2018: The Year of Faith

As I look back at my writings from 2018, it feels like this year has somehow stretched over several years of time! So many things have happened, and so many changes have taken place in and around me, but one recurring theme of the past twelve months has been the idea of faith. More than ever, I've been convicted of my lack of this virtue, inspired by the faith of others, and hopefully, grown a little in faith myself.

For someone as practical as I am, faith is an especially difficult concept. It is abstract and inherently invisible, focusing on things that do not present themselves for proof. It stands against the sensory evidence, pointing to outcomes logic alone would never expect. It cannot be produced by willpower or reason. Tellingly, children are held up in Scripture as models of faith -- they are never bothered by their ignorance, but simply put joyful confidence in those who care for them. This kind of faith does not need to know all the details. It only needs to know the Faithful One and put absolute trust in Him. Our God has proven His ability in the past, and the better acquainted we are with Him, the more our faith will grow. Our logical adult minds are filled with questions, thinking that if we can only get answers, then faith will come easy. But God Himself is ultimately the only answer that can satisfy.

...that your faith should not be in the wisdom of men but in the power of God.

1 Corinthians 2:5

Heart Monitor

I had an interesting interaction with a young fellow the other day. Upon first impression, he seemed to be a rare specimen of a polite gentleman...but it wasn't long at all before he unabashedly threw a few swear words into the otherwise perfectly normal small talk, as if he were trying to find some way to include them. And just like that, his supposed gentleman status vanished like so much mist. (Call me old-fashioned, but if you fellows really must swear, don't do it in front of a lady!) What was this oxymoron, that "ma'am" and "&#!%" could come out of the same mouth, separated by hardly more than five minutes?

"Out of the heart the mouth speaks," said Jesus, and a person's vocabulary is indeed a good indicator of who he or she truly is. Just as you can often tell where people are from by their accents, you may detect their internal culture through the content of their language. Complaining, swearing, gossip, cynicism, crudeness, etc. mark the speaker as a certain kind of person, while positive, self-controlled, uplifting, encouraging, and wholesome talk reveals a different sort of heart. Since the tongue is such a difficult thing to control (see James 3:7-8), it will sooner or later unmask us. What does your tongue say about your heart?

Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing.

My brothers, this should not be!

James 3:10

Dressed Up

One day a year, there is an interesting tradition in which it is socially acceptable to go about in public wearing a different persona. For a few hours, kids (and adults) have a chance to "be" someone else, and the streets are flooded with superheroes, talking animals, ghouls, wizards, and princesses, like a hundred storybooks come to life. I'm not a particular fan of Halloween, but the opportunity to dress up makes me think -- what is it that makes this role play parade so attractive? What inspires children to don unusual outfits any day they're allowed, and adults to let out that same inner child once a year?

Children, with their lives ahead of them, believe they can be anything. They don't feel silly dancing around the living room in frilly dresses or spurring their bicycles in their cowboy boots, because in their minds, they are princesses and cowboys. They costumes they put on bring their imagination to life and make it real. As adults, our costumes change: scrubs, aprons, business casual, grease-stained coveralls. What we wear shows the world what we are and lets us live out our roles. We're old enough to know now that putting on different clothes doesn't automatically change our destiny, but maybe we miss the childhood freedom of being a firefighter one day and a woodland archer the next, as easily as rummaging through the dress-up box.

What we wear may be an expression of what is inside us, but it is just as true that what we put on actually has a peculiar way of influencing our very being. You behave differently in workout gear than you do in formal attire, even if you're not actually at the gym or a wedding. Perhaps that's why Scripture so often speaks of our spiritual lives in terms of clothing. We are decked in the garments of salvation, head to the front lines in the armor of God, and look forward to dazzling robes in glory. Above all, every believer has put on Christ. You are dressed up as Jesus every day of the year -- are you living out your role?

For all of you who were baptized into Christ

have clothed yourselves with Christ.

Galatians 3:27

Happy and Busy

I've been reminded recently to "wait happy and busy." My lifelong tendency has been to anticipate a fanciful faraway future when I will be in more optimal circumstances, more spiritually mature, more prepared, more _______. Then I will be happy, then I will accomplish my dreams, then I will be living God's plan for me, then I will have it all. But when the future arrives, it turns out to be just another ordinary today, and nothing has changed. I can never change the future, but I have an opportunity to change yesterday's future now.

