Two Men, One Boy and a Mountain (a short fable)

Two men and one boy received strange letters in the mail, telling them that something special lay on top of the breathtaking Mount Gemma, a mysterious message to say the least. 

Albert, a world renowned mathematical genius, on a normal day would have dismissed the letter as nothing more than a gimmick or a letter from a crazy person.  But he happened to have a dream about that particular mountain the night before.  He was standing at the base of the mountain, and a man pointed up, and said “a great reward is at the top.”  Then he woke up.  A little shaken by the letter, he did what any man would do, he googled Mount Gemma.  It would be a 40 mile trek, with 12,000 feet elevation gain.  He calculated that it would take him about 100,000 steps to reach the top.  100,000 steps!  He pictured how difficult it would be to do just 100 steps at that slope and then he thought about doing that 1,000 times and he shuttered.  He laughed, “no way, I’m just going to stay here in my comfy house and do math problems.”

Fabricio had the same dream and got the same letter as Albert.  He knew there was going to be something so amazing at the top.  Without thinking, he hopped on the next flight out of town, toward Mount Gemma.  After a night stay and a long car ride to get to the base, he was ready to tackle the giant mountain.  He knew he could take this mountain on.  He sprinted up as fast as he could go, so excited what might lay at the top.  He grew tired quickly, his muscles tied up, he could no longer breathe.  He wondered how much longer it was to the top.  I mean, he had been sprinting up the thing for one hour now, you’d think he’d be close.  A local strode by, whistling.  Fabricio wheezed back at him: “Sir, how much…longer…to the…top.”  “The top of what?  There’s a good viewpoint of Mount Gemma just a ways further.”  Fabricio struggled to the viewpoint and saw the giant mountain still lay before him, it did not look any closer than when he first started.  Fabricio turned around.  “There is no way any man can get to the top of that,” he thought.

Little David was fourteen, though he looked like he was ten.  He hated being small.  He also had the same dream and got the letter.  His mom, who passed away just a year before, always told him to “follow his dreams.”  He intended to do just that.  He googled Mount Gemma with his curious dad looking over his shoulder.  Some mathematician had posted somewhere that it would take approximately 100,000 steps to reach the top.  David quickly got discouraged.  But his dad asked him “and how many steps does it take to get closer to the top?”  “I suppose just one,” David replied.  “Son, don’t get discouraged about the long journey ahead, for the only step we have control over is the next one.  With that step, we decide which direction to go.”  Two weeks later, father and son, stood on top of the magnificent Mount Gemma.  Through blood, sweat, and tears, he followed his dream to the conclusion.  David did not even bother to look around for the great reward that was supposed to await him there.  He and his dad stood together on top of the world.  What other reward could there be?

God has put dreams in all our hearts, mountains for us to climb.  The journey might be long or seem impossible but we must obey and keep moving forward with faith.  The only step that matters is the next one. Which direction are you going today?

Above The Clouds

Peering out the airplane window, I saw the majestic Mount Ranier, rising up like a polished white jewel, towering above the clouds.  Underneath us was a sea of white as far as the eye could see with jagged mountain ridges slicing their way above the clouds like islands sticking up out of the ocean.  The sun was setting, the sky filled with shades of orange and pink reflecting off the snowy mountain.  God’s creation is so breathtaking that it can’t help but fill one with joy inexpressible.

We descended through the clouds into the dark, dreary Seattle evening below.  I reflected on what the people thought about the miraculous sunset I had just experienced.  Stuck underneath the oppressive sea of white, they no doubt barely noticed it, other than observing that the darkness of the day became darker as night approached.  Maybe some felt depressed, experiencing some effects of S.A.D. (Seasonal Affective Disorder).  When all one sees is the clouds, sometimes it is easy to forget how small the clouds really are compared to the vast beauty that lies above them.

I have had clouds in my own life that have obscured the reality.  I have had times when all I see are the negative thoughts in my head, unable to see God’s amazing love for me.  During one period of intense anxiety, at a moment when I could not feel God’s presence, I heard Him say to me “I am here, I love you.”  The truth is, the clouds in our lives seem so big and in the moments we are under them, it feels like they are the only reality.  But there is such overwhelming beauty in those moments that still exist that we can’t see.  The clouds are only a tiny part of the whole picture.  Have faith in those moments when all you see are the clouds, and as the wind blows them away, you will see the amazing truth once again.  

The Age of One Click Global Communication

I sit here in my favorite place in Antigua, the little El Refugio coffee shop.  I have finished my cup of exquisite coffee, I have finished my Bible study for the day, and I know I must write.  I have not written anything in months.  I am not sure what happened.  I have been busy, but there has also been plenty of opportunity to share.  But I don’t know how to sit down and put into words everything that has happened.  The more time passes, the harder it becomes.  There is plenty to communicate, but putting it all into letters, words, and sentences that can properly express it to others seems like an impossible task.

The technology we have nowadays allows us to communicate in miraculous ways.  Sometimes I pine for the days of couriers on horseback delivering messages from faraway lands.  Why was I not born in that time I wonder?  Times seemed simpler then and I romanticize the past.  In so doing I ignore the opportunities there is at hand to truly impact the world with one click.

With one click, everything I have written will be available to be accessed by the entire world.  Sometimes I forget the monumental potential that the right messages at the right time can have on people who stumble across something I have written.  However at the same time this amazing technology can backfire.  There is so much information on the Internet.  I could spend the rest of my life staring at a computer screen taking in information and contributing absolutely nothing to our local or global society.  How am I using this age of one click global communication?  Am I using it to glorify God, to love others, and to leave an impact on our world?  Or am I distracting myself with it, leaving no time for the greater purposes God has called us toward?  I hate to admit that for me it feels at times more like a distraction.

I get lost in the land of infinite information (or misinformation).  One link leads to another link which leads to another link.  If I’m not careful an hour or two can pass.  I find myself taking in endless amounts of information and opinions without contributing anything.

