new reading

Traditionally, I avoid books pertaining to becoming successful. I guess I view them as "self-help," which I am not a real fan of. I know what happens when I try to help myself in my own strength. I always prefer reading books about biblical truth or ones geared for entertainment.

I picked up Leaders Who Last during my last week in India. I figured I should at least read some material about leadership if I am to faithfully follow God's call into ministry. The author, Dave Kraft, has been involved in training Christian leaders for nearly forty years in addition to serving as a leader at various stops along the way. He says his life's mission is to train effective Christian leaders since most burn out before reaching the end.

The most recent chapter dealt with the issue of leaders needing to be passionate. Kraft observes too many Christian leaders trying to lead void of any passion.

"Passion is contagious. Passion will have more of an impact than personality...[passion is] a genuine joy that flows from a leader in love with Jesus Christ...Passion is a God thing, not a personality thing...different Christian leaders have different combinations of gifts and different personalities, but are all passionate because they are deeply connected with God and his purpose for their lives...Passion needs to be recaptured in all its fullness within the ranks of Christian leadership."

I'm not in a position of leadership at this present juncture. But my prayer is for God to be instilling a passion within my heart for the day He places me in such a position. Christ was a man of great passion. His passion was for the glory of the Father and seeing His will being done on earth. I also pray for all leaders (and all Christians too) to have the passion that is a genuine joy that flows from a leader in love with Jesus Christ.

what we can learn

On the one hand, being surrounded by temples and mosques can be extremely uncomfortable. For me the discomfort had nothing to do with my physical safety. Each and every day I traveled amongst Hindus and Muslims alike exchanging smiles and pleasantries. The only worry I had was for those who might try to clean my pockets without my knowledge.

My discomfort rested in the various practices these two groups engaged in as a part of their worship. It's very different to say the least. Loudspeakers beckon people to come. Chantings can be heard as people pass by. Huge festivals are thrown where all sorts of activities take place. Animals are used for an assortment of different purposes. People dress in the garb of their particular god. It's all very public and unusual for a person such as myself. And along with the discomfort comes a sense of sadness as these people do their best to appease their god and earn his/her favor. If anything it just reiterated why God called me to serve for a time and LCMI permanently.

But I believe a sense of shame and guilt also added to my discomfort. Christianity is all about the freedom we have in Christ because of what He did for us on the cross. Christians love to speak of this freedom when comparing ourselves with the other religions of this world. We sing songs and talk about how Christ's love has freed us from the religious obligations and rituals. And with this freedom we believe we can go about our lives void of any religious responsibility.

Have you ever woken up to the sound of the 5am prayer call from the local mosque? It happens every day. Have you ever traveled to the temple to pray? Most do it every single day. But our response is, "we don't have to do these things because our relationship with God is based upon grace not works." True. But do we want to do such things? Would we ever welcome waking up at 5am to pray to our Father? Do we ever go to church simply to pray, especially during the week? Doing these things doesn't earn us any extra love, but doesn't it express hearts overflowing with gratitude for what God has done for us?

Have you ever had someone identify your faith by merely looking at you? It's a part of their every day life. When people enter your home do they know without a shadow of a doubt just who it is you serve? It's plastered all over their walls. Again our response is, "we don't need to wear anything or post something because God desires our hearts far more than our physical expressions." True. But should we desire these things for our lives? Do we want people to know we belong to Christ just by looking at us? Would we be comfortable with people walking into our homes and immediately identifying God as the source and aim of our worship? Such things won't grant us more blessings, but shouldn't our hearts rejoice at the thought of being identified with Christ in all that we do?

We love to declare religion as empty and void of significance, because it declares works to be the means by which we approach God. While true, this doesn't make the works meaningless and lacking in value to the life of the Christian. If anything we should be eager to perform our works since we were saved unto to them (Ephesians 2:10), and we see our faith proved by them (James 2:26). Daily reading the Bible, daily praying, regularly going to church, giving regularly, fasting, meditating, and the many other disciplines we like to label as "religious" are not necessary for our salvation. Christ is. But they are absolutely essential to our conformity to the likeness of Christ and daily worship of our God who saved us according to His grace.