C. S. Lewis said, "Don't let your happiness depend on something you may lose." I add, "Don't let your happiness depend on something you have yet to gain." If you do, it will always be just beyond your reach, with whatever more you require to be fully satisfied. If you are not content now, you will not be then. Happiness is a virtue of the present.

Likewise, if you are not living God's plan for you now, why should He entrust you with a greater responsibility? His commands won't wait for the perfect situation or perfect people. Spurgeon offers wise words: "You are to consider that the position which you occupy is, all things considered, the most advantageous that you could possibly have occupied for doing the utmost that you are capable of doing for the glory of God." Wherever you are is exactly where God wants you at this moment, and your task is only to do the utmost with it.

There is always more to look forward to, all the way to eternity, but while we wait, let us resolve to be happy and busy now!

What You Expect is What You Get

Whatever is not from faith is sin.

Romans 14:23

Faith is hard work. When the external evidence points to failure and hopelessness, it's tough to pray for success and triumph. But as my Grandma says, "When you fail to ask, you fail to give God an opportunity to work." Too many times, I fail to make an opportunity for God because I think I already know what's going to happen (and not especially optimistically). I expect things to go a certain way, and even if I pray words of hope, I don't believe them in my heart. And all too often, things turn out as poorly as I expect, further reinforcing my poor expectations.

Expecting less than the best is really a demonstration of low expectations of God's ability. He is able to do great things beyond our highest imaginings, so why not dream big? Is the sorry return on our prayers just God giving us what we asked for? By asking so little, we may spare ourselves the risk of getting our hopes up, but at the same time we offend the Almighty King of the universe by judging Him incapable of better things. He is all-knowing, all-powerful, and all good, no matter what we may think of the circumstances. God, grant us the faith to honor You with expectation of Your greatness!

Becoming Ethiopian

My companion and I greeted our countrymen cordially, but we were secretly laughing inside, "Look at those funny Americans!" After a couple weeks of serving alongside our Ethiopian brothers and sisters, we'd almost forgotten that we were Americans too, after all. Other white people were startling now, and it felt out of place to greet someone with a mere handshake and refrain from speaking what Amharic we knew. Who were these people who didn't know how to eat injera, or even ask a child his age? An extra dose of humility was in order -- not everyone has had the lifelong advantages in culture training that I have enjoyed. All the same, I found it difficult to understand how anyone could come to serve in another country and not dive headfirst into understanding and adopting the local culture in every way possible.

One of my favorite chapters of Scripture is Acts 17, in which Paul encounters three different groups of people on his mission to preach the Gospel, strategically adjusting his approach to fit each audience. For the skeptical Thessalonians, he had many arguments to share, making connections for them between the Scriptures they knew and Jesus as the Christ. For the open-minded Bereans, he had only to guide them in the right direction, and they were equipped to seek out the truth for themselves. And for the Athenians, he took time to get acquainted with their culture, so different from his own, and presented a powerful object lesson based entirely on ideas they understood. Wherever he was, Paul habitually made whatever lifestyle changes were necessary in order to most effectively impact the hearts of his hearers.

I believe everyone should have a cross-cultural experience at least once in their lives. But it won't do you or those around you any good if you spend it keeping a safe bubble around you and compiling a list of reasons your own culture is better. Every culture is flawed, including yours. Set aside all expectations and lose yourself in the life of other people (even in your own culture, for that matter) so you can love them to the fullest and grow yourself in the process. Make it your goal to live as Jesus would live if He were Oregonian, or Texan, or Ethiopian, or Indian, or Welsh, or Mexican, or Chinese...

...I have become all things to all men,

that I might by all means save some.

1 Corinthians 9:22

On Training

Training. It's what people do in boot camp, or preparing for the Olympics. It's for racehorses and police dogs. It's intense and focused, and it turns an ordinary being into something with tremendous skill and potential. It defines the ones being trained and sets them apart for a goal. It's consuming, and there are no shortcuts. It's usually not very fun, but successful training brings glory at the end.

As every Navy SEAL knows, you will never rise to the occasion when a crisis arises -- you will sink to the level of your training. Those who appear to take up the challenge without batting an eye are those who have conditioned themselves in advance to be ready for such a situation. It is easy to imagine that we can all become heroes if the opportunity presents itself, but if you are not faithful in the stressful every day situations, you will not suddenly discover your fortitude when you face an exceptional one. Heroes are made one day of training at a time.

