Inspirations of the Moment Archives - Page 3 of 5

July 5, 2016

Why It’s Not About “Accepting Christ” (Repost)

Last week I clicked on the link to read Susanne Maynes’ latest blog posting (you can read it on her blog here). Susanne is one of my blogging friends whose articles are thoughtfully written and rich with truth. I respect Susanne’s writing so much I asked her a few months ago if she would read and write a review of my book, Brokenness to Beauty, which she kindly did. You can read it on Amazon reviews (click here to read her review).

After I read one of Susanne’s postings, I often leave a comment, letting her know how much I appreciated what she wrote, how it encouraged me in some way. It’s sort of like a verbal “high five,” digitally sent hundreds of miles from my computer to to hers.

This time I read Susanne’s blog post and not only thanked her for saying so well what I believe and have tried to live, but told her I wanted to repost her blog post. She enthusiastically gave her assent. Thanks, Susanne!

Below is what Susanne had to say about a very important issue for us today:

Why It’s Not About “Accepting Christ”

Have you ever read through the whole Bible chronologically just to get a feel for the over-arching story of God? If so, you may have noticed the same phrase which stood out to me this time around.

In my read-through for 2016, I was struck by the New Testament theme of “Obey the gospel.”

Nowhere did I read, “Accept Jesus as your Savior.” Nowhere did I see an invitation to “ask Jesus into your heart.” No, the call of the gospel is to die to the old, selfish way of life and rise to an entirely new life in Christ.

How do we do this? By means of obedience.

Please hear me out before your “legalism” trigger goes off.

It bothers me — nay, troubles me deeply — that the Church has reacted against rule-keeping to the point where we no longer talk about obeying the commands of Jesus.

Jesus said:

“If you love me, you will keep my commandments.” — John 14:15

Real faith is more than just accepting an offer for forgiveness. That’s the starting point, but it’s our obedience to Christ that demonstrates a changed life.

However, we’ve allowed pop psychology to worm its way into our thinking. We’ve bought the notion that Christianity is a self-improvement plan, the ultimate 12-step program, a way to feel better about ourselves and to fulfill our potential.

So we advertise a gospel that is really only half the story.

We talk about a Savior who has mercy on us and died so our sins could be forgiven. This is wonderful news — but there’s another dimension to it!

Jesus doesn’t just forgive us. He empowers us to live a different life. A holy life. A life that spreads the fragrance of his beautiful name in the earth.

God’s goal for us is not to make us comfortable and happy, but rather to transform us into the image of Christ (see Romans 12:2 and Corinthians 3:18).

God’s goal for us is not to make us comfortable and happy, but rather to #transform us into the…

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Going back to my New Testament reading, I’ve placed our theme in italics here:

Romans 10:16 refers to the importance of preaching the gospel, and says, “But they have not all obeyed the gospel…”
2 Thes. 1:8 refers to the second coming of Christ and God’s judgment on “…those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus.”
I Peter 4:17 refers to God’s judgment beginning with believers, and “…if it begins with us, what will be the outcome for those who do not obey the gospel of God?

That’s just a smattering of references to this idea, but do you sense the seriousness of the apostles on this topic? They’re telling us that some people will not obey the gospel — and that’s bad.

Did you catch the wording? It’s not that some will not “accept” the gospel. It’s that they won’t obey it.

One comedian describes how, as a boy, he would whine endlessly about a toy he wanted until his mom relented — whereupon all his pleading and grousing quickly turned into a flippant, “Thanks, Babe!” as he ran out to play.

Too often, we demonstrate a “Thanks, Babe!” attitude towards the Lord Jesus. Problem is, we can be guilty of inviting unbelievers into a flippant, shallow faith — a faith that fails to produce change.

Paul writes this to the believers in Corinth so they will follow up on their promise to send a generous gift to another church:

“…others will praise God for the obedience that accompanies your confession of the gospel of Christ… —2 Corinthians 9:13

Wow! I want obedience to accompany my confession of faith. I don’t want to be a “Thanks, Babe” kind of believer.

You?

Visit Susanne’s blog at Susanne Maynes: Unleashing Your Courageous Compassion. Check out her website. She has good things to say, and write.

Leave me a comment; go to Susanne’s website and leave her a constructive comment about this post. Share it with others. This is a message we need to hear.

March 7, 2016

How many ways to show love for our city? Let me recount some.

This past Saturday over 100 women from The Bridge Bible Church here in Bakersfield gathered and then scattered over the city in small teams to carry out the theme of our event, “Love Where You Are.” It was an outreach to downtown Bakersfield to show God’s love to the people of our city by doing good to and for the people of Bakersfield.

As we went, we looked for ways God was already at work in our city and asked ourselves how we could be a part of it. We saw God at work, heard stories of God at work in individuals’ lives, and did small acts of love to become part of what God is doing in our city.

One team of women went to the rescue mission (yes, God was already at work there) and cleaned up a patio and did crafts with the women residents. One of my friends on that team, Eurcell, literally gave the shirt off her back to a resident.

The lady working with her pulling weeds and sprucing up the patio, kept admiring Eurcell’s bright pink T-shirt with the scrolly artwork. Finally Eurcell asked her if she’d like to have the shirt, she did and they traded T-shirts! Eurcell’s generosity produced a gift of love to that woman living at the rescue mission.