I want to stop wasting time.  I want to take advantage of the tremendous opportunity technology allows without being distracted with it.  For believers in Jesus, our relationship with Him and the love that flows from that must be the center of everything we do, and that includes the time we spend online.  Are we using that miraculous opportunity to love others and bring God the glory, or do we find ourselves addicted and in over our heads?   

Who are you?

For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother's womb. (Psalm 139:13)

I walk through this life unsure of where I am going.  Sometimes I even forget who I am.  That is when I shuffle my feet, hands in pocket, looking down.  I wonder why life is so long and what its purpose is.  But, then I hear a whisper into my soul, something stirs it.  I catch a glimpse. 

God made all of us unique with all of our unique gifts and with our unique souls.  How incredible that with seven billion people on the planet today and the hundreds of billions that have come before us and will come after us, that we are all unique.  We all have our own special mixture of talents, gifts, and personalities to offer.

But as the world gets more connected, we are losing ourselves in the process.  We begin to listen to the racket around us.  It is no longer just the noise in our day to day lives, but also the cacaphony of ideas on the internet.  The facebook posts, the tweets, the millions of opinions floating around of how people should live their lives (which maybe includes this blog).  But then we forget to ask God, why am I here?  What is the purpose?  Who am I?

Don’t let all this racket control your life.  Don’t let people be the judge of you.  You have only one Judge in heaven.  We must take time in our lives to strip everything away.  To disconnect.  To spend time alone with God and discover for ourselves the answer to that all important question.  Because the answer will give you direction to your life and light a fire into you.  It will light a fire because your soul will wake up and rejoice.  YES!  That is why I am here!  That is who I am!!!!!!  We may never find out what our futures hold, but we, by rediscovering our purpose, will come alive with new meaning. 

So let us stop going through the motions, living life the way others want us to live it.  But take the time to disconnect, with just you and the Creator of the universe, and rediscover your soul.  It’s still there somewhere, buried under all the worries and cares of this world.  

The Beautiful, Perilous Journey

My socks are soggy, my shoes muddy.  My body drips from the constant drizzle.  A fog has settled in the valley.  I trudge through the wet trail, one step at a time, while on my left the river runs a little faster than usual. The green mountains tower over me on each side.  I get a glimpse of something.  My soul feels a tingling ever so slightly.

I imagine life as a one way trip through the valley.  If I one week earlier had fallen face first in the mud, it would mean nothing to me now.  I go onward.  I go forward.  There is no turning back.  I would have learned from my misstep and would no doubt walk more carefully as the ground under my feet got slippery.  Maybe I would have a flashback of that experience, but it would not paralyze me.   In the bottom of my heart I would know forward was the only option.  If I would have stood paralyzed with fear in the valley, or had refused to pick myself up from the mud, I would have wasted away.  My trip would have been over, my destination realized.  But if the mud is not to be our final destinations, we must pick ourselves up.  We must go onward.  We must go forward. 

As we go forward on our one way journey, the terrain constantly changes.  It is beautiful.  It is beautiful because we have never seen it before.  It is new.  It is exciting.  But it is also perilous.  What dangers wait around the next bend?  Am I ready for the challenge?  What if I slip in the mud again and don’t have the strength to stand up?  What if I can’t find water and I die of thirst?  And so, what a paradox it is that the most beautiful parts of our journey can seem to be the most perilous of all. 

I think of the one of the simplest Christian songs I have ever heard:

I have decided to follow Jesus.

No turning back.

I think our lives are a one way journey toward something.  If we have decided to follow Jesus, then we walk down that path with heaven as our final destination.  There will be many obstacles.  There will be much suffering.  There will be times we are so exhausted that we can barely take another step.  There will be times we fall face first in the mud.  But when the bad times happen, we leave them behind and do not give up.  We must keep going.

We look forward the path ahead, to where God is leading us.  It is filled with the beautiful, perilous unknown.  It is easy for some fear to take hold.  Maybe a part of us wants to turn around and return down the familiar path behind us.  But we place our trust in our God.  And as we press on, our souls sing: 

   

I have decided to follow Jesus, I have decided to follow Jesus, I have decided to follow Jesus

No turning back, no turning back.

Praying for our Children

After our Holy Week vacation, before starting the next unit, the teachers of HOREB met together for some Bible study and self-evaluation. We talked about David's prayer at the end of his life in 1 Chronicles 29:10-19. At the end we rested on verse 19:

Grant to Solomon my son a whole heart that he may keep your commandments, your testimonies, and your statutes, performing all, and that he may build the palace for which I have made provision.

Our director, Enma, told us to replace Solomon's name with one of our students that was on our heart. We wrote out the verse with that child's name. Wow, what a powerful prayer. Imagine if we prayed this prayer for all of our children.

Going Deeper

Spring is here.  We have turned the calendar to April and I feel like I have begun anew.  I spent my Semana Santa without internet.  I spent much time studying the Bible and praying, and I did a lot of walking.  At times I felt very bored but I ended the week with a renewed energy and a new direction.  I knew I was not simply here to teach English.

My week of reflection started out with an invitation to accompany one of the teachers and her two children on a visit with her mom.  I was honored by the invitation.  Her two children have become quite taken with me and whenever we walk, each slips their hand into mine.  We walked down a big hill into the valley where her mom lives.  During our visit the teacher recounted her story to me.  Her father was killed when she was only four years old, but she remembers her father and remembers the day he was taken from her.  He was a pastor of a big church in the area.  It was during the Guatemala civil war and pastors, who did not take a side in the war, were seen as a threat by both the army and the guerillas.  Being able to talk more with her on a deeper level was a true blessing and a great start to my week.

The week ended with another blessing.  On Easter Sunday, I left the house to go for a walk.  First I went to visit with Marvin, one of the teachers who had broken his leg, but he was not in his house.  Another teacher, Matias, lived close by, but he also wasn't home.  I decided to walk down the hill where one of families of Colegio HOREB lived.  I didn't really have a plan.  I have a special place in my heart for that family and I wanted to pay them a visit.  I had met with them only once before and it was outside the house.  I walked over and saw some of the children that I teach and started practicing with them in English and asking how their week was.  They have four children that currently attend the school and one that has graduated from the school.  They also have three more that are not old enough to attend.  So all together, there are eight children.  Their parents came out and invited me in to their home.

