I decided early on in my adult life that there are two quotes which would define my life, one by agnostic Henry David Thoreau, and the other by the Apostle Paul.
Thoreau wrote:
"I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front
only
the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had
to
teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived. I
did
not wish to live what was not life, living is so dear; nor did I wish
to
practise resignation, unless it was quite necessary.
I wanted to live
deep
and suck out all the marrow of life, to live so sturdily and
Spartan-like
as to put to rout all that was not life, to cut a broad swath and shave
close, to drive life into a corner, and reduce it to its lowest terms,
and, if it proved to be mean, why then to get the whole and genuine
meanness
of it, and publish its meanness to the world; or if it were sublime, to
know it by experience, and be able to give a true account of it..."
The Apostle Paul, the greatest missionary who ever lived, wrote in Philippians 2:7: "Even if I am to be poured out as a drink offering upon the sacrificial
offering of your faith, I am glad and rejoice with you all."
A drink offering is poured out, totally, without reserve, not stopping, hesitating, or looking back. It's suffering endured as a joyful, willing sacrifice, so that the other, or those for whom the sacrifice is made, will have more holy and mature faith.
This is living with a whole heart, holding nothing back. I cannot live life with only half a heart. I tried that once, and all it got me was anger and coldness, a stony heart unable to feel or breathe. I wasn't me.
The Gospel in a person's life can do so much more than we can imagine. It can melt hearts of stone, it can pour out the fires of anger and kindle love long lost, it can transform, as in Charles Dickens, a man at the end of his life to the most-loved and generous man the town had ever seen.
I can never settle for living without infinite hope in Christ's transformation in me and in the most hopeless and worst sinner. There is ever so much freedom in living in childish anticipation of what He can do, as well as incalcating a sensitivity to woundedness by those I hold dearest. Callousness or indifference to another's sin, without ever calling it out, is in the end enabling and points no one to righteousness.
Spiritual Motherhood means the trained ability to discern what is righteous and what is sin, and where is forbearance necessary? Over all that, grace poured out in abundant measure, listening closely to what Jesus' Spirit says is to be done is the only way to discern the correct path when the way ahead is obscure, foggy with differing messages, statements of pain mixed with being misunderstood, unmet expectations, and character assassination.
The road is narrow, and lonely, but living deliberately is the way of all those who want to go deeper in having a pure heart and an intimacy of relationships with others and with our Lord.
Monday, December 19, 2011
Thursday, December 15, 2011
No "Off" Days in the Battle
A few years ago, I woke up one morning to a major storm...a storm in my soul. I was threatened with anger, bitterness, rejection, disappointment, unmet expectations, and the desire for revenge and to strike back. After indulging in a bit of heart rebellion, I finally turned to my Lord in Luke, Psalms, Proverbs, and Jeremiah for healing.
The gentle reminder from our Lord that often the enemy attacks when we are most tired is certainly true in my case...we just came back from a major ministry trip where the days were packed with meetings and almost no time to rest, compounded with jet lag both directions.
Jeremiah...I think if he was on earth today I'd want him to be my best friend. Few others would be able to understand. Who else suffered such complete and utter rejection by his friends, family, and leaders of his day?
I imagine him wondering how to keep serving the Lord, keep a steady course, when criticisms mount up, when one after another people slander and judge, political leaders rejected him, those in religious leadership..."the church" in his day laughed at him, when even father and brother not only renounce him, but plot to kill him?
What a constant torment this must have been for Jeremiah! The easiest response was to become depressed to the point of suicide. The constant slander could have led to incessant questioning and second guessing his own manner of speaking, the content of his speech, his non-verbals, and his very identity as a person. The attacks and rejection did lead him to major questioning of God...his goodness and His overall plan.
The extreme distress he was experiencing led him to lose eternal perspective on what he was going through, who he truly was, and the reality of God's goodness and sovereignty.
As much as Jeremiah may have wanted to be with his family, because he experienced the loneliness of being a single in ministry, he would have preferred quiet.
Proverbs 17:1 "Better is a dry morsel with quiet tan a house full of feasting with strife."
For Jeremiah, he was almost friendless. Even his closest, trusted friends betrayed him and acted unloyally.
Jeremiah 9:4-5 "Beware of your friends; do not trust your brothers. For every brother is a deceiver, and every friend a slanderer. Friend deceives friend, and no one speaks the truth." Why did Jeremiah have to go through this?
He tried to trust them again, and again and again he was hurt. He was, like Spurgeon describes, "being almost carried away by those hurricanes of infidelity which come from the wilderness, and like whirlwinds, smite the four corners of the house and threaten to overthrow it." Whirlwinds of anger, depression, hopelessness.
God gave Jeremiah specific words to hold on to:
Jeremiah 12:6 "For even your brothers and the house of your father, even they have dealt treacherously with you; they are in full cry after you; do not believe them, though they speak friendly words to you."
