head that I want to execute, and most of the time it doesn’t require more than one person.

I know, it seems so simple– big deal right?  But it is some insight into my personality.  I still think I can do it.  And for that I apologize Israel if it came out wrong.  It is one of my flaws as a man.

It becomes more and more apparent in other situations of life, and is one of the reasons it took me so long to release everything to God.  Finances, insecurities, fears, etc.  And it is something that I will definitely have to deal with.

But here is the thing—

I was talking with my roommate, Russell, about defining knowledge.  I think it is really interesting– I believe that we have the capacity and the knowledge of everything.  The fact is, we need something or someone or some situation to define it.  We have the capacity to learn nuclear physics, but we need someone to define and sculpt that knowledge into something we can process.  We have the knowledge of friendships, marriage, etc.  But we need to sculpt that knowledge into a constructive form (when it can also be sculpted into a destructive manner).

This weekend Mike Erre, one of the lead pastors at my church Rock Harbor, announced that after plenty of time praying and listening that he was going to have to do another mission.  And he did an excellent job at defining the situation.  He and his wife had approached it with great care and analyzed the opportunities carefully, and as a result, felt God calling them to do something extraordinary.

I got to thinking, this is actually a breakthrough in my mind.  I have talked to people, and they always go to see Mike teach, they prefer him over anyone else…  This goes the same for any of the major pastors: Greg Laurie, John Piper, Rick Warren, etc.  But it hit me pretty hard: this is a wakeup call for the church itself (not only Mike and his family).  What happens when you take the name, the pastor, the leader, out of the church?  What do you have?  Will the church be in scrambles to fill the shoes? Will it be able to sustain itself within the mission and collaborative elders?  What will come of the transition (bitterness or growth?).

I have applied it to several churches, and it seems apparent that a true church can sustain itself without the presence of the named leader.  With Mike leaving it has only sparked interest into what God is doing as it means someone else will get to experience Mike’s teachings, and it is also allowing someone to step up and become a leader in Rock Harbor who wouldn’t otherwise have the opportunity.

Change is amazing, sometimes it is more difficult than fun.  But in the end, you can look back and see that it was quite a progressive step into what you would consider an unexpected future.

I want to say that I have learned a lot from Mike, but I am at the point in my faith where I need to get the word for myself.  It is time for Mike to begin his outreach (wherever that may be), while I (collectively as a church) branch out in mine / ours.  Growth is inevitable in change.  And I would venture to say that change is the only constant variable in life.

What kind of love.

It’s saturday– again.
It’s sunny– again.
I’m full– again.

Kids in the street,
Runners on their feet,
And I am clothed– again.

Which car to take?
Maybe to the lake?
I am bored– again.

Oh! There’s a movie!
Oh! Lets go to church!
Oh! Lets go …

Oh.

While I was clothed, others were naked– again.
While I was full, others begged for grain– again.
While I was bored, others slept in fear– again.

Who am I to care?
Who are these others?
Are they my brothers?

Oh! Lets go…
Oh! Lets go…
Oh! Lets go!

OH!

When it is saturday, my thoughts are of my brothers– again.
When it is sunny, I yearn to be with my brothers in their darkness– again.
When I am full, I long to give it to my brothers– again.

And I now know my mission– for the first time.

Russell sent a pretty cool question today.  Here it is: If God sent his son to bridge the gap with us and bring us back to Him, why did he wait so many thousands of years to do so?

I think its hard to put a concrete definition to this question as there are no real definitive facts, but there are  plenty of implications that come about at first thought of it: God has no sense of time, so essentially it would be as though these billion years were a fraction of a second in Heaven.

But looking at it further… I think he has been saving us from the very beginning.  Adam and Eve fell, and immediately he Loved them and perused them (us).  I would assume there is almost a longing to dwell amongst us while still giving us the option of faith.  So in reality, he has been with us, but until 2000 years ago, he had the perfect timing: bloodline, believers, anti-believers, etc. was just right so that He could bring us back permanently.

