 "The foundation of all ministry is a love for the Lord and a desire to spread his glory. This is the only motivation that will keep the missionary going for the distance.” -Thomas Hale & Gene Daniels I’ve been reading a book by long time missionaries Thomas Hale & Gene Daniels called, “On Being a Missionary.” It is absolutely excellent. Thomas and his wife Cynthia are both physicians and have served as medical missionaries in Nepal since 1970. Gene and his family spent twelve years living among unreached Muslim people groups in Central Asia. So, needless to say, these guys know what they’re talking about when it comes to ministry and missions. One thing they said struck me in particular, “The foundation of all ministry is a love for the Lord and a desire to spread his glory. This is the only motivation that will keep the missionary going for the distance.” These guys have gone the distance, so something like this hits home harder for me than just some random quote from social media.
“Going the distance.” Isn’t that what we all want to do? Don’t we all want to hear those beautiful words one day? “Well done, good and faithful servant.” Systems and strategies, and statistics to back up those systems and strategies, abound. Of course, there’s nothing wrong with systems and strategies. We need them! Thank God for them! But it is the motivations of our hearts that, by God’s grace, enable us to run that extra mile, smile that extra smile, spend that extra hour, and give that extra dollar. What is your motivation? What is mine? It must be our love for the Lord and the desire to make His Name famous all over the earth. It is in Him and for Him we live, and move, and have our being. Lord, may you change our hearts and give us the motivations of Your heart so that we can run well, and finish the race you have set before us. May we fulfill our destinies. May we go the distance.
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 “Hosanna!” They said.
“Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!” They said. “Crucify him!” They said. Humans…people…we sure are a mercurial lot. A lot of sinners to put it bluntly. Especially when things don’t happen according to our expectations. Have you ever praised God on Sunday only to curse Him on Monday? I know you would never curse Him out loud, most of you anyway, but perhaps in your heart? If not outright cursing, for sure we are tempted, and often fall into some form of unbelief or another. Worry, fear, anxiety, frustration, attack us on all fronts bidding us to give up, give in, and lose our faith. Oh, yes, we can turn on a dime when things don’t go our way; When our hope is dashed; When what we thought would be isn’t to be. We can go from saint to sinner in less time than it takes to boil water when our expectations aren’t met. The people of Jerusalem, some of them anyway, saw Jesus riding in on a donkey. They had seen his miracles. They felt hope. For the first time in a long time. They were suppressed, depressed, and oppressed. They said, “Blessed is the kingdom of our father David! Hosanna in the highest!” They thought the Kingdom had come. They thought the Messiah had arrived. And The Kingdom had come. The Messiah had arrived. But not in the way they were expecting. What do you do when God answers your prayers, but the answer doesn’t look like you thought it would…or should? Have you ever questioned God? Have you ever had faith on Sunday, only to lose it by Friday? Jesus came to bring His Kingdom. The Kingdom. The Suffering Servant. The Creator of everything came to earth to save His people. Not from Roman oppression, as I’m sure this Jewish crowd was hoping…expecting. No, he came to save His people from themselves. Jesus came to earth, lived a sinless life, died and rose again so that all who believe might be saved. Perhaps you’ve been looking for salvation in all the wrong places. Perhaps it won’t look like what you thought it would. Maybe you have cursed and rejected God because He didn’t save you in the way you thought He should. Expectations can be dangerous things. But "there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.” Repent and believe. The message of the resurrection is hope for humanity. It is hope for you…your only hope. THE ONLY HOPE.  A life that is not reflected upon isn’t worth living. It belongs to the essence of being human that we contemplate our life, think about it, discuss it, evaluate it, and form opinions about it. Half of living is reflecting on what is being lived. I have discovered through the years that one of the strategies of the devil is to try to isolate us in the midst of our struggles by telling us that we are the only ones feeling the way we are feeling. The lie continues by suggesting that not only are we the only ones that are feeling this way but there must be something inherently wrong with us for having these problems. Shame and guilt act as walls around us to keep us from reaching out and discovering the truth that our battles are not ours alone. What a comfort to discover that others have walked and overcome the path that you now walk, and will, in Christ, overcome!
