Portugal # 3

God is good| He is drawing me into His presence by giving me an intense hunger for personal time with Him in prayer. Confession, intercession, praise, and intimacy are such a blessing. Yesterday went to another city and met with a pastor named Samuel, a former missionary to Mozambique, whom I had met in Brazil. He and a group of his elders and leaders gathered together. I shared with them onthe prayers of Paul for the churches. His son Andre translated for me although I kept gettingexcited and bursting into Portuguese. Was very difficult to understand the European Portuguese accent which is very different from Brazilian Portuguese. Later that night saw a recent movie about the life of Jesus. The actor portraying Him seemed too casual to me, almost like a hippie, instead of a Man coming to preach and suffer for the Kingdom of God. Am continuing to read, much more slowly now, a biography about Leonard Ravenhill, a British evangelist and preacher of revival. One of the many quotes of his from the book resonates strongly with me. We don't pray for revival because we are content without it." How stunningly true. Portugal does not seem very different than Brazil to me so far. Perhaps slightly more affluent. The other night visited a brother in the hospital who had suffered a heart attack. I had met him in a business people's conference in Brazil. Had an opportunity to both pray for and read part of Psalm 1 to him. He was released later that night. The previous night shared about the love of God from the perspective of God decisively proving His love for us through sending Jesus as a sacrifice for our sins.

Portugal # 2

I am adjusting to Brazilian culture again through the Brazilians that i am with in Portugal. Five or six meals a day instead of three, always taking photos, talking with animation and staying up late are some common characteristics. I need the excitement to get out of my normal staid life. This morning we went to Belem ( Bethlehem) a neighborhood of Lisbon. We crossed the 25th of April bridge, which resembles the golden Gate in San francisco although not as wide because it crosses a river instead of a bay of the ocean. We parked opposite a huge monastery, apparently still in use, after passing by the Presidential palace guarded by two men with antique uniforms and swords. We also walked by the river and saw a monument dedicated to early Portuguese explorers, and an ancient tower, which used to guard the city. We saw the outside of a museum dedicated to those who fought in the tragic effort to preserve Portugal's overseas colonies, principally Angola, during the same period in which the US was fighting its equally tragic war in Vietnam. We walked along a wall with thousands of names of soldiers who had died in the war. Have had a joyous day reading the Bible in English ( 2 Thessalonians), Portuguese ( in 2 Chronicles), reviewing Bible memory verses, preparing a teaching on the love of God, and most of all praying. The biography of Leonard Ravenhill, which i am reading now, speaks eloquently and powerfully of the importance of seeking God and entering His presence. The Word of God is anointed; we need to be anointed to use it.

Portugal : 1

. Thursday morning at 11 in the morning began my travel to Portugal. One car ride, one bus ride, one subway ride and one flight later i arrived at the Dublin, Ireland airport at about 5 in the morning. Ten hours would elapse before my next flight. Although this was the least expensive ticket that I could find, somehow i have to plan better the next time. Part of the problem is putting a 6'3"frame in an economy plane seat for an extended period. I have never been able to sleep on planes. To my surprise all the signs in the airport were in both Gaelic and English. Although i understand that the original language of the country was Gaelic, I did not think it was being used much anymore. But at least they speak English. As is probably the case in all airports, having a captive audience means high prices for everything but i did have a box of high protein energy bars. Finally at 3 boarded the flight to Portugal and arrived in Lisbon a little before six. My friend Anderson and his young adult son Paulo met me at the airport. Originally from Brazil, Anderson was sent out as a missionary eight years ago. Now God has blessed him with a church of both Brazilians and Portuguese. I will meet them and preach on Sunday. We had a good conversation in Portuguese as he took me to the home of two Brazilians who lived in the US for many years who have now emigrated here. Danilo and Dayane speak good english although I prefer to practice Portuguese. I was exhausted and went to bed early. Today Anderson came and we went for a little sightseeing. They live across the broad Tagus river from Lisbon in a suburb. There is a huge edifice surmounted by a statue of Jesus resembling the famous one in Rio de Janeiro. I don't know how to guess heights but i think maybe 300 feet in all. We also had beverages in a little cafe hewn out of the side of a cliff overlooking the river. The temperature was 55 or so, clear until evening when rain began to fall. Am reading a biography of Leonard Ravenhill, the British preacher and evangelist. It is already impacting me. He wanted to be known as a man of prayer before anything else.

Comfort Zone

Recently I was praying and God showed me the primary reason that He wanted me to go to Europe and South America was to get me out of my personal "comfort zone." In the US I understand the language and the culture. If i need to go somewhere He has given me a car. If I need to communicate there is a phone. I eat the food that i want and set my own schedule. I am not dependent. When i travel i often don't understand what is being said in Portuguese, don't pick up on the cultural cues, am dependent for transportation, food, lodging etc. Often I am the tail wagged by the dog. I need to be flexible with people who don't think or do things the way that I do. However God uses this reality to work in me in a different way than He does here. Similarly a short term missions team often does not know the language or the culture or have skills relevant to the place and people that they visit. The real work of God is in those who go especially if they travel to a poor country and see the difference between our hedonism, affluence and entertainment driven culture and that of people focused on survival. Our human tendency is to crave comfort and ease. One of our common sayings in leaving someone is, "Take it easy." Or we say, "Don't work too hard." Yet we see Biblically that God does not promise things will always be "good." In fact the Scripture says, " Through much tribulation we must enter the kingdom of God." ( Acts 14:22) Crisis can bring us much closer to God than smooth sailing.