Another team went to the city bus station, talked with folks, handed out coffee, snacks and free bus passes. Some of them even rode the bus and talked with passengers, prayed with some and listened to their stories. Many expressed gratitude for the kindnesses shown them.

One team of ladies washed windows and cleaned the bathrooms of local downtown businesses, pushing their cleaning cart from store to store. Then they handed out flowers to passers-by, surprising them and bringing smiles to their faces.

One of the larger teams went to the Teen Challenge womens’ residence, joined their worship time, had lunch with them and gave them all a new set of bed sheets. They spent time listening to and talking with the women in the Teen Challenge program, women ranging from teens to middle age, all passionate about living new lives free of drugs and alcohol. And all because God was already at work through the people of Teen Challenge.

Other teams of women went to the Pregnancy Center, Ronald McDonald House, delivered lunch to the local police and fire stations, and one team held a cookout and worship song-fest for the residents of a low-income apartment building downtown.

So many different ways to serve the people of our town, and by so doing say, “We love you, because God loves you.”

I was part of the Prayer Team. We made up “blessing bags” the night before in which were snacks, a Christian tract and a tiny Bible that was made up of one verse from every book of the Bible. A couple of the women on our team stayed back at our venue, dubbed “command central,” and prayed for all the teams who had gone out to serve.

Some of us prayer-walked the streets praying for our city businesses, government offices, downtown churches and their outreaches, and people we met on the sidewalks.

We approached people on the street, offering them a blessing bag and asked if we could pray for them. There were sad encounters, like the one with the young man sitting on a curb with a backpack. He had the look of someone who had been living on the street, an all too common sight here in Bakersfield.

He willingly took the blessing bag offered him by my friend, mumbling his thanks. When asked if we could pray for him he muttered in the affirmative, nodding slightly.

My friend placed her hand on his shoulder and prayed for this young man, asking for God’s healing of past hurts and spoke of the grace and love of God for him. He began to quietly weep, hiding his face with his hands and the blessing bag he was holding.

He told us his name is Tony[1]. We will keep on praying for Tony. God is at work here.

A block down from Tony we met Mary who was weaving a flower from a long, strappy palm frond. She showed us a finished flower, made by her ex, Tony. Yes, the same Tony sitting a block away.

Mary said she is tired of not being happy, of living on the street, of freezing at night under her blanket. She’s ready to move in a different direction to find happiness, although it was obvious she didn’t know which direction that might be.

My friend encouraged her to attend the church just around the corner. Mary looked skeptical, but we pray she will go. We know that is the right direction for her. They will receive her at that church. That’s why they are downtown, to seek out the lost and bring them to Jesus. God is at work downtown.

Our little prayer-walking team had a happy encounter too. More than one, in fact.

We gave a blessing bag to a man sitting outside a pizza place waiting for his order of pizzas for his son’s sports team. He thanked us for the bag of goodies and began to tell us how one of his sons, who had been attending a college up north, had been hit by a big F-150 pick-up truck and almost killed.

Miraculously God spared him, he recuperated, and finished his education. He later married and now has a new baby and has become ordained in the Christian ministry. His father, smiling widely, said he loves telling that story.

God was already at work in that family.

My favorite story came out of my friend’s boldness to go over to four skateboarding teenage boys. I do not easily initiate conversations with strangers so these street encounters are always a huge stretch for me. But I followed along as we walked to these boys.

The first young man, maybe fourteen years old, took the blessing bag my friend offered him, telling him “God bless you.” At those words his whole face lit up and he said emphatically “God bless you!” and gave her a big hug. Then he looked at me and repeated “God bless you!” and gave me a big hug!

He blessed each lady in our group and gave each a hug. The other boys, who were also given blessing bags and thanked the ladies, were not so outgoing and one bashfully said, “I don’t want to hug you ‘cause I’m all sweaty,” so those three boys gave us all handshakes and we all blessed one another in God’s name.

God was already at work in those boys’ lives. As we gave out blessings, we received blessings in return.

Later, when all the other work teams returned to our meeting venue we listened to some of their stories too, some happy, some sad. All these stories from these encounters are fuel for prayer, prayer for those who populate our city.

My prayer is that this day of showing love to our city will not end with the closing of our “Love Where You Are” event Saturday night, but rather will only be the beginning. A beginning of continuing–

“let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up. So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith.”[2]

We saw God at work in our city. We took opportunities to join him in what he is doing by small, daring acts of kindness and love. Now, as we continue to do good and pray for those we encountered, may we be reapers of the harvest. For there surely is a harvest.

Oh, and one of the stories from the team that handed out flowers is that the same skate-boarding boy who gave us all hugs, when given a flower by this team, asked if he could have some flowers, was given them, and proceeded to hand them out to passers-by on the street! Harvest begun.

[1] Names changed to protect privacy.

November 23, 2015

Stones, slings and … a yard sale?

The last few pieces I posted here dealt with “lions and bears” and “Goliath.” As I read the passage (1 Samuel 17) for our women’s Bible study, I saw a metaphor for realities in our own lives.

