From the Blog

The Awesomeness of Living Out of a Suitcase

IMG_0427This morning I brought my largest suitcase into the bedroom and asked a very serious question

If I have to live out of this for six months, what should go in it?

One reason for doing this is a short-term service opportunity has come up, [1] but as any missionary can tell you, it’s not abnormal to be away from home for months at a time.

After giving a basic answer of “clothes and electronics” to the serious question you think it would get a lot simpler…but of course it didn’t [2].

An hours work resulted in my fist “trial run” at a bag that could be lived out of for six months. But it also helped me learn something.

I have way too much stuff

Now I probably accumulate things that are different from most of you; running gear, running shoes, books, and electronic gadgets (I like to call them “ministry tools”) but most of us in a moment of honesty would admit many of the things we accumulate aren’t needed to survive [3].

This is why the hardest part of the process wasn’t what would go in the suitcase…It’s what I would leave at home

Yesterday I wrote a blog post discussing how serving the Lord in foreign countries means walking away from many conveniences we experience in the States (cable TV in particular). While this is hard, sometimes it’s even more difficult to walk away from our possessions.

But this painful experience is actually a blessing because it allows us to look at those possessions differently.

  1. Do I really need that fourth pair of shoes?
  2. Or my twenty disk dvd collection?
  3. Or that running shirt to go alone with the other five?
  4. The answer to this and many other questions is “no”

The funny thing is as the process continued it got a lot easier because I developed a clear understanding in my mind of what was truly needed to survive.

Does that mean I’m excited about leaving more than 90% of my wardrobe and almost all of my cool toys at home? Of course not!  But I’m still setting those things aside because I don’t really need them. And God is glorified greatly when we embrace a simplified view of life.

 

[1]: hope to share some more info about that this week

[2]: imagine deciding what five shirts (seven max) you would like to bring

[3]: we can live without them

God's Big Story

Genesis 3:17-19 A Curse That Becomes a Blessing

Gen. 3:17   And to Adam he said, “Because you have listened to the voice of your wife and have eaten of the tree of which I commanded you, ‘You shall not eat of it,’ cursed is the ground because of you; in pain you shall eat of it all the days of your life

Genesis 3:18 thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you;
and you shall eat the plants of the field.

Genesis 3:19 By the sweat of your face
you shall eat bread, till you return to the ground,
for out of it you were taken; for you are dust,
and to dust you shall return.”

Sometimes I like to imagine what it must have been like in the Garden of Eden before Adam and Eve sinned against God (Genesis 3:6) because Scripture explains it as being perfect.

  1. No pain or suffering
  2. No frustration/anger
  3. And most importantly no death

However following Adam and Eve’s rebellion their relationship with God (Genesis 3:7–10) and one another (Genesis 3:11–13) was completely broken [1]. A curse from God then followed that meant (particularly for Adam) the world was broken as well (Genesis 3:17–19).

A big part of this curse God placed upon the earth is production or provision for Adam’s family will come as a result of hard work. Instead of everything being caused to grow by God (Genesis 2:5–6, 2:9) it’s now Adam’s responsibility to bring growth. The Lord is clear that instead of being easy like before their rebellion, this will take incredibly hard work [2].

But the curse goes much deeper than just creating a need for work.  God here is taking the thing that Adam and Eve find their greatest identity (happiness) in and instead turning it into a source of frustration.

Eve’s greatest joy was found not only in a close relationship with her husband, but having children and nurturing them. I’m in no way saying that all women have to have a child in order to validate themselves. Instead females have been given gifts that lead more towards the nurturing of children than men.

God responded by making this a source of pain.

Gen. 3:16   To the woman he said, “I will surely multiply your pain in childbearing; in pain you shall bring forth children.

Note that this doesn’t just refer the act of childbirth, but the raising “bringing forth” of children will bring pain or sorrow to the life of Eve [3].

Adam’s greatest joy was in providing for his family, or being “productive” by completing difficult tasks. Again this doesn’t men cannot be nurturing because I happen to be a male who has gifts in that area. But in most cases a man feels most fulfilled when they are able to provide and care for their family.

Today instead of being a source of identity production and provision is almost always a source of frustration because it calls for incredibly hard work [4].

