Haiti 2013 - Day 1

I am putting aside my normal blogging this week and will write about our just-concluded mission trip to Haiti. We left at about 1:00 a.m. on Saturday, July 6th and returned close to midnight on Saturday, July 13th. It is quite hard to compress a week's worth of blessings, struggles, grace, mercy, thought, and anecdote into blog-form but here goes...

Like Paul Revere, the Haiti team (Ayiti ekip) from Wall Highway Baptist Church went on a midnight ride. Due to the amount of luggage involved - besides backpacks, carry-ons and our own suitcases, everyone had a donation suitcase that weighed very close to fifty pounds - we needed three vehicles to drive from Madison, AL to Atlanta. That meant three drivers who volunteered to take us to Atlanta in the middle of the night and then turn-around and drive home.

There are so many ways to serve God in a given mission field, and driving close to ten hours in the middle of the night is one of them in my book!

Delta has a great check-in area at the Atlanta airport and we made it through all the formalities quite easily. After clearing security we ambled toward our gate with plenty of time until take-off and enjoyed a leisurely breakfast and - for me - a tasty cup of Caribou Coffee. Our flight to Port au Prince (PaP) was uneventful and we all tried to doze as much as possible after our very early start.

We have bags, we have bus...where is that driver?

Having traveled to Haiti in 2010 and 2011, I was pleasantly surprised at the ongoing improvements to the airport in PaP. One thing that hasn't changed is the onrush of Red Shirts as soon as you clear immigration and make it to baggage claim. Red Shirts are men who have gained access to the airport as porters and are quite aggressive about offering their bag-carrying services. Despite our best intentions we ended up availing ourselves of their services, at least for a little while, until we met up with Bobby, our one-man, Haitian greeting committee from Mission of Hope (MoH). Bobby expertly prised us from the clutches of Red Shirts circling like so many helpful piranha and guided us to our waiting Bluebird (school bus).

After a brief word to our team leader Kirk, Bobby and the bus driver disappeared back toward the airport. I thought perhaps there was another flight coming in and they were off to save them from their own avaricious school of Red Shirts. We found a likely bit of shade near the bus and after repelling the initial advances of the first of many souvenir entrepreneurs, I rewarded myself with a cold 7-Up from the drink vendor who's shade we had opted to share. Kirk noticed that there was someone on the bus already and went to reconnoiter, emerging a bit later with a young lady named Micah who had traveled alone to Haiti to serve God through MoH. After introductions all around, we invited Micah - who hails from St. Louis - to hang out with us for the week if it was allowed, assuming she was so inclined.

After what seemed like ages, Bobby and the driver returned - with only some luggage in tow - and we boarded and began the last leg of our journey.

The drive from the airport took about forty minutes after which we swung into the MoH facility and powered up the hill to what would become our home for the week.

Donation sorting is always first...

First stop was what I call the porch. When not out working, visiting local families, worshiping or sleeping, free time was usually spent on the porch. Lot's of hard, wooden bench seating, tables and at strategic times of the day: coffee and food!

We had not yet disembarked when a young, red-haired man bounded up the steps of the bus, introducing himself as Derek, our intern. Interns are typically college-aged young men and women who commit their summer vacations to serving God and the people of Haiti through internship at MoH. After a warm welcome, Derek filled us in on some key information and led us in prayer. We exited the bus and sorted through all of our donations, eventually making our way to the rooms we had been assigned.

Room (Sal) 104 - our home away from home

With a distinctly summer camp-y feel, the guest houses contain seven plain metal bunk beds equipped with slim mattresses. Each mattress has a bottom sheet and no top sheet. Any concern about lack of covers disappeared early in the week as - with no air conditioning - we discovered they were unnecessary.

Once unpacked and changed into shorts, I applied the first of countless coats of bug spray to fend off the ever-present mosquitoes. Back at the porch, we gathered as a team to debrief from the trip, make sure it was okay with Derek that Micah joined our group for the week, and spent time getting to know each other - and the other mission teams - a little better. Dinner and orientation followed, with some personal Bible study and downtime ahead of our first full day on campus (Sunday).

Stay tuned for the Day 2 blog tomorrow, Bondye vle (God willing)!

X

Acts 17:23 - updated for the 21st century

For some reason, I feel the pull of rebellion. In the past, while I haven't shied away from expressing my personal beliefs in God, today I wade unhesitatingly into the wider ocean of ideas.

Recently, an Atheist Monument was erected in front of the Bradford County Courthouse in Starke, FL. A web article from the Pensacola News Journal recounted the event. The president of American Atheists, David Silverman, pointed out that the eminently practical monument is in the shape of a bench. The New Jersey-based group received permission to place it nearby to a 10 Commandments monument, also located in front of the Courthouse.