And if we are here to give glory to God by being more like Christ, shouldn't we be willing and eager to make them a daily and frequent part of our everyday lives?

ah the human body

Over the past two months I tried to do some amounts of exercise. I tried a workout on the roof, but the mosquitoes got the best of me. Sanjay and I went on walks every now and again to maintain blood flow and muscle movement. The girls would play various things in the front of the house, which I would join in when I was home.

I ran the sports camp which gave me some amounts of exercise by means of Frisbee, volleyball, dodge ball (yup no gym class rules in India), and relays.

I played cricket, which, unfortunately, is not too physically strenuous.
We played soccer at times, which, thankfully, was physically strenuous when you play like soccer your father in college.
But even with all that I am terribly out of shape. I meant to get back on my running schedule as soon as I got home, but I lack the discipline. This morning was my first time back on the horse of Saturday morning basketball. I had no lungs, received a dead-leg on my first shot, jammed my finger, took a forearm to the nose, fell down frequently, and demonstrated a lack of playing for the past two months extremely well.

It's good to be home!

to talk or not to talk

Numbers 25 can be a tough passage to swallow. It details Israel's idolatry, God's anger, and one Israelite's decision to openly oppose God's Word in the sight of the the entire nation of Israel. And we haven't even gotten to the hard part yet. The beginning of the chapter ends with Phinehas, Aaron's grandson, driving a spear through the openly rebellious Israelite. As if that isn't hard enough, the second section depicts God blessing Phinehas for doing what he did.

Now I want to be clear I am not advocating any Christian injuring or killing anyone because they fail to honor God. That's called assault/murder. Assault/murder is a sin and a crime. Numbers 25 is not telling us this normal behavior for God's people. Numbers 25 is a depiction of the zeal all God's people should have for His name. Hear what God has to say about Phinehas,

"Phinehas...has turned back my wrath from the people of Israel, in that he was jealous with my jealousy among them...and it shall be to him and to his descendants after him the covenant of a perpetual priesthood, because he was jealous for his God." (vs. 11& 13, emphasis mine)

I've been reflecting of zeal recently in light of the release of certain book from certain well-known pastor and author. I have not read the book. I read multiple reviews of the book, both positive and negative. A friend of mine purchased the book in order to gain a better understanding of this individual's view. I plan on borrowing it once he's finished. But from my research I do know the book presents a serious challenge to the gospel of Jesus Christ in the name of providing "clarity," "understanding," and "conversation."

A lot of people feel the same way about this particular book. It does not hold to the sound words Paul spoke of in I Timothy 6:3, II Timothy 3: 14, and Titus 2:1. As a result, the book has been labeled heretical for it's attempt to strip the cross of Jesus Christ of its significance, power, and beauty by many God fearing individuals.

And, recently, these individuals have received some slack for making such comments. Phrases similar to "God doesn't need us to defend Him" and "we should engage in conversation instead of judgmental statements" are being thrown around like baseballs in Florida. While there are certain instances where these phrases apply, I believe Phinehas teaches us something different.

Yes, God doesn't need us to come running to His defense, but He expects us to stand up for His honor and glory. As far as I am concerned, this book tries to do a great number to the honor and glory of God all in the name of tolerance and conversation. We should be jealous for God's name when people start ruining the gospel of Jesus Christ which is the declaration of just how great God's name truly is. Shrugging it off as something merely a handful believe is not honoring. Do we remember what Christ did because God wasn't being honored in the temple?

And as for engaging in conversation, I have no problem bantering back and forth when it comes to secondary issues. Yes, we should be able to talk with one another over predestination vs. free-will. You can be a Christian while holding to either. We should discuss infant baptism vs. believer's baptism vs. immersion vs. sprinkling. We should peacefully converse the particulars of the faith. But when someone within the faith wants to declare something spoken out against multiple times in God's Word, I don't see a glaring need to sit down and discuss over tea. Paul spoke out often against various individuals proclaiming a different gospel. He did not inquire of a sit-down gathering first. He called them out.

