Great Expectations, Truth Part 4

"For I know the plans that I have for you,' declares the LORD, ‘plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope.” Jer 29:11

In the Dickens’ classic, “Great Expectations”, the protagonist, young Pip, finds that his advancement in life is not due to chance. It is due to the tangled, behind-the-scenes manipulations of characters with varied motives, some selfish and some good as we see in his benefactor, the convict Abel Magwitch. Still, even what is meant for good produces bad results in both character and position in life.

In our lives we often fall into several traps as to why we think we succeed or fail. It could be due to our abilities or lack of ability. It could be due to our strict adherence to a code of ethics that God might honor if we hit the mark. We may see ourselves as victims of circumstance or the decisions of others, or it could be that God has lost track of us in the crowd of over 6 billion souls that inhabit this sphere. It is a sad and lonely thought to be lost in the crowd or to be the victim of the crowd as we see in Dickens’ and our present world. We already saw that Asaph almost fell victim to this mentality in Ps 73.

However, it could be – and this is the truth - that our God is loving and active at a level of detail that incorporates our frailties into His plan. He detours opposition and produces an even greater good than our greatest expectations. In this light let’s look at another protagonist, Joseph, whose opposition was great but whose benefactor was greater, God, and let’s walk beside him with the benefit of knowing the end of the story from the beginning.

Joseph had a dream. It was from God, so this was a good start. However, the moment he shares this dream, things go horribly wrong. His whole family ridicules the dream, and after his brothers attempt to murder him out of jealousy, they sell him into slavery to people from another nation. Joseph is carried against his will further and further away from the fulfillment of his dream. In captivity his gifts continue to work, and he advances – as a slave.

In lesser crises we as Christians too quickly look to our circumstances and comments of others to interpret for us what has happened with our lives. The friends of Job are a great example. Here are a few thoughts, and think of Joseph’s outcome when you read:

• “I really thought that God wanted me to do that, but no one else thinks I am capable. Maybe I did not hear God or He does not think my life is important.”
• “My vision is big, but I just lost my finances. Friends think that I should be satisfied with what I have, with my station in life.” They say, “His circumstances show that he must not have the faith necessary to accomplish the task.”

After a continual dose of this kind of thinking we give up, throw away hope and the dream, yet this dream comes back to us and even produces fruit for us in the darkest of places as with Joseph. This is actually a torment at times as the lies of the enemy intensify to keep us out of the presence of God. The truth of the matter is that we might just be right in the middle of God’s plan, learning His faithfulness, learning to love Him more than the dream and growing in character. And in one moment God can overrule all people and circumstances to establish His will in our lives as with Joseph. God is good, He is in control, He never changes. Do you believe this?

"Be strong and courageous, do not be afraid or tremble at them, for the LORD your God is the one who goes with you. He will not fail you or forsake you." Deut 31:6

Influences & Connections

From time to time I want to share with you some of my favorite blogs, articles or web sites. Here are a few:

My wife, Myra, and I just celebrated 16 years of marriage. She is my perfect match in every way. She is the one who encouraged me to write, but she is the better writer. Enjoy her insightful and encouraging thoughts: Change is constant, but so is God

Myra encouraged me to write, but Joey Bonifacio was the one who launched us all into the blogosphere. We call him the wizard of blog, but I know him as one who has made evangelism and discipleship a more joyous adventure. This post is one of my favorites: Discipleship & Strangers

I majored in physics at university and later worked as a research engineer. My fondest memories are the daily discussions with atheists, agnostics and some Christian professors. Read this article about one such professor – not one of my professors - who excels in his field: Why this scientist believes in God

Finally, my best and worst day of the week was Wednesday when I was asked to host visiting missionary, Bob Kraft, for lunch. I used the church van to drive to Makati to pick him up, and I was given excellent directions to the hotel. However, I am so tall that the top of the van blocked my view, and the little bit of usable windshield that I had was tinted. Then it started to rain. I was essentially a blind man driving as I put on my reading glasses to call for directions – all landmarks were higher than the windshield would let me see – juggled the cell phone and generally was comic relief for passers-by.

I finally made it to Bob’s hotel a half hour late. We then tried to backtrack to a restaurant for lunch, and I felt like Wyle Coyote in the Roadrunner cartoons as all the laws of physics were working against me. Road repairs at every turn blocked my return trip, and I was glad to find out that Bob had a big breakfast and was not hungry. We ended up sharing a coffee at the church cafeteria, and throughout this whole ordeal I found Bob to be a very patient guest. Why am I rambling about this? Because it feels good to vent my stress and laugh a little at myself! It is my therapy.

