The End of October

Having not written for awhile, the following will be a potpourri of reflections. Galatians 6:7 states very clearly that God is not mocked, and whatever a person sows that will he also reap. In other words our actions, decisions, words, or lack thereof, have consequences. A relative of mine, diagnosed with diabetes, declined to modify diet, take prescribed medicine or otherwise take care of himself. The result? He went into the hospital, had emergency surgeries, suffered much, and will take awhile to recover. Another chooses to use the "wisdom" of the world rather than the wisdom of God. The results are already apparent. This is tragic yet seems to be the only way that most will ever learn, if at all. God has gone to tremendous effort to give us the wisdom to live our lives in a way pleasing to Him, and beneficial to us, in a Book now accessible to virtually everyone. Even those who cannot read can listen to recordings. The vast majority of the peoples of the planet now have the Bible in their own language. Yet the majority of those who identify as Christians, in my observation, do not read what is so freely available, and if they do, they don't receive its teachings. In John 8 Jesus makes a very strong statement. He says, "Whoever is of God hears ( in context, does or practices) the words of God. The reason why you do not hear them is that you are not of God." (v. 47 ESV) I suspect the reason for this is a lack of surrender to the will of God, reflecting our innate rebellion. Saying a few words in a prayer or getting wet (baptism) does not make one a follower of Christ. This requires surrender of the will, or in Biblical language receiving the Lordship of Christ. ( Romans 10:9, Luke 6:46, Romans 14:9, John 14:6 etc.) Why has God provided this wisdom through Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge ( Colossians 2:3), to us? Because of His great love for us. He did not leave us as orphans. ( John 14:18) God the Father gives the Holy Spirit to those who obey Him. ( Acts 5:32) My appeal to those who may see this post is read and receive the words of God. No one else will ever love or care for you as much as He does. "God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us. ( Romans 5:5b)

Prayer Meetings, Songwriters, and...

Last week I was invited to a prayer meeting with a campus ministry. Six of us prayed. I was very impressed by the way in which they, some staff, and others, students did this. We read Psalm 34 together and used this as a launching pad for our individual prayers. In contrast to most prayer meetings that I have attended, the leader did not dominate, and the group did not spend the vast majority of the time discussing prayer requests rather than actually praying. Instead we prayed steadily for a solid hour, taking turns as we were led. At the end I expressed my encouragement for these things and was invited to return. Thank God for serious people in His Kingdom. Also last week participated in the initial week of a midweek study using a book titled "True Worshipers," by Bob Kauflin. Among the questions asked were what type of corporate praise experiences had we had during our walks with Christ. This brought me back to my first eleven or twelve years in the Lord during the Jesus People Movement. God brought me into a group with a number of gifted songwriters. Although they wrote new lyrics for CD's, all of our corporate worship was simply putting the Scripture to music. In those days we used the KJV exclusively, but to this day I remember many verses and passages of the Bible because we sang them so many times. I take this opportunity to thank those brothers and sisters for their labor of love for us and for me. Some examples of the Scripture set to music by these brethren include Psalm 34:1-4, 89:1, 61:1-2, Galatians 2:20, Colossians 3:1-3, and Luke 9:23. Also in this last week God has been reminding me that as He has not given up on me, I should be patient and not give up on others. Finally one of the brothers whom I am working with in discipleship has recommended that I write a book on that subject. My initial thought was that there are many books on Christian discipleship. However, as this brother has written a book, which I helped to edit, he may be hearing from the Lord. I will continue to pray and seek counsel about this.

