CHARIS SHALOM

I just received a link to the following email from Guy Muse, my missionary friend from Ecuador. Just as he thought it worth sharing, so did I.

…from an email received from John White (Denver, CO)…

I first learned the word “prevenience” from Eugene Peterson in his book “The Contemplative Pastor”. I was struck by what he had to say because it was immediately obvious to me that he was right. However, it was exactly the opposite of what I had been taught.

I knew how to be proactive. I knew how to “run the church” and get things done. I knew how to “make it happen”. I had a lot of unlearning to do (I’m a recovering control addict).

Here’s what Peterson has to say (with a few of John’s comments in italics):

“In running the church (or the house church), I seize the initiative. I take charge. I take responsibility for motivation and recruitment, for showing the way, for getting things started. If I don’t, things drift. I am aware of the tendency to apathy, the human susceptibility to indolence, and I use my leadership to counter it. (Isn’t that what we have been taught that leadership is? If it isn’t this, what is it?)

By contrast, the cure of souls (he means here the true work of a pastor or leader of a church as an organism) is a cultivated awareness that God has already seized the initiative. The traditional doctrine defining this truth is prevenience: God everywhere and always seizing the initiative. He gets thing going. He had and continues to have the first word. Prevenience is the conviction that God has been working diligently, redemptively, and strategically before I appeared on the scene, before I was aware there was something here for me to do.

…there is a disciplined, determined conviction that everything (and I mean, precisely everything) we do is a response to God’s first work, his initiating act. We learn to be attentive to the divine action already in process so that the previously unheard word of God is heard, the previously unattended act of God is noticed?

What has God been doing here?
What traces of grace can I discern in this life?
What history of love can I read in this group?
What has God set in motion that I can get in on?”

I call these “the prevenience questions”. Learning to ask/answer these questions is the starting place for the church each time she meets. This is the “prevenience model” of church.

With apologies to Steven Covey, we Christians were never called to be “proactive”. We are called to be “reactive” to God. (Or, perhaps “responsive” to God is better.)

I’ve had a very difficult time posting much of anything lately. I don’t seem to be much of a blogger anymore. Perhaps it is just a phase, but I haven’t made time or had much inspiration in a while. I am having fun with some artistic release as Moonface Martin in “Anything Goes” at the Aloha Performing Arts Center. I suppose that is where my blogging goes.

Someone showed me a great poem recently, however, and it communicated very well some of what God has been showing me about fear, love, power, and self-control. For a glimpse into that you can read a simple, but favorite, bible verse at 2 Timothy 1:7. For God does not give us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of self-control.

The poem is authored by Joy Harjo, a Native American poet, writer, and musical artist of Cherokee descent. Enjoy.

I Give You Back
By Joy Harjo

I release you, my beautiful and terrible fear.
I release you.
You were my beloved and hated twin, but now, I don’t know you as myself.
I release you with all the pain I would know at the death of my daughters.

You are not my blood anymore.

I give you back to the white soldiers who burned down my home, beheaded my children, raped and sodomized my brothers and sisters.

I give you back to those who stole the food from our plates when we were starving.

I release you, fear, because you hold these scenes in front of me and I was born with eyes that can never close.

I release you, fear, so you can no longer keep me naked and frozen in the winter, or smothered under blankets in the summer.

I release you I release you I release you I release you

I am not afraid to be angry.
I am not afraid to rejoice.
I am not afraid to be black
I am not afraid to be white.
I am not afraid to be hungry.
I am not afraid to be full.
I am not afraid to be hated.
I am not afraid to be loved,
to be loved, to be loved, fear.

Oh, you have choked me, but I gave you the leash.
You have gutted me but I gave you the knife.
You have devoured me, but I laid myself across the fire.

I take myself back, fear.
You are not my shadow any longer.
I won’t hold you in my hands.
You can’t live in my eyes, my ears, my voice my belly, or in my heart
my heart my heart my heart.