Dust

As far as I know there is no practical use for dust, unless, for some reason, a person wants to sneeze. We sweep up dust, put it in the garbage and throw it out. Yet God sees value in dust because He chose to make humans from dust. Genesis 2:7 "Then the Lord God formed the man of dust from the ground..." (ESV) How humbling, even humiliating that we should be made of garbage. How astonishing and incredible that we are the only part of God's creation made in His image. ( Genesis 1:26,27) Abraham says that he is dust and ashes. ( Gen. 18:27) Job says the same. ( Jb 30:19) Yet God loves supremely the creatures He has made of dust. Psalm 103:13-14 indicates that He has compassion on us because He knows that we are made of dust. Ecc. 3:20 is one of a number of Scriptural references saying that we are dust and to dust we shall return. But God demonstrates His love for us in the most decisive way possible- by sending Jesus as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. ( Romans 5:8, 1 John 4:10) ! Corinthians 15:49 says, "Just as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we shall also bear the image of the man of heaven." Does this not express the love of God to us? We who were of no value whatsoever were valued by God with the highest price ever paid for anything- the blood and life of His Son. As I reflect on this i am both humbled and awed, and very, very grateful.

Holy Desperation

As a teenager i read the complete works of Henry David Thoreau. One of his more famous sayings was that men lives lives of quiet desperation. This morning two brothers and i read a passage in Mark 9 about a man whose son was being tormented by a demon. The man had approached the disciples of Jesus while He was on the mount of transfiguration but they could not help the father. After Jesus descended the father approached Him. "If you can do anything, have compassion on us and help us." (v. 22b. ESV) Jesus replied, "If you can! All things are possible for one who believes." (v.23)The father cried out, "I believe. Help my unbelief!" This man was desperate. He could not alleviate the condition of his boy nor could the disciples. Jesus was his last hope. In times of crisis we will try anything that might possibly help us. Often it is these times of crisis, when God can get our attention, that He can work most powerfully in us. But what about when times are good? If we learn and follow Biblical principles we can avoid many issues and problems in life. We are tempted to say, as King Hezekiah did, "There will be peace and security in my days." ( Isaiah 39:8b ESV) We need a holy desperation to go beyond the comfortable life that many Christians live in North America to cry out to God for deeper, more profound relationship with Him. we cannot be satisfied with the crumbs beneath His table when He has a feast waiting for us. "O taste and see that the Lord is good!" ( Psalm 34:8a)

Another Species of Idolatry

The following post is something that i have contemplated writing for several years. A recent story about a turkey finally sent me over the edge. First, a reflection on idolatry. Ephesians 5:5 reads. "For you may be sure of this, that everyone who is sexually immoral or impure, or who is covetous (that is, an idolater)has no inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God." (ESV) Colossians 3:5 reads in a similar fashion. Now in the Old Testament idolatry typically meant worshipping some inanimate object. ( e.g. Isaiah 44:9ff)In the New Testament the definition is expanded to include anything that we might covet. Coveting is a heart condition indicating something that we desire more than God. Thus anything or anyone can be an idol. In Genesis 1:26 and again in 1:27 God says that humanity is made in His image. The Bible does not say this about any other part of God's creation. In fact it says, in the same passage, that mankind is to have dominion over the rest of the creation, including the animals. Having read the Bible numerous times I see no place where it indicates that animals have souls or are redeemable in the same way as humans can through the obedience, righteousness, death and resurrection of Christ paying the penalty for our sin and rebellion. Now about the turkey. The other day i read a story, complete with photos, of a full grown turkey traveling with a person on an airplane as an official "comfort animal." Apparently way back in 1986 the US Congress passed a law saying that humans were permitted to bring animals with them in the seating area of planes if some mental health professional certified that this was beneficial to the well being of the individual. Many years ago animals were sedated, put into protective containers and traveled ( I believe) in the baggage area of jetliners. I have seen small dogs travel with passengers more recently. Now we have turkeys. They are given free seats of their own next to their human companion. I suspect that a majority of Americans don't have a problem with us even though animals could bite, urinate or defecate on other passengers, or even pass on illness. This is idolatry. I appreciate that dogs and maybe even cats have some ability to respond to and give affection to humans but they have nowhere the same capacity as other humans. I walk a five and a half mile route most days. Most of the people on my route have at least one dog. I am routinely challenged and sometimes menaced by these beasts every day as i walk peacefully down the street. And yet I am sure that hardly any owner thinks that their dog is a problem. In Matthew 6 Jesus says, "Look at the birds of the air; they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?" (V.26 ESV) In Matthew 12:12 Jesus asks, "Of how much more value is a man than a sheep?" (ESV) I suspect most North Americans, including many who identify as Christians, would disagree.