Anyway, back to Bob, he has a great ministry in the Professional Tennis Tour, and it is very clear that our paths will cross again in Eastern Europe because many on the pro tennis tour are from Russian and Ukraine. Take a look at his web site to see the unexpected ways God’s kingdom is advancing: Tennis Ministry International

The Apple Myth, Truth part 3

One of the greatest misconceptions of the Bible is that Adam and Eve were so overcome by the desire for the forbidden fruit that they decided to disobey God. It simply did not happen that way. Creation was not that fragile, and the first family was not fighting the same internal struggle that we deal with every day. One more point, the Bible does not say that the fruit was an apple, but that is not so important right now.

The devil is not very original. He uses the same tactics with us today that he used in the beginning; however, his tactic – The Lie – is so subtle that we do not even recognize it at the first reading. Let’s follow along. In the beginning…

God was good – in the eyes of the first family – and evil was bad. The barrier to disobedience was enormous, and it had to be removed before Eve would even think of that which was bad. The barrier was GOD, so the enemy had to get Him out of the way. This is how he did it:

"…Indeed, has God said, 'You shall not eat from any tree of the garden'?" Gen 3:1
Lie #1: Has God really said anything?

“…You surely will not die!” Gen 3:4
Lie #2: If God did say something, He lied!

"For God knows that in the day you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil." Gen 3:5
Lie #3: God lied because He wants to keep something good from you.

Summation: God must not be good, and that thing He was keeping from you is not really bad.

Now after this we see Eve’s new perspective: When the woman saw that the tree was good for food… Gen 3:6

Before the enemy’s lies God was good and sin was bad. After “The Lie”, God was perceived as bad, or less than good, and that which was bad became good. Communion was broken with God, man died spiritually and the compass of his soul and body now received all of its so-called truth from the world. This accurately describes the inclination of the unsaved world today.

When God gives our sprits new birth through Jesus we still have to deal with a body that is oriented towards the world. Our souls – mind & emotions – are caught in the crossfire between the lies of this world, what our flesh feels to be true and the The Truth that now resides in our spirits.

This awkward position is a terror to new believers because they do not understand what has just happened to them, and it is too often the source of a low-grade depression in older believers who find themselves trapped in the same realization that Asaph was in. (Ps 73).

Like Asaph, we can only come out of the haze when we come to the truth of God’s Word, and because the world and our bodies do not take a break from trying to contradict God we cannot afford to take a break from His presence or His Word.

Here are some encouraging truths that will sustain us in this battle.

• God sees us as being perfectly forgiven for all time – because we are completely forgiven - even though He is still perfecting us. Heb 10:14
• The inner battle that we have is common to all Christians, even to the Apostle Paul. 1 Pet 5:8-10; Rom 7:15
• Believing that GOD IS GOOD is the sentry at the door of our hearts that saves us from many attacks. Rom 8:28-39
• There is no condemnation for us while we are in this process of practical transformation. Rom 8:1
  

In my upcoming posts I hope to show you that the enemy uses the same simple attack today as with Eve. However, we can build a fortress of truth concerning how good and powerful God is on our behalf. This is our encouragement. He loves us, He is good, He is God.

When I Pondered …, Truth Part 2

Surely God is good to Israel, to those who are pure in heart! But as for me, my feet came close to stumbling, my steps had almost slipped. Ps 73:1-2

“The” truth is that God is good, and “The” lie is that He is not, He is bad. Simple enough, isn’t it? Yet in this passage we see a man of God, Asaph, stating the truth while admitting that he almost stumbled in this truth.

Asaph goes on to state how he sees the wicked and corrupt around him prospering, and this troubled him so much that he was thinking that he had kept himself pure and honest for nothing. Asaph is also speaking to us off to the side in much the same way a character in a Shakespearian play speaks to the audience in an “aside” without the main characters hearing his thoughts. He is sharing his doubts with us about whether or not God is really good.

There is a good reason Asaph is whispering to us and not to everyone else. He knew, and feared greatly, that if he were to share his doubts openly he would betray the next generation, the generation of his children. This was not an option; it was simply unthinkable and drove Asaph back into the presence of God. There his mind cleared, he perceived the haze of deception and understood the truth again.

Let’s pause for a moment and dig a little deeper into the man and not just his surroundings. Like many of us, Asaph knew the word of God and declared that God was good, but circumstances had almost convinced him that God was not good.