But come here, fear.
I am alive and you are so afraid of dying.

“A tiny group of believers who have the gospel keep mumbling it over and over to themselves.”
- K.P. Yohannan

As they argue over the trivial, billions around the world never find the freedom, peace, and love that comes through an intimate relationship with the Father!

We are called to live for God’s glory in all the nations!

Find rest in God alone, writes David, in Psalm 62. He even addresses himself – “Find rest, O my soul, in God alone; my hope comes from Him.” Psalm 62:5.

What does that mean? How can we find rest in God alone?

In the same Psalm David affirms that God is his rock, salvation, fortress, hope, and refuge; He is worthy of unwavering trust, strong, and loving. David also pours out his heart to Him.

David clearly knew God. He knew His heart, His character, and His nature. He felt completely safe with God.

Are you like David? Can you tell God your heart? Or do you hide from Him like Adam and Eve? Are you tyrranized by what others think or say about you or do you find rest knowing that God is strong and loving and that you are completely safe and fulfilled in Him alone?

Why do we worry?

Why do we strive?

Why would we believe for one minute that our provision, our livelihood, our joy, or anything else we may need or desire is dependent upon ourselves?

Listen to these amazing words:

 ¹ I lift up my eyes to the hills—
       where does my help come from?

 ² My help comes from the LORD,
       the Maker of heaven and earth.

 ³ He will not let your foot slip—
       he who watches over you will not slumber;

 ⁴ indeed, he who watches over Israel
       will neither slumber nor sleep.

 ⁵ The LORD watches over you—
       the LORD is your shade at your right hand;

 ⁶ the sun will not harm you by day,
       nor the moon by night.

 ⁷ The LORD will keep you from all harm—
       he will watch over your life;

 ⁸ the LORD will watch over your coming and going
       both now and forevermore.

Psalm 121:1-8.

Rest in these. They are the words of the living God. The same God who spoke the universe into being speaks these words into our lives.

One thing that has been on my heart lately is a question of how we (the Riley family) should handle our finances. Over a year ago, perhaps two or so years ago, I knew God was telling me to get out of debt, even the mortgage on our home in Arkansas. Of course, we had our house up for sale as we had quit our jobs and become full-time missionaries with Youth With A Mission, a group that is 100% volunteer and each of its members have to raise support to be able to do the work. So, the thought seemed very rational.

Even though our house didn’t sell for quite some time, last summer it finally sold and we were completely debt free. It was a wonderful feeling. And I felt convicted we were to remain debt free unless and until God said otherwise.

I’ve been thinking and praying about that conviction more lately because the housing market here has taken one of the hardest hits of anywhere in the United States. It has made it more easy to rationalize “investing” by borrowing to purchase a home.

Against that backdrop I had a most interesting conversation today, and it was one of those moments where I felt confident that God was speaking to me through another person. Two of my kids had baseball games today and at the first game I saw a guy I play ultimate Frisbee with on Sunday evenings. His son was on the opposing team. We began talking about our families and what our “day jobs” are as we’ve never had those discussions on the ultimate field.

As it turns out he is familiar with the University of the Nations here in Kona because he grew up here and had friends from the campus. He also is a real estate appraiser and a follower of Jesus. I told him I had been tempted recently to look into buying given the market here and how it appeared to be a great investment opportunity. He then said something I didn’t expect at all from a real estate person.

“I’ve been thinking more and more that Christians need to rent and not own. If we really want to be free to do whatever God asks of us at any time we need to be unshackled by huge mortgages and free to go on short- or long-term missions anytime God calls us to do so.”

I have thought those very words before in my context, but rarely have I uttered them. As he said them I immediately thought of something our Lord and Savior once said to someone who declared they would follow Him:

Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.

Matthew 8:20

I’m not claiming that verse has universal applicability (is normative), but I’m hearing those words more and more for our family. If God says, “Go to Haiti and help,” I need to be prepared to do so. If He asks of me, “Go to a country that I will show you,” as He did of Abraham, I want to have Abraham’s faith to go, even without knowing where I am going, and be unfettered by financial debt.

