For the past month or so, God has really been challenging me to be honest in my beliefs about Him. It started innocently enough: catching up on over a year’s worth of Francis Chan sermon podcasts. (Two months down, at least 15 months more to go!) He has a talent for pointing out the obvious, yet ignored, parts of Scripture so that even one sermon will inspire me to confession and repentance, even while I’m cracking up at his jokes.

The underlying theme for me seems to have been how God used very inclusive terms throughout the Bible. When He does or says something, He doesn’t go half way. He doesn’t stop short of His goal. Even — or especially — when it comes to our salvation, He doesn’t make exceptions: nothing short of holiness will do. Thanks to Jesus’ embodiment of this trait, holiness is actually possible for us!

I, on the other hand, assume exceptions when applying biblical principles to my life. For example, Continue reading…

When I committed a year to Japan, I wasn’t sure how to articulate what I expected, but I knew I wanted to see God work somehow. It was a bit of a surprise, then, to hear several people tell me not to expect to see anyone come to Christ during my time there. I appreciate their concern for me — they only didn’t want me to be too disappointed because the typical Japanese person needs to hear the gospel an average of 7 times before entering into relationship with God.¹

I accepted that piece of advice because I respected the experience from which it came, but I don’t think I received it in the way it came across to me. If I didn’t expect God to do amazing and miraculous things (the highest of which would be granting eternal life to a person condemned to eternal death), what kind of god did I believe in? Why else would anyone interrupt a relatively comfortable life-as-usual? Instead of changing my expectations, I began to examine them. Continue reading…

1. Not sure where that statistic came from, but that’s what I’ve heard repeatedly regarding evangelism in Japan. [↩]

Amsterdam airport

During the 6 hour layover in Amsterdam on my way home from India, I had plenty of time to “process.” Although I had journaled during the time there, I still needed to use the list of questions I hand out to summer teams to really think through what happened. One of the exercises we encourage team members to do in preparation for re-entry into life at home is to come up with several answers to the inevitable question, “So, how was your trip?” There’s the lengthy-presentation answer, complete with a multimedia extravaganza and, in the case of my church, lunch. (This post is the virtual version of the lengthy-presentation answer, minus the extravaganza — just a few pictures. Lunch is on your own, and you might consider getting some as this is going to get long.) Then there’s the top-highlights answer for times when the asker is really interested but time is limited. The most difficult one to come up with is the short answer: the one word or phrase that will satisfy the asker who is making small talk and doesn’t really want to hear about it, but will also give a descriptive hook that opens the door for further conversation as the Lord may lead. Continue reading…

One of my goals this year is to actually figure out a system to manage all of the prayer requests I have. So far, it’s a piece of paper in a notebook that I rarely look at. I guess that means it’s mostly just in my head, and until about two weeks ago, I was pretty organized in there.

There are so many good reasons to pray for these specific requests: for our personal good, for our spiritual good, for the good of the Kingdom and the Church, for the good of our communities, I could go on. This morning, though, I read something that challenged me. It’s been on my mind and has affected my perspective all day.

Oswald Chambers writes,

…at last we cry, “Heal me, O Lord, not because of my pain, nor because my soul is sick, but for Your mercies’ sake.” Then we have the answer, “The LORD has heard my supplication.”

I so often feel like I have to justify to God why I ask Him for something. I don’t want my requests to sound selfish or frivolous, so I throw in something like “for someone’s spiritual growth” or “so Your Kingdom will advance.” There is nothing wrong with wanting healing of any kind, even if it is simply for our own relief. God welcomes our honesty and sees through our piety. What struck me about Chambers’ observation was the idea God doesn’t fulfill our petitions only because we have good reasons, but because He is merciful.

I’m not saying that one reason (God’s mercy) is better than the other (personal motivation). I don’t know how to make that call, and I’m pretty sure that’s not my call to make in anyone’s prayer life other than my own, if even that. Nor do I think we can only have one reason per request. Come to think of it, I rarely have only one reason per request. But I also rarely include God’s mercy as a reason.