Training hurts. It feels pointless when the goal is far away or seemingly non-existent. It can take decades to build the abilities that may only find their fulfillment -- or failure -- in one brief moment of time. But training builds character, shaping us into stronger people who can face even the every day situations with more confidence and success. We must train, and we must do it now, or the moments may pass us by. As believers, we must train to be like Christ. We have the Holy Spirit as our Coach, our Helper, but without daily discipline in the exercises He gives, we will never have the strength that is our potential. It's worth the work!

For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant,

but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness

to those who have been trained by it.

Hebrews 12:11

Immortal

I am immortal
An undying soul
At exile in a dying world
And through that portal
They call death
I will find yet more life
I am immortal
And no strife
Can steal my breath
'Tis mere transportal
Out of the dying world
To find the greater goal
For I am immortal.

~Written January 11, 2014

When the perishable puts on the imperishable,

and the mortal puts on immortality,

then shall come to pass the saying that is written:

"Death is swallowed up in victory."

1 Corinthians 15:54

Why I Don't Go to Church

There are a lot of great reasons to turn up at church week after week. And as often as I can, I do. But I don't go to church for some of the common reasons that many people foster the habit. I have my own reasons...

1. I don't go to church because that's how I was raised.
Some of my earliest memories are of church -- the big, bustling kind where little kids go to coloring class while the parents sit in a dim auditorium full of hundreds of dressed-up people. For a while, church was strangers' houses where the kids played outside while the parents discussed topics way over children's little heads. Or a white building with a room of chairs where the kids sat quietly and didn't take communion while the parents did. Or a home-away-from-home where the kids learned to have fun together and serve (often at the same time), while the parents were nearby serving and having fun in their own way. Yes, church is how I was raised. But that's not why I still go. There are no parents waking me up on Sunday morning and mandating my attendance now. No, the choice is all mine, and I choose, of my own free will, to leave my comfy house, spare a few hours of my precious weekend, and go to church because I have learned to value it for myself.

2. I don't go to church because of the music.
I have very wide musical tastes, and to be honest, Christian Contemporary doesn't typically top the list. I've seen a wide range of worship styles, from a capella hymns, to praise choruses with one guitar, to small ensembles, to full rock bands. I've liked some from each category, and resisted the urge to cover my ears at others. My favorite worship times have almost never been in church. Rarely do I feel a swell of inspiring emotion when I stand behind a pew with a hymnbook or behind a mic with an iPad. Not very many church worship teams are perfect, but...no, I actually can't think of any. But whether I take a fancy to the songs and song leaders or not, I know there's truth worth singing about, and God likes to hear my voice as well as everyone else's. So I go to church and employ my vocal cords behind a pew or a mic just the same, because after all, worship isn't about the music.

3. I don't go to church because of the pastor.
I've never quite fallen asleep in a sermon, but I've sure come close. That's what comes of staying up too late on Saturday night. But then again, I've heard some pretty dull sermons. Pastors come in all shapes and sizes, and no wonder, when their congregations are always sizing them up and shoving them into a mold. There's the slow and methodical cross-referencer, the stand-up comedian moralist, the hellfire and brimstone pulpit-pounder, the Greek and Hebrew scholar, the acronym-happy outliner, the guilt-tripper, and the feel-gooder. Most of them are pretty imperfect humans, a lot like me...wait a second, make that all of them. If I've ever heard a perfect sermon, I can't remember it. In fact, I can't even remember a lot of the one I heard a few hours ago. But I know it was based on the Word of God, and it made me think about a thing or two I'd never thought about, at least for a long time. So I go to church because God gave my pastor a job to do, and he can't do it if I don't show up.

4. I don't go to church because of the people and programs.
People have a way of making church so complicated. I've already discussed the ones who sing too loud or preach too quiet, and then there's a bunch of annoying weirdos who sit in the wrong places, or talk too much, or won't talk to you at all, or have strong false opinions, or don't include you in their little friend circle (I've got my own little friend circle, but still). It's just exhausting. And then they want to stick you in this small group or that, as if sparing time for church once a week isn't enough. Then they're always asking for volunteers to help with this project and that, or money for this fundraiser and that... I only have 168 hours a week, and just forty of them to earn a paycheck with, at that -- seriously. But I go to church and talk to a few of the people I do like and sometimes sign up to do something, because I've got some spiritual gifts worth using. And those people are my brothers and sisters in Christ, after all.