God's name is worth all honor and praise. We should be examining our own efforts to give His name it's proper due. From there we should be jealous for His name as Phinehas was. The exaltation of God's name sent Christ to earth in order to die. What are we willing to do for God's great name besides sing and smile?

yes but...

Human beings love the word but. We use it in productive ways such as drawing a conversation back to its original point or refocusing attention. Unfortunately, it also serves as our way of getting in a last word or adjusting the scales in our favor. Due to the latter usages but can be utterly heart breaking.

In each of the four camps, the primary goal was presenting the gospel clearly. Our hope, as it should be, was for the campers to accept the gospel being presented. Obviously we have no power to do this for anyone, so we rely upon God's Spirit to work in each and every heart. While I do not want to pass over the many God brought unto Himself (each is worth a celebration in heaven), my heart broke at some of the responses.

"I want to accept Christ, but... only if my child is healed...it won't sit well with my family...my friends will make fun...it will anger my god...I have to [fill in the blank]."

Now I don't mean to make light of some of the realities facing these individuals. In a Hindu society threats from family and friends can be terrible. But Jesus spoke to all our buts in Luke 9:62 when He said, no one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God.

And His words don't merely apply to all those "riding the fence." Christians love to throw out their fair share of buts as well. Sure, we've placed our faith in Christ. Sure, we love Him. Sure, we do our best to glorify Him in all we do. We just hope and pray He doesn't ask anything more of us. And when He does?

"I would love to, but...I can't afford to right now....I don't really have the time...my plate is already overflowing...I'm not a big fan of being stretched...those are not my gifts...I don't have the necessary funds to make such a commitment...I really don't want to...and the list goes on.

These responses are just as heart wrenching. Christ is not looking for us to join His kingdom only to enjoy the blessings, which are truly wonderful and too many to count. We aren't called to be spoiled princes and princesses. He wants willing servants ready to stand behind to plow and push. Following Christ is a life-encompassing pursuit designed to last all the days of our life. Maybe the world around us is waiting for us to lay aside our buts (the other spelling might apply too) because they want to know if following Christ is really worth losing the things of this world.

song for my theme

I purchased a popular worship song shortly before traveling to India. As I've stated before, I thoroughly enjoy music of all kinds. I wanted something to listen to on my traveling to and fro as well as the down times. Little did I know it would become somewhat of a theme song for my time in India. The song is rather simple, but the God made the truths came emphatically alive as I saw His hand at work.

water you turned into wine, opened the eyes of the blind

there's no one like You, none like You

into the darkness You shine, out of the ashes we rise

there's no one like You, none like You

our God is greater, our God is stronger

God, You are higher then any other

our God is healer, awesome in power

our God, our God

and if our God is for us then who can ever stop us

and if our God is with us then what can stand against

God demonstrated His power, exclusivity, and strength in ways I fail to put into words as I try to share about India. Each was physically demonstrated over and over again for my eyes to witness. As I listen to the song now, tears want to burst from my eyes because I had the blessing of seeing firsthand just how much our God is greater than all others.

But the truth of the song is also my biggest struggle in coming back. Back home it's harder to see God's greatness on clear display outside of my own life and those willing to share how God is working with me. I don't know if it's because we don't really believe, don't want to see, could care less, or are too easily distracted. What I do know is there really is no one like and nothing that can stand against Him.

adjusting

I'm still adjusting to life back home. My body is slowly getting there. There are times when I feel as though I will fall asleep right where I am standing. My stomach also is lagging behind a bit. It likes to tell me I am full when I really am far from it. On the spiritual side I'm in a bit of a daze. I'm still not completely sure how I am supposed to respond to what I experienced. But God is good and by His grace I will be able to communicate everything in time.

Until the aforementioned time I share these random photos which make me laugh as I look at them.

How many times does a vehicle actually ask for you to blow your horn at it? In India, every single truck does just that.

I actually like this photo more than find it humorous. The monument was a few miles from the airport, so planes flew by each nearly every 5 minutes. I wanted to capture a shot before we left, and I got this one on the way out.
I watched this particular hen work its way into room. Then when it got there it just sat down to stare at the bed. It made me laugh so I took at picture.