Posts Tagged ‘missions’

Loving the Haters

Posted in Life and Ministry, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on May 25, 2012| Leave a Comment »

Joe is one of the homeless guys that frequent TLH for a meal and a place to sit for a few minutes.  He is perhaps one of the most difficult of the people in our community to deal with and he just might be the most honest.  From the title you might think that Joe has been hateful, rude or mean to me or even destructive to TLH.  This could not be further from the truth.  Joe is appreciative of the meals we provide and the moments of rest and relaxation that he experiences in his otherwise very mobile day.  He has always been mostly polite, at least by his own standards (on occasion his colorful language and energetic demeanor has worried my immediate neighbors that he is being less than kind).  Even when he arrives less than sober he has always been respectful to me and the property.  So then why is Joe so difficult for me?  Joe hates God.

He clearly believes in God.  On more than one occasion he has acknowledged my relationship with God asking me to present to Him the long list of wrongs that plague Joe’s life.  He blames God for everything negative that has ever happened to him and sees only a cruel being who refuses to intervene in any kind of positive way in his life.  While this type of external locus of control is not unusual in today’s society, I have not run into too many people who so squarely place their animosity on God.

So then what do I do with this man?  What would I do with someone who hated my wife with a deep-seated passionate hatred?  This man literally hates the purpose of my entire life.  He hates the Spirit that indwells me and the savior to whom I owe everything.  It would perhaps be easier if my wife or myself or even my children were the object of his animosity.

“You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’  But I tell you:  Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven.  He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.  If you love those who love you, what reward will you get?  Are not even the tax collectors doing that?  And if you greet only your brothers, what are you doing more than others?  Do not even pagans do that?  Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.”  Matthew 5:43-48

I have often heard that last phrase pulled out of context and misused.  Jesus is specifically referring to love.  He is establishing a concept that John would later develop as a major theme of all his writings.  God is love.  The Greek word here for perfect is τελειος which carries the idea of completeness.  God’s love is complete, without gaps, without limitations and without exceptions and more importantly we are called to love in the same way.

So as Joe walked away and yelled @#$%% you God, even as my heart cringed and my pride bristled at this man’s arrogance  I was quietly corrected by the Holy Spirit, “Sam, forgive him, he does not know what he is doing.”  My pride deflated and my heart melted as the heart of God for this man flooded me.  “Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.”

Thank you Lord for continuing to teach me, for continuing to bear with me.  Give me your love for all the “Joe’s” out there.  Develop in me Your heart and Your perfection at Loving the Haters.

If you can, add Joe to your daily prayer list.  He has a hard life and maybe it needs to get harder before he can see the truth.  Pray that his heart is softened and that whether it is through TLH or another godly place he receives the truth that will penetrate the fog of deception that he is surrounded by.

Read Full Post »

Do You Feel Safe?

Posted in Bible Study, Life and Ministry, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , on May 22, 2012| Leave a Comment »

I was asked an interesting question today, “Do you feel safe?” It was in relation to the fact that we are urban missionaries and live in an area prone to crime but it really got me thinking.  I live in probably the worst neighborhood that I have ever lived in.  Yet I can honestly say that I feel safer than perhaps I ever have before.  When I look back at times in my life when I felt unsafe and insecure I see that it was really a matter of self-doubt.  It was when things were out of my control or beyond my control that I would feel unsafe.  The reality was that while I believed in God, I trusted in my own abilities.  Yet I understood the limitations of those abilities.  So then my feelings of personal safety were a function of my surroundings and how equipped I felt to handle them.

“He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.  I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress, My God , in whom I trust.”  Surely hew will save you from the fowler’s snare and from the deadly pestilence.  He will cover you with his feathers, and under His wings you will find refuge; His faithfulness will be your shield and rampart.”

It is only when I move the trust and responsibility for my safety into the hands of  God that I can truly feel safe.  It is the feeling of safety that accompanied Daniel to the lion’s den in Babylon.  (Daniel 6)  But it is also the feeling of safety that shone on the face of Stephen as he was stoned to death on the outskirts of Jerusalem. (Acts 7) When our trust is truly in God then our feeling of safety is no longer dependent on our circumstances, skills or even our faithfulness.  As the Psalmist states “His faithfulness will be your shield and rampart.”