Ironically, Mr. Silverman had to stand on the 10 Commandments monument to be heard. Maybe it's just me; wouldn't he have achieved more elevation standing on the Atheist Monument bench?

Humor aside, the first thing I thought of was the book of Acts. Chapter 17, verse 23 to be specific. That verse says:

For while I was passing through and examining the objects of your worship, I also found an altar with this inscription, ‘TO AN UNKNOWN GOD.' Therefore what you worship in ignorance, this I proclaim to you...

Paul was speaking with a wide variety of people, Jews, Gentiles, Epicurean and Stoic philosophers, and others. He was explaining to them the truth about the only real God.

You might say, "X, if Paul was speaking out against monuments made by human hands, doesn't that cast all of the 10 Commandment monuments scattered around our country in sort of a bad light?"

That's a great question. Paul even noted that God does not dwell in Temples made by hand - which would have been a great affront to the Jews present since they believed that the Temple in Jerusalem was the house of God.

Any 10 Commandment monument serves one main purpose: to remind us of the instructions God gave to Moses and which, by the way, adorn our own Supreme Court.

Somewhere in Washington, DC

Another interesting thing that occurred to me:

Why go to Florida? If you're a group of sober-minded, monument-loving atheists, why not put one up in New Jersey? Maybe they couldn't count on the support of the community up there? Who knows.

The Treaty of Tripoli? Seriously?

One of the most prominent inscriptions on the AA Monument is an homage to the Treaty of Tripoli (1797). I believe the key excerpt is Article 11, which reads:

As the Government of the United States of America is not, in any sense, founded on the Christian religion; as it has in itself no character of enmity against the laws, religion, or tranquillity, of Mussulmen; and, as the said States never entered into any war, or act of hostility against any Mahometan nation, it is declared by the parties, that no pretext arising from religious opinions, shall ever produce an interruption of the harmony existing between the two countries.

I cringe at the olde English - or what I assume is olde English - because the alternative is too horrendous to consider. But let's bypass that and think about the context of what Article 11 is doing in this document.

Although the English translation of the Arabic original has been widely questioned, there is no question that Article 11 as it is stated above was the text that was ratified by the Senate. But more informally, the purpose of the Tripoli treaty - and others with neighboring Barbary States - was to reduce or eliminate a serious piracy problem for the new United States. Is it any wonder that the young US government would agree to any statement which they believed would prevent privateers from preying on American shipping in the Mediterranean?

You get what you pay for

It's human nature to go big. The 10 Commandments monument in Starke reportedly cost in the neighborhood of $22,000, and as you could see if Mr. Silverman wasn't standing on it, it's quite nice. On the other hand, the atheist bench comes in at a frugal $6,000. Taking a closer look at the picture above, the typesetting does leave a little to be desired - maybe they got a discount?

At the end of the day, if the American Atheists (led by a man of Jewish heritage) want to erect a monument to their non-belief, more power to them. It's no secret to me that there are atheists in this country and that they are a little tweaked by various courts not removing 10 Commandment monuments, which are apparently a threat to the separation clause in our Constitution.

I hope to be able to swing by the Bradford County Courthouse the next time in the Starke neighborhood. I just hope those radical Christians haven't vandalized the monument. We do live, after all, in a free country.

What do you think?

X

I choose to be...

...a Christian? A politician? An artist? A Buddhist? A teacher? A police officer? A fire fighter? A Muslim? A writer? A soccer player? A business leader? A Deist?

Yesterday's post regarding my reaction to Nancy Pelosi's comments concerning the so-called war on women got me thinking. Actually, I've been thinking about this off and on for a while now; I just haven't felt ready to articulate those thoughts. I'm probably still not ready, but here goes.

Regular visitors who have read any amount of my musings here at the Stream of Consciousness have seen my account - my faith story - my testimony - how I came to be in a personal relationship with God. One thing I've noticed is that there are some differences between Christians who have been Christians for almost as long as they can remember and folks like me. And by that I mean people who lived a significant part of their lives separated from God. I suspect I'll have to go down that rabbit hole in a blog someday - just not today.

It's not that I didn't hear the names God or Jesus during those years; it's more that I did not pay them any attention, and when I did, it wasn't in a way that I am very proud of. So how did I move from not caring about God to caring deeply about Him? In short, there were two different things that contributed to me entering into a saving relationship with Jesus:

1. Seeking: I don't particular care for this term as it relates to looking for God. Contrary to popular opinion, God isn't hiding from us. The seeking I did was more along the lines of me looking for Him because I had lost my way and needed to find Him - but I don't believe He had ever moved. I also don't care for this term when it's coupled with the idea that God is different for everyone; like there are some infinite number of gods that we can choose from and we just have to seek and find the one that is right for us.