As I sat judging my own prayer requests and motivations, a line from an old(er) worship song came to mind.

mercy triumphs over judgment

There is always a place for reflection and placing ourselves under the microscope of God’s holiness, but what a relief to remember that at the end of an honest review, we can still rest in His mercy! I know more detailed theologians will probably say Chambers is actually referring to God’s grace rather than His mercy, but His mercy triumphs over even our own inexact judgments. This truth still remains: God answers our prayers because of who He is, not for why we ask or because of who we are…ones who actually deserve His wrath rather than His gifts. Amazing, isn’t He?

Mercy triumphs over judgment! James 2.13

As we get older, my mom, at family gatherings, looks around and tells us how happy it makes her to see all of us siblings getting along as friends, enjoying each others’ company, cooperating and helping each other out. I felt the same over the summer when my teammates were just enjoying being together.

Psalm 133 begins with the same feeling.

How good and pleasant it is when brothers live together in unity! It is like precious oil poured on the head… (vv 1-2a)

It goes on about where the oil runs, which, in my high-maintenance western mind, doesn’t sound all that pleasant. I’m thinking of how hard it would be to clean up all that oil! But back in the day, and in the land of metaphors, the oil running over symbolizes a lot of things, including a sense of satisfied abundance.

A more literal and practical Scriptural reference to this unity of community is found in the famous Acts 2 description of the early church.

All the believers were together and had everything in common. (vs 44)

Recently, I was the blessed participant of such a community. In vs 45, it goes on to say how everyone gave to whoever was in need. I shared in my small group how the brakes on my car were starting to audibly complain, but I didn’t have enough to get them fixed any time soon. My prayer request was that God would arrange my schedule so I would drive as little as possible and that He would provide the funds to fix it, whether it was through extra design jobs or whatever. Before we even got to pray about it, one woman in my group simply said, “You can’t drive around like that. I’ll pay for it.” To which my ungracious reply was, “You have your own son. You should take care of him!” (We have a good friendship. ) She had her husband promptly call the mechanic and set up an appointment for me. Within two days, I was able to step on the brakes without fear…although it took me two days after that before I actually stopped cringing. Old habits die hard. She even told me the following week that my brake job was their Valentine’s Day gift to each other! What a crazy couple! I have always loved them…

I’ve heard so often — even said it myself — about how nice it would be to return to the “true” church of Acts, the good ol’ days. Let’s not kid ourselves. I bet they had their fair share of dysfunctions and conflicts. We have much to learn from the early Church, but we are the true Church in the here and now. Two things struck me as I started to put Scripture and experience together:

1. Faith communities are sacrificially active. The book of Acts is really about “the acts of the apostles.” This isn’t just a collection of cool stories about miracles; it’s also a description of how followers of Jesus lived and how we can live so that we’re intentionally positioned to live in view of miracles. Community and faith don’t just happen. They’re cultivated through intentional sacrifice.
2. Living in such a community is humbling. If people are giving, someone needs to be receiving. I’d rather be the one doing the giving. This experience is a reminder I don’t have everything I need, I’m not sufficient on my own, and although God can supply all my needs according to His glorious riches, He usually isn’t going to do it in secret. He will make my needs glaringly apparent, and He will usually use His people — the most glorious richness of His creation — to supply them.

Of the more popular translations today, The Message is the only one that uses “beautiful” to express the psalmist’s original words. As I reflect on what just happened in the past week, “beautiful” is the word that comes to mind over and over again. It is beautiful to see the Body of Christ living as it should, each giving from his or her own strengths, like the pieces of a puzzle all coming together in their proper places to form a majestic scene. We don’t need to return to communal living to build a community. In fact, most cults start that way. I don’t want to be that kind of church. We only need to freely share our strengths and be willing to ask for help in our weaknesses, all the while acknowledging God among us and in us. I wonder if that makes God as happy as my siblings and I make my mom.

Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing. 1 Thessalonians 5.11