I Guess We Didn't Get the Memo...

This morning, Regina and I decided to try and go for a walk/run. The sun was shining outside. It was a lazy Saturday morning. We were feeling guilty from the great dinner and dessert the night before. Our friends David and Martha had brought us a pecan pie. I won't tell you how much I ate because it would be self-incriminating...

Anyway, I guess we were the only ones who didn't get the memo that an Arctic cold front had come through Tennessee last night. We bundled up, stretched, even put on gloves and intrepidly headed out the door and down our road. Sadly, after about 100 yards and our noses falling off due to frostbite (exaggeration here), we promptly turned around and headed back to our warm house.

On the way back, I displayed one of my many hidden talents. I spotted eleven cents in the road and stooped down to pick it up. My spotting and picking up coins all over the world is legendary (at least in my mind). For some strange reason, I have this gift for seeing and picking up stray coins. While I call it a gift, others (read Regina, my family, etc.) have other ideas. However, my practice is when I find these stray coins, I take them home and place them in my "World Hunger" bank adding them to my other loose change. When the bank fills up, I take it out, count it, convert to bills (or a check) and give my donation to the Southern Baptist World Hunger Fund.

Eleven cents isn't very much by our standards. But I began thinking: "What could eleven cents do in a hungry and needy world?" I sure wouldn't miss it and evidently the person who dropped it didn't think it worth the effort to stop and pick it up. So, is there any value to the eleven cents I just placed in my World Hunger bank?

* Eleven cents won't even buy a meal for a hungry child but it is at least halfway towards providing a warm, nutritious meal to a kid in the Horn of Africa. Pretty valuable!
* Eleven cents won't solve the world's malaria problem but it is 2% of the cost of a mosquito net for a family that lives in an area with rampant malarial problems. Just 50 more Eleven cents would provide that net. Pretty significant.
* Eleven cents won't help all the thirsty people in the world but it will provide almost 5% of the funds needed to give a family clean drinking water for one day. Again, not bad for a measly eleven cents left in the road.

The world didn't get the memo that there is hope for the hungry, sick and thirsty. And I didn't get the memo that eleven cents doesn't make a difference.

However, consider yourself served! You just got the "eleven cent" memo. What will you do about it?

For opportunities to make your eleven cents count, visit: www.worldhungerfund.com and see some possibilities for yourself of what eleven cents can do.

When you get what you ask for...

There is a small but significant story in the book of Samuel where the nation of Israel asks God for a king. God had saved them, redeemed them out of slavery in Egypt and set them apart as a nation holy to Himself. He was their king with Israel being a true Theocracy, ruled and reigned by God.

But the people wanted a king.They wanted a king so that they could be like all the other nations around them. They said to Samuel the prophet, "No! We must have a king over us. Then we'll be like all the other nations: our king will judge us, go out before us, and fight our battles." Maybe it was that God was not enough. Maybe it was that Israel could not see their Kingly God and wanted something or someone they could see, touch and feel. Whatever the reason, they demanded a king because they wanted to be like all the other nations...

Isn't this the picture of our sin? God has chosen and provided the best way for us. We opt to rebel and choose our own way in opposition to God's. God longs that we hear and follow Him but also knows that we as fallen human beings will more often trust in our own way and lean to our own understanding. And in the end, the scary thing is that we generally get what we ask for.

When Israel made this one, simple choice...a king to be like all the other nations...they had no way of knowing that they set into motion a history changing event. God knew. He knew beforehand that they would choose to have a king instead of Him. He had already foreseen it and laid the laws down for Israel's king in the law, hundreds of years before they even asked for a king. He even said to Samuel , "they have not rejected you; they have rejected Me as their king." This simple choice was just a simple small step towards God establishing His Son Jesus as the King of Kings.

Israel got what they asked for and received both the blessing and the curse of that fulfilled request. And even though they rebelled against God's way and got what they asked for, God's purpose still went forth and was ultimately accomplished.

When we ask and choose, even against God's plan for our lives, we also generally get what we ask for. However, our choices in no way will ever derail the main purpose and plan of God. Our choices against God remove us from the flow of His plan and His blessings for our lives much like what Israel did in that simple request for a king to rule over them.

What are the things that I have traded in order to "be like all the other...". What are the blessings and plans of God that I have stepped out of to pursue my own ways and own desires? What have I asked for that has really taken me away from God's plan for my life?

Remembering Today...