Going back to thinking about the CHE (Community Health Evangelism) program, its not always put in the place where the greatest need is–  it is put into a place where the greatest change would be.  So God, timing wise, came not immediately after Adam and Eve fell, but when the Greatest impact would occur.

Now going back to the beginning, this is where I don’t know why it had the greatest impact, but I rest assured that God has a purposeful heart and there was a perfect reason for doing so

Thx dude Russell.

I did some research on the Qur’an on Sunday because it just fascinated me.  I have had some great conversations with some of my friends that study Islam and its super crazy how similar they are to Christianity.  They have the same stories, Adam Eve, Abraham, Jesus, Crucifixion, etc.

Just a few things that stood out in these stories:

1. In Adam and Eve (Surah 20:120), eve was only introduced as Adam’s wife.  Adam was in fact the one who was seduced, fell, and Allah decided to give him grace.  Eve isn’t mentioned outside of that context, and I am interested to see if that is in fact a cultural effect on the holy writing? Or vice versa.

2. I am trying to find some information on what they refer to as the “People of the Book”… They refer to it in several places in the Qur’an and I don’t know what it means, maybe Book of Life? Maybe the Qur’an itself? Maybe a different one?

3. This is still vague to me, but the Qur’an states that Jesus wasn’t crucified, and he didn’t die.  That he might still be in human form and will reveal himself once again.

4. Surah 3:67. Abraham was not a Jew / nor yet a Christian; / but he was true in Faith, / and bowed (Which is Islam), / and he joined not gods with Allah. (Cf 2:135)

This is something that I admire, they have a full sense of “True Faith” rather than the half sense of “acquiring religion” as their faith.  They are fully devoted as that is their definition of faith.

5. One thing that caught me off guard was the commentator’s note stating that it is believed Christians invented / adopted the structure of Trinity from paganism… I am curious as to where he got that idea, and its worth looking into.

In the end, its really interesting to see the level of similarities in beliefs of Allah and God.  Sure there are the obvious differences, but looking deeper you can see the cultural effects on boundaries and motives between Christian and Islam.

The perspective of Allah, I believe, is more of an impersonal God who punishes, but also gives grace–not necessarily out of love? but more because he can?

I download this I Phone application today, but let me first say that Spiritual Warfare has definitely reached a new level.  We are creating technology that advances the spread and accessibility of the gospel, but it is also rapidly increasing the accessibility of lust, temptation and persuasive arguments against Christianity.

This application is a base application for arguments to be used against Christians.  Its a scary app, because if you are not prepared, these arguments can be very daunting and legitimately realistic.  I will look to tackle them not for the blog’s sake, but that I would have prepared an answer in advance should someone need to ask me tough questions.

One of the questions that basically revolved around the disproof of God’s existence:  Since God is omnipotent, he should be able to create a boulder that He would not be able to move– But if he could create something that he cannot move, then he is not omnipotent because he wouldn’t be able to move it.

I was puzzled by this riddle for a while, but I came to a conclusion after much thinking…

Observing that riddle is truth if you look at it as one entity.  But splitting it into separate entities we can make some sense: (1) Can God create a boulder that he cannot move? and (2) then he wouldn’t be omnipotent cause he can’t move it.

First, let me setup the story of the fall.  Compare ourselves, fallen man, as the boulder.  God is still God in this story.  When we fell from Heaven, we were something that God could not touch, could not see, because we were of Evil and God despises Evil.  But God then made a connection through Jesus that would indeed bring us back to him.  In this case, regardless of the impossible gap between Evil and God (us and God), he established a bridge.

Now going back to the riddle, I believe that God could indeed create a boulder that he would not be able to move (as the first part of the riddle)– This would be exactly as we fell from Him and became sinful–  And then he would be able to create the power, or establish the power, to move that boulder, as he created the bridge from man to Heaven.