I likened lions and bears to enemies that attack us personally: illness, disease, losses of all kinds–from jobs to death of loved ones–and more. Whatever can come into our lives and turn them upside down and inside out, I consider a lion or bear type of enemy.

We are all subject to lions and bears. In my book, Brokenness to Beauty[1], I deal with these enemies and share how we can successfully fight them, becoming stronger and better for having gone through the attack. Like David, we can learn to wield our weapons—prayer and praise and the Word of God—gaining spiritual strength, growing in faith and in the knowledge of God. We can bring glory to the Lord by our lives as we go through our personal struggles.

But who or what is Goliath? The more I read the 1 Samuel 17 passage, the more clear it became to me that Goliath is anything that directly attacks and defies the Living God on a larger scale, not just a personal one. I imagined the evils in this world as Goliath, evils that challenge us, God’s people, to stand and fight in and for his Name.

Fighting Goliath definitely will take us out of our comfort zone. It certainly challenged Saul and his entire army. Goliath’s challenge scared them spitless. So they didn’t answer it. They didn’t stand up to Goliath; they quaked in their sandals and ran backwards.

There are Goliath’s in our world to fight and based on Jesus’ words, he expects us to fight them (John 14:12-17).

A small group of women here in Bakersfield are taking up the challenge. They are one example of standing up to Goliath in the name of the Lord of Hosts. Since I am part of that group, I’ll speak of them as “we.”

We have taken up a big challenge to fight against poverty, abuse and neglect of girls and women, ignorance, slavery of all kinds including sex slavery, illiteracy, and oppression. We are doing this on behalf of women in India whom we have not met, yet because other believers are on the front lines of this war, and we have heard the challenge, we have declared we would join the fight. The Bakersfield SIS Advocacy Group are the supply troops, if you will.

So we prayed about our next plan. And we had a yard sale.

The mighty weapon of a yard sale!

Well, no. Our weapon is prayer. And hard work. The yard sale is a strategy.

And God blessed it.

We in turn blessed 11 women in India to become part of a Transformation Group where they will learn skills, work as a group, gain confidence and the ability to become self-sufficient, be given a voice to stand up for themselves… and learn about the gospel of Jesus Christ. Now that’s life transforming.

We only have 151 more women to bless at $10 a month for one year.[2] Ten dollars a month. Two cups of Starbucks coffee. For one year. Imagine that.

We few, we band of sisters in the Bakersfield She Is Safe Advocacy Group,[3] are learning to stand and fight Goliath–with prayer, hard work, and yard sales and bring glory to the Name of the Lord of Hosts.

Do you hear the challenge? Want to join us?

[1] Brokenness to Beauty: Transforming Your Brokenness into a Beautiful Life is almost out! Expect it early next year! More on that later.

[2] Want to join us? Contact me at jacquelinegwallace@gmail for info on how to bless one or more Indian women … for life and eternity.

[3] Learn more about She Is Safe and their opportunity to fight Goliath through an Advocacy Group at SheIsSafe.org

November 3, 2015

Goliaths and Greater Things

Picking up with the topic I started before my last post, Interlude of Fun in the Twilight Zone: David was faithful in his everyday, ordinary life as a shepherd, guiding and guarding the sheep, sometimes at great personal risk fighting lions and bears. It was there, in his everyday life that he grew strong wielding the weapons of his trade–the staff and sling and stones–and he grew strong in faith in God. He knew God and could confidently say, “the LORD who delivered me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear …” (see I Samuel 17).

We too live ordinary, everyday lives. We too face our lions and bears, those trials and difficulties that come into our lives, perhaps threatening our livelihood, our families or even our very lives with health problems. These are the enemies that come to defeat us, enemies that threaten to destroy us.

Are we being faithful to fight them with the weapons given us—prayer and praise and the Word of God? Are we becoming adept in their use and growing in strength, growing in our trust in God? Can we say as David did, “the LORD who delivered me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear …”

It is only in our ordinary, everyday lives faithfully facing the enemies that would destroy us—our lions and bears—that we learn to fight, becoming skilled and strong.

Ordinary life is where we learn to know and trust the LORD, bringing him glory as we fight our personal enemies. This, too, is where we learn to recognize another kind of enemy: Goliath.

Goliath wasn’t David’s personal enemy and he isn’t ours, though most of us have heard the story in those terms. Goliath is not our personal lion or bear. Oh no. He is a different enemy. Goliath, to be consistent with the text, in I Samuel 17, comes against and defies the armies of the living God; he defies the LORD of Hosts, the Lord Almighty.

Goliath is anything that is contrary to the person and purposes of God and he must be fought with weapons, not of this world, but weapons that have “divine power to demolish strongholds … and everything that sets itself up against the knowledge of God …” (2 Corinthians 10:4-5).

Prayer and praise and the Word of God. These are the powerful weapons that we only become skilled at using in our ordinary, everyday lives fighting our lions and bears. The power of these weapons is spiritual, not of our flesh or the world, not originating with us but with God’s Spirit who lives in us.

