Adventures with Brazilians ( 1)

Normally i live an orderly, staid, little life- like standing in a line that moves forward slowly. Yesterday that line was for a roller coaster ride with Brazilians. Some of you may know Brazilians that have lived in the U. S. for awhile. Sadly, many seem to lose a lot of what I call their "Brazilianness", the exuberant zest for life lived on impulse, and always in a highly relational group context. So I went to Natick to drive a 15 passenger van to help my friend Vinci. He and his wife Samia had brought a group of about thirty Brazilians to the U. S. to shop and have fun. My friends Getulio & Ana-Maria accompanied them, and it was wonderful to see them again. First I helped to load a 14' truck with suitcases. I'm a very casual dresser- jeans and a flannel shirt are my usual "style." Brazilians tend to dress more sharply so I had on the shirt Samia had given me, in her honor, with dress slacks and shoes. Not the best attire for heaving heavy suitcases into a truck. This took about an hour and a half. Then I'm part of a caravan of one truck and two vans to the airport. Normally I drive a very small car so this was an adventure in itself. By the grace of God it was not rush hour, and Getulio was a great co-pilot. I get to practice my very broken Portuguese. I'm on the "ride." We actually get to the correct place in the airport and unload the passengers. As anyone knows that goes to U. S. airports, you don't get to wait with a vehicle. After the terrorist attacks of 9/11 the police don't let anybody hang around. We had a truck, two large vans, and a smaller van. I stay with the vehicles while the other drivers go inside. Some of the suitcases are way over the weight limit, so everyone is unloading and rearranging their luggage. ( $200 for each over weight item.) So we're there 5 minutes, 10 minutes, 15 minutes, and I'm anticipating a cruiser any second. I can only drive one vehicle. After half an hour the B's are still sorting out their situation and I think this is incredible. At 45 minutes my friend Marcio brings me a sandwich, saying it's still going to be awhile. Finally at well over an hour the police car comes and we all jet off. I attribute this to the grace of God. We go to Revere, drop off some people, have the typical conference in a language that I really don't understand. Marcio & I finally go to the truck to return it. No, they still need me to drive a van. No problem. We go back through the tunnels, on the Pike to Watertown and drop off the vans. M & I are almost back to the Pike. Oops, we have body damage on one van. Back to the rental place, another conference- they do say that immersion is the best way to learn a language- then back to the Pike- a fascinating discussion of prophetic ministry with Marcio- and finally drop off the truck in Framingham. Then Janaina joins the discussion as we go back to Natick. I pick up my car to go back home. I'm off the ride but still dizzy.

Christmas?

In my last post i thanked those who read this blog. In this post, I may drive some away. The subject is Christmas, surely one of the most emotional topics that a person could tackle. Should a Christian celebrate it? The origin is undeniably pagan. It comes from the ancient Roman festival of Saturnalia, celebrated on the 25th of December. When Christianity became the official religion of the Roman Empire in the fourth century A.D., the church took over this holiday to celebrate the birth of Christ even though there is no evidence that He was born on this date. Some people find in the Christmas tree an outgrowth of the Asherah poles decried in the Old Testament. ( Deut. 16:21, Judges 6:25, Micah 5:14 et. al) And I find nowhere in the Bible where we are ever told to celebrate the birth of Christ. Should we not concentrate on the things that we are told to do rather than spend so much time, energy and money on something that we are not commanded?
However, we are never told that we cannot celebrate His birth. This calls for wisdom. Romans 14:5-6 states, "One person esteems one day as better than another, while another esteems all days alike. Each should be fully convinced in his own mind. The one who observes the day, observes it in honor of the Lord... while the one who abstains, abstains in honor of the Lord and gives thanks to God." Three times in this chapter we are told not to judge other believers about this type of thing. ( Verses 3&4, 10, 13,)
For those who choose to celebrate I trust that your focus is on the Lord, rather than celebrating the materialism of an affluent culture. Far too many people go into debt to purchase presents, spend the entire following year to pay it off, and repeat the process over and over. We should consider using this as an opportunity to give to the poor.
The final concern in this post is with the idea of Santa Claus, an invisible, benevolent, gift giver whom children eventually learn is not real. Have we not effectively both lied to our children, and raised a barrier to believing in the true invisible, benevolent, gift giver- God Himself? Is it not preferable to say that God has chosen the parents or other relatives to bless children with gifts?