What a life Jesus led. The History Maker of all eternity, yet He had no home. I choose to follow Him and His ways. Perhaps this is just one manifestation of that for us.

Paul wrote to one of his disciples, Timothy, that “God does not give you a spirit of fear, but of power, and of love, and of self-control [or of a sound mind].” 2 Timothy 1:7. With this, God shows us that fear is in direct opposition to real power, true love, and self-control. They are at war one with another. And fear thwarts faith.

Do you have fear in your life? What makes you afraid? Have you ever stopped and asked God what makes you afraid?

Are you afraid that you won’t have the money to pay your bills if you quit your job?

Are you scared that your husband might cheat on you?

Are you fearful that your child might try drugs?

Does the thought of flying bring shivers to your spine?

I’ve found that when fear enters into my heart I become less able to make sound decisions. If I am afraid of not having money, and that fear drives my employment decisions, then I won’t listen to God when He shows me that I am missing His call in my life or that my job is ruining my marriage or interfering with my ability to raise my children.

If I am always afraid that my child is going to mess up big time, I won’t be loving and gracious toward him or her, and will so try to control his or her life that they will end up being driven away from me rather than drawn to me because of my unconditional love for them.

If I am suspicious of my spouse, how will that come out in my actions? Will it enable me to be trusting, loving, kind, and respectful? Or will they begin to fear that I’m a paranoid and lose trust and respect in me, making the circle of fear and hate continue to spiral out of control?

How does fear impact my ability to obey God’s direction in my life – things like loving others, giving my money away, being hospitable, going the extra mile, respecting my husband, loving my wife, going to make disciples of the nations, leaving my mother and father and cleaving to my spouse, and so many others?

If you have any fear in your life, other than the fear of God, it will tyrannize your life. You lose power, lack love, and try to control everything rather than exercise self-control. That is why God says the following:

4Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! 5Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. 6Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

8Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. 9Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.

Philippians 4:4-9

So, fear not (almost always God’s messengers first words to humans), and trust in the Lord with all your heart, loving Him with all you’ve got, and loving others as you love yourself. And the God of peace will be with you. Amen!

I love the Book of Habakkuk. He was a guy who felt safe baring his soul to God. He’s practically yelling at God. Check it out:

2 How long, O LORD, must I call for help,
but you do not listen?
Or cry out to you, “Violence!”
but you do not save?

3 Why do you make me look at injustice?
Why do you tolerate wrong?
Destruction and violence are before me;
there is strife, and conflict abounds.

4 Therefore the law is paralyzed,
and justice never prevails.
The wicked hem in the righteous,
so that justice is perverted.

Habakkuk 1:2-4

He truly understood, as Isaiah did, that it was safe to contend with God. Isaiah 1:18.

As I was reading through this wonderful prophecy again, verse 11 of Chapter 1 really caught my attention.

“Then they sweep past like the wind and go on—
guilty men, whose own strength is their god.”

Here God is answering Habakkuk and telling him about the Babylonians, whom He is using to execute judgment on other nations. The Babylonians were people who trusted in their own strength as their god. They knew they could conquer if they just tried hard enough.

As I read that I realized that a busy person may be caught up in trusting in their own strength. As I wrote in my last post, we often decide not to do something, even something we think or know we should do, because we are “too busy.” When we are in a place where we don’t feel at rest – at peace with our life – that place of contentment Paul talks about (Philippians 4:11-13), then we often feel busy. We are too busy to talk to someone else who needs us; we are too busy to go to Haiti (even if God is calling us to go); we are too busy to take time to talk to our spouse or child. We are striving, not thriving, and the important things of life often begin to suffer.