So in my mind, I think he can do both.  He could indeed create a boulder that would be impossible for Him to move, and then he would be able to establish that power to move it.

Had a good conversation with my roommates about this subject– but it definitely got me thinking.  I heard a pastor start talking about how God is Jealous and he wants us to worship him.  I knew I had this fear, but I couldn’t define it– Consider if someone was jealous on this earth and they wanted us to praise them, we would consider it arrogant and self-praising. . . But for some undefinable reason it is okay for God to say that?  I had to research this, because I know that my perception of the world jealous was skewed and it is really in the realm of zeal that he longs for us.

Russell brought up a good concept, he mentioned the word recognition in his blog–  This is what we all strive for.  Everything in our life was us in our pursuit for greatness, from the garden of Eden, to Babylonia, to Rome, to America.  To us playing sports, to anything that we do.  But why do we seek this greatness?  Because we feel that forgiveness isn’t enough.  We feel as though we have to earn our spot in Heaven.  But when God tells us that his greatness is unparalleled, and that we should praise him, it is because he is pious.  Let me explain a little further…

I was reading Deuteronomy32 today, and my prayers / questions were surely answered.  I saw this verse that completely worded my question:

16 They made him jealous with their foreign gods

and angered him with their detestable idols.

The Holy Bible : New International Version, electronic ed. (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1996). Dt 32:16.

Where God sees us praising false gods and He becomes jealous.  But not soon after that verse he answered:

The LORD will judge his people 
and have compassion on his servants 
when he sees their strength is gone
and no one is left, slave or free. 
37 He will say: “Now where are their gods, 
the rock they took refuge in, 
38 the gods who ate the fat of their sacrifices 
and drank the wine of their drink offerings? 
Let them rise up to help you! 
Let them give you shelter!

39 “See now that I myself am He!
There is no god besides me.
I put to death and I bring to life,
I have wounded and I will heal,
and no one can deliver out of my hand.
40 I lift my hand to heaven and declare:
As surely as I live forever,
41 when I sharpen my flashing sword
and my hand grasps it in judgment,
I will take vengeance on my adversaries
and repay those who hate me.
42 I will make my arrows drunk with blood,
while my sword devours flesh:
the blood of the slain and the captives,
the heads of the enemy leaders.”

43 Rejoice, O nations, with his people,f, g
for he will avenge the blood of his servants;
he will take vengeance on his enemies
and make atonement for his land and people.

The Holy Bible : New International Version, electronic ed. (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1996). Dt 32:36–43.

He makes it clear that we cannot even fathom the Glory he obtains, along the same reason we cannot see Jesus’ face.  And in actuality, if someone here were to give themselves praise, it would have been out of sinful nature as they want acknowledgement to counter their transgressions… But God has no transgressions– only glory.

Jealousy actually stems to different contexts, and in the bible it is more about striving & deep longing than it is to take advantage of:

And even more importantly, the jealousy God has here is more of zeal:

If we were to look at the jealousness of God, it is actually a Jealousy from an individual that has no rival claim to deity and sovereignty.  He alone is God, all else is His creation.

To worship the creature, rather than the Creator, is to rob God of His uniqueness and incomparability (vv. Deut 35, 39; Ac 17:22–28; Rm 1:25). The Hebrew word translated “jealous” (qannaʾ) also means “zealous.” God’s jealousy is an expression of His intense love and care for His people and His demand that they honor His unique and incomparable nature.

Ted Cabal, Chad Owen Brand, E. Ray Clendenen, Paul Copan, J.P. Moreland and Doug Powell, The Apologetics Study Bible: Real Questions, Straight Answers, Stronger Faith (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2007). 273.

 

In the end, we have to remember that our God is in pursuit of us.  He is not waiting for us to come to Him– he is in zealous pursuit for his lost sheep, and should we turn our lives He will celebrate! God doesn’t want to share our devotion (Deuteronomy 4:24).