I was just reminded by a friend that four years ago today, one of our dear friends and co-workers was taken by armed men in a Central Asian country. Since that time and the two to three weeks immediate following, we have never heard from her again.

Thinking about this, I remember once again how fragile and precious life is. I also am mindful that those who choose to live their lives for the sake of a higher calling, are not immune to suffering, sadness or trouble in this life.

I still pray for our friend who was abducted even though I have no idea or clue to where she is or even if she is still alive. Perhaps she is more alive now than ever! I do pray that wherever she is, she stand well and strong in her faith before the Father and before all those who are near her. Knowing her, I think this is probably one of the most safest and surest prayers that I pray.

The Kingdom of God is ultimately the most glorious place inhabited by the most glorious Being. And we are invited to become citizens of that Kingdom and under the rule of the Great and Loving King. As we move towards the culmination of time and the coming in fulness of the King and His Kingdom, we continue to live and breathe in a fallen and sin filled world. It is a paradox that causes our very being and even all of creation along with us to groan and long for that day. But until then, we can only live our whole lives for and in obedience to the King and accept all the joy and all the suffering that may come.

In honor of Cyd. May she continue to stand well before the Father...

Hungry For God?

In the book of Deuteronomy, God tells His chosen people, Israel, that He let them go hungry so that they would learn to depend on Him. The story goes something like this...

(Deuteronomy 8:2-4) "Remember that the Lord your God led you on the entire journey these 40 years in the wilderness, so that He might humble you and test you to know what was in your heart, whether or not you would keep His commands. He humbled you by letting you go hungry; then He gave you manna to eat, which you and your fathers had not known, so that you might learn that man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord..."

God humbled Israel with hunger. Then he gave them manna so they would learn to depend on Him and "every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord."

I wonder today what are the things that God uses to make us hungry for Him? I have not experienced hunger, poverty or hardships as many in the world do. I also confess that my hunger for God and His Word are at times pretty lukewarm. All in all, I consider myself to be one of the most blessed peoples on the earth (out of the small fraction that I know). So, why do I continue in God's blessing when my hunger for Him is not what it should be?

I really don't know the answer but I do know that as God blesses and "feeds" us from His hand, we should never take it for granted.

A country preacher in West Tennessee once asked me (literally), "Preacher boy, where do you get your desire for God from?" And before I could answer, he said, "You can only get it by asking God to give it to you." Pretty wise words from a fellow wearing overalls.

I pray in this early part of the new year that God gives me the grace to have a deep hunger in my soul for Him. I pray that just as I would experience physical hunger without eating, may I experience a constant spiritual hunger that nothing satisfies outside of a close walk with Him, time in His word and hours in His presence.

Anybody hungry out there besides me?

God's Kingdom and Kingdom Building...

When we talk about community development in God's Kingdom, we sometimes refer to it as, "Kingdom Development." This is not to say that what we do, humanly speaking, actually adds to or even takes away from God's Kingdom. It does not. For God's Kingdom is something that exists wherever He reigns and rules in the hearts of men and women submitting to His Lordship.

It also doesn't imply that our efforts at helping the poor, feeding the hungry and making the world generally better hastens or delays the coming of God's Kingdom. His Kingdom is fixed and appointed to come in fullness at the time of His choosing, no matter what our efforts (or lack thereof). Paul says that creation will one day be set free from its current bondage but that until that day, creation will remain subjected to futility and decay (Romans 8:21-22).

This might cause one to pause and ask, "then why are we concerned with, from a Christian perspective, making the world a better place through relief and development ministries?" If it is all subject to decay and His Kingdom will come in fullness when He so desires, aren't all our efforts "futile" along with creation?

From a Biblical as well as missiological stand point, I view our efforts at "making the world a better place" as a "means" of making Christ known to that same lost and dying world. When we do good community development, in the Name of Jesus, and when we help feed the hungry, give water to the thirsty, clothe the naked, we do so because of God's love. And in doing so, we reflect the nature and the heart of God to a world that is broken and fallen. With our actions, and with our voices, we proclaim, "This is not how life was meant to be!" In short, we live to make Jesus known in our words we speak and in the deeds we do.

Jesus said that we would always have the poor with us. He could have equally said that we would always have the lost with us as well. Neither statement or thought should lull us into complacency, or worse, inaction, to not do something about them both.