When Jesus was on earth he fought many Goliaths. When he was about to leave and return to his Father in heaven he said to his disciples, “Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. … And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever—the Spirit of truth. … for he lives with you and will be in you” (John 14:12-17, NIV, emphasis added).

Jesus obviously expected that we too would fight Goliaths, all over the world. Else what did he mean by saying, “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth” (Acts 1:8, NIV)? (Notice the triple “and,” not “or.”)

Or this, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age” (Matthew 28:18-20, NIV)?

The Spirit was given for specific purposes, as we read from the above verses.

The questions we must ask ourselves are:

Do I recognize Goliath when I see him?
When I do see him, do I have the spirit of David that says, “Who is this uncircumcised Philistine that he should defy the armies of the living God?”
And do I have the chuztpah to reply to the naysayers as David did, drawing on his experience of trusting God and and finding him faithful to deliver, “Your servant has been keeping his father’s sheep. When a lion or a bear came and carried off a sheep from the flock, I went after it, struck it and rescued the sheep from its mouth. When it turned on me, I seized it by its hair, struck it and killed it. Your servant has killed both the lion and the bear; this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, because he has defied the armies of the living God. The Lord who rescued me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear will rescue me from the hand of this Philistine (1 Samuel 17:34-37, NIV, emphasis added).”
Do I have the jealousy for God’s Name that makes me willing to put “skin” in the game, my skin, for his Name and glory?

The greater works we are to do, that Jesus expects us to do, are waiting to be done. They are there waiting for us to step forward, as David did, in the name of the Lord Almighty, that the Father may be glorified in the Son—through us.

“David said to the Philistine, ‘You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the Lord Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. This day the Lord will deliver you into my hands, … and the whole world will know that there is a God in Israel. All those gathered here will know that it is not by sword or spear that the Lord saves; for the battle is the Lord’s, and he will give all of you into our hands’”(1 Samuel 17:45-47).

Let us get stronger every day wielding the weapons of our warfare—prayer and praise and the Word of God—fighting our everyday lions and bears so that we may be strong in the Spirit and fit to recognize and fight Goliath–doing those greater things–for the sake of his Name, for the glory of the Father.

Let us fear God more than men.

How have you fared with your lions and bears? Have you discerned the Goliath that you should be challenging for his Name sake? How is it going? Send me your questions and comments about this post. I’d love to hear your thoughts.

New International Version (NIV)

October 27, 2015

Lions and Tigers and Bears, oh my!

Well, maybe not tigers, but definitely lions and bears. That’s what he said, “When a lion or a bear came and carried off a sheep from the flock, I went after it, struck it and rescued the sheep from its mouth.” He went on to declare, “When it turned on me, I seized it by its hair, struck it and killed it.”[1]

Now, I’ve seen a bear close up. Sure, it was at night and all I could see was a big round, furry looking thing lumbering swiftly away from me (thank goodness it was going in the opposite direction!), but I knew it was a bear. We saw its tracks in the snowy yard the next morning and followed the trail of garbage up the hill into our neighbor’s yard. No sheep, just garbage. Hungry bears apparently are not fussy about their meals. From the size of that behind and the paw tracks it left, I’m glad it hadn’t run toward me!

A lion and a bear. Running after it. Grabbing the sheep from its jaws and then grabbing the beast by the hair and killing it. That is an amazing feat. Done not once but twice. All in the line of duty. Just part of the ordinary life of a shepherd.

David was responsible and dependable. He could be trusted to take care of business, in this case, sheep keeping: guarding and guiding.

David was faithful to fight and do what he had to do; he did the right thing, even at great cost to himself. He may have had the scars to prove it. He used the weapons of his profession—the sling and stones and staff—becoming adept at their use. In the process of fighting the lion and bear he grew skilled and strong. His faith in God grew as well, for David knew he didn’t do his fighting alone. “The LORD who delivered me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear ….”

David was faithful in his everyday, ordinary life.

We all live ordinary lives. We all face our lions and bears, those trials and difficulties that come into our lives, perhaps threatening our livelihood or even our life. These are the enemies that come to snatch away our lives, enemies that threaten to destroy us. Are we being faithful to fight them with the weapons given us—prayer and praise and the Word of God? Are we becoming adept in their use and growing in strength, growing in our trust in God? Can we say as David did, “the LORD who delivered me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear …”

It is only in our ordinary, everyday lives, faithfully facing the enemies that would destroy us—our lions and bears—that we learn to fight, becoming skilled and strong in spirit. Ordinary life is where we learn to trust the LORD.

What bears or lions are you facing today: Health issues, fearful job or financial challenges, death or disease of a loved one, divorce, addiction? So many beasts about that would tear us apart and destroy us. Only by wielding the weapons of prayer, praise (yes, praise) and the Word of God, in the power of God’s Spirit, can we successfully defeat such enemies.

But that’s not the end of the story. Fighting lions and bears has another vastly important function in our everyday, ordinary lives. For only in being faithful in ordinary life will we, like David, recognize and be fit to face the giant Goliath, who defies the Living God.