Could this not be an indication that we are trusting in our own strength? Whenever I start believing that something just can’t be done unless I forsake many important relationships, then I am forgetting the greatest commandments – to love God and others. Whenever I am too busy to be loving, I am not worshiping God, no matter what I’ve accomplished in His name; I am trusting in my own strength. 1 Corinthians 13:1-4.

Oh, that we would rest in the Almighty! It is finished!

It’s funny. We make decisions all the time with this passing thought: “I’m too busy.” It is sometimes said out loud, but often it is the subconscious guide to our lives.

You will be getting ready for work and your child will call out, “Mommy, I want to show you something.”

“Not now, Honey, I’m too busy.”

Your wife will call you during the day on your cell phone but you never bother to pick it up because you’re “too busy.”

An old friend is across the restaurant where you’re eating lunch, but you’re hoping inside he doesn’t notice you because you are really “too busy” to take time to catch up.

I find this intriguing. Those things we are too busy to do clearly are low on our priority list, no matter what we otherwise might say. The things we choose to occupy our time with are the things we choose to prioritize.

I think we all too often prioritize by what we are doing whether than by who we are becoming. In other words, we focus on getting tasks done rather than improving our character. Now, don’t get me wrong, I agree that getting tasks done is a good thing, but what tasks are we checking off our lists? Honestly assess that. Is it really all that important that you were able to make a to do list, check off 75% of the things on it, and pick up doughnuts for your office?

What if, by doing those things, you still weren’t a better husband or wife, a better mommy or daddy, more hospitable, more honest, more loving, or more like Jesus generally?

When you ran out the door to be able to pick up those doughnuts rather than take a moment to see the paper box your daughter made to hold her precious things and left her wondering why you never have time for her, have you truly accomplished what you want to make top priority?

When your wife knows she needn’t bother trying to call you during the day regardless of how much she needs to because you are always too busy to pick up the phone, have you really accomplished being the husband you were called to be, loving her like Christ loves the Church?

When you don’t have time to greet your friend and see how they are doing, are you really being a compassionate friend who is ready to live a life of love? Ephesians 5:1.

I don’t write these things because I have it all together. I wouldn’t know how to even write this without having lived on the wrong side of it.

So I challenged myself to do this. And perhaps you could, too. Let’s rest for a moment from all our busyness and business and ask, how do my daily decisions demonstrate my true priorities? And, how do those line up with my call to be like Jesus? Am I truly hospitable? Am I truly loving? Am I truly a friend to the friendless? Am I burning with passion to share the story of God in my life? Am I known as a husband and a daddy, a wife and a mother? Am I someone people seek out because they know I will have time for them, meeting them where they are just like Jesus met me where I was and am?

Many followers of Jesus say they want to be a leader. The bible tells us what makes a good leader. Perhaps you can ask yourself whether these are at the top of your priority list:

[A godly leader] must be above reproach, the husband of but one wife, temperate, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, not given to drunkenness, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money. He must manage his own family well and see that his children obey him with proper respect. 1 Timothy 3:2-4.

And, of course, Jesus tells us that a good leader is the one who serves others.

Do you have time for these things or are you “too busy”?

I realized today that I had been impatient with several people over the past week. And I really regret it. I decided to do a little personal study on patience.

The very first verse I read was this one (talk about adding to the conviction the Holy Spirit was already putting in my heart): “Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love.”- Ephesians 4:2.

I don’t really have to go much further in my study. Impatience is the opposite of complete humility and complete gentleness. Impatience is the opposite of bearing with my brothers and sisters in Jesus in love. Impatience and love simply cannot coexist.

Daggers to my heart. I thought I was a pretty loving and gentle guy. But when I keep finding myself treating another person flippantly and as though I have more important things to get on to, I must admit that loving and gentle, humble and forbearing just aren’t words that describe those actions or thoughts.

Proverbs 19:11 continues the onslaught. “A man’s wisdom gives him patience. It is to his glory to overlook an offense.” What? Impatience is clear evidence of a lack of wisdom? Argh. And even when people wrong me – like it truly is an offense – I am shown to be wise to overlook it? Sigh. (Picture Charlie Brown).

