Under God

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Saint Paul's Cathedral

I’ve been reading the book With by Skye Jethani. I have not finished it yet, but just the first few chapters have been keenly insightful to my relationship with God.

Jethani talks about how many times we view ourselves in an “Under God” relationship with our Heavenly Father. This view rightly acknowledges Him as the Creator who is over us, who has the right set the moral rules and laws in this world. The problem comes when we try to manipulate God into blessing us by being morally good. Have you ever heard someone say, “How could God let this happen to me? I’ve always gone to church!” Or, “How could so-and-so be dying of cancer, they have done so many good works for God.”
This view, which started out so well, quickly turns into nothing different than that of the heathens of old, who offered sacrifices so that the rains would come, the locusts would stop or their flocks and herds would grow.
As C.S. Lewis describes, God “isn’t safe, but He is good.” We cannot manipulate Him into giving us good grades, a new car, health, wealth, or salvation. Jesus Christ didn’t save us because we were morally good, but because we could never be good enough to earn anything from God except eternal separation.
Let’s live like God really is who He says He is and that He does what He says He will do. Stop trying to manipulate Him into giving you what you want and being offended at Him when it doesn’t work. Realize that in Christ He has blessed us not because of how good we are, but only because of how good He is!
R

From Worry to Worship

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I’m a teller at a bank, and having every penny accounted for is essential. Perfection is required. Not too long ago, I was off an odd amount of cash, and all the review & double checking of previous work couldn’t find the error. Lunch break came, and I had to leave. While I was gone my coworkers continued to try to solve the mystery. All I could do was trust and believe that God knew exactly what happened, and that it would be found.

Lunch became a prayer session, since I sure didn’t feel like eating. I prayed – believed – and guess what!? The moment I walked back inside work, one of my coworkers exclaimed – “We found it! The currency counter misread a bill.”

I know this is something small, but, it still matters just as much to God as the big things. It pleases God to have us come to him for everything. Because when we seek Him, He is found. He always shows up. When we trust Him for those small things, yes, even VERY small things, and we realize that He cares about them even more than we do – our attitude is turned from worry to worship, knowing that He is in control.

Worry prevents Him from doing anything for us. While we worry, our focus is on ourselves, our problems, and their solutions. Placing our trust in Him, glorifies Him, puts God in His rightful place in our lives; on His throne ahead of us and our worries.  Allow God to be glorified in your life by trusting Him for the things He wants to see you through.

R.I.P.?!?

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Two legendary leaders died this year.

Both had incredible charisma, with fanatical followers leaping to their every bidding. Both demanded the utmost from themselves and those beneath them, the ones falling short forced to face their wrath. Both engineered the impossible, shaking the world with their accomplishments. The way the world responded to their deaths couldn’t be more different.

One was Steve Jobs, the other was Osama Bin Laden.

© flicker.com/photos/thisisbossi

When Osama Bin Laden died, Americans took to the streets to celebrate. Joyous demonstrations spontaneously sprouted at every major city and university. The man who had masterminded the attack killing thousands of Americans was dead.

When Steve Jobs died, Apple users around the world congregated at Apple stores, holding up iPad, iPhone, and iPod Touch candles. Mournful posts on Twitter, Facebook, and Google+ slowed the internet to a crawl. The man who had coordinated the production of the world’s most beloved technology devices was dead.

I happen to be both an American and an Apple user. My life was greatly affected by 9/11, and I also have a Macbook Pro and an iPhone. Most importantly, however, I am a Christian. If we looked at these events from that perspective, then what would we see?

Regardless of the terrible or wonderful things these men have done, we must not forget a very important fact: to the best of my knowledge, both died without ever accepting the Lord Jesus Christ as their personal Savior.

That leaves us with one sobering conclusion: They are both eternally separated from God, and must suffer the judgment of hell.

Christians, do we let ourselves get so caught up in temporal things that we lose sight of the eternal fate of the people around us?

As an American, it is true I am grateful for the soldiers that protect my country, and the patience and determination required to finally bring Bin Laden to justice (though I have some misgivings whether or not an assassination was the best way to handle it).

As an Apple user, I am grateful for the amazing devices that I use daily for work, pleasure, documenting important events of my life, and to write blogposts like this one.

As a Christian, I grieve that neither man ever accepted Christ’s wonderful work of redemption, and that they never used their incredible gifts to invest treasure in heaven. May I daily remember both God’s mercy AND justice, and may I share His gospel to everyone that He brings to my path.

Drowsy Soldiers

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Like most people, I thrive on mountaintop experiences. That’s to say, I always feel very close to God and enjoy renewed hope and vision whenever I encounter spiritual refreshment. Conferences like VOICE always do wonders in challenging my faith and creating a passion in my heart that feels like it will last forever. The problem, however, is when reality sets in and I return back to the “valley” from my mountaintop experience. Instead of jumping into daily life with the same spiritual strength, I often find myself slipping into spiritual drowsiness.