Hidden creativity to light

Tomorrow Maria comes to continue work on her first ever mosaic. She saw some of my mosaics and wanted to learn how to make them and I said come on over! I get to work on my own mosaic project while she is working on hers. I’m looking forward to that creative time making a mosaic. Though there is always a struggle in the creative process, making the mosaic satisfies a deep need in me to express myself artistically.[1]

Wallace Shield mosaic on Tray by Jacqueline Wallace

Though I’ve downplayed my own creativity, I find ideas rising to the surface, breaking through to my conscious mind like air bubbles breaking the surface of a pond. I have ideas for making a mosaic house number plaque or a mosaic headboard, but then I don’t follow through on those ideas because, well, you know, I have to do this other thing I promised, or I’m too busy because of this responsibility, or the house needs cleaning (when does it not?). Ordinary life gets in the way.

Just as with writing, though, I have to make time to create mosaics.

I read a blog post by another Christian woman writer who, for years didn’t answer her inner desire to write, didn’t even realize it was there because it was buried beneath all the layers of the “I have to do” of her life (boy, can I relate). They were good things, but things that pushed aside her inner “voice,” as she put it. I made a copy of this one paragraph from her post to tape onto my desk so I will see it every time I sit here:

“We’ve been made creative beings, to help bring order out of chaos. When I give myself the time and space to create, even in little slivers of time stolen from sleep or “productivity,” I’m fueled for the ordinary. Then, all of (a) sudden, the ordinary has a sheen around the edges. The ordinary becomes part of a narrative of creativity.”[2]

Her words resonate within me! It took me a long time to learn and accept that I am an artist at heart, that I am creative and that I have a need to express that creativity visually. That was an important discovery.

And so it is for each of us; it is part of learning the way God made us as individuals. We are creative beings, made in God’s image, each capable of manifesting God’s creativity in different ways.

I’m not talking about spiritual gifts here. If God had chosen to never give gifts of his Spirit to Jesus’ followers, we’d still have within us the creativity given us by God because he made us in his image. He is the creative, Creator God.

It reminds me of the quote I use in my email salutation: “To be human is to become visible while carrying what is hidden as a gift to others.”[3] I think he is saying the same thing as I’m trying to say. We need to express the creativity God gave us as his human creation. We have the capacity to bring glory to God through our creative expressions, especially when we give ourselves back to God to live for his purposes and glory. [4]

Have you made the discovery of the creative spirit God put into you, and the ways you can express that creativity, bringing it out as a gift to others and to God?

[1] My mosaics website: http://www.expressionsofthelight.com/

[2] By Ashley Hales, from “Don’t Give Your Voice Away,” posted on Redbud Writers Guild http://www.redbudwritersguild.com/dont-give-your-voice-away/

[3] David Whyte, “What to Remember When Waking”

[4] “I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. 2 Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.” Romans 12:1-2, (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. https://www.biblegateway.com/

September 20, 2015

God, Jeremiah, Saeed and Us

A friend emailed me these scriptures and they got me thinking:

The word of the Lord came to Jeremiah a second time, while he was still shut up in the court of the guard: “Thus says the Lord who made the earth, the Lord who formed it to establish it—the Lord is his name: ‘Call to me and I will answer you, and will tell you great and hidden things that you have not known.’”(Jeremiah 33:1-3, ESV)[1]

The euphemistic sounding “court of the guard” was not a nice courtyard. It was a jail. Jeremiah was “shut up” in it. Dungeoned away.

Phot by kconnors DSC_0471.JPG — Photo by kconnors DSC_0471.JPG

God had called Jeremiah, the son of a priest, to a prophetic ministry early in life. Jeremiah’s perceived inability and youthfulness did not keep God from ordaining him to be his “prophet to the nations,” regardless of how inadequate Jeremiah felt. It would be a difficult and dangerous calling but God pledged himself to “be with you to deliver you,” therefore Jeremiah was not to be afraid of his enemies (Jeremiah 1:6-8).

As I read the first quoted verses about God showing Jeremiah great and mighty things he knew nothing about when he called on God in prayer, I thought of Pastor Saeed Abedini, and many other men and women similarly persecuted and imprisoned for their faith in Jesus.

They are not Jeremiah, but like Jeremiah, God has called them to a hard task: faithfully speaking forth the truth of God’s Word and the Gospel of Jesus Christ to a resistant, even hostile audience. But God has also promised to be with them wherever they go, even to the end of the world (Matthew 28:18-20).

We must not consider persecution and imprisonment for Jesus’s sake an anomaly. Suffering for Christ is not a strange phenomenon. It is part of being a follower of the true God and his son Jesus Christ. So it is not just the pastor Abedinis who are called to suffer: it is you and me. As a western Christian I have been trying to get my mind around that reality.

This lack of understanding about persecution for our faith being a part of the Christian life, is similar to my experience growing up in church and for the first 20 years of my life not recalling hearing about and nor giving thought to God’s care of and concern for the poor. Until I met someone who plainly understood it and could point it out to me in Scripture. It was everywhere in God’s Word! How had I missed it?!

When was the last time you heard a sermon or lesson on standing firm and fearless in the midst of persecution, as applied to ourselves and not a Bible character who lived thousands of years ago? Or even expecting persecution to come? In fact, when was the last time you were persecuted for your faith in Jesus?