Is god red, shiny and really fast?

My official seeking took the form of just living my life and being around people here and there - my wife, my mother-in-law, a colleague at work - who talked about God and Jesus. Sometimes I would just listen; sometimes I would enter into discussion about a particular comment or topic that came up. Other times I would go away, later pondering what was said.

I had the good fortune to live abroad for twelve or thirteen years of my life, both during childhood and as an adult. I have lived in England and in the Middle East. I traveled extensively on the Arabian peninsula and was also able to visit several African countries, Thailand and India. During those years I spoke to many people about their faith or lack thereof. As you might imagine from that life experience, I had a very broad pallet of beliefs I could have chosen from.

2. Deciding: Both of these terms are slippery and can mean different things for different folks. When someone says, "I've decided to be a Christian," that sounds a little to me like saying, "I'll have the veal." Deciding is the end result of seeking. If I was looking for a new car and had an unlimited budget, I might very well decide to purchase that Ferrari up there once I had explored all the various automotive options available to me. I've always had a thing for Ferrari, ever since being at Formula 1 race tracks in Europe as a kid.

Don't get me wrong, there is a decision point that occurs when someone becomes a Christian. For me though, it was more of a choice than a decision. I clearly heard God calling me to accept that Jesus did what He did for me, and that I needed to make a choice - a decision - to accept Him as my Savior.

Choose wisely

Or not. At that moment, to coin a cheesy line - a moment frozen in time - I had to receive God's free gift of salvation through the death and resurrection of His Son Jesus. 

So who is God? 

Maybe the reason that people believe in so many gods is that God manifests himself differently depending upon each of our unique situations. Back in the day, the words, "Religion is a crutch," came out of my mouth on more than one occasion. But when you get right down to it, what is the purpose of anyone making a choice to believe in God?

The purpose for buying a car is to have transportation, a means of conveyance to get us from point A to point B to point C and back again. But as humans, we load up the basic need for transportation with all sorts of personal baggage: style, color, performance, roominess, comfort, cost, etc. Buying a car has progressed way beyond meeting a need and has become a matter of personal taste (and budget).

Unfortunately, I think that in our world God has also progressed way beyond meeting a need and become a matter of personal taste. Think about that for a moment. If you have any inkling that there may be an omnipotent, creator-God who loves you, do you believe that He is just going to sit back and let you decide what or who God is?

This is one huge (bankrupt) crutch

I can't choose what you believe. Personally, I think for each and every one of us there is a need for salvation. That need is foundational to my belief in God and the atoning work of Jesus Christ. If there isn't a need for salvation then what Jesus did becomes meaningless. If there isn't a need for salvation then all the religions of the world - all the faith of billions of people - become like so many Ferrari - nice, but ultimately meaningless. 

However, if there is a need for salvation, your faith decision is not something you will want to put off for too long. It's not about republican or democrat, or this church and that church; it's about a personal decision between you and God. No one can make the decision for you. You have to choose.

Choose wisely.

X

We're at war with women

I must have missed it. Somewhere in the last half century, America - more specifically conservative America -  has declared war on women. I know this particular blog will likely not win me many friends but I can't help but say something.

I have friends on both sides of the fabled aisle, referring to how democrats and republicans sit on opposite sides of the house and senate. The cool thing about friends though, is that you can express an opinion to them and while they may not agree with you, most of the time they don't rush to burn you at the stake. After today I might have to resign myself to a few less Christmas cards or Facebook friends.

Speaking of which, I happened across a conservative friend's post on Facebook this morning. The source was a website that democrats would assume is run by bald, fat, white men in bib overalls, drinking Pabst Blue Ribbon while driving around in their pick-up trucks shooting small animals with their over-sized collection of banned assault rifles.

Okay, so I couldn't actually find a picture of any bald, fat, white men in bib overalls, drinking Pabst Blue Ribbon while driving around in their pick-up trucks shooting small animals but I'm guessing some liberals would just assume that these two guys have pick-up trucks and beer and guns in a common location somewhere...

I try to stay away from the wild-eyed Pat Buchanan-loving websites so I went in search of corroborative evidence - since the aforementioned conservative post claimed that our current House Minority Leader had responded in a public interview - and it was her comments that started me down this rabbit hole to begin with.

DISCLAIMER: No rabbits were harmed in the writing of this blog. There were no pick-up trucks, cheap beer or banned weapons used during the production of this free speech.