Reflecting on the past and dealing with it changes us for the future. A person who has come through the battles of life and reflected upon those battles does not remain the same…something foundational changes! I look at things in a different way now. I have more mercy and compassion to offer others. Nothing tastes sweeter nor adds to our strength like overcoming and surviving the assaults of life. Once you face the “Goliath” in your life and survive, you generally find out that you are stronger and more courageous than you thought you were. The reality is that “Goliath” has brothers…big brothers; more battles are likely to come. This thought has bolstered my resolve to stand in the midst of trials…if God brought me through ‘that’ then He will get me through ‘this.’ As over-comers, we have reestablished our foundation in a trustworthy God and indeed can stand, “in the world with head erect, solidly rooted in the knowledge of who we are…” -H.N. When Corrie Ten Boom, the well-known Holocaust survivor, was a little girl, her father would take her on train trips to Amsterdam. One night, Corrie was sharing her concerns with her dad regarding something she was afraid of. Her dad asked her the question, “Corrie, when we go on the train to Amsterdam when do I give you your ticket?” She responded, “Right before I get on the train.” Her dad said, “That is right and God will give you the ‘ticket’ you need right before you face whatever you fear.” I have drawn on the simple truth of that story many times as I surrendered by faith to the unknown, trusting God to give me what I needed just in time!  Many years ago, I hurt my foot while I was goofing around. After a while, and the prodding of some of the nurses at work, I finally gave in and went to the foot doctor. He threw my foot under an X-Ray and there it was, a broken bone in all its glorious splendor. I had to put my foot in a boot, and for the next few weeks, I moseyed around on crutches and a boot. Eventually, after some time, my bone healed. It took some time, but it healed.
The other day I was walking around and felt a faint tinge in my right foot. My foot is healed, but it still hurts sometimes. Unless, for some miraculous reason, your name happens to be Superman, you are not impervious to the pains and trials life throws at you. It doesn’t take living too long before you realize that this world is not perfect and the other folks God has surrounded us with are not either. Day after day goes by, and like a hail storm, we are bombarded with this hurt or that, emotional, psychological, or maybe even physical. And then one day you meet Jesus, and you hear about the One Whom they call Healer. Hopeful, you cast your cares on Him. You are healed. Joy and excitement fill your heart, the solution to your pain and problems has been found! A few days, weeks, or even years go by, and something happens. It can be scary because old feelings, old lusts, old hurts that you thought were healed and gone suddenly begin to creep back in. You start to question your conversion or maybe even God Himself. You wonder if you really were healed. Fear, doubt, and questioning become your daily norm and the fear of losing what you thought you had gained haunts your every move. Don’t worry, you’re normal. You see, just because you were healed doesn’t mean you still won’t hurt sometimes. Jesus, our Salvation, the One Who died so that we could be healed, even today bears the scars of His crucifixion in His hands. The scars are proof of the healing…proof of the salvation that was purchased. Your scars, those phantom pains, are not signs of a lack of healing. My pain is a reminder that I am healed. Just because you’re healed doesn’t mean you won’t hurt sometimes. May your scars be a reminder of His scars.  "Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus..." -Philippians 2:5 My wife and I were in a little marriage class at our church the other night. The speaker was talking about different lenses we sometimes use when looking at our spouses. Some are selfish, others self-righteous, and others conditional and performance based. He exhorted us instead to have grace-based lenses. That got me thinking about the lenses and filters we use in our day to day lives. Are we seeing people, situations, world events, with the eyes of Jesus? Are we zooming in on insignificant things to the neglect of the significant? Are we seeing a speck in our neighbor’s eye when we have a log sticking out of our own? What a challenge for us all...to see like Jesus.
I’m reminded of the words of the old hymn, “turn your eyes upon Jesus...” But as we look out into the world and deal with our day to day lives—we’re not monks in a desert monastery after all—let us seek to see others the way Jesus sees them. This is no easy task and is impossible in our own strength, but the Holy Spirit will help us, if we but ask Him. “But when He saw the multitudes, He was moved with compassion...” -Matthew 9:36  2021 was a wonderful year for us as a family and for the ministry. Angela and I were blessed with a baby boy this last December. WMA continues to expand with new missionaries who are reaching people all over the world with the love of Jesus.
Paul exhorts us with these words in Philippians, "forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus." It can be so difficult to forget the past. It’s tempting to revel in our victories and wallow in our defeats. But Paul tells us to forget what lies behind and strain forward to what lies ahead. What should you be forgetting? Are you straining toward God’s call on your life? What a challenge for us all! Thank you so much for your support in 2021. We love and appreciate all of you!  “For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” -Isaiah 9:6 “The Bible is full of contradictions” we hear the skeptics say. Perhaps I agree with them, although not in the way they mean. The Bible IS filled with ironies, absurdities, and paradoxes. For, only in our wildest dreams could we imagine a Man walking on water, or a blind man receiving his sight, or the many being fed with the little.
But the greatest paradoxes, these we find in the Christmas story. We see a virgin giving birth and God becoming a Man. In his book “Miracles,” C.S. Lewis writes, “The central miracle asserted by Christians is the Incarnation. They say that God became Man. Every other miracle prepares for this, or exhibits this, or results from this.” The Incarnation is the core tenet of our faith. It cannot be put aside. Our hope rests on the great bookends of the Incarnation and resurrection of Jesus. A Christianity without miracles is no Christianity at all. Again, to quote C.S. Lewis, “A ‘liberal’ Christianity which considers itself free to alter the faith whenever the faith looks perplexing or repellent must be completely stagnant.” And to that I say “amen.” In this world of scientific pursuit and a constant attempt to explain away the miracles of the Bible, I am renewed and refreshed in my pursuit of the God of miracles. We serve the One Who calmed the sea, parted the waters, came to earth as a baby, and died and rose again so that we might live. Our faith is filled with ironies, absurdities, and paradoxes…and the greatest of these mean LIFE for all who believe. Merry Christmas!  Expectations: a strong belief that something will happen or be the case in the future. How difficult and distressing when reality does not live up to our expectations…what we think ‘should’ happen.