Inside there were two beds where the family slept.  It was their bedroom and their living room.  Miguel, the father, began to tell about himself.  He labors in the fields but doesn't have his own land.  He can't afford a home for his family and so they rent that tiny room from his mother in law.  He went to the United States to be able to provide for his family but was deported back after a week.  He would go again if he had the money to do so.  I tell him that the family may need money but they need him more.

Their family is beautiful.  I teach four of their children and they are all a little shy, but give the teachers respect and do well at school.  I look around at his children and look back at him.  In Luke 6:43 it says:

For no good tree bears bad fruit, nor again does a bad tree bear good fruit.

I know that him and his wife are good trees and follow God, because I have seen and gotten to know their children.  I see a family with a strong faith, a family who God has blessed abundantly, despite their material poverty.  I think of Psalm 127:3-5

Behold children are a heritage from the Lord, the fruit of the womb a reward.  Like arrows in the hand of a warrior are the children of one's youth.  Blessed is the man who fills his quiver with them!

Miguel obviously spends a lot of time worrying about providing for his family as anybody in his position would be.  I look around at his children one more time and share with him that I think he is a very rich man.  One of my favorite verses pops into my head and I ask if they have a Bible.  Several of their children pull out Bibles and I smile.  I have their eldest read a verse for the family.  Matthew 6: 25-34

Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on.  Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing?  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?  And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life?  Any why are you anxious about clothing?  Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow, they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.  But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?  Therefore do not be anxious, saying 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?'  For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all.  But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.  Therefore, do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself.  Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.

The whole family, all 10 of them, gathers together and we pray for God to provide work.  Miguel thanks me for my spiritual support.  I am puzzled at this because I never intended to give spiritual support when I arrived.  I was just sort of bored and felt like I wanted to visit with this family because I love teaching those children.  But God used that time and God gave me words.  I think sometimes my plans and agendas for situations get in the way of God using me.  I think I need to show up more and just let God use me whatever way He intends.

The meeting with that family fired me up.  I realized that God wants to use me in a much deeper way than I would ever plan for myself.  I am hoping to spend more time just showing up without agenda and seeing what God has for me. 

One Thousand Times

The City lies foursquare, its length the same as its width.  And he measured the city with his rod, 12,000 stadia.  Its length and width and height are equal (Revelation 21:16).

John is describing the New Jerusalem that will come down from heaven after Satan is defeated.  One stadion is about 607 feet.  So 12,000 Stadia comes out to about 1,380 miles long and wide.  That is one big city.  That New Jerusalem will be bigger than the state of Alaska.  What gets me though is that John is saying it is 1,380 miles HIGH as well.   Wait, what?  Exactly.  To get perspective, Mount Everest is just under 6 miles high.  Something that is 1,380 miles high is in outer space.  So what does this tell us?  That the new earth is going to be much, much bigger.

Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. (Revelation 21:1)

How big will the new earth be?  The Bible never tells us directly, but it does give us some hints.  A city that is 1,380 miles high is one hint.  Another lies at the very end of Ezekiel.  While in exile, God gives Ezekiel a vision of the new temple and the new city that should be constructed when they return. 

These shall be the exits of the city: On the north side, which is to be 4,500 cubits by measure, three gates, the gate of Reuben, the gate of Judah, and the gate of Levi, the gates of the city being named after the tribes of Israel.  On the east side, which is to be 4,500 cubits, three gates, the gate of Joseph, the gate of Benjamin, and the gate of Dan.  On the south side, which is to be 4,500 cubits by measure, three gates, the gate of Simeon, the gate of Issachar, and the gate of Zebulun.  On the west side, which is to be 4,500 cubits, three gates, the gate of Gad, the gate of Asher, and the gate of Naphtali.  The circumference of the city shall be 18,000 cubits.  And the name of the city from that time on shall be, The Lord is There. (Ezekiel 48:30-35)

So how does this help us determine the size of the new earth?  Bear with me, check out what John has to say about the New Jerusalem:

It had a great high wall, with twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels, and on the gates the names of the twelve tribes of the sons of Israel were inscribed – on the east three gates, on the north three gates, on the south three gates, and on the west three gates.  And the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and on them were the twelve names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.

The New Jerusalem has the same design as the city in Ezekiel’s vision, only on a much grander scale, with some very important changes.  One is that the names of the twelve apostles will be on the foundations of the city.  Another is that the Lord is in the city and gives light to the city.  In Ezekiel’s vision, the Temple is in the Holy district, which is a part from the city.  But in the New Jerusalem, God´s glory will dwell in the city and there will be no temple.  It will also be made out of pure gold, which is a lot of gold for a city that is bigger than Alaska.

Ezekiel’s new city is 4,500 cubits long and wide.  A cubit is 1.5 feet.  So the city in his vision was about 6,750 feet or around 1.3 miles long and wide.  The New Jerusalem then is roughly 1,000 times bigger than the city in Ezekiel’s vision.  That got me thinking that maybe, just maybe, the new earth will also be 1,000 times as big.  Maybe this Earth is like a miniature model of what is to come that is 1/1000^th the size.  A 1,380 mile high city in our miniature model Earth would be 6,750 feet, a breathable elevation.

  

It is important the New Jerusalem is 1,380 miles high, because it will provide light for the entire Earth.  There will be no sun and no night.  The light will emanate out from the New Jerusalem.

You are the light of the world.  A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. (Matthew 5:14)

As somebody that loves to walk and hike, I wonder what the trek will be like up to the New Jerusalem.  Climbing up 4,000 feet is a hard day of hiking but going UP 1,380 miles will be something else.  But we will have our heavenly bodies.  God will provide in every way.  There will be no danger.  Time will be nonexistent.   There will just joy and peace as we walk.  I imagine the view is incredible, maybe 1000 times more incredible than I have ever seen before. J        

The Gift

A short term group from El Salvador came recently to give classes for teachers and pastors in the region.  I was able to sit in with the teachers for most of the day this past Friday and Saturday.  Teachers from Chajul, Nebaj, Cotzal were able to take part.  One class especially spoke to me and the other teachers as well.  Many of their eyes filled with tears.