Where was I? So I found an article on what I assume is a more left-leaning website www.thinkprogress.org. The article was entitled House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi Warns The War On Women Isn’t Over, and sure enough, it included many of the same quotes that the darned conservative article had highlighted; only without all the crazy pictures of Nancy Pelosi. Maybe it's just me, but if you're denigrating someone for being a name-calling, ignorant knucklehead, doing it by being a name-calling, ignorant knucklehead kind of takes the shine off, if you know what I mean.

I'm sure Madam Pelosi is a fine, upstanding American, but here's where it gets ugly. This article (see above) is the second time in as many weeks where I've heard (or read) Madam Pelosi state in no uncertain terms that her Catholic faith has no bearing on her position regarding abortion. To cherry pick from the Think Progress interview - and I quote:

1. "House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) blasted the GOP’s continued assault on reproductive rights in an exclusive interview with ThinkProgress on Saturday."
2. "So this is the fight. It’s a fight on family planning, contraception, as well as terminating a pregnancy and without having adequate protections for women in case of rape or incest, life of the mother. It’s so hypocritical."
3. "My faith is about, Christ is my savior, the church is his church, and has nothing to do with Priests for Life…I wouldn't even dignify whatever it is they said. It was a highly emotional statement that they made. If it were more intellectual I might have paid attention to it. He was acting hysterically."

To respond as simply as I can:

1. Using the term reproductive rights in a discussion about a person's right to choose to kill a human baby is - among other things - an oxymoron.
2. No, the fight is about preventing the unnecessary killing of human babies.
3. It is possible to be intellectual about God. But our relationship with Jesus - and by our I mean the collective church - is granted solely by God's grace through our individual faith. However, that individual faith does not allow for us to self-determine what constitutes morality. The only hysterical thing about this is that Madam Pelosi believes she can somehow justify killing babies before God.

At the risk of being sarcastic, good luck with that.

Jesus says in Matthew 25:40, while teaching on things that constitute loving our neighbor as ourselves, "The King will answer and say to them, ‘Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it to Me."

Another teaching of Jesus (perhaps more appropriate for Madam Pelosi) begins in Luke 9:46 - "An argument started among them as to which of them might be the greatest. But Jesus, knowing what they were thinking in their heart, took a child and stood him by His side, and said to them, “Whoever receives this child in My name receives Me, and whoever receives Me receives Him who sent Me; for the one who is least among all of you, this is the one who is great.”"

I'm not a woman, and to many that disqualifies me from speaking out on women's issues. However, I am a follower of Jesus Christ - a sinful, stumbling, try-again-today believer in the death and resurrection of our Savior. And that qualifies me to speak up and chastise Madam Pelosi in this instance.

Madam, this is America; and you are free to voice your opinion and you are free to believe whatever you choose to believe. If the law of the land allows abortion and you agree with that, you certainly have every right to do so. But when you step across the line of faith and profess to stand with Christ you must align yourself with Him. You can't have it both ways.

X

En français, s'il vous plaît

I should have paid more attention in school. I took French for four years: two in the UK during junior high school and two in high school back in the States. I must have shown some promise because during my last year they put me in the Advanced French class.

Ah, Paris...

Alas, I was a knucklehead as a young man and did not seize the opportunity. In fact, me and my best friend John - the one who said his father was in the CIA - conspired to cheat the system. You see, our teacher was a Canadian lady, one of only two female teachers in the entire school. Did I mention I attended military school? Anyway, she looked to be about eighty years old and resembled what you might think of today as one of those cat ladies. You know, the ones the neighbors call the police on because there are hundreds of mewling cats next door?

I can no longer recall the poor woman's name, but being Canadian, she could surely speak French.

In any case, Advanced French requires a lot of conversation, so our teacher would pair us off and each duo would engage in witty French repartee. Except for John and I. As our crazy cat lady teacher would circle the room listening to each conversation and offering praise or suggestions for improvement, John and I would engage in witty English repartee - using outrageous French accents.

"Soooo, Jean, what'ar we do-eng zis week-en?"

"Je ne sais pas, peut-être nous pouvons chasser les chats."

You see, as the teacher would get closer to us, we would have to lapse into actual French so as not to get into trouble, or worse, fail the class.

Which is, of course, the root of my embarrassment today. Obviously we knew enough French to actually converse when we had to, but we were just too darn lazy. If only...

Fast forward thirty-plus years and I'm driving to work this morning listening to conversational French CDs in my car.

"Why?" you might ask.