Proverbs 25:15 teaches me that patience leads to persuasiveness. I like to persuade. I mean, I do have good ideas. So, hmmm, perhaps I even have selfish reasons to learn patience.

And, I really do want to be known as a Spirit-filled follower of Jesus, and God clearly teaches us that a fruit of the Spirit is patience. Galatians 5:22-23. Moreover, Paul challenges all of us to be patience and gracious, noting that a lack of those things demonstrates contempt for the patience and grace God has demonstrated for us. Romans 2:4.

I also cannot forget one of my favorite passages of Scripture, one that we chose to have read at our wedding over 15 years ago. I pray that I continue to grow in my understanding and application of these words. They are words I hope describe our family’s ministry every day.

Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.

Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

Colossians 3:12-17.

So, Lord, please grant me patience. Help me grow in love for everyone whom You bless me to know and meet each and every day. May my patience lead to prayer and grace, in love, for your sons and daughters. Thank you for your forgiveness and grace, and for your beautiful creatures and creation. Amen.

Fun.

Yes, you heard me say it. Life is meant to be fun.

Think about Genesis 1 and 2, before things got out of whack. Imagine Adam and God, exploring the garden, intrigued, amazed, in wonder, overjoyed, and awestruck by the beauty and variety of animals, naming each one together.

Imagine what it would be like, before sin ruled and the world became a fallen and difficult place, to be told that your only responsibilities are to make babies, fill the earth, and rule over it.

And ponder the truth that in that original design for humanity, God clearly was the Father over all and each of us, His creation, were created to be His sons and daughters, children before Him. Filled with the child-like faith that looks up into the sky and wonders at the millions of stars, sees the intensity of the blueness of the sky and wants to know why it is so blue, and is willing to jump down out of a tree into the arms of one’s daddy – that is who God created us to be and how we can relate to Him.

Jesus noted the import of a child’s heart of faith and yearned for the children to come to Him. He demonstrated exactly the heart of God, the Father.

So, I say life is meant to be fun. And, when we live in the reality that God is our Daddy and that we truly are His children, then we can stop working so had to make our own way, rest gently in the Way God has prepared for us, and enjoy.

If for any reason life has ceased being fun, then it surely is the right time to go to the Father and ask “Why?”

Life is beautiful!!

For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Romans 8:38-39

So, does sin separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord?

What is sin?

What does sin do?

I can’t say I have all the answers, but here are my thoughts. Yes, the Greek does give us the picture of sin as missing the mark. But what is the mark? What is it we’ve missed when sin enters the picture?

Sin, in my opinion, is simply choosing to believe a lie rather than believing the Truth. When we agree with the prince of liars (Satan) about what is real rather than agreeing with the Way, the Truth, and the Life about what is real, we sin.

God keeps loving us, however. Nothing can separate us from His love.

You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

Romans 5:6-8

God’s love is Truth. It is constant. God is love. God never changes. And God never fails. But we do. We have the ability to choose to believe His love or not. It is in that failure that we separate ourselves from God. Adam and Eve illustrate it well in the garden; they heard God coming and HID. All of life is about whether we will hide from God or rest in His love.

May I rest in His love today and forever.

Tara (my wife) got to join in on a brand new ministry in Kona last year with a South African friend here at the University of the Nations in Kona, Annamari Fuls. Annamari has a deep love for the ocean, and she finds it thrilling to teach about God’s love and creativity using the ocean as her foundation. Tara loves the ministry Annamari has envisioned as it reaches people with disabilities.

In the following video you will not only see Tara, but you will also learn a bit more about this visionary ministry to the disabled.

Annamari calls her ministry “Deep and Beyond.” She says of it:

It has been extremely rewarding to take people snorkeling who normally do not have the opportunity to even go in the water. Snorkel Day has been the expression of God’s heart for people with disabilities to discover freedom and abundant life, but most importantly His love.