The issues with Jeremiah's family is the last issue mentioned of the numerous conflicts Jeremiah faced. Our enemy will not hesitate to use those closest to us to hurt us, distract us, often because only those we love dearest can cause us the deepest pain.
Jeremiah needed to focus on the words of his contemporary:
Is. 49:15-16a "Can a woman forget her nursing child, that she should have no compassion on the son of her womb? Even these may forget, yet I will not forget you. Behold, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands;"
Jeremiah's path of suffering was marked out, and his was no different, and not even as great as our incarnate Lord's...the life of faithful discipleship is the way of the cross.
Radical self-denial means not only that we are willing to face death, even death on a cross, but willing to tread the path of the cross, which in the end is ever so much more difficult. This path includes being attacked, verbally and emotionally abused, denied by close friends and possibly even family.
As for me, I cling to the promise in Is 40:11, "He will tend his flock like a shepherd; he will gather the lambs in his arms; he will carry them in his bosom, and gently lead those that are with young." I take firm hold of my soul and remind myself what God says:
Malachi 4:6: "And he will turn the hearts of fathers to their children and the hearts of children to their fathers, lest I come and strike the land with a decree of utter destruction.”
and
Luke 1:17 "And he will go on before the Lord, in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous--to make ready a people prepared for the Lord."
Jeremiah found his "family" not in his blood family, but in those who walked the same path as he:
Ps 27:10 "For my father and my mother have forsaken me, but the Lord will take me in."
Ps 45:10 "Hear, O daughter, and consider, and incline your year: forget your people and your father's house and the king will desire your beauty."
Matt 23:9 "And call no man your father on earth, for you have one Father, who is in heaven."
While the Lord does take us in, he also asks us to put him first, no matter what. Jesus says in Matthew, "If you want to be my disciple, you must hate everyone else by comparison--your father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters--yes, even your own life. Otherwise, you cannot be my disciple."
Okay, Lord. I get it. No matter how people treat me, I'll follow You. The storm stilled to peaceful waters.
The gentle reminder from our Lord that often the enemy attacks when we are most tired is certainly true in my case...we just came back from a major ministry trip where the days were packed with meetings and almost no time to rest, compounded with jet lag both directions.
Jeremiah...I think if he was on earth today I'd want him to be my best friend. Few others would be able to understand. Who else suffered such complete and utter rejection by his friends, family, and leaders of his day?
I imagine him wondering how to keep serving the Lord, keep a steady course, when criticisms mount up, when one after another people slander and judge, political leaders rejected him, those in religious leadership..."the church" in his day laughed at him, when even father and brother not only renounce him, but plot to kill him?
What a constant torment this must have been for Jeremiah! The easiest response was to become depressed to the point of suicide. The constant slander could have led to incessant questioning and second guessing his own manner of speaking, the content of his speech, his non-verbals, and his very identity as a person. The attacks and rejection did lead him to major questioning of God...his goodness and His overall plan.
The extreme distress he was experiencing led him to lose eternal perspective on what he was going through, who he truly was, and the reality of God's goodness and sovereignty.
As much as Jeremiah may have wanted to be with his family, because he experienced the loneliness of being a single in ministry, he would have preferred quiet.
Proverbs 17:1 "Better is a dry morsel with quiet tan a house full of feasting with strife."
For Jeremiah, he was almost friendless. Even his closest, trusted friends betrayed him and acted unloyally.
Jeremiah 9:4-5 "Beware of your friends; do not trust your brothers. For every brother is a deceiver, and every friend a slanderer. Friend deceives friend, and no one speaks the truth." Why did Jeremiah have to go through this?
He tried to trust them again, and again and again he was hurt. He was, like Spurgeon describes, "being almost carried away by those hurricanes of infidelity which come from the wilderness, and like whirlwinds, smite the four corners of the house and threaten to overthrow it." Whirlwinds of anger, depression, hopelessness.
God gave Jeremiah specific words to hold on to:
Jeremiah 12:6 "For even your brothers and the house of your father, even they have dealt treacherously with you; they are in full cry after you; do not believe them, though they speak friendly words to you."
The issues with Jeremiah's family is the last issue mentioned of the numerous conflicts Jeremiah faced. Our enemy will not hesitate to use those closest to us to hurt us, distract us, often because only those we love dearest can cause us the deepest pain.
Jeremiah needed to focus on the words of his contemporary:
Is. 49:15-16a "Can a woman forget her nursing child, that she should have no compassion on the son of her womb? Even these may forget, yet I will not forget you. Behold, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands;"
Jeremiah's path of suffering was marked out, and his was no different, and not even as great as our incarnate Lord's...the life of faithful discipleship is the way of the cross.