They speak French here, too

Anyone who has the dubious distinction of reading my blog will know that I have been to Haiti in 2010 and 2011 and am blessed to be able to return to this island nation on July 6th. While the Lingua Franca of Haiti is Creole, most everyone there speaks French thanks to - as history tells us - a parade of despotic French colonists. I still haven't quite figured out how Haitians feel about the French today. They teach French in school and the language of their former masters seems to sit quite comfortably alongside the more relaxed Creole dialect. It's a bit strange. I suppose one day I will have an opportunity to discuss these things with some of the more patient people there; those who will tolerate this curious American.

Anyway, I'm driving to work this morning and I reached the end of disc four, which had been droning on about banks and hotels and post offices and money machines - les distributeurs automatique -  none of which will likely come up in conversation while on a mission trip. But one thing I have noticed: I actually recall more French than you might think I would, given my sordid history in the classroom.

In the past I have lived in the Middle East, traveling to Lebanon and the like. I've also traveled in Europe, passing through France and Switzerland a few times. So I've had an opportunity to at least hear the language being spoken. Ninety-five percent of the time I had no clue what people were saying but I can still greet you in French and ask how your cat is doing.

But what struck me as funny this morning was when disc four flipped back to the beginning and the accordion music started.

I'm not sure what's going on with that. I suppose it's just something to put the listener/learner in the mood to learn French. Nothing says, "French!" like accordion music, right? I didn't spend a lot of money on my language course. I know I'm not going to be fluent anytime soon. But I'm also not likely to go out and buy up all the French Accordion compilations either.

The lady in the car in front of me had been checking me out in her mirror - I suppose she was trying to figure out who I was talking to. When I burst out laughing at the accordion music, she sped up and changed lanes.

C'est la vie!

X

Are the stars out tonight?

One of the questionable benefits of having a dog in the family is getting to experience the low temperature of the day when you take him or her outside at oh-dark-thirty. Since moving to northern Alabama I have discovered a more positive benefit of being outside in the (often moist) early morning darkness: the vivid and panoramic view of the pre-dawn star field.

I tend to look south and west, as those directions are first in view as I walk into the back yard. In the south are two star patterns that look (to me) just like a big and little dipper. Apparently my future does not lie in astronomy because after doing a little research, the stars we group together and call the Big and Little Dippers are in the northern sky, and move in a westerly direction as we enter the summer months.

The Big Dipper here is huge in the sky...

One of the the thoughts that always runs through my mind when I look at the stars is, "How did they all get where the are?"

That is usually followed by, "My brain hurts thinking about how everything moves around in the Universe - much less just our own little corner of it here in the Milky Way - and how did ancient sailors, shepherds and such figure it all out?"

"Hmm, that's unusual."

It's usually around Christmas (or Halloween if you're in retail) when everyone jumps on the Bethlehem shepherd bandwagon. But the questions above do tend to answer themselves if I think about it long enough. Before the advent of electricity, Google maps, even GPS, people traveling long distances had to figure out how to get from point A to point B. I'm guessing that if you were someone that spent their entire life in a field or on the ocean, you wiled away most nights looking at the stars. Eventually, you would begin to notice patterns and clusters that looked like certain, familiar things and that these things moved across the sky in a certain, predictable way, depending on what time of year it was.

Beginning in Luke 2:8, the Bible tells how an Angel of the Lord appeared to some shepherds outside Bethlehem and announced the birth of Jesus. The Gospel of Matthew Chapter 2 explains how three wise men (magi) came to Jerusalem following a star, in search of the Messiah.

The magi would have been very familiar with the normal star constellations so one which was unusual would have certainly been noteworthy. It's tough to believe that three men renowned for their wisdom and knowledge would wander hundreds of miles to Jerusalem on a whim.

They were certainly wise enough to figure out what King Herod was up to and take a different route home.

I guess my point - despite the apt name of this blog - is that we see two groups of men who would have had vast knowledge of astronomical movements - the shepherds likely from a lifetime of observation and the magi, who would have studied the constellations more formally - and both were completely convinced of the information imparted:

A Savior had been born.

Two thousand years later, other so-called learned men have debunked these historic events as flights of fancy and myth. But where is their proof? Modern astronomers still argue over the veracity of the Star of Bethlehem. Some hold forth evidence that such an occurrence could absolutely have appeared in the 1st century sky. Others say hogwash. The fact is, we weren't there and while we can postulate all we want, we do have one text that clearly recounts the events and does not contradict itself.

Don't wait until Christmas to wonder at the coming of the Messiah. He is alive now. His earthly birth is an amazing and important event, but it's his second birth that has enormous and everlasting implications for all of us.

What do you think?

X

Watch this space!

All work and no play makes Xanthorpe a dull boy.

I am within shouting distance of 30,000 lifetime page views here at The Stream. That may not seem like much to those hard core, professional bloggers out there, but it's a big deal to me.