Just as our salvation is not based on anything that comes from us (Ephesians 2:8) so too is our safety, “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for You are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.” (Psalm 23:4)  It is our personal relationship with Jesus Christ which is the basis for our safety.  The writer of Hebrews beautifully expresses this relationship, “We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure.  It enters the inner sanctuary behind the curtain, where Jesus, who went before us, has entered on our behalf.  He has become a high priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek.” (Hebrews 6:19-20)  He is a high priest who has been assailed in every way just as we are and held firm (Hebrews 4:15) in a way that is completely beyond the ability of our fallen nature.  So then it is by His intervention that we may “approach the throne of grace with confidence” (Hebrews 4:16) It is this confidence in  God’s faithfulness expressed in the person of Jesus Christ that is at the base of the safety that we enjoy as His children.

So, do YOU feel safe?

“What then shall we say in response to this?  If God is for us, who can be against us?… Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?  Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword?…No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.”  Romans 8:31, 35, 37

Read Full Post »

Uncommon Faith?

Posted in Bible Study, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , on May 16, 2012| Leave a Comment »

“Simon Peter, a bond-servant and apostle of Jesus Christ, To those who have received a faith of the same kind as ours, by the righteousness of our God and Savior, Jesus Christ:”  2 Peter 1:1

Too often we get the idea that God provides different levels of faith to different people.  We look to leaders of the Christian world and ascribe to them some kind of special faith that is not available to us.  It would seem that people have not changed that much since the first century.  Simon Peter looked out at the people of the early church and saw the same divide, a divide that is spawned by the father of lies and limits the effectiveness of our walk with Christ.

This is the very topic that Peter addresses even as he faces impending execution.  Inspired by the Holy Spirit Peter tries to short-circuit the very half truth that flourishes even today:  That Peter had some kind of extra-ordinary faith that enabled him to live for Christ in a way that is inaccessible to you or I.  Peter saw the potential for Sainthood.  He saw the potential for people to excuse themselves from the riches and responsibilities of being a child of God because they believe that Peter was a man of uncommon faith.  The ESV translates this verse, “To those who have obtained a faith of equal standing with ours by the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ:”

Peter would have made a good modern pastor.  His message starts right from his address.  He has stated his thesis and he immediately jumps  into supporting it.

“seeing that His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence.”  2 Peter 1:3

Why is our faith of equal standing?  It is because our faith comes from God granted not by our own intellectual reasoning or emotional response but by HIS DIVINE POWER.  Faith does not come from the school that you attend, the church that you belong, the pastor that you listen to or even the blogs that your read.  Faith extends directly from God a free gift granted by His divine power.  “For by these He has granted to us His precious and magnificent promises, so that by them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world by lust.” 2 Peter 1:4

Peter tells us where the magnificent promises, the source of salvation come from.  They extend right out of the glory and excellence of God.  It is all right there for us.  The question then is what do we do about it.  Like the parable of the sower there are many reactions to the glory and excellence of God and to His great promise of salvation.  Some just don’t accept it.  They harden their hearts and the seed of life dies on rocky ground.  Some accept it but the cares of the world grow up as weeds in a garden choke out a beautiful flower the beautiful promise and gift of God fades and disappears from the heart and mind.  Peter anticipates the question to come.  What then do i do?  How can I be the rich soil that bears fruit?  Peter I don’t feel my faith. How can I possibly be like you?

“Now for this very reason also, applying all diligence, in your faith supply moral excellence, and in your moral excellence, knowledge, and in your knowledge, self-control, and in your self-control, perseverance, and in your perseverance, godliness, and in your godliness, brotherly kindness, and in your brotherly kindness, love.”  2 Peter 1:5-7

This phrasing may seem awkward in English but in the Greek it flows and builds emphasis veritably exploding on the concluding subject: love.  Perhaps not the structural monument that Paul constructed in Ephesians 1:3-14 which concluded with, “…the praise of His glory” ; but still the emphasis is clear and the conclusion of it all is love.  Yet the steps are just as important.  Too often we want to pursue love without putting in the diligence, knowledge, self-control, perseverance, godliness and kindness.  Then we sit and cry in our coffee (for those of us who drink way too much coffee) because things are not coming together the way that we thought they should.

“For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they render you neither useless nor unfruitful in the true knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.  For he who lacks these qualities is blind or short-sighted, having forgotten his purification from his former sins.”  2 Peter 2:8-9

This is not about salvation.  Peter is speaking to the redeemed.  This is about faith and the fact that we have it within our grasp to live as Peter lived totally sold out for Jesus.  God supplies us all thetools and even the energy and commitment to be fruitful, looking only to Jesus Christ. So let’s sum it up with a little bow to homiletics:

Peter’s 8 Steps to Experiencing True Faith

1.  Be Diligent

2.  Be Virtuous (ESV)

3.  Be Knowledgeable  (of Jesus Christ)

4.  Be  Self-Controlled

5.  Be Steadfast (ESV)

6.  Be Godly

7.  Be Kind

8.  Be Love

It is not easy.  That is where diligence come’s in.  Peter climbed the 8 steps from Gethsemane to the prison’s and shares his journey with us, a journey of uncommon faith available to all.