Radical self-denial means not only that we are willing to face death, even death on a cross, but willing to tread the path of the cross, which in the end is ever so much more difficult. This path includes being attacked, verbally and emotionally abused, denied by close friends and possibly even family.
As for me, I cling to the promise in Is 40:11, "He will tend his flock like a shepherd; he will gather the lambs in his arms; he will carry them in his bosom, and gently lead those that are with young." I take firm hold of my soul and remind myself what God says:
Malachi 4:6: "And he will turn the hearts of fathers to their children and the hearts of children to their fathers, lest I come and strike the land with a decree of utter destruction.”
and
Luke 1:17 "And he will go on before the Lord, in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous--to make ready a people prepared for the Lord."
Jeremiah found his "family" not in his blood family, but in those who walked the same path as he:
Ps 27:10 "For my father and my mother have forsaken me, but the Lord will take me in."
Ps 45:10 "Hear, O daughter, and consider, and incline your year: forget your people and your father's house and the king will desire your beauty."
Matt 23:9 "And call no man your father on earth, for you have one Father, who is in heaven."
While the Lord does take us in, he also asks us to put him first, no matter what. Jesus says in Matthew, "If you want to be my disciple, you must hate everyone else by comparison--your father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters--yes, even your own life. Otherwise, you cannot be my disciple."
Okay, Lord. I get it. No matter how people treat me, I'll follow You. The storm stilled to peaceful waters.
Wednesday, December 14, 2011
Advertisement for Friends of Jeremiah
“Men and Women of courage wanted for a lifetime* commitment* of difficult* and un-fruitful ministry. You will spend the best years of your life living out the Gospel among immoral and unresponsive* people...people who think they are already saved.
Your children may suffer*, you may lose your health, you will live simply and be financially unrewarded…
Come and join us!”
Lifetime means until you are gray-haired, hard of hearing, even wobbly.
Commitment means to come now and be willing to stay through your 20's, 30's, 40's, 50's, and 60's. Maybe you can go home in your 70's, although by then you won't want to.
Difficult means you may not like your team leader, but you'll still need to honor him or her. You may be annoyed having to live in the city, but that's where the people tend to go. You may hate the food and the dust, and you may not be welcomed and liked by the people you have come to serve and witness to.
Unresponsive means you may not see hardly anyone coming to Christ. Like Jeremiah, you will not be considered a "success" by the Western Church's standards.
Suffer - your children may have stones thrown at them, have their things stolen, be hit by their national teachers, possibly be sexually abused if you are not watching constantly, 24/7. They may be bothered by demonic attacks if you are not on guard praying for them and teaching them how to be on guard..."alert at all times." They won't have money for college and the transition back to their passport country will be horrible.
It's All Theater
T hat’s what our taxi driver revealed as we drove through the city. One of our three major questions we were seeking answers to on our research trip to Turkey is why Turkey has one of the highest missionary attrition rates in the world. Central Asian Regional Leaders and team leaders in Turkey shared that the average time long-term missionaries manage to stay in Turkey is 3-4 years. Language school is typically 2 years long, so this means that language proficiency is just barely reached before workers leave.
So why is Turkey such a “difficult” place? Come on, it’s got everything for ease of living…McDonalds, Burger King, Subway, Starbucks, Gloria Jeans, Ikea (3 of them!), any household and clothing item desired, great Turkish food, manicured highways, an incredibly efficient transportation system, tons of culture and history…it’s a fabulous place to be. But as our Turkish taxi driver announced, “It’s all theater….the economy is very bad.”
Facing the Giants
As one missionary to the Turks told us, “For the body, Turkey is heaven-on-earth. But for the soul, Turkey is hell.” Why? The Turks are a highly resistant people group. There are approximately 2 Turkish believers for every 1 worker. There are between 1000-2000 workers.
To be a Turk is to be Muslim. But Turkey is also a secularist state, a culture saturated with sexual perversion, rampant immorality, indecency, and coarseness. Prostitution is legal there. It is considered more sinful in Turkey to eat un-Halal (pork), than it would be to hand over one’s wife to another man to sleep with.
Because it appears so easy to be there, frequently workers are not prepared well for the onslaught of spiritual warfare and the heavy oppression. During our short time visiting with leaders we heard horrible stories of what some workers have gone through, both in related to ministry focus and as well as family issues, team conflict, and more.
What can we do stop the attrition? What can do to help global workers become more resilient and develop anchored faith that will help them prevail when the difficulties come?
We are indeed facing giants in the land. Like in the story of Gideon and his soldiers, 300 against tens of thousands, a few empowered by Him will prevail.
What can we do stop the attrition? What can do to help global workers become more resilient and develop anchored faith that will help them prevail when the difficulties come?
We are indeed facing giants in the land. Like in the story of Gideon and his soldiers, 300 against tens of thousands, a few empowered by Him will prevail.
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