Tag: Truth

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Jacob’s Dream

7049 In Genesis 28, Jacob had a dream in which he saw a stairway that began on earth and whose top reached up into heaven.  He saw angels ascending and descending on the stairs.

"There above it stood the LORD, and he said: "I am the LORD, the God of your father Abraham and the God of Isaac.  All peoples on earth will be blessed through you and your offspring. 

I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go, and I will bring you back to this land.  I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you."   Genesis 28:13-15

Jacob concluded that he had been given the site where he had had the dream because it was the gateway to heaven.  It was Jesus in John 1:51 gave us the proper interpretation of the dream.

"He then added, I tell you the truth, you shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man."

Jesus was Jacob’s ladder!  The Word became flesh and dwelt among us.  He became the gate of heaven. This doctrine is absolutely revolutionary.  See, the ladder is not something we ascend toward heaven.  Rather it is Jesus himself descending from the glory of heaven to become the God-man, the suffering servant, the righteous branch, the Son of God and Son of man.  It is not a metaphor of our ascent, but of Christ’s descent; not of our coming to Christ, but of Christ coming to us.  Hence, Christ is the bridge from the infinite to the finite.  Jesus was and is God saying, "Here I am–right in front of you! This is what I am like."

Someone once said that Christianity is not a religion because religion consists in humans trying to reach God, while Christianity is a matter of God reaching humans. ((Michael Horton, Putting Amazing back into Grace, Baker Books, p.92-97))

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Kidnapped Priest Released in Turkey

I read this report from Mission Network News this morning and thought of the Apostle Paul’s feet that walked miles and miles through Turkey sharing the gospel. He penetrated the inner regions spreading the message of peace and reconciliation in the ancient cities of Pisidian Antioch, Iconium, Lystra, Derbe, Troas, and Ephesus.

Today, Christians are constantly under attack.  As recently as April of this year, 3 workers in a Christian publishing office had their throats slit in a gruesome attack motivated by religious hatred.

May God protect what He planted and is planting in this country–in the Book of Acts we see that the Word of God cannot be imprisoned, murdered or snuffed out–it is a Living Word.

7 December, 2007

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Turkey (MNN) ― Compass Direct reports good news in a kidnapping in southeastern Turkey.  According to their sources, unidentified assailants kidnapped Father Edip Daniel Savci, 42, last Wednesday. 

Two days later, he was freed by his captors 43 miles north of Midyat where he was kidnapped.   Church officials can’t confirm the identity of his kidnappers or whether a ransom was paid, but kidnappers had made a ransom demand of 300,000 euros. 

Deputy Governor Aziz Mercan said, “Given the information obtained from the priest, we now know who the perpetrators are, and security forces are tracking them down now.” He declined, however, to give the suspects’ names.

Most of Turkey’s 75 million people are Muslim, and it has barely 100,000 Christians–mostly of Greek and Armenian origin.

Although the incident appears to have been motivated by money, there are scattered reports that mission groups think Turkey’s anti-Christian atmosphere may have influenced the kidnappers.

Pray for opportunities for Christians in Turkey to share the truth of Christ. Despite the government reforms to facilitate joining the European Union, there is no indication of increasing religious freedom.

While the Turkish constitution includes freedom of religion, worship services are only permitted in “buildings created for this purpose,” and officials have restricted the construction of buildings for minority religions. In other cases, those who dare to profess Christ face harassment, threats and prison. Evangelism is difficult.

However, Glenn Penner of Voice of the Martyrs Canada says, “The church is continuing to move forward, and Christians are continuing to witness. But, of course, it does cause some anxiety. There have been a number of attacks on evangelicals in the last two years, and they’re wanting to know, ‘Will our government stand up for us? Will they defend us? Or will they allow us to be shot, killed and attacked with impunity?'”

Pray for those in Christian work in Turkey.

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Back in the Saddle Again

August 7, 2004

Dear Friend Jane,

Well my friend, I have spent two birthdays in Africa now. On our return trip we had an eventful time in London.  Our flight to Entebbe was delayed 5 hours so DSC 074 (Small) we spent the day walking around London streets.  DSC 072 (Small) We took the train into the city and managed to see the changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace, Westminster Abbey and Big Ben.

I slept on the plane ride to London but Mike and Casey were unable to and were pretty beat when we got back to Heathrow.  As we were boarding the plane for Entebbe they discovered that they had double booked our seats so we were upgraded to Business Class –oh, what a great grace that was!  The recliner seats allowed us to sleep on this 8 hour leg of the journey and get prepared for the work that awaited in Uganda.