I'll be working on posting my usual interesting fare - although more of it - as we all keep an excited eye on that blog-dometer up there. First off will likely be some thoughts on our upcoming trip to Haiti. Life is pretty busy between now and an early-July departure but I'll do my blog-best to put up something(s) of note.

Of course, where God is concerned, it's all good!

All I can say is:

X

I'll be back

I haven't had a lot of time to blog in the last couple of months. I won't bore you with my whiny excuses. It is what it is. When I do blog, I try to be interesting, informative and thought-provoking. I'm not above using certain key-words, catch phrases or tantalizing titles in an effort to stimulate readership. Sorry. I'm a writer. Part of being a writer is liking it when other people read your stuff.

That said, I found it ironic that after such a long layoff, my first post back is entitled, "I'm Leaving..." while the very next post (this one) is entitled, "I'll be back".

I didn't plan it that way; it just worked out.

In 1984, James Cameron directed a film starring Arnold Schwarzenegger called The Terminator. Arnold played a cybernetic being from the future who had returned to the past in order to kill Sarah Connor, who would eventually be the mother of John Connor, who would eventually lead the resistance against the rise of the machines in the future…where The Terminator came from to…

Where do I take the driver's test?

You get the idea – all these time travel movies are confusing anyway. One of the most famous lines from the film was Arnold’s iconic, “I’ll be back.” If you've watched any of the Terminator films, you know that the machine is relentless; no matter what happened to it, it kept to its mission – its program. The first scene where the line, “I’ll be back,” is used is in a police station. The Terminator has been going around killing everyone in the city named Sarah Connor. He had tracked the right Sarah Connor to a police station. He went inside, asked the desk sergeant if he could see her because he was a friend. The desk sergeant looks up, gives him a busy bureaucrat answer and says if he wants to wait, there’s a bench right over there he can sit on.

Arnold looks around, analyzes the structure of the cage the desk sergeant is sitting in, then he leans forward and says, “I’ll be back.”

The desk sergeant doesn't even look up. A minute or so later, Arnold drives a speeding car through the front doors of the police station and through the sergeant’s cage, he gets out amidst the wreckage and starts shooting everyone in sight, with the single-minded purpose of completing his mission: killing Sarah Connor.

What is your single-minded purpose each day?

I'd like to talk to more people about being a Christian. Unlike a lot of my peers at church, my salvation experience is relatively recent (2001). For me, it’s hard sometimes to start each day with the thought, “I am going to do exactly what Jesus asks me to do today.”

The Terminator had a mission. He had a program that was very simple: Kill Sarah Connor. As Christians, we sometimes find it difficult to know exactly what Jesus wants us to do each day, because we don’t always hear from Him directly. We can’t sit down at the breakfast table with Jesus or carpool to work with Jesus or sit in the cubicle next to Jesus and just lean over and say, “What do I do in this situation?”

Don’t we have a program too?

Actually, we can carpool with Jesus – our program is called The Bible, and with audio Bibles, (reputable) radio teachers and other methods, we can review our instructions every single day.

Let’s look at a few specific directives Jesus gave us (Emphasis from BLB.org):

1. Matthew 4:10 - Then Jesus said to him, “Go, Satan! For it is written, ‘YOU SHALL WORSHIP THE LORD YOUR GOD, AND SERVE HIM ONLY.'”
2. Matthew 14:16 - But Jesus said to them, “They do not need to go away; you give them something to eat!”
3. Matthew 18:22 - Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven.”
4. Matthew 19:18 - Then he said to Him, “Which ones?” And Jesus said, “YOU SHALL NOT COMMIT MURDER; YOU SHALL NOT COMMIT ADULTERY; YOU SHALL NOT STEAL; YOU SHALL NOT BEAR FALSE WITNESS;
5. Mark 12:17 - And Jesus said to them, “Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's.” And they were amazed at Him.
6. Luke 10:37 - And he said, “The one who showed mercy toward him.” Then Jesus said to him, “Go and do the same.”
7. John 14:3 - “If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself, that where I am, there you may be also.
8. John 14:23 - Jesus answered and said to him, “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our abode with him.
9. John 20:21 - So Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you; as the Father has sent Me, I also send you.”
10. Matthew 28:19-20 - Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”

These are just a small sampling of direct quotes from Jesus in the New Testament wherein He is giving us – people who are living today – specific instructions. Think of them as lines of code in our daily program.

I was filling in as our small group teacher this week and our object verses were 1 John 2:28-29.