Have you ever thought about why a bad doctor’s report or a bad financial statement sends instant chills down our spines, but it takes time and discipline for God’s word and prayer to sink deeper into our souls to the point where we actually feel peace? Why is the negative instinctive and that which is good not? Asaph experienced this paradox, and so do we.

It is clear that something other than just circumstances caused this man to doubt God, to believe that He is not good. To find the reason we must dig deeper into the past to the beginning to find the first time the truth was exchanged for a lie, The Beginning. We will eventually come back to Asaph to seal this journey for us with a truth so deep yet simple that it changes the orientation of our souls.

Some signs we believe God is not good

• We are negative about the future saying, “Things are going from bad to worse.” This betrays our children’s future when we say this. Rev 11:15
• We are constantly afraid of failure or abandonment. Deut 31:6; Jer 29:11
• We take more stock in what people say about us than what God says about us. Prov 29:25
• We say, “I guess that is my lot in life.” This is fatalism, which means that God is either not in control or He does not care about us. Rom 8:28

“The” Truth vs. “The” Lie

…and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free." John 8:32

Imagine for a moment that all the mental, emotional and spiritual anguish in life could be stopped with only one simple truth, one simple thought. Our enemy and the fallen world around us wage constant war on our souls, and it seems that once we put out one fire another flares up nearby. We feel that we need to be spiritual giants simply to tread water in this life-battle.

Can there be such a simple truth dwelling in us such that none of these fires ever gets started? Or let me turn the question around; is there also one lie, one simple lie that lets all the battles in the door? I want to explore this question in my next series so that we understand “The One Truth” and “The One Lie” that can determine the very outcome of our lives.

On September 11, 2001 I was in the Ukrainian Dept. of Religious Affairs (RA) defending my right to stay in the country against very vocal adversaries who wanted to kick me out or even worse. At the table were city officials, the director of RA, my two adversaries who were almost foaming at the mouth – literally - one other leader from our church and me. I might mention here that RA is under what we used to call the KGB. Well, I was nervous and weak because I had been fasting for a good outcome, but I was not afraid. I used to be afraid, and this was not the first time I had been summoned to this office. The first time was a few years earlier when I had learned “The One Truth”.

At the same time we began our hearing that fateful day several men were also walking through the metal detector of Boston’s Logan Airport carrying small box cutters. That one little event, passing through that detector without being detected, changed the world as we know it. Just think what would be different if we had known where these men would board their planes and what they were planning to do. It would not have taken that much to stop them. War would have been averted, NYC would still have those two towers and thousands would still be alive. I actually know several women in our Lviv, Ukraine church who could have stopped these men.

In the same way if we knew without a doubt what door, what one door, the enemy of our souls was going to enter to wreak havoc in our lives we could also easily stop him. I am neither guru nor sage, but I believe once you find the One Truth, “The” truth, your life will fundamentally change.
Now, don’t get mad at me here because I purposely intend to keep you hanging until my next post to get the answer. At first, you may be disappointed with the answer, but hopefully you will follow the One Truth as deep as it will take you.

Simple Math

We were late getting to the Araneta Coliseum last week, and barely made it into our convergence service. For those of you not from Manila this is when all 10 of our VCF-Manila congregations come together for one service several times a year. The Araneta can only hold 14,500 of our members, and my family and I had to sit up in the stratosphere.

During worship and communion I was struck, not simply by the number of people that were there, but by the fact that Jesus had suffered, died and paid for the sins of every single person there. The enormity of His sacrifice began to overtake my mind and emotions, and then something even deeper struck my soul… I will get back to this shortly.

One of my favorite movies of last year was The Guardian which portrayed an aging yet successful US coastguard rescuer. After a rescue tragedy he changed gears and began to teach students at the elite Coast Guard rescue school. Well, as usual the young trainees were always trying to break their teacher’s, Ben’s, records, and they were always wondering, “How many saves does this guy have, 200-300?”

One guy in particular, Jake, was always dogging his teacher about his records until the day they were actually doing real life-or-death rescues together in Alaska. Here is how the dialog went:

Jake Fischer: What's your number?
Ben Randall: [On his "number"] It's 22.
Jake Fischer: Well that's not... bad... It's not 200 but...
Ben Randall: 22 is the number of people that I've lost. It's the only number that I've kept track of.

This is the deeper thing that struck me at our meeting. Yes, Jesus had saved each and every one of those people in that coliseum. It was wonderful to see, and of course I know that there were visitors there as well. Yet, the group that I was counting, the saved, was eclipsed by the group that I was not counting, the lost. The movie analogy that I used is not perfect in that Ben had saved more than he had lost, but if we had reached 90% of the lost in this world I would hope to still focus on those not yet reached. Until that day let’s not be satisfied. To my friends in Manila just keep doing what you are doing.