I’ve asked myself these questions so don’t be offended at my asking you the same things. I’ll bet we’ve all made comments about it and had fears as to the coming persecution. I have. In Scripture, however, it is taken for granted that persecution will be part of our lives when we “live godly in Christ Jesus,” and we are told straight up not to fear. Jesus’s words to go into all the world and make disciples is for all his followers, not a select few.

I pray for deliverance for my brothers and sisters who are being persecuted and imprisoned for their faith.

But I also pray for grace, and their daily strength to stand strong, and to forgive their enemies. I pray that Jesus will be more real to them, that they draw closer to him each day. And I pray that Jesus draw very close to them. I pray that they know his presence with them as surely as they know they inhale and exhale.

I also pray God use them powerfully in those neighborhoods and prisons to live out and speak the gospel to those who haven’t heard it. To those who are their mortal enemies. To those who are so very lost.

“Call to me and I will answer you, and will tell you great and hidden things that you have not known.” Many of us have claimed for ourselves God’s promise to Jeremiah, I know I have. I don’t see a problem with that.

As long as we are also willing to wear Jeremiah’s mantle of suffering.

Or as Paul stated it: to fill up the sufferings of Christ.

He’s the same God today as he was then. And the way through dark times of persecution is the same as through any other difficulty in life: cling to and stand firm in the Word of God, live a life of prayer to the God of the Word, encourage and help one another, remembering our reason for being here: to honor, love and serve our King and Savior Jesus Christ, carrying his good news to the world.

God, help us to honor You.

It’s all there in the Book. Here are a few samples:

(Matthew 5:10-12;43-48; 10:14-39; 24:9-14; Romans 5:1-5; 8:16-18;31-39; 12:14, 17-21;15:30-33; 16:20; 1 Corinthians 16:13; 2 Cor. 1:5;8-11;4:1-18;7:5,6;11:23-28;Ephesians 5:8-21;6:10-20;Philippians 1:12-14;19-21;27-30; 3:10-11;4:1; Colossians 1:22-24;4:2-6, 10; 1 Thessalonians 1:6; 2:1,2; 3:1-4, 7; 2 Thess. 1:4; 2: 1315; 3:1-3; 2 Timothy 1:8, 11-12 2:1-3, 8-13; 3:10-12; 4:1-8, 14-18; Hebrews 11; 12:1-7, 11; 13:3, 12-15, 18-19, 23; James 1:2-4, 12; 1 Peter 2:12, 21-23; 3:8-12, 13-16, 17; 4:1, 12-19; 5:6-11; 1 John 2:18; jude 17-25; Revelation 1:9; 2:7, 9-11, 13, 26; 3:8, 11; 22:12-21)

[1] English Standard Version (ESV)

June 19, 2015

Always on the GO

Recently I posed the question: How do these terms differ and how are they similar: Disciple and Missionary?

I contend that practically, these two terms are not mutually exclusive but integrated from their core outward. We become disciples of Jesus and since the God we serve is a missional God, we are to cultivate the same heart, the heart to GO into all the world and make disciples, as Jesus said. He didn’t just say it, He commanded His disciples to do that. We must, therefore, live missional lives. We should always be “on mission” as Jesus’ followers.

Just to be clear, a missionary is a disciple formally commissioned, sent by others, to go to those who need to learn the truth about God and the gospel of Jesus Christ.

When I was a child at Bible camp, I went down front at the invitation to put my faith in Jesus (although it was when I was a few years older that I pinpoint my true conversion). I have never forgotten what the bus driver, a Methodist minister, said to me: “Someone told you about Jesus. Now you tell someone else about Jesus.” I was seven years old.

At a Vacation Bible School one summer we sang:

Untold millions are still untold

Untold millions are still outside the fold

Who will tell them of Jesus’ love

And the heavenly mansions awaiting above?

Jesus died on Calvary to save each one from sin

Now he calls to you and to me

To go and bring them in

For many untold millions are still untold

Untold millions are outside the fold

Who will tell them of Jesus’ love

And the heavenly mansions awaiting above?

The words of that song, and the tune, have stayed with me all these years.[1] (Did you sing it as a child? Do you also remember the words and tune?) Today we should sing billions rather than millions, billions of people for whom Jesus died who have no access to the Word of God and the gospel, right now, today.

So the command of Jesus is for us today. There are still thousands of ethnic groups (people groups) unreached with the gospel of Jesus Christ. In India alone, of 2,256 people groups in that country, 2,033 of those are least-reached or unreached with the good news of Jesus. Add to this the least-reached people groups in other countries, and of the 7.3 billion people in the world today, 2.9 Billion of them have NO, or limited, ACCESS to the gospel of Jesus Christ.[2]

I can’t count that high. I can’t get my mind around 2,900,000,000. But we are talking about more than numbers: these numbers represent real, flesh and blood people; boys, girls, men, women; people like you and me who have never heard that Jesus loves them and therefore they cannot yet enjoy His grace and peace through Jesus Christ.

Why should you and I have this wonderful life in Christ when others haven’t even heard of Him? I’ve asked myself this question more than once. Is it because we are more special to God, more loved by Him? Though we’d never say that, don’t we actually tell ourselves we are special, so very loved by God? Some even say we are princesses (for you gals) of the King, right?