One thing I've noticed in our study of 1 John is that the Apostle John repeats himself a lot. I kind of wondered about that until I really started unpacking what he was trying to say. John was writing to believers in the early church. I surmise that John's purpose was somewhat similar to a computer program: he was reinforcing the original teachings that the church had been given so that believers would not be led astray. John used repetition and compare/contrast among other teaching strategies.

John wasn't trying to brainwash anyone - his audience were already believers - he was working to reinforce their faith so that the church would survive and the believer's faith would endure into the future. In 1 John 2:28, John urges his audience to abide in Jesus.

What does that mean?

1. 1 John 2:5-6 – John teaches that abiding in Christ is synonymous with knowing him; having a personal relationship with him
2. John 15:4-7 – Jesus gave us this illustration of Him being the vine and us being the branches. Without the vine, it is impossible for branches to bear fruit
3. Revelation 6:15-17 – Many things were revealed to John during his prophetic experience on Patmos. These verses paint the picture of those who do not abide in Jesus and what their reaction will be upon his return.

I don't quote Revelation 6:15-17 as a hammer; so many people are turned off by the idea that God would take vengeance on those who do not believe in Him. My purpose for this blog is not to stand on a virtual street corner and shout anyone into Hell. I am simply looking at the context of what John is teaching in 1 John 2 and exploring the context of that instruction.

In a sense 1 John 2:28 is a microcosm – a small yet complete example – of what the New Testament is about after the Gospel is complete. The end of 1 John 2:28 reinforces how John does not – and God does not – want us, as believers, to be ashamed at the time of Jesus’ return. We've learned about all of the false gospels that were springing up during the time that John lived. Then and now, these false gospels pull believers away from the deep and abiding relationship that we forge with Jesus at the moment we receive His gift of salvation and make Him Lord over our lives.

In 1 John 2:29, John urges us to practice righteousness; what does it mean to practice righteousness?

The verses that we went through above are a good start. Being obedient to the instructions – the program – of Jesus looks like righteousness to me. Have you ever known someone in church (or who attended church regularly) who you just knew was a born-again believer only to find out that they were there serving, being kind, loving the children, helping others, etc. without having accepted Christ as their Lord and Savior?  The thing is, without salvation, we can be as righteous as we can humanly try to be and yet, we will not be seen by God as righteous.

1. Philippians 1:9-11 - verse 11 clearly indicates that we cannot come into righteousness by our own power; it is something that must be received through/from Jesus
2. Matthew 5:20
3. Romans 10:10

So what does all this have to do with The Terminator? The Apostle John is trying to remind those early believers - and us - that we can't just sleepwalk through life. We can't just have a mountaintop experience with Jesus and then coast down the other side until either we die or He returns. Just as The Terminator was relentlessly purposeful in carrying out his instructions, so should we be equally purposeful in carrying out ours.

What do you think?

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I'm leaving...

...on a jet plane. And more and more, I rue the fact that I will be back again. For the third time since 2010, I have the privilege and pleasure of traveling to Haiti on a short-term mission. Regulars at The Stream may recall these blogs I've written about previous trips to Haiti:

1. Not about Tim Tebow
2. Recalculating
3. Jezi se Wa!
4. But the greatest of these...

I'll be about where the 'U' is...

I leave in a few weeks and I'm alternating between joy and sadness. My beautiful bride was supposed to accompany our team from Wall Highway Baptist Church (Madison, AL) this year for her first trip to Haiti. Two rotator cuff surgeries and ongoing physical therapy have unfortunately scuppered that opportunity. 

And then my heart leaps with joy because I am blessed to be able to return to this small, island nation whose people are still in such dire need. If you have a few moments to read the blogs I've linked to above, you will see what I mean. But nothing reveals the reality of day-to-day struggle in Haiti like being there. 

This trip is much different than my previous two journeys because as yet, I have no real idea what we will be doing when we get there. We know that we are working with Mission of Hope and that a number of things will likely be in the picture. One thing I'm excited about is talking with MoH about their new Sports Complex project in Titanyen. People who know me know that no matter how bald and out of shape I am, I will ALWAYS be up for soccer (football to the rest of the world).

Soccer is the national sport of Haiti and it appears MoH is planning to build a sports complex as yet another great way to minister to the people of Haiti. I am All In on that if I get a chance to serve!

The picture above was taken during our 2011 mission in Aux Cayes. It is truly amazing what a few crayons will do for the smile of a child (and a grown up) in Haiti. The Haitian people are a wonderful, melodic, and creative nation. It's hard to put into words what it means to them for people like me to just show up, hang out with them, help them, provide some basics for them, love on them and whatever else we can do during the short time we are blessed to be there.