Have you ever taken the time to look through Scripture to see the kinds of problems that popped up for those who slept? Noah fell asleep and his son came into his tent and brought shame to the family. While Samson slept, Delilah cut his hair which took away his strength. King Saul slept and David took his spear away from him. Sleepy Eutychus went to sleep and fell out of the window.

I’m realizing more and more that sleep can creep into our soul just as easily and quietly as it does to our body. My decision is that I can either give in to spiritual laziness, or I can be “sober and vigilant”—recognizing that the Enemy is waiting to pounce as soon as I indulge myself in spiritual sleep. Soldiers of Jesus Christ are faithful to stand fast even when things are boring and their spiritual life isn’t very exciting—especially a couple of months after VOICE when everything is back to normal!

While God never intended us to live life constantly within those spiritual mountaintop experiences, He also never intended for us to walk through life drowsily and halfheartedly. Jesus came so that we would “have life, and have it abundantly” (John 10:10). It’s kind of hard to experience that abundant life when I’m fighting off drowsiness day after day. William Gurnall, a pastor who lived over 400 years ago, challenged Christians to “busy yourselves in your Christian duties and spiritual drowsiness will flee.” Pretty good advice, huh?

White or Wrong?

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© http://www.flickr.com/photos/clintonjeff/ 

There it was: white, gleaming and beautiful, lying on the counter.

I wanted it.

I got the original metal iPhone for a great price, but after two years of faithful service, it was showing its age. It couldn’t record video, a gigantic grey blob was growing across the middle of the screen, and newer, more complicated apps wouldn’t even install. It was finally time to upgrade to the iPhone 4.

There was one problem: EVERYONE was buying an iPhone 4, and I didn’t want to be like everyone else! I decided to just tolerate my broken phone and wait patiently for the WHITE iPhone 4.

I didn’t think it would take 9 months for Apple to make it.

The day it was finally released, I was so excited, I almost danced to my local cellphone store—

—Only to find that they were sold out. “That’s ok,” I thought. “I’m not going to the States for VOICE for another six weeks, so I’ll put my name on the waiting list. I’ve waited this long, a few more weeks won’t hurt.”

The problem was the store didn’t get any more white iPhones.

I called other store, but they were sold out too. I started to give up, but three days before I returned to the States, I found one store that had one iPhone 4 to sell the next morning. YES!!!! God was rewarding my patience! I got up early the next morning to wait in line for the phone–

–Only to find that someone else was ALREADY waiting in line–and had been waiting since 4:00 in the morning!

At first I was frustrated and disappointed, but then I stopped to ask myself some questions.

  1. Why did I want a white iPhone 4?
    Answer: To be cool. To have something that NO ONE ELSE had.
  2. Would the color of the iPhone affect the way I used it?
    Answer: Ummm… probably not.
  3. Should a first world problem like the color of my phone be taking so much of my time?
    Answer: …No.
  4. Was God using this to teach me a lesson?
    Answer: Yes. I wanted people to see my phone and think I was cool and special. God wanted me to remember that my phone is only a tool. If used properly, it would bring glory to God, not myself.

I ended up with a black iPhone 4.

discovering my other gods

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I have a problem with greed.

God’s been showing me through the book Counterfeit Gods by Tim Keller. In his chapter on money, he writes,

As a pastor I’ve had people come to me to confess that they struggle with almost every kind of sin. Almost. I cannot recall anyone ever coming to me and saying, “I spend too much money on myself. I think my greedy lust for money is harming my family, my soul, and people around me.” Greed hides itself from the victim. The money god’s modus operandi includes blindness to your own heart.

At first I thought, “What?! Me? I don’t have a problem with greed! I’m the girl who still doesn’t have an iPod (much less an iPhone) and would rather not get a second car.”

As I read on, however, God has been showing me otherwise.

I could list a dozen examples, but I’ll just share about one of the first times God confronted me with this problem after we got married.

It was Luke’s birthday. We were driving home from Chicago, and I was at the wheel. Our little 4-cylinder Nissan had a hard time climbing the hills of Missouri. To help it along, I would speed down one hill to make it to the top of the next.

Things were going swimmingly until I found a cop waiting at the top of one of those hills. I hit the brakes, but it was too late. I saw lights flashing behind me, so I pulled over and got my first speeding ticket.

Luke never blamed me. He never told me that I should have been more cautious. He never berated me for wasting his hard-earned money.

But I couldn’t forgive myself. Why? Not so much because I had broken the law, but because I got caught and the penalty was going to put a dent in our savings.

Perhaps you think this is no big deal, but it is to God. He’s using this book to expose more than the god of greed in my life.

So what am I going to do about it? There’s not much I can do except confess my sin and let God replace those gods with Himself.