I have talked/counseled/encouraged/rebuked and listened to hundreds of people through the 51 years I have been a Christian. There are those that seem to have unshakable faith and those that struggle almost daily, and many that are somewhere in between. What makes the difference? I don’t have a deep theological answer to this question just some thoughts from years of experience. My somewhat simplistic observation, I can’t help myself, that’s what I do, look for the simplest answer possible, is disillusioned, unmet expectations. People have wrong thinking and wrong expectations because they have wrong thinking and wrong expectations about people and most assuredly about God. He/she should’ve or he/she could’ve or why did they not respond in a way I ‘expected?’ It gets even weightier when we pummel God in the same way; God should’ve or certainly He could’ve. We, in essence, take God to court and put Him on the witness stand as we throw questions, and yes, sometimes even accusations. I’m glad God does not get nervous over our tantrums! Only time and experience equip a person with the ability to maintain a certain amount of peace and trust in the midst of life’s unruly situations. You must, and you will, learn the benefit of the words of the Apostle James: "My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing." Nothing tests our faith like unmet expectations. Of course, we can assuredly ‘expect’ God to move in our situations…the key is to trust His ways and not our ways. Isaiah reminds us of this timeless truth: "For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways, says the Lord." Our steady foundation must rest, not on expectations from people, because they will surely disappoint, but on expectancy that God works in His way and in His time!  I have such fond memories of the small group of people that greeted us enthusiastically in the spring of 1977. We had just accepted the call from them to be the pastors of this newly formed church body called Faith Tabernacle. We arrived in Melrose, Florida as a couple of skinny kids, 25 and 28 respectively. We didn’t know a lot, we didn’t have a lot of experience, but we were young, energetic, full of hope and vision. Randy led the worship, gave the announcements, took the offering, preached the message, and handled the altar calls. I was in charge of helping people in and out the creaky little door to the little bathroom that was located in the back of the tiny office space that we rented as our ‘sanctuary.’ Those were the days, my friend…
It’s this time of year especially that I seem to spend a lot of time in reflection about what has passed and also hoping and desiring to embrace what lies ahead. The thankfulness I revel in is always attached to specific memories. One delightful memory that reoccurs regularly as I reflect, was the joy Randy had in leading worship. It didn’t matter if it was on key or out of key it was always sung with gusto. Interestingly enough, those that were in charge of finding the ‘key’ seemed to always find it. One of the favorite songs we all sang together was the following: … Give thanks with a grateful heart Give thanks to the Holy One Give thanks because He's given Jesus Christ, His Son … And now let the weak say, "I am strong" Let the poor say, "I am rich" Because of what the Lord has done for us… Give thanks Those of you who know this little chorus will be singing it all day as I will. This is a time to specifically set aside a time of thanksgiving. I know it should be year-round but I have no trouble recognizing a special day for the celebration of a grateful heart. Have a blessed, reflective, Thanksgiving this year… Give thanks with a grateful heart.  And your ancient ruins shall be rebuilt; you shall raise up the foundations of many generations; you shall be called the repairer of the breach, the restorer of streets to dwell in. -Isaiah 58:12 Last week, Christ For The Nations Institute in Dallas, Texas held a 50 hour worship event on their campus. It was wonderful to see so many old faces and worship with so many former worship leaders and alumni. One of the themes talked about during this event, was the idea of re-digging old wells that had been dug many years ago. We can trace back so many of the blessings we walk in today to pioneers of faith in previous generations. Truly we stand on the shoulders of the faithful of bygone years. I’m so thankful for the prayers, faith, and sacrifices of previous generations of Christians. It causes me to consider my own life. How tragic it would be if I, or any of us, take for granted the blessings we walk in and fail to realize our own responsibility to not only re-dig the water wells of previous times, but dig our own wells that will be a blessing to future generations. Digging wells takes time, effort, and perseverance. Digging wells moves us from the selfishness of quick blessings here and now, to thinking generationally. God is a God of generations. Yes, His blessings are for us individually, here and now, but a truly “blessed life” is one that impacts future generations…long after we who are alive today are gone.
Secondly, I was reminded that, not only should we take care to re-dig the spiritual wells of the past, but that we should, with renewed strength and determination of heart and mind, focus on our true love…our first love…Jesus. What good does any “ministry” do if our hearts are not first and foremost focused on the One for Whom we live and breathe and have our very being in the first place? It is for Him that we live. Worship is not about singing songs, it is about spending intimate time in the Presence of the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. May we never get so caught up in doing good, that we forget our first love. |
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