"For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost." Luke 19:10

One Man’s Junk is Another Man’s Treasure

I used to watch a show in the US called the “Antiques Road Show.” In this weekly series expert antique appraisers would travel the country to meet with ordinary people who would bring out their old stuff – often junk – to a local community center to see if it had any value.

The drama would usually begin like this. You would see the appraiser walk from table to table and then walk back by a certain table a second and third time for a glance at a certain item. When this happened the owner would get nervous thinking, “he must see something valuable.” After all, they had all seen the show before, which is like American Idol for your attic or basement.

I remember once the expert stopped to talk with a woman who had an old-looking table that wasn’t particularly attractive. He looked at the top, but he would always look underneath to see if there was a stamp indicating the name of the craftsman who made it. Once he was satisfied with his observations he would start to ask questions: “How long have you owned this? Do you know the history of this table? What do you use it for? What do you think it is worth?” The routine was always the same.

The woman answered that the table had been in her family several generations, but she did not know the origin. She said she actually had it stored in her basement with paint cans stacked on top. The appraiser shook his head in disbelief and began to tell her the history of the piece. He knew from the stamp underneath that it was made by a famous early-American craftsman. He also related that it was the missing piece of a famous priceless collection to which the woman’s eyes grew bigger. “So, how much do you think it is worth now?” he asked. The woman shyly replied, “Several thousand dollars?”

“Well” said the appraiser with a pause in his voice, “I think that at auction it would get at least $200,000.” The woman’s mouth hung open, and she could not close it for a short while. “Will you sell it?” he asked to which she quickly replied, “Absolutely not!” “What will you do with it then?” he continued.

“One thing is for sure”, she exclaimed, “I will certainly never stack paint cans on it again, and it goes straight to the dining room where it will be the showpiece!” When this woman found out the identity of her table’s craftsman – this was what gave it the value – and then it’s hidden value her whole mindset changed.

As people we often live in the basement with junk in our hearts and waste stacked on top of us. Once we know who our Maker really is and the cost that was paid to redeem us our whole mindset changes. This is the truth that Jesus spoke of when He said:

“…and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free."
John 8:32

For you have been bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body.
1 Cor 6:20

And, what was the price?

"…Worthy are You to take the book and to break its seals; for You were slain, and purchased for God with Your blood men from every tribe and tongue and people and nation.
Rev 5:9

The cost was exceedingly high, and to go on with life as usual after this revelation shows that we really don’t understand the gospel.

What should change when we get our true appraisal from God?

• We will have a positive motivation to turn from sin.
• We will want to know our Maker more.
• We will no longer believe the “other appraiser”, our adversary, the spiritual pawn shop owner.
• We will become traveling appraisers who eagerly desire to tell others their true worth.

Fishing with Explosives

I could not resist ending this series on “Fishing Tips” without mentioning one more type of fishing, fishing with explosives! It is really quite simple and efficient; all you need is dynamite or grenades. Just throw in the explosives and up float the fish half dead, stunned or partially cooked. It also destroys the ecology, so any other chance of fishing there is ruined.

As a young believer, I used many types of what I would call “explosive evangelism”. This usually meant something like preaching on the street corner while holding a 10 foot wooden cross that we had fabricated the night before. Lots of yelling in King James English and trying to be Elijah or John the Baptist usually went along with this. A lot of people stopped eating for a moment as they gazed through restaurant windows, probably thinking someone was making a movie, pledging for a fraternity or we had lost a bet. There was one backslidden Christian who turned white when he saw us, most likely thinking that God had come to collect what was due, but we saw no other fruit except that we were pretty bold for Jesus. I guess it was also useful in helping me to start this blog.

The problem with using creative methods or just being obnoxious is that we often try to use external force or power to produce an internal transformation. We can end up competing with the world to out-entertain people; however, creative methods can be effective bridges of communication depending on the culture or people group. Still, the method should never become the message.

When we understand what needs to happen before a person can be saved, we can better tailor our methods to enhance that process.

• A person needs to understand their spiritual condition, and this is all about the Holy Spirit working in their hearts when we are “witnesses”.


• A person needs to come to a revelation that Jesus – as he is revealed in the Bible – is the only solution for their condition. This requires us to be effective communicators of the truth of God’s Word, but the revelation of Jesus ultimately comes from the Father. (Matt 16:17)


• Once we have done our part, which includes praying for that person, we need to trust that God actually knows how to do His part.