 

Read Full Post »

Sharing Our Hearts

Posted in Life and Ministry, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on May 7, 2012| Leave a Comment »

This video clip is of Allana and I sharing about the ministry that God has called us to.  We are so thankful for Pastor Nate Elarton and the people of Compelled Church  ;For the opportunity to share our heart for The Lewis House and the Five Points neighborhood of Toledo and for their tremendous generosity!

Read Full Post »

A Year in the Life

Posted in Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , , , on April 25, 2012| Leave a Comment »

It is hard to believe that it has been a year since we moved into The Lewis House and began our lives as full-time urban missionaries. This span of 365+ days has been at once nothing like I had imagined it to be and more than I had ever thought it would be.

As I sit here at my computer and type this out I know without a doubt that the man who left the restaurant business three years ago could not have stood through the last year.  God has brought through an amazing process to bring me here to The Lewis House.  It would be redundant to take you on that journey with me again.  You would be better served reading my lovely wife’s article “The Journey to the Mission”.  I re-blogged it last month.

Even one year ago my financial expectations were that God would provide sufficient funds to cover all of our needs and provide for a nice little salary and we would live the “American Dream” as missionaries to Toledo.  I understand the naiveté of that now (someone much wiser than myself made the gentle effort to cushion what could have been grand disappointment), but even though the mechanism of God’s provision has not  been what I expected it to be the efficacy of that provision has been so far above what I could have dreamed of. Though by the world’s standards we live below the poverty line (a fact which

More important than the earthly provision is the spiritual transformation that I have experienced.

“But whenever anyone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away.  Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.  And we , who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord’s gory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.”  2 Corinthians 3:17

This transformation is not dependent on our earthly circumstances but I can see how our earthly circumstances impact our ability to recognize that transformation.  Paul said:

“I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty.  I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want.  I can do everything through him who gives me strength.”  (Philippians 4:12-13)

Without the times of want Paul might not have recognized the transformation that he had undergone.  Without the times of plenty he could not have appreciated the Spiritual transformation that engaged his contentment in the times of wanting.

We should not assume that this transformation was completed miraculously on the road to Damascus.  It was a process that passed Paul through the Arabian wilderness, the narrow streets and prickly political paths of Jerusalem, the urbane halls of Asia Minor and the intellectual collections of Greece.  It was a transformation that continued until he was called home on a fateful day in Rome.  It is a process that we all undergo and one that includes times of plenty and times of want.  It includes times of great joy and times of crushing grief.

Each of us has a path to follow and every path is a little different but it is all about one Spirit and that is our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  It is into his wonderful likeness that we are being changed.  Like Paul I am so thankful to all of you who have come along side of us and answered God’s call to support us in our ministry. (Philippians 4:10) We have been so blessed by the generosity of God’s people.  Even as you develop in your lives “ever increasing glory” you enable us to do the things that God has called us to do and to continue our transformation spreading the light of His Glory to our neighbors.

Read Full Post »

Sacred Rhythm

Posted in Bible Study, I'm Just Sayin', Life and Ministry, tagged , , , , , , on February 12, 2011| 3 Comments »

I just read another awesome article from my Music Ministry class!  I would post it here but it is copyrighted material.  It is from Karen Burton Mains’ book Making Sunday Special.  It had so many great take-aways but the one that was highlighted for me was the concept of  “Sacred Rhythm”.  This actually integrated well with parts of T. Burton Pierce’s book on ministerial ethics that I am reading. (Ministerial Ethics, A Guide for Spirit-filled Leaders) One of the important points that he made was

“The lesson is simple, basic:  the how of ministry is more important than the results of ministry.”  (p.49)

I think this is also the lesson of the “Sacred Rhythm”.  How we do life is as important or more important than what we do.  We can have all of the notes right, be right on the beat, playing just as fast as we can but if we miss the rhythm, if we miss God’s rhythm the results are going to be wanting.  We only have to go to Galatians 5 to get a measuring stick for our adherence to God’s rhythm.

22But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,23gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. (NASB)

As Allana and I make this big move into full time ministry and full time reliance on the hand of God for provision both in ministry and in life, He has chosen this time to highlight for me the importance of the HOW, of the RHYTHM.  We mailed out our first round of support letters today.  Perhaps that is a right of passage that makes us “official” missionaries. It may be these tasks that make us missionaries in the eyes of the world, but it will be our ears listening for and our hearts beating with God’s sacred rhythm that makes us effective missionaries in the eternal.

Read Full Post »

« Newer Posts