The illusion of safety and the Will of God

  This world is a tightrope walk, a cost-benefit analysis, if you will.  Our activities, thoughts, and passions will always have a cost, whether that is measured in time, money/resources, energy, emotions, reputation, morality, or commonly, a combination of the above.  What will supporting this cause give you? What will going to that church give you?  What does it cost to leave everything that makes you feel safe?

  For those contemplating supporting overseas work to bring Hope to the hopeless, I hope you DO think through these things.  Jesus said that one must count the costs of discipleship before plunging right in (Luke 14:25-33).  It seemed that Jesus "pushed people away" but he was really trying to make them understand the costs (Luke 9:57-62).  Yet, in these examples, Jesus did not tell them NOT to follow Him, but rather, Jesus emphasized how important it was to not delay their commitment to following Him.  Those same circumstances are still issues that exist today.  There is no luxury of knowledge of having a place to stay when following the Holy Spirit's leading.  There is no luxury of being able to get your parent's final days and inheritance in order before obeying the call.  There is sometimes even no chance to return home, say all your goodbyes and get the blessing of all relatives before leaving.  But we rejoice that despite all of these costs, these uncertainties, that there is certainty in the calling of Christ.  His calling is sure, and His chosen messengers are not chosen by mistake.

  So know that if you or your loved ones are in places statistically characterized as "unsafe" in order to bring Hope to the hopeless in the love of Jesus, they are safe.  Maybe not safe in the longest possible lifetime on earth, but in the longest eternal life time that there could possibly be.  Maybe not safe in your arms, but safe in the arms of their Creator.  Maybe not safe in your hands, but safe in the holy hands that are holey due to crucifixion nails.  What does man's "safety" compares to that?

Ministry workers are people too

   Some people seem to put missionaries, pastors, and evangelists up on a pedestal, as if they have attained some greater perfection or holiness that the lay believers can only one day hope to reach.
   Some people seem to judge them more than the average pew-warmer.  It seems to go hand in hand with the first one. When someone speaks for a living, unable to edit their words as one does in an email or blog post, they--being human, and one at war with selfishness--is bound to put their foot in their mouth sooner or later.  The more one has the floor, the more one will say something one regrets.  Ministry workers are no exception.
   Some people seem to think ministry workers, if not too holy to communicate with or too wrong to be seen around, can be seen as wasting their life on other people's hard-earned dollars.  There are many things to say to this, but instead of a lengthy discussion, I'd like to instead point to Jesus, who left his trade of wood working to become an itinerant preacher, relying on other's hospitality and giving (when He wasn't multiplying food).  A ministry worker's livelihood comes from God's provision, and we all have the opportunity to distribute what God has given us to take back souls and areas claimed by darkness and deception for God's Kingdom.

What's the point of all these things I mention?

My point is this:
1.) Living by faith is often difficult
2.) Living by faith is often lonely

So please, email gratitude to an evangelist, buy your pastor dinner or take him out to coffee, and email gratitude or Skype call encouragement to a missionary that you know.  You might make their whole week (especially the missionary!).

Your main role in this life is to help the Holy Spirit

What is the purpose of life?  What will you accomplish?

It's such a well meaning question, but the most freeing, beautiful, and hard to swallow thing is that it's not about you (or me) at all.  It isn't your responsibility to fix the world.  Christ has set the world free from the natural course of entropy.  Things don't always have to get worse and less chaotic, but left to human will, entropy and chaos is only natural.

So what we need is a supernatural influence.  Praise be to God, that Christ has given us the Spirit of Truth, the divine Counselor, to be with us.  In the supernatural order of things, the Holy Spirit submits to Christ, who submits to the Heavenly Father.  There is beauty in the trust and fellowship of the Godhead.  So God has given the family unit as well.

  The child submits to the mother,

who submits to her husband,

who submits to the Holy Spirit,

who submits to Christ,

who submits to the Heavenly Father.

  As a child grows, a point comes where the child either "becomes a man" or submits to her husband, going out from under her earthly father and mother, but still under submission to the Holy Spirit (the sign of maturity is more closeness with the Spirit).

  Back to the original point, we should go about our lives reliant on the Holy Spirit.  He has a will to bring all things in harmony under Christ, and to make us more like Christ in the process.  The plans we have will not compare to the wisdom of the Spirit.  So as we provide for our family, growing in obedience in all the ways of Christ's teachings, and in closer fellowship with the Spirit.  If we ask the Spirit for direction in every relationship, conversation, and task, our lives will exude the love, hope, and blessings of Christ to our world.  But it starts with a humble reliance on the Spirit.

Why surrender?