Two Blind Men

This morning I had the privilege and joy of fellowship in the Word with two other brothers. We looked at an incident in Matthew 9. The passage reads like this, "And as Jesus passed on from there, two blind men followed him, crying aloud,'Have mercy on us, son of David. When he entered the house, the blind men came to him, and Jesus said to them, 'Do you believe that I am able to do this?' They said to him, 'Yes, Lord.' Then he touched their eyes, saying 'According to your faith be it done to you.' And their eyes were opened." ( Matthew 9:27-30 ESV) Some people can tell you many fascinating things about the Bible. They have lots of knowledge. Some people are wealthy, others well educated. There are differences in our physical appearances and personalities. We say one person has a good sense of humor but another is cold. But Jesus assesses people on one thing only- their faith. This passage provides one example of this. Think about these two blind men. They have heard about Jesus, at least enough to know that He is of the lineage of David. They are bold enough to cry out to Him for healing. But He does not respond. He does not stop and heal them. Instead He continues on His way. We do not know how far he went. Was it two minutes, two hours or longer? The blind men could have given up. They could have said, "Jesus doesn't care about us. He's too busy." But they keep following. He enters a house. They go in also. I doubt that it was their house. Even though Jesus has not responded they are determined. Their faith is producing action. Now Jesus questions them. "Do you believe that I am able to do this?" Their response is instructive. "Yes, Lord." Not "maybe," or "I hope so." And they acknowledge Him as Lord. Jesus does not say, "I'll do this for you," or "no problem." He brings it back to their faith yet again. "According to your faith be it done to you." He knew that they had faith because they had been exhibiting this all along, following on the road, going in the house, and responding to His question. "Without faith it is impossible please Him, because everyone who comes to God must believe that He is, and is a rewarder of them who diligently seek Him." ( Hebrews 11:6) Jesus is searching for those who will believe Him.

Only the Father Knows

While in Brazil, and after returning I have heard many people interested in the end of days, the events leading up to the return of Jesus. People asked me questions, went to conferences, debated the subject, talked about "blood' moons, and related themes. While i freely concede that I have not studied this subject with the same depth and fervor which i have with other subjects, I have concern over the preoccupation of many. Throughout the history of the church there have been godly people in each generation who believed that theirs was the last one, and that they would see the return of Christ. In 1971, when I was introduced to Christ, we believed that He would return any second. We had one eye on our work and the other on the clouds. Granted that we are forty-four years closer to His return than we were then, I believe that we should examine the Scriptures to gain a true perspective. Jesus clearly says that only the Father knows the time of His return. Beginning in verse 19 of chapter 13 of Mark's gospel, Jesus speaks of unprecedented tribulation, false Christs. sun darkening, moon not giving light, stars falling. These are the heralds of His return. "But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father." ( 13:32) Then He gives a very practical command. "Take heed, watch and pray, for you do not know when the time is." ( Mark 13:33) Jesus is very clear. He says, "Watch and pray." He does not say to attempt to figure out the time of His return, "for you do not know when the time is." Paul addresses the same topic in 2 Thessalonians 2. After writing about the "man of sin," and a falling away, he speaks of the absolute necessity of loving and believing the truth ( verses 10,12, 13) Should we employ the time and energy that the Lord has given us to attempt to figure out a sequence of events, or should we be about the work that He has given us here- to preach the gospel of the Kingdom, and to surrender to the sanctification of the Holy Spirit? Consider verses 13-15. "But we are bound to give thanks to God always for you, brethren beloved by the Lord, because God from the beginning chose you for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth, to which He called you by our gospel, for the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, brethren, stand fast and hold the traditions which you were taught, whether by word or by our epistle." Jesus will return as He promised. Let us do the works He has prepared in advance for us to do ( Ephesians 2:10) rather than speculate about the future.

Back from Brazil

After an exhausting 24 hours of travel and waiting, arrived back home late Thursday afternoon, and soon went to sleep for the night. Friday is a blur in my mind although I remember grocery shopping, and talking to my discipler. Saturday morning arose early and went on an hour and a half jaunt through the country roads to speak to a men`s breakfast group at a church. Barry, my host, was very hospitable and gracious. We talked as the guys trickled in, ending with eight plus myself. we prayed, sang a couple of songs, and listened to a salvation testimony from a brother named Bob. Then I spoke for about fifteen minutes on the theme of discipleship from the perspective of two major themes introduced in Genesis 1; the kingdom, and being made in the image of God. Several of the brothers stayed afterwards. One gave a testimony of how he and his wife had been reconciled and remarried after being divorced for twenty-one years. Another asked me a question of how spiritual gifts fit into discipleship. Sunday was a busier day. After walking and praying in the morning, I went to a memorial service for the wife of a friend. There were about sixty present, from a number of churches. I saw a number of people that I know, including Bob from the day before. About twenty people gave testimonies of how Eileen had impacted their lives. Some had known her for a few months; others for decades. Unlike other similar services that I have attended, this one celebrated a life well lived for God. During the recption afterwards i had the opportunity to speak to a couple ( Wayne & Charlene) whom I know from house church days, and explain what God is doing with me recently. Returned to make a cameo appearance at the birthday party of the older daughter of the family with whom I have lived now for almost five years. Then I drove away to the gathering of my current church home. The students have returned from their summer break and the place was almost filled. Was a joy to greet and be welcomed by the pastors and their wives, and others returning from last year. There are also new Brazilian students. I met one from Brasilia which i had visited recently. Was in time for the first of a series on the gospel of John. Trying to get back into a routine. I had neglected my memory verses but will go through them all today, God willing.