Momentum for this ministry is growing and there is a lot of excitement for bigger dreams.

We are expanding DEEP & BEYOND to include outdoor camps and day excursions for local schools, students from the UofN campus and troubled youth. Our desire is for each person to walk away with a sense of purpose and destiny in being part of God’s big dream. Our heart is to establish a safe discipleship atmosphere in which the participants can have an encounter with the Creator, their Father and Savior, who loves them unconditionally. This will also provide a great opportunity to teach them about Creation and environmental stewardship, the way God intended it.

The ministry is also expanding to include deep sea boat trips, exploring tidal pools, environmental education activities and… SCUBA diving!

As a part of the expansion into SCUBA, Annamari is planning to take her certification level from Dive Master to Scuba Instructor, which requires a course costing $3000. If you are interested in helping her achieve this or supporting her ministry at all, please let me know as you can give to her through FJ Ministries. Please join us in giving to support this ministry and praying for it as it begins its second year in 2010.

Worship of God is a funny thing. People get really concerned about how other people do it.

For many of us, when we encounter someone worshiping the Lord in a way that is new to us, rather than deeming it “new,” “exciting,” or “encouraging,” we simply see it as “odd.” I know I’ve said things in the past like “I suppose you can worship God that way, but it’s not necessary.”

Imagine if your wife came to you and said, “You know, I know you really like it when I show you my love by cooking your favorite meal – the steak, the potatoes, the sweet corn on the cob, the garlic toast, and the brownies a la mode, but it isn’t really necessary. I really think we should just have cold meat sandwiches all the time.”

Imagine if, when you were a kid, your parents said, “You know, son, I know you love it when we go all out at Christmas and get you the new computer, bicycle, and all sorts of other fun things, but, it’s really not necessary. We’re just going to stick to socks this year. It’s not about the gifts.”

I don’t know about you, but it sure seems to me that rather than worry about how another person is getting excited about the love of the Father we sure could be asking God to reveal more of Himself to us. Besides, would we rather see a young man or woman moshing it up at a Black Sabbath concert cutting him or herself or would we love to see them pogo-ing in the name of Jesus? Or prostrate before the Lord? Or dancing like David danced (when he also was despised by another)? Or speaking in some “odd” language, that we may or may not be sure of, but for that individual it is a journey of faith in God?

Why do we get so “concerned” about such things? I know, I know, they may not be necessary, but, really… Is it such a bad thing?

Besides, all God really asks of us is that we love Him. With ALL of our hearts, souls, minds, and strength. We are blessed to be living sacrifices, worshiping Him with ALL that we are, ALL that we have, and ALL that we know.

What joy floods my soul!! And how that works its way out physically may just be a mystery to many, but may it always be a fragrant offering of love to my Daddy.

Floyd McClung, a long-time missionary with YWAM and now with his own organization, writes these excellent questions for us as we ponder 2010.

1. What’s one way you could utilize time to increase your enjoyment of God?

2. What’s the most humanly impossible thing you will ask God to do this year?

3. What’s the single most important thing you could do to improve the quality of your family life this year?

4. In which spiritual discipline do you most want to make progress this year, and what will you do about it?

5. Who are three people you can disciple more intentionally?

6. What is the most helpful way you can build community with a few other followers of Jesus this year?

7. For whose salvation will you pray most fervently this year?

8. Who is the person you most want to encourage this year?

9. What one thing could you do to improve your prayer life this year?

10. What single thing can you plan to do this year that will matter most in ten years? In eternity?

These are definitely questions worth asking, over and over again – not just of yourself, but of God. He knows the answers! And a full life will be lived when we pursue the answers to these kinds of questions.

It’s humbling when you see a child’s excitement over receiving an apple, knowing the number of apples you’ve let go bad over the years or simply not eaten because you could have something else.

It’s inspiring when you see a child yell with joy because they find a toothbrush in their package.