Why would God do that?

Seriously why would He take the things that Adam and Eve enjoyed the most, or found the most happiness in, and then turn them into a curse?

The answer is our identity is only to be found in God [5]. As His creation, we were literally made to be “plugged into” Him as our source of strength or hope. Unfortunately we are sinners who given a choice between God’s way and our own will choose ours twenty-four hours a day, 365 days a year.

God knows that we will choose things other than him as our source of identity or strength. But He also knows that nothing else is big enough to bring us true happiness.

Here’s how author Matt Papa explains it;

The triune God is the only thing large enough and interesting enough to bear the weight of glory, and ultimately worship. Anything else will break your heart [6]

Knowing this “idol” [7] will break our heart God in His sovereignty takes it away from us.

As that thing we love most is ripped out of our hands [8] we will be tempted to curse God . But in those moments we must remember that thing he takes away will only break our hearts.

 

 

[1]: Instead of confessing their sin, Adam and Eve tried to hide their failure from God, and refused to confess it

[2]: it will bring thorns and briers (thistles) instead of plants

[3]: there will be many sorrows and frustrations now because of broken selfish relationships

[4]: There is still satisfaction after a job well done, but the amount of work involved in finishing that job definitely makes things difficult

[5]: Acts 17:24–25

[6]: Papa, Matt (2014–10–28). Look and Live: Behold the Soul-Thrilling, Sin-Destroying Glory of Christ (p. 33). Baker Publishing Group. Kindle Edition.

[7]: something we find our identity in other than God

[8]: money, relationships, control, etc.

From the Blog

Walking Away From Television

image courtesy of http://www.boldsky.com/pregnancy-parenting/kids/2011/children-watching-tv-addiction-291111.html
image courtesy of http://www.boldsky.com/pregnancy-parenting/kids/2011/children-watching-tv-addiction-291111.html

In early July after deciding God wanted me to begin sharing the Gospel through short-term ministries in other Countries I knew some sacrifices would have to be made.

It’s really easy to forget just how blessed we are in the United States to have things people around the world don’t

  1. Like fast-food restaurants
  2. Or large stores like Walmart, and supermarkets everywhere
  3. Or highways, and roads that are kept in good condition
  4. Or our everyday lifestyle of convenience [1]

To be honest I’m able to sacrifice almost all of America’s conveniences, but the one thing I really struggle walking away from is television

Now I’m aware that you will find television almost everywhere in the world today. However it’s a far cry from the kind of television most of us experience in the US.

My parents house in West Virginia has only basic tv since we aren’t there much, which ends up offering about three different channels. It is of course possible to survive on three channels (four if the antenna works just right) but that’s hard when there are hundreds of channels (many of them High Definition) at home.

The real problem with sacrificing television though is for me it’s much more than just entertainment.

After a hard day of work people do different things to relax. For me relaxation has always involved crashing on my bed and or in a chair to watch television. In later years Netflix has replaced tv, but it’s the same general idea 🙂

Please understand I’m not saying there’s anything wrong with watching television as long as those programs glorify God. However the Lord recently started convicting me because stress or bad days almost always resulted in a Netflix binge.

This is where for me things crossed the line from entertainment into becoming a “coping mechanism” to the point where any distress would bring an almost immediate desire to watch television and “escape” the pain of that moment.

So in preparation for the mission field I’m sacrificing television. Oh I’ll probably still watch it a little bit every day, but it will become my third or fourth option after being stressed-out instead of the first thought that comes to my mind.

After reading Scripture

Or enjoying a good book

Or taking a walk and talking to God about my frustrations

Or even (Heaven forbid) talking to other people about what’s stressing me out so much!

Again there’s nothing necessarily wrong with crashing on the couch at the end of a long day. But when that’s our minds first response when encountering pain maybe it’s time for you to walk away too.

[1]: anything you need is just a ten or fifteen minute ride away

John Wilburn Missionary to Melbourne

What are the Unborn?

It’s amazing what a difference a few weeks can make.

On July 4th Planned Parenthood was as powerful as ever defending women’s rights to have abortion.  Today a little over three weeks later they are sending threatening letters to reporters claiming the leaked videos were claimed under identification (1) and violated patient privacy (2).

