Believing What He Said

“You are blessed because you believed that the Lord would do what he said” (Luke 1:45). This was the response of the angel to Mary after she committed to allow everything to happen to her as the angel had spoken. Believing God will do what He says is hard. From the beginning, it has been a battle to believe God’s word.

Genesis 3:1 says, “The serpent was the shrewdest of all the wild animals the Lord God had made. One day he asked the woman, ‘Did God really say you must not eat the fruit from any of the trees in the garden?’” Eve recounts what God said to them, but then chooses to believe the serpent’s statement instead. Eve, and the rest of us, have reaped the consequences of believing the lie ever since.

“They traded the truth about God for a lie” (Romans 1:25a). This applies to all of us. Eve and Adam, in the garden, traded the truth for a lie. God had said one thing. The serpent said another. They chose the serpent. That choice changed everything. It is the goal of the enemy of our souls to get us to believe lies rather than the truth. This trade of truth for lies now happens every day.

“But the Son of God came to destroy the works of the devil” (1 John 3:8b). There is another option. Because Jesus was born, we can believe the truth, rather than the lie. I can now live like Mary, instead of Eve. It is possible for me to believe God will do what He said because Jesus destroyed the works of the devil.

So today I choose truth. “Did God really say…?” Yes, He did. 

This is Discipleship

Life is messy. So many things do not go as planned. We run into obstacles that change our course and direction.

I was talking to a dear friend who is also in the process of moving overseas to serve in missions. She is running into roadblock after roadblock. I mentioned that God is using these roadblocks to prepare her for her life internationally. I believe God is shaping her through these obstacles so that she is ready for what He has for her in the next season.

Just days later I had someone give me a similar message as I was complaining about my own roadblocks. It forced me to stop and really consider the truth I had so easily given to another, but struggled to live out myself. God is in control. He is using the journey to shape me so I look more like Jesus and so He can use me in Asia Pacific.

As I took a dose of my own medicine, I looked at my truth-teller and said, “This is discipleship.” Small groups are great. Devotional studies can be helpful. Yet, discipleship is walking with Jesus through the mess and the unplanned so we are uncomfortable and are forced to confront truth and have it retool our hearts and minds. Having to wrestle with not being able to buy a plane ticket to Thailand yet is discipleship. Asking people to join my support team is discipleship. Confronting my own desire for control is discipleship.

Jesus said it this way in Matthew 16:24-25, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must turn from your selfish ways, take up your cross, and follow me. If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake, you will save it.”

This waiting, this discomfort is the vehicle for me to turn from my selfish ways, take up my cross, and follow Jesus. This is discipleship. 

Don't Know

I was sharing with a good friend this weekend how uncomfortable it is right now to not know when I am leaving for Thailand. I want to be able to plan with an end time in mind. I do not know when I see people if it is the last time I am visiting with them or if I will have eight more visits over the next couple of months. The not knowing makes me uncomfortable and anxious.

Her gracious response was to remind me that I am not in control. She mentioned that we never know the time we have left and so we always need to say our goodbyes well and keep short accounts.

Jesus said in Matthew 24:42-44, “So you, too, must keep watch! For you don’t know what day your Lord is coming. Understand this: If a homeowner knew exactly when a burglar was coming, he would keep watch and not permit his house to be broken into. You also must be ready all the time, for the Son of Man will come when least expected.”

I don’t know when I am leaving for Thailand. I also do not know when I might die (I narrowly missed being hit by a driver who ran a red light yesterday). I don’t know when Jesus is returning. So I must be ready all the time. I must be ready for Jesus to return. I can be ready for Thailand, whether I leave in January or in June.

It is not about knowing, it is about living. I can live each day in preparation. I think I am going to try and make that choice. 

Settling or Scattering

We are drawn to settle. From the beginning, God called His people to scatter throughout the earth. In Genesis 9, God reaffirms this call after the flood. He says, “Be fruitful and multiply. Fill the earth” (Genesis 9:1). The people started out fulfilling this command, but then they got distracted. Genesis 11:1-2 says, “At one time all the people of the world spoke the same language and used the same words. As the people migrated to the east, they found a plain in the land of Babylonia and settled there.”

Instead of filling the earth, they made plans to build a tower to the sky. They wanted to go up rather than out. In order to get His people back to scattering, God came down to earth. “In that way, the Lord scattered them all over the world, and they stopped building the city. That is why the city was called Babel, because that is where the Lord confused the people with different languages. In this way he scattered them all over the world” (Genesis 11:8-9). God’s plans are not thwarted. He told the people to fill the earth and He would do whatever it took to get them to scatter instead of settle.

I see this story repeated in Acts. Jesus tells his disciples, “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you will be my witnesses, telling people about me everywhere- in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth” (Acts 1:8). The disciples start off well, but they start to settle in Jerusalem. So in Acts 8:1, “A great wave of persecution began that day, sweeping over the church in Jerusalem; and all the believers except the apostles were scattered through the regions of Judea and Samaria.”

God’s intention is for His people to scatter. We are meant to fill the earth, telling people everywhere about Jesus. However, there is a strong draw to settle. Babylonia is beautiful and comfortable. Jerusalem is familiar. Orange County is where my family lives. As I prepare to depart for Thailand, I feel that draw to settle. I long to be near my family. I cling to what is familiar. However, I know my call is to scatter. I would rather scatter obediently, then be scattered by God’s discipline or persecution.