We simply have no concept of what it is like to live day to day. Most people in the Philippines only buy something when they have the cash to do so. Almost everything comes in individual sizes, because people only buy what they can afford and often just buy enough for the next meal. An entire day can be filled with getting up, taking a bath, eating a small portion of rice, perhaps that which is left from dinner the night before, washing clothes, going to the nearest store, shopping for food to prepare for lunch, cooking lunch, eating, cleaning up, taking a nap in the heat of the day, going to the store to buy food to prepare for dinner (if you have money to do so), cooking, eating dinner, and preparing for bed.

Meanwhile, the person in the family who is blessed to have a job might ride a bicycle all day long, transporting others who are going to do all of the above. For pennies a ride, he will pedal miles each day to provide enough money, perhaps no more than a couple of dollars a day, to buy rice and laundry soap.

But that is why we are overjoyed to celebrate our Christmas this year by sharing the little bit that we have. It has been so much fun providing gifts to over 300 kids here.

May this work continue for years to come and may many families be touched by the love of the Father through ouTside the boX, coming to an understanding of what Jesus did for them.

Our first morning in Iligan City was December 17^th, so I prepared for my day by meditating on Proverbs 17. I had a hard time getting past the first verse because it leapt from the page as I began my reading.

Better a dry crust with peace and quiet
       than a house full of feasting, with strife.

Proverbs 17:1

As I read those words I thought of the fact that this is God’s Word. God doesn’t lie. God knows exactly how we are designed and what our bodies, minds, souls, and spirits need.

We clearly need food; in fact, it is one of our most basic needs. However, with these 16 words, God shows us a greater need than food. It is more important for our well being that we be in right relationship with God and with others than it is that we have much food.

A remix of Proverbs 17:1 could be this:

Abundant life is found in having rich relationships and living at peace with one another. Although you need food, you will never be satisfied by the richest of foods or by having an abundance of food unless you also have healthy relationships with others.

Most of my life I have sought comfort in food. This has led to a lifelong battle with weight gain. But true comfort comes only from the Holy Spirit and my first priority must be my relationship with God. Jesus told us this when He said the greatest commandment was loving God. But, coupled with this – in fact it is inseparable from it – is the command to love others as we love ourselves. As we are reconciled to, and love, God, we will also be reconciled to, and love, others.

At the end of the day it really is all about right relationship!

I love how God invites us to deliberate with Him, not just talk to Him or about Him or only say good things to Him. He calls to us to share our hearts.

“Come now, let us reason together,” says the LORD. “Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool. Isaiah 1:18.

We see David, the man after God’s own heart, time and time again, crying out to God about his troubles. It is as though he were a lawyer making his complaint.

 ⁹ I say to God my Rock,
       “Why have you forgotten me?
       Why must I go about mourning,
       oppressed by the enemy?”

 ¹⁰ My bones suffer mortal agony
       as my foes taunt me,
       saying to me all day long,
       “Where is your God?”

 ¹¹ Why are you downcast, O my soul?
       Why so disturbed within me?
       Put your hope in God,
       for I will yet praise him,
       my Savior and my God.

Psalm 42:9-11.

None of this offends our amazing God. He cherishes us and cherishes when we express our heartfelt emotions to Him.

It was in one of those moments that ouTside the boX was born. In less than 8 hours my wife and I and our three kids will be on a plane headed to the Philippines. We are going to celebrate Christmas, the birth of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, by giving our Christmas away. Hundreds of people are joining us in this exciting celebration with their gifts and prayers. All of it started with a simple time of prayer, during which I wasn’t exactly filled with moving words of praise and thanksgiving.

I was jogging. I was pondering our lives. We are here at the University of the Nations, thousands of miles away from what we knew for over 30 years and our families, and the Christmas season was nearly upon us. I considered whether we should go to be with our families, but I felt as though the funds that we might use to do that should be used for other things, even though we and our families would love to be together during the holidays. As I recognized that before the Lord I also realized that I had no real desire to sit in Kona and celebrate Christmas.