When I tell someone about Jesus and make a disciple, I do so because it is God's command. Whether I use words or deeds is pretty much irrelevant. I know that my feeding a hungry person doesn't make the King return any sooner. I also know that my verbally sharing the gospel doesn't hasten His return as well. I do know that when the King does return, I pray He finds me faithful in loving others in both word and deed.

To make Him known...

Thoughts About God's Kingdom...

A second book that I'm reading in this new year is, "What is the Mission of the Church: Making Sense of Social Justice, Shalom and the Great Commission." It is by Kevin DeYoung and Greg Gilbert and is a very well thought out and well written book.

About the middle of the book, they devote a whole chapter to the Kingdom of God. They encourage us to think of the kingdom in terms of an "inaugurated eschatology" which was promoted originally by George E. Ladd among others. This thought line regarding the Kingdom of God posits that, "God's kingdom has already broken into this world but has not yet been fully realized." The theme permeated the Old Testament but only comes to fulfillment in the New Testament with the advent of Jesus, His birth, life, death, burial and resurrection. In short, we have gone from the promise of (Old Testament) to the inauguration of (the cross of Christ) and are heading to the full manifestation in (the return of the King and establishing of His eternal Kingdom).

Summarily, we can see that God's Kingdom is not of this world but something far more perfect that is foreshadowed by this world. The Kingdom of God does not refer to castle, an army or a kingdom as we understanding from an earthly point, but rather the reign and the rule of God through Christ in the hearts of those who submit to Him.

DeYoung and Gilbert describe it as...

"...the kingdom isn't geographical. Rather, it is defined relationally and dynamically; it exists where knees and hearts bow to the King and submit to him. And therefore you cannot 'expand the kingdom' by bringing peace and order and justice to a certain area of the world. Good deeds are good, but they don't broaden the borders of the kingdom. The only way the kingdom of God - the redemptive rule of God - is extended is when he brings another sinner to renounce sin and self-righteousness and bow his knee to King Jesus."

Applying this to our ministry of and heart for community development, it helps us put things in proper perspective. When we help feed the hungry, clothe the poor, take care of the widows and orphans, we are not expanding God's Kingdom. Rather, we are giving a glimpse of and making manifest His plan for humanity in a way that ultimately brings glory to Him and His Kingdom. True "Kingdom" only comes when a knee bows and a heart turns to God and His Son, Jesus.

Our acts of compassion...could they as well be acts of proclamation? Absolutely! If done in His Name, causing knees to bow and hearts to turn, and in a way that brings glory to Him.

Charity with dignity...

I have been reading an interesting book by Robert Lupton called, "Compassion, Justice and the Christian Life." In his book, Lupton has much to say about our responsibility to help people in need and more importantly the way we truly help people. He discourages well-intentioned welfare and says, "...welfare depletes self-esteem while honorable work produces dignity." The core thought is that if we do for others what they can do for themselves, we, in many cases unknowingly, make them the objects of our pity and deprive them of human dignity. Lupton expands this thought in saying, "A relationship founded on one's giving and the other's need never yields healthy outcomes."

Could it be that when we stop "handing out to" and "stepping in to save" the poor and needy, we give them the God ordained opportunity to take charge of their lives and situations in a way that gives dignity a chance? We do understand that poverty brings limitations especially in the area of capacity. However, poverty does not change the fact of responsibility and the need for the poor to own their situation and the determination to do something about it.

I believe that our desire to help others is given by God to all people, not just the "religious" or the good people. Some cultures, government systems, and societies do their best to suppress this desire or basically deny it. The key for me is "how" we act on this desire. Do we truly help in a way that builds people, communities and dignity or do we simply take the easy way and resort to dependency building handouts?

Lupton discusses four levels of charity in Hebrew wisdom. They are listed from the highest to the lowest and with the lowest to be avoided if at all possible.

1. The highest level is to provide a job for a person in need without him/her knowing that you provided it. In this way, you meet a need, preserve dignity, avoid dependency, and return the person in need to a working state as God intended.

2. The second level is to provide work that the needy one knows your provided. While helpful to the person, it falls short of the first level in that it brings attention and possible dependency issues to the provider.

3. The third level is to give an anonymous gift to meet an immediate need. This is a level below number two for the simple fact that it provides a gift but not the dignity of the person "earning" their way out of their problem.

4. The fourth and lowest level of charity, again to be used only as a last resort, is to give a poor person a gift with his/her full knowledge that you are the donor.

So, how do we help people in need without communicating to them that something is deficient in them and that something is superior in us? It is not an easy thing.

Charity with dignity...