The teacher of the class was an older woman named Tita.  She had obviously been a teacher for many years because she took command of the room from the start.  She insisted that the desks be put in a circle with nobody sitting behind another.  She wanted our full attention.  It was Saturday morning and the group was much smaller and intimate than it was the previous day.

She described the different temperaments and personalities of people and how it is important to know all the students that you teach.  We then took a test to discover what our predominant temperaments were.
She then used some of us as examples, describing the differences.  She used me as an example and described me so perfectly I got goosebumps.  She talked about her two daughters, how one was more calm and quiet while the other was more energetic and talkative, and how she accepted each one the way they were, even if sometimes they drove her crazy.

She had us look at Psalm 139:13-14

For you formed my inward parts, you knitted me together in my mother's womb.  I praise you for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.

She emphasized to us that there is nobody like us in the entire world.  We are all different and we are all special.  She wanted us to be the best versions of ourselves and not put on different masks to be who others wanted us to be.  We are an idea of God and it is impossible that an idea of God is not a good idea.  She told us to thank God today for being created exactly as we are and for transforming us day by day to the person that He wants us to be.  For Him, each one of us is incomparable.

She told us she had a gift for us.  She brought out a box with a bow on it.  She had one of the women come and look at the gift without showing anybody else what it was.  She asked if she liked the gift that God gave her this day.  And she said yes.  Tita asked her to think about the gift.  She brought another person in front of the class and had them look at the gift.  One by one all the teachers were shown what was in the box and were told to think in the gift.  I walked up to the box, curious as to what was inside.  I looked inside and saw my own reflection.  She told me to look carefully at the gift and then I went to sit down.

I was deeply moved by the gift.  How many times in my life have I wished to be different, have I wished to be more outgoing, to be more open, and yet God made me exactly as I am.  He has given me life, He has given me salvation, and I am truly unique, and there is nobody like me.

She asked every one of us what we saw in our gift.  Some people could not hold it together as they described what they saw.  I looked around the room and saw so many eyes filled with tears.  How many of us sitting in that room had been seeking things from God without realizing the gift He has already given us?  Without realizing that God made us the way we are for a reason?

She finished by saying that today, begin the act of being an exclusive model because there is nobody like you.

A Men.

Real Life

Time passes so fast.  The days blend together.  What happened to March?  I am now fully entrenched into the Ixil lifestyle.  My life here feels normal to me and so I forget to write about it, like other people won't find it interesting.  For me, this is my "real life."  But the truth is, my life and my normal experiences here are very different than the lives of most of the people who read my blog.  So it is important that I share because even the things I now find uninteresting, other people may find fascinating.  

What is "real life" anyway?  When people return from vacation or from a short term mission experience, they say it's time to go back to "real life" or the "real world" as if everything they experienced was not reality.  Real life is more than the box we make it in our minds.  There are over 7 billion people on this planet encompassing thousands if not hundreds of thousands of different cultural groups.  Real life is fascinating, it is diverse.  Don't make the mistake of thinking your version of reality is the only one or the most important.  It is demeaning to billions of people whose lives are very different from yours.  The lives of the people I am working and living with here are just as real as yours.  

I know we all know this intellectually and I don't mean to get on a soap box, but I feel like sometimes we all get so wrapped up in our own worlds (me included) that we forget that other people and other cultures have just as equal worth as our own.  When we hear of great atrocities in other parts of the world, maybe it's easy to ignore because we don't see it as "real life."  We forget that those lives are just as important as our own.  We are stuck in our own boxes, far removed from the greater reality.

I am reminded of one of Plato's writings about the people who are raised and live all their lives chained in a cave, watching shadows flicker across a wall.  One escapes and sees the sun for the first time.  At first he is blinded but once his eyes adjust, he takes in the true reality all around him.  In some ways I think all of us are like the people raised in the cave.  We are raised with our own "realities" and sometimes we need to escape from our bubbles to discover the greater reality.  Then we realize that our lives in our little caves are only one tiny, tiny piece to a far, far greater reality beyond anything we could imagine.     

   

  

The Ancient Paths

Thus says the Lord: “Stand by the roads and look and ask for the ancient paths, where the good way is, and walk in it, and find rest for your souls” (Jeremiah 6:16 ESV)

Each moment there are many paths you can take.  We need to take the time to look and ask God to reveal His way to us.  There are paths that lead to idols and paths that lead to God.  I looked at my own life and when I lost the way.  I realized shifts took place.  A path started out leading toward God but it took detours until something else was the end of the path in my mind.  Stepping out in faith and following God in a new relationship but then the relationship becomes the end in my mind.  Stepping out in faith to begin a new job but then my role, reputation, and success in that job becomes the end in my mind.  I thought of how when I seek my own happiness, my own anything, I become unhappy.  In this attitude, everything I do is a tool for “happiness” but in going that direction, I find no rest for my soul.

Every moment we are faced with decisions.  How often do we stand by all these possible roads and take the time to look and ask for the ancient path, the good way?  What do you seek when youchoose your path?  We are all seeking, we are all worshiping.  What is the end in your mind?  What are you journeying toward?  I think nothing in this life is evil in and of itself.  I think the journey toward the cross can take many paths.  A path of marriage.  A path of being single.  A path of being a missionary.  A path of working a 9 to 5 job.  A path of raising children.  A path of being competitive at a sport.

But sometimes we think the path is the destination.  I will be happy when: I am married, I am single, I have a good job, I have children, I accomplish my goals, etc.  We journey toward these things, we idolize them in our minds.  We use people to achieve them.  We try to use God to achieve them.  We use all our resources to achieve them.  And we get stuck and wonder why life feels so empty and we find no rest for our souls.  We have forgotten the ancient path, the good way. It leads to the Eternal.  It leads to the Everlasting.  We can follow that path through marriage, through being single, through all our relationships, through our work, through everything. 