Though God does love us, enough to send Jesus to make a way of salvation for us through His death and resurrection, He has convicted me about focusing on myself rather than focusing on God’s love for “the world,” on His kingdom and righteousness.

I am not more loved by God than those who have never heard the good news of Jesus. I need to be living my life so as to introduce them to the Jesus that someone introduced me to. You know, one beggar telling another beggar where to get food, rather than hoarding it for myself.

When less than 1 penny of every dollar given by Christians to all causes, goes to pioneer church planting among unreached peoples, something is very wrong.[3] You and I can change that statistic. Yes, we can.

God help us to change that statistic.

Jesus told us to go and we must go. We can do so in many ways: leaving our homes to go to the untold, pray for and financially support others who do go, care for/become involved with missions and missionaries in a variety of ways, making God’s kingdom and His purposes our priority in life.

Some of us were doing that last Thursday. We held a prayer walk in SE Bakersfield, one of our needy, near neighborhoods. We prayed for local churches and ministries to children and families going on there: we prayed that God would capture hearts and lives as His love is put on display by volunteers and as the Word of God goes forth in summer outreaches and VBS programs. [4]

Many of us on that prayer walk are also members of the Bakersfield She Is Safe Advocacy Group and we prayed for the ministries of She Is Safe, especially those in India.[5] As members of the Bakersfield SIS Advocacy Group, while living right here in Bakersfield, we can make a difference in the lives of women and girls in slavery and poverty, our unreached neighbors on the other side of the world.

During this prayer walk we physically walked the sidewalks of SE Bakersfield and spiritually walked the brothels of India, pleading for physical and spiritual changes in both places. God heard. And we can be assured that when He hears, He acts.

What are you doing currently, or what will you do starting today, to bring the gospel of Jesus to your near and far neighbors? Leave a comment to let me hear from you. We need to encourage one another in our obedience to Christ.[6]

[1] I found the whole song here: http://www.hymnlyrics.org/newlyrics_u/untold_millions.php

[2] Learn more at www.joshuaproject.net

[3] www.joshuaproject.net

[4] www.plazaiglesia.com

[5] www.shisisafe.org

[6] For more information about the Bakersfield SIS Advocacy Group, or starting one in your town, leave a comment for me.

June 12, 2015

Both Here and There at once

“Jesus came forward and addressed His beloved disciples.

‘I am here speaking with all the authority of God, who has commanded Me to give you this commission: Go out and make disciples in all the nations. Ceremonially wash them through baptism in the name of the triune God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Then disciple them. Form them in the practices and postures that I have taught you, and show them how to follow the commands I have laid down for you. And I will be with you, day after day, to the end of the age’” (Matthew 28:18-20 The Voice).

How do these terms differ and how are they similar: Disciple and Missionary?

Practically speaking (not missiologically speaking, rather, super simplified), the only real difference between the two terms lies in relation to where one resides: in one’s familiar culture or in an unfamiliar culture. Geography and culture are external issues, that is, they affect the disciple or missionary from outside him or herself.

A disciple is one who has trusted in Jesus Christ as his savior and Lord and begun his life journey of learning from and obeying Jesus. A missionary is a disciple who has been commissioned by a larger body of disciples to go to another group of people, usually in another culture, who need to hear the gospel of Jesus and see it lived out in the disciple’s life.

The similarity in the terms, of utmost importance to both, is the internal reality from which both disciples and missionaries live their lives: The biblical worldview of the Kingdom (rule) of God and allegiance to Him. This encompasses obedience to Jesus’ commands to his followers, including his last command, to “Go (be going) into all the world and make disciples of all nations (ethnic groups) ….”

A well-known Christian denomination coined the term “On Mission” to inform, illustrate and shape the biblical lifestyle they desired for their adherents as followers of Jesus Christ. This is a good word-picture to help us understand that disciples of Jesus are to be “on mission” 24/7, living a life of loving obedience to Jesus Christ, part of which is going into all the world bearing the Good News of Jesus in word and deed.

Some disciples will literally go far away from home to foreign cultures, or across the country or across town into somewhat different cultures. As I indicated, we call these disciples, missionaries.

But each one of us, to be a faithful disciple of Jesus Christ, will be “going into all the world” in heart and deed by a multitude of means: by prayer, by giving financially (and structuring our lifestyles to make that giving-going a priority), and by other works of support to get the gospel to those who have not heard it, those both near and far.[1]

I’ll talk more about “those who have not heard it” in my next blog post.

Share your thoughts on this topic. Are you a disciple of Jesus and are you actively going into the world, and by what means? Leave your comment below. Let’s encourage each other.

[1] Examples of “other works of support” would be supporting a mission or missionary by finances and prayer. Another example is joining a group such as a She Is Safe Advocacy Group (www.sheissafe.org), taking part in events to raise awareness and funding for ministry to women and girls in areas of the world where the Gospel of Jesus Christ is little or not known. A close-to-home, hands-on opportunity is to volunteer with groups in the inner city or with at-risk children in your town (see previous post).

June 2, 2015

Can anything good come out of the ‘hood?

Rough towns and neighborhoods have an unsavory reputation and people say, “Can anything good come from there?”