It was in that moment of a poverty of spirit about our choices for Christmas that God spoke to me and asked me why I couldn’t give our Christmas away. Suddenly my heart leapt as I thought of spending our family Christmas in the Philippines, giving people who otherwise wouldn’t have a Christmas, many reasons to celebrate. There really is no joy like discovering God’s purpose for your life.

As a result, we are preparing gifts for over 300 families. People from Canada, Arkansas, Australia, England, Oklahoma, Texas, New Zealand, Hawaii, and who knows where else have given money and items for us to bless families in the Philippines. We are giving away bibles, toothbrushes, toothpaste, soap, laundry soap, food, toys, shoes, and more to each of the families. Tara packed up 9 suitcases today, not filled with stuff for us, but filled with stuff donated to give away to needy families there.

So, off we go. I cannot wait. Our three kids are brimming with excitement. And we will be meeting not only material needs, but we also will be giving the most important gift, that which is ouTside the boX, the gift that God gave in Jesus Christ. We will be able to tell people that the reason why we are there, giving away our Christmas, is because God so loved them that He gave Jesus Christ so that they can live in relationship with Him.

O what joy fills my soul!

This week Dr. Harold Finch visited the University of the Nations. In his 20s he obtained the NASA contract for the company he was employed by for the Apollo spaceship. At the time it was the plum project for scientists everywhere. He then switched careers to education and planted a new Community College in one year’s time. It later became one of the top colleges in its classification in the United States. Then, he decided to develop a training company for businesses and managers and within five years it was the top management training company in the United States. He sold the business to H & R Block and went to work funding missionaries and mission work, including his family’s mission projects.

He gave an excellent definition of success: “Fulfilling the desires of your heart.”

The more I thought about that the more I realized he wasn’t just giving a good definition; he was giving God’s definition.

Consider Psalm 37:4 – “Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart.”

Given the Truth that the chief end of man is to glorify God (thanks John Piper), and that God tells us that when we do that very thing we will be given the desires of our heart, we can quickly see that success at our purpose – glorifying God – results in fulfilled desires!

May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you a spirit of unity among yourselves as you follow Christ Jesus, so that with one heart and mouth you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Romans 15:5-6.

Ask God to remind you of the true desires of your heart. Does your daily routine truly fufill those? If not, you should ask God why not and how you can find yourself on a daily walk that is fulfilling.

Sometimes I don’t even feel like I know the answer to this question, so it shouldn’t surprise me when people ask me why we do what we do.

First, we absolutely are compelled by the love of Jesus, the greatest missionary this world has ever known. He is the One who crossed every cultural dimension, from heaven to earth, from throne to manger, from God to infant, from King of all kings to a lowly carpenter in an oppressed people under the cruel yoke of the Roman Empire.

That same Jesus told you and told me to “Go therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

Second, we are here for our family. We are here to see families made whole. And we are here to see our own family made whole.

I saw some of the fruit of that this week when Tanner, our ten-year old, gave me his birthday wish list. Check this out:

So, our nearly 11-year old isn’t asking for a cell phone or an ipod. He isn’t asking for the latest hot Xbox. Instead, his first request is a book and the next two are requests for our entire family to do something together. It seems he isn’t captivated by his culture or by what he can gain materially; instead, he yearns for the memories that we create together as a family. What a blessing that is to this daddy.

Three years ago we went on a huge hike to the Green Sand Beach. It literally was about 6 miles of hiking. Tanner was only 7 at the time, Keaton 5 and Regan 2 and in a backpack on my back. I remember Tanner complaining A LOT about how difficult it was. But what he remembers is that we all persevered and conquered a difficult journey together. And that is what he desires. As do I.

Wow.

I yearn for more families to join us. You will see your family grow in ways you never dreamed possible as you join God in His great Mission to save the world.

Come. And go. And LIVE.