But all the letters in the world couldn’t change the fact that Planned Parenthood is quickly losing power, with the Senate voting as early as today to decrease as much as $500 million funding (3)

Now it’s easy to say this change came from the shock value of seeing Planned Parenthoods Senior Director of medical services talk about selling baby parts while casually eating a salad (4) but I personally think it’s involves more than that.

Last month I started reading Persuasive Pro-Life, a very interesting book written by Trent Horn, a young man who has spent many years debating Planned Parenthood and it’s pro-choice defenders on college campuses.

One thing that I’ve learned from this book is what Trent views as the “core issue” or abortion is different from what many people think it is.

In reality, this is exactly where the pro-life advocate wants the conversation to go, to the one question that matters most: “What are the unborn?”

He proceeds throughout the book to equip the reader with many tools that can bring a conversation with pro-choice advocates back to the question “what are the unborn?”

Mr Horn has a really good point here, because if the unborn are a person (living being) then abortion is taking of a life.  But if they aren’t a person (what planned parenthood calls a “fetus”) then there isn’t a real problem.

Of course planned parenthood knows “what are the unborn?” is a crucial question, so they go out of their way to use terms other than “person” or “human.”  The recently leaked videos emphasize their play on words as babies are referred to as “products of conception.”

There’s just one problem with that…

We don’t view unborn babies as “products of conception”  or “fetuses” but a baby.

Yesterday Joe Carter wrote an excellent article for The Gospel Coalition entitled “She’s Having a Fetus” (5) pointing out planned parenthoods attempt to change our viewpoint of things by using euphemism (6).  He begins by sharing a direct quote from the pregnancy Q and A portion of their website (7).

I’m pregnant. At what point in my pregnancy is it called a baby?  Women have different feelings about when to call it a baby. For some women, it is a baby from the first moment the pregnancy is confirmed or even suspected. For other women, the pregnancy doesn’t become a baby until much later. What’s most important is how the woman feels about it.

Most medical authorities, including Planned Parenthood, agree that it becomes a baby after birth when it takes its first breath. But we value women’s differing feelings about when to use the words embryo, fetus, or baby.

Mr. Carter continues by writing a fictional conversation between two women who meet at the mall using the words:

  1. Fetus instead of baby
  2. Selectively reduce instead of abort
  3. Harvest donor tissue instead of a child who is born only so their organs can be used to save another child
  4. Designer baby instead of genetic engineering
  5. And took a trip to Holland instead of Euthanasia

I love this article (8) because it highlights how women would never use words like this in a normal conversation after learning they are pregnant.  And the words used don’t change the fact that what they’re doing is the killing of children.

It all comes back to the question…what are the unborn?

As Christians wrestle with this very challenging issue it’s important that we stay on track focusing on that one question.  Yes there are many other things that come into the abortion discussion, but in order to change our culture we must constantly return to “what are the unborn?”

  1. http://www.politico.com/story/2015/07/planned-parenthood-crisis-communications-firm-video–120725.html (http://www.politico.com/story/2015/07/planned-parenthood-crisis-communications-firm-video–120725.html)

2.  http://www.truthrevolt.org/news/planned-parenthood-tries-silence-undercover-videos-sending-threatening-letters-tv-stations (http://www.truthrevolt.org/news/planned-parenthood-tries-silence-undercover-videos-sending-threatening-letters-tv-stations)

3.  http://www.cnn.com/2015/07/28/politics/planned-parenthood-abortion-video/ (http://www.cnn.com/2015/07/28/politics/planned-parenthood-abortion-video/)

4.  http://www.albertmohler.com/2015/07/15/a-lot-of-people-want-intact-hearts-these-days-planned-parenthood-abortion-and-the-conscience-of-a-nation/ (http://www.albertmohler.com/2015/07/15/a-lot-of-people-want-intact-hearts-these-days-planned-parenthood-abortion-and-the-conscience-of-a-nation/)

5.  http://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/shes-having-a-fetus (http://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/shes-having-a-fetus)

6.  a mild or indirect word or expression substituted for one considered to be too harsh or blunt when referring to something unpleasant or embarrassing.