Or do you think lightly of the riches of His kindness and tolerance and patience, not knowing that the kindness of God leads you to repentance?
Rom 2:4

We are not the Holy Spirit and no amount of external pressure, arguments or special effects will move on a person’s heart like Him. Knowing our simple role of being witnesses and sharers of this hope will take the stress out of witnessing and make it the adventure that it should be.

(When my wife read this she exclaimed, “I married a man who preached on the street with a giant cross?!”)

A Tale of Two Villages, Part 7

In the movie “The Village” a small community tried - without success - to live in relative harmony with itself, and they had absolutely zero contact with the outside world so that they could insulate themselves from evil influences. The world did not even know that this village existed, and that is the way the elders of the Village wanted it. (If our churches disappeared would the world even notice it?) I will not spoil the plot, but it is full of surprises.

This movie was an extreme example of isolation, and I have never been in a church that was that isolated; however, I have heard some bizarre comments:

• “Why are we involved in missions when we don’t reach our own?” The person who said this didn’t want to reach their own either.
• “We want to have many congregations reaching every area of the city, but I don’t understand this focus on outreach?” This is my favorite quote.
• “That city is saturated with churches. Why are you going there?” That city was at best 5% Christian but had several famous mega-churches.

In the Philippines there is a unique kind of community, a village, that is the exact opposite of the community in the movie “The Village”. I speak of the fishing village. Here are some simple characteristics:

• The main goal is to live and to catch fish.
• This village is a community built directly beside a body of water or even sometimes on bamboo stilts over the water. Why? Well… because that is where the fish are.

I think that you get the point. The church should not be an isolated group in a building. It should be community reaching community from within community. This is the Christianity that we all long to see, and I sincerely hope to reproduce it everywhere I go. To my friends in the Philippines … Thanks.

Net Fishing vs. Line Fishing, Part 6

I have never fished with a net, but the Bible uses this as the primary analogy in evangelism. Some say line fishing – a pole & line attached to a hook – is like reaching just one person at a time while net fishing is like a large event that gathers many people at once. Well, I beg to differ on that meaning of net fishing.

I have organized several large-scale outreaches in Ukraine, and in one we saw 3000 decisions in two weeks. We knew none of these people before the outreach, and even with organized follow-up we only saw about 10 people added to the churches involved. Even large ministries will tell you that follow-up is the most problematic aspect of large crusades. Our intentions were always good, but the nets simply broke. Most of our growth has always been through one-to-one encounters.

I started this series talking about an “itch” that I had when I first heard about the way the church was growing in Manila, and now the itch has been scratched and satisfied. The net is not the super evangelist or the crusade. The net is community: individuals, families and social groups that already exist in the world’s community that are saved, trained and ministering in community where the lost live. When we tap into the potential of our members then true net fishing occurs, and fruitfulness is multiplied.

In many western countries individualism has eroded the fabric of community to such an extent that people no longer know their own neighbors. This erosion weakens the very net that facilitates reaching society from within. It makes us strangers to the world even before we become Christians, and when we do finally come to the Lord the church can unwittingly estrange us even more from the lost around us. The most expedient solution to this erosion has been to rely on professional ministers to do 80% of the work that all the members should be doing, but this produces a further atrophy in our God-given ability and desire to share our faith. We simply lose by default.

When Steve first invited me to Manila I asked him what I would be doing to which he replied, “The same thing everyone else does.” This was a bit of a jolt to a full-time missionary like myself, but it was the medicine that I had to take before the itch would leave. Desiring titles or the position as “the man of God” will never advance God’s kingdom, and it may even hinder it as we make ourselves the roadblock that younger growing leaders can never get past. Over the years God has removed much of this mindset from me, and every honest pastor must admit that it is an issue in a world where performance and success are exalted.

As a full-time missionary I am at best a leader (to Jesus, not myself), an equipper, which I love to do, and the rest a follower of Jesus and fisher of men. Matt 4:19 The kingdom is best advanced by ordinary, equipped Christians following Christ in community. This is the essence of what we call “discipleship”.

The highlight of this week for me was taking my friend, Marcus, through our One-2-One booklet over sushi at Teriyaki Boy. He is already a Christian, but I was mentoring him to better reach those whom he meets every day. I am convinced that he will bear much fruit, more than me because he lives and works in community. The examples here of ordinary people bearing extraordinary fruit are too numerable to mention! You need to see it just once…in your own church...in your own life.