So I answer the call to fill the earth with God’s redemptive story. I prepare to go to Thailand. I prepare to scatter.

Communication vs. Communion

There is no substitute for face-to-face. Don’t get me wrong. I am grateful for Facebook, Skype, and other technology that allows me to remain in communication with friends and family around the world. However, nothing can take the place of being physically present with another person.

Matthew Anderson in his book Earthen Vessels describes it this way, “The advantages of the Internet, of course, are incalculable. But a world shaped by iPhones and Facebook is more oriented toward communication than presence. When I communicate something, I intentionally transmit information. The word or thought, in other words, passes through the tools we make to other people who receive the communication. But the body, on the other hand, does not only mediate information about me- it is my presence in the world. Physical presence makes possible a true communion of persons, a communion that requires the sharing of space and time” (p. 93).

This truth has come home to me over the past few weeks. Over and over as I have had opportunity to talk face-to-face with people about God’s call on me in Thailand, I have heard people say, “I read your emails and your newsletters, but I could not even fathom the scope of what you shared tonight.” My presence with the message changed everything about the message shared. It was not just about communication, it was about communion.

I just spent two glorious weeks in Germany with friends and students who I have tried to stay connected with via Facebook, Skype, and phone calls. Being there- in their homes, in their schools, in their space- was different. It was not about transmitting information. Instead there was communion because we shared space and time. The truth of my love for them and the truth of God’s love for them could be communicated differently because we were face-to-face.

The apostle Paul knew this difference between communication and communion as demonstrated in his letters.

•        “For I long to see you, that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to strengthen you.” (Romans 1:11)
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•       “But since we were torn away from you, brothers, for a short time, in person not in heart, we endeavored the more eagerly and with great desire to see you face to face.” (1 Thessalonians 2:17)
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•        “We pray most earnestly night and day that we may see you face to face and supply what is lacking in your faith.” (1 Thessalonians 3:10)

There is no substitute for face-to-face. This is a heartbreaking reality as I prepare to leave my family and friends for Thailand. I do not just want to impart information to those I love. I want communion. I am thankful for the time I have had to hold my nieces and make them laugh. It is a joy to be able to sit across the table from my siblings and share life with them. I love that I can drop by to process life with my parents. I am grateful for those friends who have set aside time every week to connect face-to-face.

I am thankful I will continue to be able to communicate with those I love. I am also thankful for the opportunities God is going to give me to share space and time with a new community in Thailand. However, it is going to be hard to give time to communication when I long for communion with those I am leaving behind. Yet another reminder I was made for heaven, not for Facebook.

Person of Peace

What does it look like to be a person of peace? Psalm 34:14 says, “Turn away from evil and do good. Search for peace, and work to maintain it.” Every day I get closer to the start of General Assembly. This means that every day there is the opportunity for greater anxiety. There is so much to do to get ready to host 300 people from 80 nations. However, I believe I have a great opportunity to be a person of peace instead of a person of worry.

My natural tendency is to become anxious when the pressure builds. Yet I see all the times the Bible talks about peace. Jesus came to bring peace. We are to be people of peace. This is not often what characterizes my life. So I am asking God for something different in this season. I want to be a person of peace, not just internally, but someone who brings peace to others who are anxious.

Philippians 4:6-9 talks about how to live as a person of peace. Paul writes, “Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus. And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise. Keep putting into practice all you learned and received from me—everything you heard from me and saw me doing. Then the God of peace will be with you.” Praying can turn my worry to peace. When I choose to tell God what I need and praise Him for His answers, my heart and mind will be guarded by peace. I need to root my thoughts in the things that reflect God and His character. The God of peace will be with me in this. These are the things I am praying for as I approach General Assembly.

Jesus says in Matthew 5:9, “God blesses those who work for peace, for they will be called the children of God.” I am God’s child. This means I need to be working for peace, not only in my own life, but to have peace spill out of my life to bless others. Would you join me in praying that my life would be characterized by peace?

The Every

I have been thinking about the “Every” recently. The vision statement of Youth for Christ is, “As part of the body of Christ, to see that every young person in every people group in every nation has the opportunity to make an informed decision to be a follower of Jesus Christ and become a part of a local church.”

I found this vision compelling when I began working with Youth for Christ over ten years ago. I thought about every young person in the LA Basin. It seemed like an impossible, but engaging vision when I considered all the young people outside the reach of the church in Southern California.

Now I am thinking about this vision as I consider the almost 2 billion young people living in Asia Pacific. The ministry, up to this point, has been focused on national students. In India, the national staff is ministering to many Indian student populations. In Singapore, the Singaporean staff is looking to reach every Singaporean student. In Australia, the Australian staff enters the world of every Australian young person. These are monumental tasks in each nation.

Yet with our world growing smaller all the time, there are more and more students growing up outside their passport country. There is the Filipino student who is growing up in Hong Kong. In Japan, there are young people from the UAE. There are British students growing up in Thailand. The world is cross-pollinated and these Third Culture Kids have unique needs. At the core, however, their needs remain the same as every other young person. They are part of the “every” who we are called to give the opportunity to become a follower of Jesus. It will take an international team of people entering their world alongside the local churches to reach these “every.” “So everywhere we go, we tell everyone about Christ. We warn them and teach them with all the wisdom God has given us, for we want to present them to God, perfect in their relationship to Christ” (Colossians 1:28). This is a vision that compels me to depend on Jesus as I join the work in Asia Pacific.