Every moment we are faced with decisions.  We can love or hate.  We can covet or we can give.  We can use other people to serve our idolatrous paths or we can serve them as we journey toward the cross together.  Unlike idolatrous Israel did from this passage from Jeremiah, I hope you look and ask for the ancient paths, where the good way is, and walk in it, and find rest for your souls.

A Super God at Work in Antigua

We left at 3 AM Sunday morning from Nebaj on our way to Antigua.  Paul Townsend, the long-time missionary accompanying me, had a meeting that morning in Antigua and he was kind enough to give me a ride as well.  We arrived at 9 AM.  My flight was not until Tuesday morning.  So now it was just a boring time of hanging out and waiting, or so I thought.  But God makes things interesting.

I rested at my hotel for a while and walked around Antigua.  The Superbowl started at 5:30 but I was very tired and wasn't sure I wanted to watch it.  A church/café called El Camino was showing the game and so I decided to go on over and check it out.  The place was full and I sat on a couch near the back.  The place was filled mostly with Gringos like me.  A little Guatemalan guy who had been sitting nearby came over and introduced himself.  It was in this moment I met Juan.*

Juan did not understand our strange version of football and so I explained a little bit of what was going on.  But mostly we conversed about our respective stories.  Juan was an orphan and was homeless.  Juan had been attending the church for 5 years and the church body around us all recognized him and greeted him..  We talked a little about the Bible and God.  It was one of those deep conversations that felt good.  We came from completely different backgrounds and yet we could relate and praise the same God.  I felt for him that he had to sleep on the streets and I asked him about the street life.  I wondered how a church of God could have a person attending the church for 5 years and still that person slept on the streets.  I was ready to talk to the Pastor and ask him, "how could this be?"  I bought Juan dinner.  Before he left in the 3rd quarter of the game, I put my arm around him and prayed for him.  By this point I was so tired but I was determined to have a word with the Pastor about this guy.  Shortly after he left, I got up to leave.  The game was a blow out at the time.  The Baltimore Ravens were beating the 49ers 28-6.  I checked my pockets.  My phone was gone.  I knew what happened.  To tell you the truth, I had a feeling even before this moment.  I was extremely tired and there was a moment when I put my head back and mentioned "Tengo sueños."  At that time, I felt a movement in my right pocket.  But at the time I trusted the guy and did not check my pockets until after he left to be sure.  I checked the cushions.  Nothing.  But I still was not 100% sure he stole my phone.  Maybe I just forgot to bring it with me.

I went to my hotel room.  There was no phone.  That confirmed it.  The man with whom I had bought dinner, with whom I had a rich conversation with, and a man whom I prayed for, had stolen my phone.  I went back to the church during the 3rd quarter and let a couple church leaders know what happened.  It turns out this was not the first time.  Members of the church had been helping this guy for years, but he continued to steal, even from the people who helped him.  Suffice it to say, I did not speak with the Pastor that day.  The Church had been in fact doing an admirable job in helping this man, walking with him, and growing his faith.  But still he stole from people and took advantage of people who helped him.

Two ladies knew of places where Juan hung out.  We drove around Antigua with the Ravens still up 28 to 6 after a long power outage delay.  We looked for him at spots where he might be but we never did find him.  When we came back the Ravens were only up 28 to 23 at the end of the third quarter.  After the 49ers strong comeback, I had to watch the end.  The Ravens scored a field goal and the 49ers scored another touchdown.  The score was 31 to 29 with 8 minutes left.  I realized at that time that I had told Juan the name of my hotel and my first and last name.  I also knew that the guy currently working at my hotel did not know what I looked like.   I also didn't know how loosey goosey they were about security.  I briskly walked back to the hotel to tell that guy about what had happened and basically, told them I was me.  He had not seen anybody come by and I chatted briefly with another missionary that was there.  I came back at the 2 minute warning.  The Ravens had scored a field goal but the 49ers were in scoring position.  But the Ravens held them off and won the game 34 to 31.  After the game, the ladies told me to tell the people at the Refugio the next morning because Juan frequented that coffee shop.  That place happened to be literally right next door to my hotel.  A coincidence?

I got up early and waited for the guy that opens the coffee shop in the morning.  He had been at the El Camino during the game as well and recognized me.  I told him of the theft and he confirmed that Juan was a known thief and had stolen things at the coffee shop.  He said Juan was a good person, but he just steals things, like an addict.  The man that runs the Refugio, Jim, had tried to help him, and even gave him a job.  But he was not interested in working and stole his phone.  I washed up and came back to the Refugio to do my Bible study for the day and hoped to get lucky in finding my thief.

Jim came over and talked to me and I recounted to him the whole story.  Jim is a strong Christian and it was clear that the matter of Juan pressed strongly on his heart.  He could not understand why he continued to steal despite having help all around him.  So I finished my Bible study and we went out on a mission.  We walked to a store at which he sometimes hung out, but with no luck.  We then went to the park where he frequently sleeps at.  Juan is afraid of getting robbed himself and so spends his nights walking around and sleeps during the day.  We prayed as we walked, asking the Lord for direction and leading in this situation.  It was not about the phone anymore but about the man.  Upon arriving at the park, we noticed a few men sleeping in the corner.  We walked over, and sure enough, one of them was Juan.

We woke him up and immediately he felt his pockets and said ¨no lo tengo¨ or ¨I don't have it.¨  We asked him, "you don't have what?"  He replied "the phone."  Jim's phone rang and while he was talking I sat next to Juan and gently asked him why he stole my phone.  He didn't answer.  I asked him again and he stuck his hand in his pocket and handed me my phone back.  I told him "gracias" but still I repeated my question.  He had no answers for me, only teary eyes as he stared straight ahead, barely acknowledging me.  In his response I could see the tension between the person he wanted to be and the person he was in this moment.  I felt the Spirit strong with me and with Jim.  We told him that he could not hide things from God, He can see everything.  We asked him what he was not sharing with God and to repent.  We asked him if we could pray for him.  He said no.  But we prayed anyway.  We acknowledged the great plans God had for Juan, and asked God to show him the path.  He still said nothing, tears in his eyes, staring straight ahead.  We prayed for the other homeless sleeping there and then we walked back to the Refugio.