And let us consider one another

in order to stir up love and good works,

not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together,

as is the manner of some,

but exhorting one another,

and so much the more

as you see the Day approaching.

Hebrews 10:24-25

Building a Life

Every one of us is a work in progress, and one of the greatest factors in the building of our lives is the influence of other people upon us. It takes a village to raise a child, they say, and from childhood onward, our lives will be touched by hundreds, perhaps thousands of people -- and in turn, our own lives will impact just as many in one way or another.

Some people lay the foundation of our lives. These are usually family -- parents, grandparents, siblings, perhaps aunts, uncles, and cousins, or even our earliest teachers. From before we could remember, these people taught us who we were, what life was about, what the world was like, and what we could count on and believe. Those foundations, once set, are extremely difficult to shake by any developments that may come later. If they are firm and correct, the life to be built upon them will be sound, but if faulty, much reworking will be needed if that life is not to end up in shambles.

Other people establish the structure of our lives. Peers, teachers, mentors, and friends all contribute to the shaping of who we will be. They help us build walls -- walls that determine the boundaries of our horizons, walls that separate one area of our lives from another, walls that decide how we will appear to others from the outside. These walls may be carefully built as wise safeguards against the cruel forces of the world, forming a welcoming space for guests, or they may become strongholds, impenetrable to anything that would dare to enter. The walls in our lives may either give us freedom or form our prison.

Meanwhile, still others develop the substance in our lives. Such people may not always seem as closely connected with us, and may not even be people we know personally -- role models, leaders, or even authors. But perhaps without realizing it, these are the people who fill in the gaps between the walls, giving us the insulation that secures our identity, the plumbing that channels our thoughts, the wiring that turns on our light bulbs and makes us tick. This is our source of potential for animation and productivity, but also for annoying little problems that may develop into destructive disasters.

Finally, some people bring decoration into our lives. Steadfast friends, a spouse, and children become fixtures that serve to embellish our existence. They add color, character and comfort to what is already established. They can help us appreciate and enjoy what has been accomplished, even while attending to upkeep, cleaning and tidying, or perhaps even occasional remodeling. Decorations maximize potential -- or obliterate it. The fixtures in our lives can bring glory and delight to the humblest domain, or else become dusty, disheveled blights on the most majestic mansion.

We can all recognize the building of others into our lives. While we may be eternally grateful for some of our shaping, other poor craftsmanship may take years to reconstruct. And we too have a part to play in the building of others around us, whether we offer foundation, structure, substance, or decoration. Whatever your role, do you build others up?

Therefore encourage one another

and build each other up,

just as in fact you are doing.

1 Thessalonians 5:11

And Earth and Heaven Be One

This is my Father's world

The battle is not done

Jesus who died shall be satisfied

And earth and heaven be one

~M. D. Babcock

As we go about our earthly lives, Heaven usually seems far away, if it enters our minds at all. It is an otherworldly place of angelic delights, an ethereal someday hope, a last resort. But for the believer, it should rather be an immanent reality, our true homeland. The King of Heaven dwells with us, and we live by His laws as His ambassadors in a rebel country. Do we long for the day when the conquered territory of Earth is at last brought under Heaven's rule for good?

But our citizenship is in Heaven.

And we eagerly await a Savior

from there, the Lord Jesus Christ.

Philippians 3:20

Led By Prayer

Prayer is and always has been the greatest weakness of my spiritual life. It's easy to think all the right things about prayer and believe in the importance of it, but quite another thing to actually do it! My words may never be what I imagine they should be, but I earnestly want prayer to lead in my life, not constantly bring up the rear. These are a few things I aim to not just think about, but do:

1. Pray now.
When I hear of a prayer need, I must stop and pray about it immediately. Otherwise, the request will fall down the list of priorities until there's a good chance I will never pray specifically for it at all. Even if it's only once, only a few inadequate phrases, prayer will have actually been accomplished.

2. Pray together.
For a relationship to survive and thrive, the people in it must faithfully pray for each other. Prayer for each other separately has its vital place, but prayer together is all the more effective. It strengthens focus and fosters intention, and builds deeper bonds with one another than anything else can.

3. Pray first, work later.
Perhaps the hardest one of all -- I tend to make my plans, work hard, and then maybe remember to pray for God to bless my efforts after the fact. Instead, I must bring the work to God first, ask for His plans, and carry them out as His and not my own. How much more blessed my work would be!

What do you need to do to live a life led by prayer?