That’s what they say about Southeast Bakersfield. “Don’t go into that neighborhood. It’s not safe.” And they may be right that it is not always safe. We do need to be wise and cautious in areas known for gangs and crime. But staying away and doing nothing never did any good.

The truth is, most neighborhoods are made up of ordinary people just trying to mind their own business and live their lives, in difficult circumstances. They don’t want violence and danger in their backyards or streets. They want safety and welfare for their children and grandchildren, the same as you and I want these things for ours. They worry about their children being influenced by or forced into joining a gang or getting caught up in crime.

“Why do people join gangs? Young people most likely to join a gang are impoverished with no economic future. They usually come from broken homes and experienced domestic violence at an early age. Often they have family members or friends in a gang. Typically they failed school and have no positive adult role models.”

So states an article in the Denison Forum.[1] This perfectly describes many kids in Southeast Bakersfield, and in thousands of communities across the country.

The article goes on to say, “What can Christians do?”

The first thing, they say, is educate ourselves about the gang problem in our own community. Never assume there is none and that our own children are immune to its influences.

A second idea is to become a school mentor, especially for at-risk kids. They desperately need positive role models. We have seen the positive impact mentoring a child can have. Many of these children do not have a dad in the home, and few have any positive male role models. Christian men can fill the gap by committing to mentor a child or young man. Christian women can fill the same gap for girls who need to see an alternative to the way of life they see around them every day.

Another option is to put on a conference for at-risk youth, inviting speakers to educate the at-risk children in the community about the dangers of gangs and getting involved with them.

A fourth suggestion for Christians is to “sponsor programs that minister to youth, including recreation, job skills, counseling and educational programs.”[2]

Mustard Seeds and Mountains[3] has first-hand experience in this area. We did this in one of the poorest counties in West Virginia through our youth work and the Empowerment Center, an after-school learning center that worked with at-risk children one-on-one and in groups. As a non-profit, faith-based organization, Mustard Seeds relied on God’s people to partner with us to accomplish our goals of serving this needy population of children, offering them positive opportunities for a better life, both educationally and spiritually.

This kind of intervention requires moving into, or at least visiting, the at-risk neighborhood. That is exactly what Mustard Seeds did in McDowell County, West Virginia. That is what Plaza Iglesia Cristiana[4], a bi-lingual church plant, and Positive Change and Development Center (PCDC) is doing in Southeast Bakersfield. They moved into the neighborhood to reach the neighborhood.

Plaza Church reaches out to families and teaches the Word of God week after week. During the school year PCDC, through their “Hope for the Future” learning center, offers after-school tutoring in reading and math, help with homework, and a Bible lesson, building academic strength and spiritual depth in at-risk children. In the summertime they host a month long recreation, crafts and Bible program free to all the children of Southeast Bakersfield.

All of these programs depend heavily on financial and prayer supporters, and the faithful volunteers who come to work with the children week after week, lovingly guiding them academically, being the positive, godly role models they desperately need.

That is why Mustard Seeds and Mountains (Mustard Seeds West) partnered with Plaza Iglesia/PCDC, joining hands with them to give families and the children in the ‘hood the opportunity for a better life, educationally and spiritually.

There was a fifth suggestion in the Denison Forum article, for Christian intervention in gang threatened neighborhoods in our communities: prayer.

You may not be able to volunteer in an at-risk neighborhood or church. But perhaps you can give financially and encourage others to go. Regardless of what else we can do, we can and should pray. Seriously pray. Pray big. Pray in faith. Big faith, for the big God we serve.

On June 11 at 8 am a group of women (men invited) will be meeting to scatter throughout southeast Bakersfield to pray for their neighbors who live there. For the residents of Southeast are our “neighbors,” according to Jesus, regardless of where we live. Will you join us in prayer?

We need God’s people to link arms with us by praying, donating finances, and spending themselves by volunteering to reach these at-risk children so that fewer of them will be sucked into gang life. By God’s grace, and only by God’s grace, can these kids become part of the solution to gang violence and crime, rather than be the problem. We are praying for and working toward the salvation of every one of them.

Nazareth had a bad reputation. When told that the Deliverer lived there, Nathanael said, “Can anything good come from Nazareth?”[5] He just didn’t know Jesus.

“Can anything good come from Southeast Bakersfield (or the worst neighborhoods in your town)?” Undoubtedly. If we believe Jesus is there in his distressing disguise, and we go to serve him.

Pray about getting involved in an at-risk neighborhood near you, to serve Jesus—in his distressing disguise.

Leave a comment or send me your questions. I’d love to hear what you are doing in your town, or answer your questions about how to start to do something (for something is better than no-thing).

[1] Denison Forum on Truth and Culture, www.denisonforum.org, Today’s Cultural Commentary, May 19, 2015. Used with permission. Link to Supporting Data: http://advancementprojectca.org/sites/default/files/imce/AP%20Call%20To%20Action_LA%20Quest%20to%20Achieve%20Community%20Safety%20FINAL%202013.pdf

[2] Ibid.

[3] www.mustardseeds.org

[4] www.plazaiglesia.com

[5] John 1:46 Living Bible (TLB)