Brazil 4:26

Monday night had dinner with friends in an upscale restaurant overlooking a lake. Fish is the specialty of the house, and we had something with a coconut covering. Tuesday I flew to Sao Paulo, and then Vitoria. Had about 24 hours in the latter city. My friend Marcos took me to a little park called Parque de Cebola because there is a prominent rock setting upon another which has the appearance of an onion. School children go there for recreation. The park has a walking trail, playing field, dance pavilion, and two ponds. The smaller one had little turtles who eagerly swam up to us figuring to receive food. The larger pond had ducks, swans, geese, a rooster, parrots, pheasants, and larger turtles. These lay close together on a large rock soaking in the sun. Sometimes I am like those turtles, watching life go by rather than living it. In late afternoon I began my 24 hour trek back home. About half of this is waiting; the other half is actual travel. On the first flight to Rio I sat in the very first row, which had a huge amount of leg room. Even the middle seat was empty. I spoke to a young guy in the aisle seat. He was taken to the US as a boy, but had returned to visit his grandfather. As it turned out he had the exact flights as me all the way to Boston. This was helpful in the Rio airport because my flight landed in one terminal, and my next flight was at the other end of the airport. All in all I had three flights, and one metro ride, one bus trip, and one car ride. Unfortunately I am too tall for the seats, and I was not able to sleep at all. By the time I got home I was a bit cranky. It is nice to speak, knowing that people understand me, and that I understand them. I am usually not certain of this in Brazil. My life here is so different than my life in Brazil. I am thankful for the opportunity to visit. God gave me a number of times to share or preach. He allowed me to interact with a number of people; to see old friends, and to make new ones. He also showed me how much more work He needs to do in my heart. This was humbling but necessary. So, good-bye Brazil. May the will of God determine my future, both there and here.

Brazil 4:25

Saturday night went to a worship service in which two churches combined. The one normally uses a school, which was unavailable. Some phone calls arranged for the joint meeting. The one church had asked me to speak; the other also had an out of town preacher. I am no expert at estimating crowds but I guess there were about three hundred. My host had arranged translators for me, one visible and two sitting in the front row to assist. I attempted several jokes at the beginning; these did not work. I did share on the theme of persecution, using a number of verses such as Matthew 5:10-12, Matthew 10:22, John 15:18-20, 2 Timothy 3:12, 1 Peter 4:12-16, Romans 13:1-3, and Acts 5:27-29 & 40-41. The second preacher is a famous Christian musician in Brazil named Daniel Souza. I have a couple of his songs on a compilation CD. He is a very fervent brother. After the meeting several younger people spoke with me. One was a man of late twenties who said he felt isolated because when he spoke about persecution no one listened. The other was a youth of fifteen who asked me about the USA. His impression, gained from TV and movies, was that the US was a perfect country; everyone had lots of Money, and life was good. I had to tell him that none of these things are true. The rainy season has begun here, and I went in a downpour to a pizza place which uses the motif of Sponge Bob square pants to serve square shaped pizzas. My friends were five young married couples and a new convert. Eventually there were four separate pizzas served including a dessert pizza with chocolate and strawberries. The next day went to the home of one of these couples for an all afternoon barbecue. They have three dogs and a swimming pool. Brazilians serve many kinds of meat at a BBQ including sausage, chicken, and various cuts of beef. The beef is treated with large granules of salt. On the way to the BBQ we stopped at a supermarket. I was with four friends, manning the shopping cart, while they discussed the purchases when a girl of maybe eight or nine came up and asked me a question. I did not understand her. She had mayo, rice, salt and sugar in her arms. She repeated the question slowly. I still did not understand so i asked her to speak to one of my friends. They spoke and then she put the items in our shopping cart and departed. My friend explained that often times very poor people will ask others to pay for a few items in this manner. However the female manager of the store had a different perspective. She said that drug dealers recruited children to do this. When the children received the items paid for, then they would be resold for money to buy drugs. She repeated this over and over to every member of the party. I left this up to my friends. The reality of Brazil is that first and third worlds live very close together.