Thanksgiving Day

Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday, as it reflects the will of God. "Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you." ( 1 Thess 5:18 ESV) Not the god of football or of gluttony, but the God of the Bible. Today I give thanks for both the followers and the other readers of this blog. I assume that you find it encouraging or helpful in some way or you would not continue to read it. Awhile ago my friend M. T. added Sitemeter. Each week I receive a report on the numbers of visits. These have gradually increased over time.
Monday morning Mike S. joined Sanford and I for a time of prayer and discussion. Thank you, Lord, for this jump-start for the week.
Tuesday evening helped, along with about thirty-five others, to complete Bruce G's move into his new home. These brethren came from a number of churches, and relationships in Bruce's life but worked together harmoniously, utilizing the various gifts that God has given them to bless others.
Yesterday traveled to southern Connecticut to visit my friends Chris & Carolyn, and spoke to their son, now 21, whom I first met when he was ten. Chris is a "deep thinker." We spoke about the themes of consensus, revival, the blood of Christ in relation to sin, and some practical questions that he is mulling over.

Tuesday afternoon took the opportunity to help our brother Bruce G unload a moving truck. Haven't had that much fun in a long time. Am thankful to God that I can still do physical work. That evening drove to Marcio's casa, had dinner, fellowship and discussion until 11, then ninety minutes home. Way past my bedtime but enjoyed it.
Wednesday evening had dinner with my youngest brother. Delved into some difficult but rewarding areas. Looking forward to spending more time together soon. Thursday afternoon drove to Boston, endured the endless traffic jams, and met with the support/accountability group. Commitment is key to our fruitfulness. Friday met with Josh at noon, and Jason around 2. Hadn't gotten together with Jason for awhile. Discovered that God has blessed him. Her initials are G. K. Saturday morning found me in the car again, trekking to a meeting with the Cambridge brothers, where we continued to work on the theme of consensus. Around noon, headed off to see Gary. Am thankful to God for all three of these brothers. By 4 I was headed north to NH to stay with Tom H & family. Please pray for God's provision for them. They have started a business that is growing and showing potential but they are running out of capital. Sunday two other families arrived and we worshipped together. I had an opportunity to speak about my trip to Brazil, the apostolic ministry, and Vinci's imminent arrival.
Am appreciative of those people who break through the natural human response of assuming things, by asking questions to insure that they have understood correctly what was communicated.

Rejoicing in Heaven

Friday evening I had the privilege of getting together with Matt W, Juliano & Marcio. God continues to develop our trust and relationship with one another. We look forward to the visit of Vinci, Samia, Getulio & Ana Maria from Brazil later this month. Thank you, God for the open door you have provided.
Saturday morning got together with the brothers to flesh out our understanding of consensus, and how it might work on the practical level. We are going forward with the principle of elder-guided consensus as exemplified in Acts 1, 6 & 15, and implied in Matthew 18.
Saturday evening I had the privilege of participating in the gathering where I actually live in central MA. Heard a great testimony from our sister Pat about how God had convicted her to give to His work on a regular basis, and how He had provided for her. Another highlight was digging into the Word with a few people prior to worshipping.
Sunday morning our "home" community started exploring meeting in a local community center on a monthly basis to aid development of a more "outward" focus for our group. Sunday afternoon drove down to RI to visit a new gathering with my friends John & Danielle. Only three months old, they are growing, enthusiastic and blessed. The highlight of the evening was a young man named AJ, who repented of his sins and gave his life to the Lord. "Just so, I tell you there is joy before the angels of God over one sinner who repents." (Luke 15:10 ESV)