Who knows how God will use that situation.  But all I know is that God has paths for me to follow day by day regardless of my personal plans.  Even on the days that are supposed to be boring days of rest, God is always working and will use any situation, even theft, for His ultimate good, to share His love with the world.

*Juan is not the man`s real name.  It occurred to me after originally publishing that using the man's real name in this article was insensitive, so I apoligize to those of you that saw it.

Such A Time As This

For if you keep silent at this time, relief and deliverance will rise for the jews from another place, but you and your father's house will perish.  And who knows whether you have not come to the kingdom for such a time as this? (Esther 4:14)

 It was a cold rainy day today, and us teachers sat down below in a classroom huddled in a close circle for our first devotion together.  Enma, a missionary from Guatemala City who teaches the Bible at the school, led us in this verse from Esther.  At this point in the story, Esther the Jew had become queen over 127 provinces.  The Jews were in exile and the King's right hand man Haman had written an edict that on a certain day, all the people of the provinces were to destroy, kill, and annihilate every single Jew.  Esther's Uncle discovers the plot and tells her.  Esther at first is hesitant to do anything becuase to go into the inner court without being called by the King could mean her death.  Mordecai then delivers this line.

Enma then challenged us teachers in our context.  Who knows whether you have not come to teach at Colegio HOREB, in the year 2013, for just such a time as this?  We have been put in a position to lead these specific children in the right direction.  If we do not obey, help will come from another place.  But God has placed us there to fulfill His purposes.

The fifth grade teacher, Marvin, told of students he had talked with who don't experience love in their home.  They come from spiritually impoverished families.  It is at HOREB that they first experience God's love and seek to follow Jesus.  Enma emphasized that every single child has God given intelligence.  But some are not motivated.  Some can not concentrate well because they are hungry.  Others lack confidence.  Who knows whether you have not come to this place for such a time as this?

I think about my role, and WIND's role, in the community of Cotzal.  I am close to moving in to a house near the center of the village.  God has provided me with a tremendous support system.  So many people are rallying around this tiny school in the middle of nowhere.  I think about the peopl, the teachers, and the children God has placed before me.  I think about the needs, both spiritually and materially.  Who knows whether we have not come to this place for such a time as this?

I hope by sharing this, that a few of you will also think about the position God has put you in, the responsibilities he has placed in your hands, the people you have an influence over in your daily life, and be challenged.  Who knows whether you have not come to that positon for such a time as this?

And Esther replied to Mordecai: Then I will go to the king, though it is against the law, and if I perish, I perish.

    



    

Piecing Together the Body of Christ

As I spent my last days on Lopez Island, there was a one thousand piece lighthouse puzzle sitting on the table.  My dad had gotten it out, finished almost the whole border, and left the rest of the pieces there, and left.  I have never been a puzzle person and never understood people's fascination with them.  I absent mindedly started to fit pieces together the next morning while my coffee brewed.  I got my coffee and decided to put in just a few more pieces.  All of a sudden I looked up and four hours had passed.  What just happened to my day!?  At that point I was committed and finished it before I left the island.  God speaks to us in weird ways and I felt God teach me a lesson through a lighthouse puzzle of all things.  It blew my mind.

One individual piece of the puzzle tells me nothing about the entire picture.  In my case, I knew I was making a lighthouse, just like God knows what picture He is making as he fits all of His body together.  But if I didn't know what the picture looked like and I stared at one piece of the puzzle and tried to make sense of it, I would fail miserably.  I would fail to see the lighthouse in the midst of a beautiful sunset.  I would just see an odd shaped piece of cardboard that was dark green with a white spot at the end.  Likewise if we use the analogy of one piece of the puzzle being one of us in the Body of Christ, and we look at ourselves and can't make sense of how we fit, or don't think we are making much of a difference for His kingdom, assuredly if you are one of His, you are!  You just can't see the whole picture, as God can.  But we also shouldn't think too highly of ourselves either because we are just like one of those odd shaped puzzle pieces that mean nothing in and of itself.

For as in one body we have many members, and the members do not all have the same function, so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members of one another (Romans 12:4-5).

Furthering the analogy, I spent a lot of time piecing together that lighthouse and when it was done, the picture was beautiful.  But it consisted of only one thousand pieces.  Only God knows, but I am assuming the Body of Christ is much, much, much, much bigger than that.  If the Body of Christ consisted of one million people, then that entire lighthouse picture itself would only be one piece of another one thousand piece puzzle.  This is where my mind gets blown.  Can you imagine?  The lighthouse picture is only one piece, with 999 other pieces consisting of pictures of mountain ranges, deserts, children playing, the vast ocean expanse, etc, etc.  Can you imagine how beautiful that must look to God?  For us, to take it in would be completely overwhelming.  It is as if the lighthouse picture represented a whole community of believers, which represented one piece of one thousand communities working together.

However, there are probably more than one million believers in the world.  Lets say (and only God knows) that there are one billion members of the Body of Christ.  Well that entire puzzle consisting of one thousand pieces of one thousand piece puzzles would only be one piece in another one thousand piece puzzle.  This is the point where my mind explodes.  The beauty of that must be just unbelievable, so unbelievable that no human being could ever begin to fathom it.  It is as if the one thousand communities puzzle represented a nation of believers, and was only one piece of a puzzle consisting of one thousand nations working together.  To recap, as a member of the Body of Christ, you are like a puzzle piece of a one thousand piece puzzle consisting of a community.  That community is like a piece of a one thousand piece puzzle consisting of a nation.  That nation is like a piece of a one thousand piece puzzle consisting of the entirety of the Body of Christ.