We leave in the first week of July and I will make a shameless plea for last-minute donations. Just about anything you can think of, we need. I have had great success ministering to the boys (and men) of Haiti through soccer. I would love to take a Jozy Altidore USA soccer jersey to leave with someone, along with a number of decent balls, and an air pump. Other key items are crayons (we need hundreds), coloring sheets (individual sheets like the one picture above - only not colored yet of course!), and age-and-content appropriate books (for every age group from pre-K all the way up to high school).

We can even take down care packages for the permanent staff at MoH. As someone who spent more than 10 years living in the Middle East, I can tell you how special it is to be living in a foreign country and receive a gift from home - even if it's just a jar of Nutella!

If you would like to donate, please email me and I will give you more details on how you can make a difference in the lives of the men, women and children in Haiti!

Thank you!

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Literary Review: Humble Orthodoxy by Joshua Harris

I haven't blogged in nearly two months. Life, as my (ahem) regular readers will know, sometimes gets the best of me and stands firmly in the way of my blogging ambitions. With that said, I can't think of a much better book to read - or to write a blog/review for - than Humble Orthodoxy, by Joshua Harris.

As you might determine from the title, Humble Orthodoxy is a book about an aspect of Christian faith. If you are a Christian, you need to read this book. Notice that I don't say, "You should read this book." You need to read this book.

If you are not a Christian, I would strongly suggest you read this book. If nothing else, it will help you understand a facet of faith that every Christian struggles with to a lesser or greater degree.

In his foreword, J. D. Greer throws down this same gauntlet, "I challenge you to study them (the truths that the author presents herein), not in the way a seminarian studies doctrine, but in the way you might study a sunset that leaves you speechless."

For my own account, I don't believe there was a single page in Humble Orthodoxy that did not challenge me, convict me, stir my heart, teach me, or nudge me toward a more meaningful relationship with my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. I don't want to spoil the book for anyone by revealing too much, but I will share a few thoughts that Mr. Harris has given to us through his heartfelt consideration and communication of why Humble Orthodoxy is one of the most important needs in the global church today.

On page one, Mr. Harris defines orthodoxy as a word referring to right thinking about God. One of the constant struggles all Christians face is defining and communicating the truth about Christianity. If you're reading this and know anything at all about the Christian faith, you can probably quote an example where orthodoxy has played a part in an ugly incident. I've personally had discussions with other Christians where I have been "gobsmacked" regarding their understanding of what I believed were such basic tenets of Christianity that I didn't think anyone could miss their meaning. And I have been guilty of using orthodoxy as a "hammer" in an effort to correct them.

And therein lies the problem. In our world today, orthodoxy is not popular. With so many denominations, Christianity poses a puzzle to believers and non-believers alike. If, we say, the truths of Jesus Christ are immutable, then why is there a need for so many denominations? No one likes to be told they are wrong but if you are going to step forward as a believer in Jesus, you cannot redefine what that means so that you are comfortable in your position. By definition, if you have made a profession of faith in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus then you have agreed to accept the orthodox beliefs that He lived, died, and rose from the grave to communicate to us.

If orthodoxy is right thinking about God, what is Humble Orthodoxy? In short, Mr. Harris defines it (p. 5) as caring deeply about the truth; defending and sharing it with compassion and humility.

In Humble Orthodoxy, Mr. Harris takes us through a number of real-world examples of what that means - what that looks like. There is a way that he writes about this important aspect of our faith that reaches deep inside of us and reveals things that may not be comfortable for us to see - but that we desperately need to see.

On page 29, Mr. Harris writes:

Truth can be known. And what the Bible teaches should be obeyed. Just because we can't know God exhaustively doesn't mean we can't know him truly. Just because there is mystery in God's Word doesn't mean we can pretend God hasn't spoken clearly in the Bible.

This book is what I refer to as a highlighter book. As you might guess, that means my review copy is now liberally painted in florescent yellow. Whether you are a new believer, have been a Christian as long as you can remember, or are a card-carrying atheist, this is a tremendous read. Humble Orthodoxy is not a long book; absent the praise, foreword and a handy study guide in the back, it is a mere sixty-one pages. But I believe it could well be the most important sixty-one pages you read outside of the Bible itself.

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In order to comply with FTC guidelines, I am disclosing that WaterBrook Multnomah Publishers (WMP) provided me with a complimentary copy of this book for review purposes. I would personally like to state that, to my knowledge, WMP does not restrict my review submissions based on whether I submit a negative or positive opinion, and that this is as fair and unbiased a review of Humble Orthodoxy as I can present after reading the book from front to back. As someone with limited time to read and review books, I will state that I do as much as I can in advance to determine if any book I choose to review will be - at least - something I find interesting to read.