Echoing

Walked with the presence of the Lord through different wooded roads near my friend, and brother, Steve's house this morning. Fog meandered along while a previous snowstorm and freeze eliminated the insects. Several things came to mind. The first is an appeal, echoing many other people in the body of Christ, to get our financial houses in order. We have no guarantee of the continuation of the present world economic system. God could pull the plug at any time.
He also spoke to me about the mutual respect that we must have in order to partner together in the advance of God's kingdom. My friend John & I complement one another well because of this. We have different strengths, life experiences, personalities and we have disagreed vigorously at times. Yet mutual respect, based on the work that God has done in one another's lives allows us to bear much more good fruit together than we would alone.
God confirmed to me again the importance of communication, of not allowing ourselves to get isolated, and of the need for mutual encouragement.
I also thank Him for good reports from Steve S, Matt W & John DeC. God is faithful and He is at work in our midst. "Let me hear in the morning of your steadfast love, for in you I trust. Make me know the way I should go, for to you I lift up my soul." (Ps. 143:8 ESV)

"Advance" Report

God moved powerfully in our midst this past weekend at our elders' retreat. About a dozen brothers from eight or nine different small churches came. I have had the pleasure and privilege of organizing and participating in many small scale men's retreats over the past twenty years; this one had an unusually high level of commitment and resultant good fruit. We had a blend of older and younger men, introverts and extroverts. Friday evening we had no particular agenda but ended up having mutually edifying interaction until midnight. Saturday morning God used John to reignite our passion for Him. That afternoon we explored the potential impact of apostolic ministry. In the evening Ken did the same with the prophetic ministry.
Some themes that kept being brought to the forefront included discipleship, interaction and formation of relationship with groups geographically close to us, a desire for the elders to have closer contact with each other, and an outward rather than inward focus. We were wonderfully blessed by the hospitality of Ron, Marianne, and the community that fellowships with them. They showed their love for the saints in a practical, unobtrusive manner.
As we enter the two month holiday period, the challenge for us will be to maintain the spiritual momentum that God gave us last weekend. May we prove faithful.

God Made Himself Vulnerable

As our church will start a series on the letter to the Galatians this Sunday, I was musing this morning on the reality of dual authorship, the concept that the Holy Spirit works through human authors, their personality, culture etc. to reveal God to us. Even though Galatians was written by a specific individual to a specific group of people at a set point in time for specific reasons, through the instrumentality of the Divine Author, it becomes relevant, indispensable and revelatory to believers of any era, culture or language. Jesus prays in John 17:3 that we "will know Him, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom He has sent." God yearns for us to know Him, and He has revealed Himself, who He is, His interactions with humanity, how we might please Him, through the Holy Spirit inspired Word. In so doing He has made Himself vulnerable to attack. It begins in Genesis 3 with Satan's accusation that God is a liar. "You will not surely die." ( Genesis 3:4)And it continues until the present day in virtually everything. It is almost impossible to view a movie or TV, read a book or newspaper, or get on the Internet without exposure to outright hostility to God, or lies about who He is, or active urging to lust, greed, or other things contrary to God's will. Yet God made Himself vulnerable so that we might know who He truly is and glorify Him.

A Taste of God's Power

An unusual late autumn snowstorm has created havoc in a multi-state area, knocking down countless tree limbs, whole trees, and powerlines. Hundreds of thousands of people still do not have power, and may not for a week or more. This follows a tornado (very rare in our part of the country), a hurricane, and even an earthquake. The town i live in looks like a war zone. Yet all of this is a small taste of God's infinite power.
A friend asked me if I knew of any good books on the subject of work from a Christian perspective. As we spoke further I said that Jesus and all the apostles had given dignity to work by providing for their needs through hard manual labor. Also that working gave us the opportunity to give. ( Eph. 4:28) Most importantly, work often serves as a vise grip to hold us in place while the Holy Spirit works to make us more like Christ. ( Conformed to His image- Romans 8:29)
This leads to the amazing revelation that God would allow Himself, in the person of the Holy Spirit, to indwell us. ( Romans 8:29) A infinitely perfect and holy God residing in humanity.
Am very thankful to God for our church's increasing relationship with a Brazilian church. We had the privilege of joining with them for a baptism, not to mention some excellent Brazilian food.