7.  http://www.plannedparenthood.org/learn/ask-dr-cullins/pregnancy-q-a (http://www.plannedparenthood.org/learn/ask-dr-cullins/pregnancy-q-a)

8.  http://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/shes-having-a-fetus (http://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/shes-having-a-fetus)

 

 

God's Big Story

(Genesis 3:12) Why There Are No Prince Charmings

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Genesis 3:9-12

Genesis 3:9 But the LORD God called to the man and said to him, “Where are you?” 10 And he said, “I heard the sound of you in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked, and I hid myself.” 11 He said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten of the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?” 12 The man said, “The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me fruit of the tree, and I ate.”

Dear Ladies,

I really hate to tell you this…but there is no such thing as prince charming.

Of course most of you already knew that didn’t you 🙂

Originally in the Garden of Eden God gave man the role of protecting or caring for, and providing for his wife Eve [1]. Please understand this isn’t God’s way of saying women are constantly weak and need help.

Instead this is His way of fulfilling a woman’s desire to be loved (cared for) and a man’s desire to be respected (able to care for those he loves). The truth is most women I know are MUCH better decision makers than men, however that doesn’t change the fact that Adam was the one who was supposed to be making them.

Yet something strange happened in Genesis 3:6

Genesis 3:6 So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate.

Eve comes to her husband Adam with a fruit he knows they aren’t supposed to eat and says “here eat this.” Now Adam’s responsibility as the protector and defender of his wife was to tell her “no we shouldn’t rebel against the command of God!” but he doesn’t do that. Instead Adam eats the fruit and by doing so allows Eve to become the decision maker [2].

So what’s the big deal? By doing this Adam is rejecting his responsibility (calling) to care for Eve. This is why instead of admitting his own failure to God after eating the fruit and hiding, Adam chose to throw Eve under the bus [3].

And from that point on ladies the marital relationship was totally messed up.

Here’s how God explained what her relationship with Adam would become in Genesis three.

Genesis 3:16 To the woman he said, “I will surely multiply your pain in childbearing; in pain you shall bring forth children Your desire shall be for your husband, and he shall rule over you.” (emphasis added)

“your desire shall be for your husband” here refers to the husband’s place of decision-making, so God is saying “you will want to be the one in control”. “He shall rule over you” gives the idea of demanding control over someone.

God tells Eve from now on the marriage will be about control. You will be trying to gain it, and Adam will be trying to keep it.

Now honestly marriage isn’t like that every moment of the day. However any of you who are married know the smallest, most ridiculous things can turn into a huge argument or fight over who gets their way.

It should be pointed out God didn’t want things to be like this. In His plan the husband and wife would selflessly put each other first, and by doing so become a picture to the world of what God is like [4]. But Adam and Eve were given a choice (Genesis 2:16–17) with the results of that choice being among other things man’s unwillingness to fulfill his role in marriage.

Oh that doesn’t mean they NEVER will protect or provide for you. There will be moments of “emotional love” of course.  And because of Christ’s death on the cross the Holy Spirit gives us the strength to be men of God, however there is still a sinful nature that wants our own way.

The bottom line is ladies you can’t rely on prince charming riding in on a white horse.

Thankfully you have something much better.

God promises in Scripture that He will protect and defend those who are faithful to Him.

  1. Psalm 55:22 Cast thy burden upon the LORD, and he shall sustain thee: he shall never suffer the righteous to be moved.
  2. 1 Peter 5:7 casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.
  3. Isaiah 46:4 even to your old age I am he, and to gray hairs I will carry you. I have made, and I will bear; I will carry and will save

Of course this doesn’t mean God will give you whatever you want. But take comfort in the fact that in times of need He hears your cries, will never ignore them, and responds in a way that’s best for you.

And while your at it take comfort in the fact that there aren’t any prince charming’s.  Because while broken and selfish relationships do bring pain, they also remind us that our only true source of hope is God.

  1. some Bible scholars believe Adam had already failed Eve because he should have been there to protect her from Satan’s temptation  ↩
  2. http://wilburninmelbourne.com/2015/07/genesis–39–12-learning-to-say-help-and-thank-you/  ↩
  3. God is both loving and nurturing, while at the same time Holy and Righteous  ↩