I challenge you to read this book too—but be prepared to take a good hard uncomfortable look at your heart.

Relationships That Last

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Last week, Karen and I finally returned home from VOICE and other travels. The same day we returned, we were delighted to have a visitor who stayed with us for two nights. It was Robin Hsu, a VOICE student from my team in 2005. It has been at least a year or two since we’ve seen or talked, but it was just like old times. We had great conversation about what is happening in each others’ lives, about God and how to live in a way that displays Christ’s presence. Karen and I had fun showing him around Oklahoma City (when he came to VOICE, it was held in a different city – Flint, MI), and overall, it was just wonderful catching up and amazing how easy it was to hang out again.

I think most of us don’t make many friends like that, but VOICE gives us the opportunity to – if we will seize it. Being friends with Robin has challenged me to be the kind of friend that it’s worth stopping to see when you’re traveling far from home – or even scheduling a special trip for. What kind of friend would that be? Well, I try to be interesting, to understand him and his life, ask questions about what he’s doing…but most of all, just be concerned for him. That’s something that we can’t force in our own life: but we can do things that will help to develop it over time. Here’s some ideas:

  • VOICE brings people together from very different places and lives. Stay in touch with people who you met, and keep learning more about them. Visit them and do things together.
  • VOICE challenges you to focus in on the things that are really important in life: God’s things. Value these in your life, talk about them with your VOICE friends, and learn how they are valuing God in their lives.
  • You need other people. It is prideful to think that you will first make yourself comfortable, then pursue friendships. If you have to sacrifice to build relationships, you have to see the value. It’s not that other people need to know you; it’s that you need to know them.

It’s great to see so much enthusiasm by the newest VOICE class for keeping in touch. Remember that these relationships can last a long time. Be the friend who is worth being pursued. And be the friend who is pursuing others.

A matter of life & death.

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One word. One look. One motion of the hand. Sometimes even just silence is all that is necessary to show our emotion towards each other. The question is—what kind of message are my words/actions, or lack of, sending?

“Sticks & stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me.” – reads an old childhood poem.  However, what does Scripture say about what comes from our mouth? “Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruits.” [Proverbs 18:21]

Do I really take what comes out of my mouth that seriously? Can my words really speak death??! We laugh off snide remarks; rashly respond to an annoying question; joke about another person’s mistake or quirk; and join in on the latest gossip at work about other coworkers; yet, find it so difficult to walk away from all of that, and encourage one another with a kind word or praise. {Remember, sometimes that bit of encouragement even needs to be directed to ourselves! How often do we beat our self down with phrases like, “I’m so stupid!” or “How come I can’t be like, ‘so-and-so?’”}

I want to challenge you & myself — this week, let’s be more conscious of what comes out of our mouth. Let’s go breathe some life into our world!

Preparing for VOICE 2011

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Twelve years ago, I found myself in Chicago, trying to plan our first summer conference. It wasn’t known as VOICE yet—back then, it was called CLEC (Character Leadership English Conference). I really had no idea what I was doing. My father wanted a conference that would provide training in character, leadership, and English, and so I learned to make his dream come true—one call, one spreadsheet, one day at a time.

Now, nine conferences and hundreds of spreadsheets later, I must confess that I care a lot about the logistics. I care about our design. I care about the order of events. I care about how things are presented. But sometimes, I care too much.

This year, God has blessed me with a daughter who needs love and care. The time I once devoted to details must now be shared with her.

So as we prepare to dive into VOICE 2011, I find myself having to give up certain aspects of the conference that were (and still are) important to me. I have to remind myself that God cares far more about the people involved in VOICE than He cares about my perfectly planned details. While good logistics may make for a smoother conference, only God can change a person’s life.

If you’ll be at VOICE this year, I need you to help me remember that. And if you won’t be there, please pray that God will continue to use VOICE to clarify the message of the Gospel.

Here’s to another great conference!

 

Count Your Blessings

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“Look at the bright side.”

“See the glass as half full, not half empty.”

Everyone has heard these common tips for being positive, but as familiar as it is, it’s still something often forgotten.

In Bible terms, we are to “give thanks in all circumstances.” (1 Thess 5:18) In other words, we should look at how much we have been given and all there is to be grateful for. It’s so easy to see the things we miss and wish we could have, but focusing on that brings about discontentment.

A friend recently shared some of the obstacles she was facing that kept her away from her desires and the resulting frustrations. But she was reminded to consider how far she had already come and how great it was to be where God already brought her.

It’s such a simple principle, and I’m sure it’s nothing new for anyone reading this. But I find myself needing to apply it and find it to be a good reminder for many difficult situations.

So what is your current struggle? And what can you be grateful for? Change your perspective and even if your situation doesn’t change, your feelings might, and your faith strengthened as you realize how much God has blessed you with.