Lets imagine God taking in that beautiful picture, what do you think stands out to Him?  I will tell you what would stand out to me (if I had the capacity to take all of it in): the missing pieces.  I think that to Him that those missing pieces are a glaring hole in this amazing, breathtaking, beautiful picture and He is not resting until He fills the holes.  He knows what the entire picture will look like in the end, but it is not complete yet.  Just like finding missing puzzle pieces brings us more joy than the pieces that are already there, so it is in heaven:

What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he has lost one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the open country, and go after the one that is lost, until he finds it?  And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing.  And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and neighbors, saying to them ´Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep that is lost.'  Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance. (Luke 15:3-7)



   

7 Wonders and Life

I have played a lot of games lately, I would go so far to say that some in my family are gameaholics..  One game we played a lot of was a game called 7 Wonders.  There are many ways to win.  You can invest in science, you can build buildings, you can make a great army, you can build wonders, you can stockpile resources, you can stockpile money in your treasury, or build guilds.  The winner generally has a combination of all those things or does really well at one or two of them.  Any number of strategies would work in bringing you victory.

One thing I personally struggle a lot with is making decisions, more specifically, making a decision when there is more than one great option in front of me.  I want to honor God in all I do and I pray about all of my big decisions.  Sometimes though, I spend an inordinate amount of time worrying about them and I get stuck with my feet in the mud.  I pray and pray and pray (or worry, and worry, and worry) and waste a lot of time.  Anybody that has played a strategy game with me probably understands.  I am usually the slow one, spending a lot of time plotting my next move, and usually over thinking it.  When there are two equally good options, what route should I take?  Should I take the science card or the building card?  They each will probably give me the same amount of victory points in the end, but...you just never know!  You know!

Sometimes I get caught into the "finding a call for my life" trap (which is really just a selfish way of trying to find the "thing" that will make me self-fulfilled apart from God).  He gives me great options to choose from and I think in general He is usually waiting for me just to pick one, and dedicate that path to Him.  In choosing between good or evil, the path is clear.  In choosing between good or good, it gets harder but I should step out into one of the good paths without over worrying or over thinking, and just put my faith in Him, and use it to bring glory to God and not myself.  He gave you and me our passions, our talents, our resources, our family, and the people that are in our life.  No matter what good path we follow, don't you think God has something to do with it anyway?!

The great thing is that unlike a game, we won already.  We may be in the midst of the game but Jesus has already declared our victory.  All we have to do is take it and then in our spirit of gratitude choose one of the good paths before us.  I know for one that if I were playing 7 wonders and I was guaranteed victory in the end, I would play a lot differently.  I would not agonize over which cards to play, would make decisions a lot faster, and would joyfully play for the love of the game and for the love of the people I was playing with.

That begs the question, why do I worry so much about my path in life when I have already won?  Why am I not living my life with joyful abandon?  Where is my faith?  Life is not a problem to be solved but an adventure to be lived.  Lets not get caught behaving as if our salvation hangs in the balance over every decision.  WE CAN NOT LOSE!  Lets live wide open.  Lets take chances.  Lets build without worrying if it will get torn down.  Lets run without worrying about getting hurt.  Lets love without worrying if we are loved back.  Lets live as if we can not lose.  I mean, that's what we believe right?



     



 

Kauai Part 3: End and Reflections

I have yet to get a chance to finish my blogging about Kauai as life got busy around the Christmas season.  It seems so long ago already...

My last full day was a social day.  I got an invite from two friendly women I met on the trail, Adrienne and Leslie, for brunch.  I loved hanging out with them in the morning and it felt like I was hanging out with good friends.  Then we all took a bus to Lihue where they rented a car and I checked into my hotel for my last night.  Later that day I went for a walk to the beach and a kind gentleman picked me up.  I got into a conversation with him and ended up going to a shopping center instead, talking a couple hours over Starbucks coffee.  That conversation felt like a divine appointment as I felt like I was talking with him at a pivotal time in his life.  The next morning I walked to the airport and flew back.

I honestly still don't know why I went to Kauai this December.  It was an awakening experience for my soul.  I had forgotten what it felt like to live each day with little expectation.  I did not know what the next day would bring.  Who would I meet?  What would I do?  Where would I go?  I lived moment by moment rather than living steps ahead in my head.  I had so many unique moments, like talking and playing frisbee late at night with a stranger from Kodiak, or sitting on the beach at night watching a storm roll in in the distance, or walking with a couple from Brazil through the beautiful Kalalau valley.  I wish I could live more like that in day to day life: no schedules, just following the path ahead of me, and stopping to meet some people along the way.

I also felt God teaching me that no matter how tired or weary I get (like I did along the trail), God will give me the strength I need.  I have enough for each day and each moment.  I should not try to conquer tomorrow with today's strength.  I also discovered a bit of God's creation: the fruit trees, the waterfalls, and the epic landscape of the Na Pali Coast.  It was a random trip that reminded me of my place in God's creation.  I thank the Lord for the opportunity to travel and have a little vacation away from home before beginning my mission work in Guatemala.  My next post will detail where I am in preparation for the work to be done.

Blessed is the Man Whose Heart is Set on Pilgrimage

Last night, after our church home group finished up our Bible study, we watched a movie called The Way.  For those that haven't seen it, a man's 40ish old son dies at the beginning of the movie attempting to walk "El Camino de Santiago" between France and Spain.  His father, who never understood his sons traveling ways and was content in his safe life back home, travels to France to recover his body.  Once there he decides to take the pilgrimage himself, spreading his sons ashes on the trail as he goes.  Along the way he meets some interesting characters, all doing the Camino for their own reasons, and they share their journey with each other.

You don't choose a life, you live one.

I would highly recommend this movie to anybody that can sit through a movie without a lot of action.  The purpose of the movie is not to entertain you as much as it is to think about your own life and the journey you are on.  I found myself comparing his walk on the Camino to all of our life walks.  Then this verse came to me:

Blessed is the man whose strength is in You, 

Whose heart is set on pilgrimage. (Psalm 84:5 NKJV)

As we walk down our own paths, people will come and go.  We will find ourselves walking with others, broken as we are, and sharing our lives with them.  There are times where we will need to stop and rest, share a beer with a few people, but the road will call us back.  I think we are all pilgrims whether we know it or not, but are our hearts set on it?  Or are we content in our safe place, not wanting to step back out on to the road?

Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith... (Hebrews 12:1-2)
Buen Camino fellow pilgrims.

God's Beauty in Ixil Country

Made with photos from my 3 months in Guatemala from January to April 2012.  The song is You're Beautiful by Proto Evangelion. 

Fitting our Feet with Readiness

...having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace... (Ephesians 6:15)


I lead a Bible study at my humble apartment and last Sunday we talked about the armor of God as Paul presents at the end of his letter to the Ephesians.  The whole passage reads:


Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one.  And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God; praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints... (Ephesians 6:14-18).


We talked about all these elements and the applications.  This passage is so rich that we could easily spend a month talking about each element of the armor of God that Paul describes.  The part that I had the hardest time wrapping my head around was the part about having to shod your feet with preparation.  What was all that about?  Luckily, some in our bible study use the NIV translation, which in this case I find easier to understand:


...and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace...

And just for fun I will also provide the ESV translation:


...and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace...
It was not until I went on a run through the woods yesterday that I got a glimpse into what it means to fit your feet with readiness.  I had spent the weekend sitting at a swim meet and my body felt icky, it needed a workout.  For some reason I feel a need to stay in great physical shape.  It's not that I am training for anything in particular, I just feel a sense of calling in preparing my body to be ready for whatever might be thrown my way.  If my body is a tool to be used for God's purposes, why would I let it go?  


This has been a difficult period of my life.  Those couple hours per day while I am on deck coaching are fun.  I love being involved in children's lives and being of influence.  But the rest of my time, I feel lost.  What am I supposed to be doing?  Little things I have been involved in since returning from Guatemala involve preparing and giving presentations about my trip, helping a tiny bit with communications for W.I.N.D., editing a yearbook for the children at HOREB, and preparing for a swim event to help bring clean water to a community in Haiti.  Most of that has now ended and it is in this lull that I feel the implications of this verse as I run the hills.


Am I ready?


If God intended to use me, right now, at this moment, for His kingdom purposes, am I ready?  Have I used the good news of His peace to prepare myself?  Am I spiritually disciplined enough to handle tests and temptations that might come my way?  Am I living my life in His spirit even in the dull times in my life?  Have I given my body over to him, disciplining it, presenting my body as a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is my reasonable service? (Romans 12:1)  


When our lives feel boring and comfortable, it is at this time when it becomes of the utmost importance to fit our spiritual feet with readiness.  We must prepare because God may choose to use us at any time.  Our minds and our bodies must be given over to Him and we must be ready at any moment.  


At the end of Paul's life, as he was facing his death in a Roman dungeon, he wrote to his disciple Timothy,


Preach the word!  Be ready in season and out of season... (2 Timothy 4:2)


We must be ready at all times.  Let not the lulls of life lead us away from the Lord.  We must not drift.  We must stay ready, no matter the season of our life.  






  

Lesson 11: Less is More

 How you are fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning!  How you are cut down to the ground, You who weakened the nations!  For you have said in your heart: “I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God; I will also sit on the mount of the congregation on the farthest sides of the north; I will ascend above the heights of the clouds, I will be like the Most High.”  Yet you shall be brought down to Sheol, to the lowest depths of the Earth. (Isaiah 14: 12-15)

The devil seeks to replace God.  He seeks to lift himself high.  It makes me reflect, in what ways am I like the devil?  In what ways do I try to lift myself higher?  Throughout history, as is recorded in the Bible, God constantly brings down those who delight in high things.  However, the poor and needy are God’s people.  A little later in the same chapter of Isaiah, it is written:

The Lord has founded Zion, and the poor of His people shall take refuge in it (Isaiah 14:32)

Over and over again in the Bible, the pattern becomes clear.  The Lord saves the poor and the needy and He brings down the rich and the prideful.

Those of high stature will be hewn down, and the haughty will be humbled. (Isaiah 10:33)

 Jesus says:

Blessed are you poor, for Yours is the kingdom of God.  Blessed are you who hunger now, for you shall be filled.  Blessed are you who weep now, for you shall laugh.  Blessed are you when men hate you, and when they exclude you, and revile you, and cast out your name as evil, for the Son of Man’s sake.  Rejoice in that day and leap for joy!  For indeed your reward is great in heaven, for in like manner their fathers did to the prophets.

But woe to you who are rich, for you have received your consolation.  Woe to you who are full, for you shall hunger.  Woe to you who laugh now, for you shall mourn and weep.  Woe to you when all men speak well of you, for so did their fathers to the false prophets. (Luke 6: 20-26)

Does that mean it is wrong to be rich, wrong to be full?  There is a difference between using riches for yourself or using it to bless others.

In my favorite Psalm, David, a man after God’s own heart, tells of the attitude we should have with the Lord.  Keep in mind that David is extravagantly rich and not only powerful, but king of Israel at the time.  However, he did not strive for it, but the Lord blessed him with it.

Lord, my heart is not haughty, nor my eyes lofty, Neither do I concern myself with great matters, nor with things too profound for me.  Surely I have calmed and quieted my soul, like a weaned child with his mother; like a weaned child is my soul within me. (Psalm 131: 1-2)

Ultimately, it is our hearts that God is concerned about.  How can we stop striving for riches?  How can we stop striving for power?  How can we stop striving for greatness?  How can we cultivate an attitude like David’s and be content with lowliness and our complete dependence on God?

After the disciples argued about who was the greatest, Jesus says something very profound:

And whoever of you desires to be first shall be slave of all. (Mark 10:44)

In the Kingdom of God, the lowest are the greatest.  The poorest are the richest.  The needy are the most filled. 

Striving for riches is not the answer.  Striving to do great things for God is not the answer.  Striving to be the most holy is not the answer.  God does not need us to carry out His plan.  To think that somehow God’s plan hangs in the balance over our decisions is extremely egocentric.  I have been guilty of that, worrying about somehow disrupting His plan for my life.  God’s plan will come to pass with or without our help.  If he doesn’t use us, He will use somebody else or miraculously make it happen.

We need to stop striving for greatness and instead depend on God and surrender to His will.

A men.