I took a little mental trip to the Soviet today.  I am currently fascinated with foreign cultures and how they perceive certain events and topics.  So I spent some time observing Russia’s prominent religion: Православие, or Orthodox (announced: Pravoslavije).

I was surprised to see how much pride they take in their church.  Both believers and non-believers hold the church as a symbol for their heritage and development of their country.  Inside of this church you will find several denominations such as Roman Catholics, Armenian Gregorian and various Protestant.

Doing some research on the religions, I found that Christianity is not even a percentage of their population, 70% is orthodox and the others are very minimal ( <6%).  Jehovah’s witnesses appear to be more prominent than Christians.

There was actually an anti-religion movement from 1917 to 1928 where they followed Marxist beliefs and were radical against believers.

The tenth CPSU (Communist Party of the Soviet Union) congress met in 1921 and it passed a resolution calling for ‘widescale organization, leadership, and cooperation in the task of anti-religious agitation and propaganda among the broad masses of the workers, using the mass media, films, books, lectures, and other devices.

David E. Powell, Antireligious Propaganda in the Soviet Union: A Study of Mass Persuasion (Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press, 1975) p. 34;

The supression of religion was so great, they even had concentration caps strictly for believers.  They executed 95k individuals including clergy and bishops, etc within an individual camp by  a firing squad.

In the period between 1927 and 1940, the number of Orthodox Churches in the Russian Republic fell from 29,584 to less than 500.

…

There was a massive closure of churches (reducing the number from 22,000 to 7,000 by 1965

…

[and so many more]

BUT in all of this repression, there is so much hope!

Riga priest Nikolai Trubetskoi (1907-1978) lived under the Nazi occupation of Latvia, and when the Germans retreated out of Latvia in 1944, he escaped out of a German evacuation boat and hid behind to await the Red Army, but he was arrested by the NKVD and sentenced to ten years of hard labour for collaboration with the enemy. This was because under the occupation he had been a zealous pastor and a had done very successful missionary work. In reference to missionary work in the occupied territory near Leningrad he wrote ‘We opened and re-consecrated closed churches, carried out mass baptisms. It’s hard to imagine how, after years of Soviet domination, people hungered after the Word of God. We married and buried people; we had literally no time for sleep. I think that if such a mission were sent today [1978] to the Urals, Siberia or even the Ukrained, we’d see the same result.’

Dimitry V. Pospielovsky. A History of Soviet Atheism in Theory, and Practice, and the Believer, vol 2: Soviet Antireligious Campaigns and Persecutions, St Martin’s Press, New York (1988) pg 92-93

Maybe the time is now.  A reformation started in the 80′s that openly accepted the Catholic Orthodox Church as an icon for their country.  But there are still levels of the bourgeois that will not be able to understand the “mumbo jumbo”.  Something similar to the Martin Luther reformation.  It could be a large movement that will shape these 100 million individuals into knowing a relationship…

What a picture…   What kind of love.

I was just enjoying a really good song by Kutless, and I got to thinking about the persecution I had been hearing about.  A video release from India not too long ago showed several Christians begin beaten to death so that they would renounce their faith…  There are also things similar to Marzieh and Maryam happening around the globe.

I can sit here and raise my hands openly, because I have not had to endure anything even close to those stories.  But would I be able to endure that kind of torture?  Would I be able to say that Jesus is my savior even after unspeakable things had been done to me?  I’d say yes, and my heart says yes, but it will still be a fear that I wouldn’t hold to that word.  Maybe the fear is a sign that I wouldn’t break.  Fear is often something that strengthens us, so perhaps the fear will prepare us for that day when we will, too, be tested.

A bank is a place that will lend you money if you can prove that you don’t need it.

God made man before woman to give him time to think of an answer for her first question.

“When I die, I want to go peacefully like my Grandfather did, in his sleep — not screaming, like the passengers in his car”

Cheese… milk’s leap toward immortality.