In this world, we all look for the people who "have it all together," which is honestly pretty funny.  The current U.S. Presidential race shows us that people are sick and tired of politicians, who above all others, "have it all together" on the outside.  But now, the ones who are leading, Trump and Sanders, are the ones who are going against the status quo, but how did Trump become the highliner in the polls?  Does he have it all together?  Obviously, he does not.  But in his brash in-your-face way, he has become the very essence of not having it all together and not caring either.  He personifies pride.  And in our very basic nature, we consider that "leadership."

But Christ's leadership is quite the opposite.  He was strong, confident, yet humble.  It's so difficult to emulate that without divine help, but that's the key, isn't it?  We need divine help.

The first part of the word "Surredepity" is surrender, because when we admit that we don't "have it all together" we admit we need a Savior, a friend, and the God who does "have it all together."  Until we get there, we continue to do things in our own strength.  But when we let go of our pride, embrace humility, and surrender to Jesus, there is freedom, joy, peace, hope, and love.  Through that surrender we start to experience the best that life has to offer, and it is serendipitous... or as I would like to say "Surrendepity."

What Christ calls us to cannot happen by our own abilities.  We need Him.  And He... He has been waiting for us to realize that we need Him.  Unlike the world, when we surrender, He is tender. And His refinement grows us from those who "have very little together" to the Royal Family of all Creation who literally "have it ALL... together."

Remembering what divine relationship truly is...

On this Christmas Eve in 2015th the year of our Lord, I want to remind all of us (myself included) not to take our relationship with the Supreme Being, Deity, and Creator for granted.

So many people throughout time and with many religious attempts have sacrificed animals, crops, health, hunger, and even their own children attempting to make the deity/deities (whoever they are) approve and not punish them.  But this in itself is not relationship anymore than a child has a relationship with Santa Claus or the Tooth Fairy, or I have with my office fax/copy machine.  If we limit our relating to Jesus Christ, the Father, and the Holy Spirit to this kind of "relationship" then there is very little personal intimacy.  Perhaps your tradition has taught you that this is all you can hope to expect from a relationship with Jesus, but Jesus didn't become a man and die an excruciating death to be just like every other deity man could dream up.

Jesus is the Son of the Almighty Creator of the Universe, yet has limited Himself to being fully human because of His great love for us.  He wants a true relationship with you: talking, guiding, making you all that you were Created to be.  Jesus coming to earth was an invasion of the enemy's territory, where He exposed the lies holding people captive for thousands of years.  He came that you may have life, and have it abundantly!  He didn't come to list out all what you should and shouldn't do.  He wants your heart to be free from sin's strangleholds, true, but His main message was to receive Grace (acceptance) into unhindered relationship with the Almighty Creator, and empower you through the Holy Spirit and the Truth of Jesus to distribute freely that Grace (acceptance) to the lost and hopeless in the world.

Our relationship with Jesus is what people seeking oneness with the supernatural throughout the ages hoped for.  Its cost is that we give up trying to fix things ourselves and trust wholly in Jesus.  May you experience the eternal Hope of Jesus Christ this Christmas and abundant life for all eternity!

A reflection on one year of marriage

I'm so thankful to my wife of now one year!  She understands me like no one else does, inspires and encourages me that fuels my persistence like no one else can, and most of all, loves me for who I am.  That's hard to find (outside of our parents and our loving heavenly Father).  She laughs at my puns (sometimes... when they are good), keeps me accountable for blabbing my mouth, and needs me for hugs on hard days.

But to say that marriage is easy is a lie.  It challenges you every day with how selfish you are, and constantly reminds you that you need more and more of the grace of Jesus to continue in marriage.  But it is the very best tangible way to recognize how much grace is essential to growth as a person, a spouse, and in the fruit of the Spirit towards Christ-likeness.  As a single, it is generally easy to say whatever is on your mind and do whatever you feel like doing.  After a hangout with my wife, I have got in the habit of doing a check-up: "Did I say anything in there to embarrass you?" or "Are you upset or just tired?"  I ask these things because earlier in our marriage I would say or do something that embarrassed her, and it took a while for it to come out (and when I would finally figure it out, I would get defensive, which never improves things).  There's the age-old adage that "When mama isn't happy, nobody is happy."  This is hopefully true (even before she is a mama).  It is true because you both (hopefully) care about the other.

Tips I've learned (not necessarily ranked by importance)
1. Pray over her with a tactful but heartfelt prayer
2. Keep open communication always (esp. of plans and feelings)
3. Intentionally show you care as much as possible
4. Remember the other has your best at heart (even when it doesn't seem so)
5. Identify miscommunication impartially and move on
6. Don't use blame language nor get defensive when blamed
7. Do stuff that the other person likes and you don't
8. Forgive pre-emptively before they offend or annoy you
9. Hug them tenderly when you both feel least like hugging
10. Trust each other with money, but lovingly stay accountable (esp. asking before big purchases)