Would you believe that I left my pocket book on the American flight that we took from Richmond to Boston?

Picture 067 (Small)Shirlene, the Rafiki Girls Center Director, met with me the day we returned and asked me to begin the next day observing the classes that I would teach: Music, Cooking & Nutrition and Sewing.  Procuring the groceries needed to prepare the noon time meals, making menus and gathering recipes, teaching the recorder, teaching the girls to make a dress on treadle machines and supervising in the Weaving Room on Tuesdays and Thursdays will be some of the pieces of my new assignment.  Picture 075 (Small)Uganda 018 (Small)

Shirlene seems most anxious for me to take over the sewing class even though I don’t know a bias from a facing!  I am ready and observing to beat the band to get up to speed.

The Mamas and Aunties are expressing much confusion about my status in the village since my return.  The truth is it is as difficult for me as for them right now. Auntie Edith invited me to come to her home for a visit on her off day yesterday so I went after work.  She had cooked 5 traditional foods over charcoal each was wrapped in banana leaves and she wanted to share them with me.  Jane the extravagance of this gift will astound me forever–she cooked the equivalent of a holiday meal for me and her children were sitting and watching me eat…I can only hope that they tasted some of this when I was gone.

I said, “Edith you don’t eat this early.”  She smiled that sweet smile and said, “Jja Jja, I wanted to share food with you and to pray for what has happened.  I want this meeting and our words to be Christian and honoring.”  That was her way of saying she was not asking me to gossip and she knew that being Christian meant our language needed to be different from that of the unbelieving world.

DSC02777 (Small)With tears she thanked me for making her feel valued as a person and for speaking to the women of Rafiki as though they were as important as anyone  else.  She said, “Jja Jja, my heart felt like it had been put in a cold box when Mommy told us you had asked to go to the RGC.  I thought, ‘What has happened? I know Jja Jja loves us.’  Then I thought you would come back and sit us down and explain to us all the reasons that there were so many changes because you always tell us everything.  What I find is that you walk by with only a wave now.”

I did spend some time explaining things to Edith and assuring her that my help to her family would continue no matter how things were different within the gate.  I asked her to trust God that the changes would help the running of things in the village and we would wait and watch how things went.  We clasped hands and spent a long time in imploring prayer–I will never forget what happened in that hut.

You of all people know how that meeting affected my heart.

I do want you to know I am seeing God and am sustained by Him in all this.  In fact, I am so grateful to be with the girls at the center in morning devotions each day. God broke out in all our hearts while we were praying today.  For devotion time we were looking at the attribute of God’s Impartiality.  Later, during the time of confession one girl asked God to forgive her because she often suspected that He favored others more than He did her–she went on to say that she wanted to believe what the Word said rather than her feelings.  Picture 034 (Small)

The girls sing beautifully and I am most blessed to stand among them during hymn time.  Later, the first term girls completed their first blouse project and were thrilled to think they were allowed to take them home to show family–they kept saying to Shirlene, “God Bless you Miss Shirlene–for assisting us.”

It has been a great morning. I haven’t read our Psalm for the day but am even now rehearsing the truths that are there in Psalm 91 (that is the one right?) through my head. DSC 079 (Small)
We will have mini missionaries for dinner tonight and hope that they are made to feel welcome–Jane, I am glad that God saw fit to knit our hearts together–I miss you daily and am helped and remember to say, “God thank you for e-mail, phones and yearly chances to sit and sip coffee with Jane.”  What would I do without a friend with whom I can talk about any and every thing!”

love-lissa

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Death Defying

How could the Apostle Paul be on trial?  Why so many appearances in court? In the last chapters of Acts we see him on trial before the Sanhedrin, he is brought before two Roman Governors and has another hearing before King Agrippa II.  Each trial was convened for the purpose of uncovering what charges the Jews had against Paul. 

Speaking clarity into the confusion that exists, Paul states, “My brothers, I am a Pharisee, the son of a Pharisee.  I stand on trial because of my hope in the resurrection of the dead.”  (Acts 23:6)

Why does Paul think this is the crux of the matter?  I remember reading a quote by a Canadian scientist named G. B. Hardy regarding this question.

Jesus_ResurrectionWhen I look at religion I have two questions. One, has anybody ever conquered death and two, if they have, did they make a way for me to conquer death?

I checked the tomb of Buddha, and it was occupied, and I checked the tomb of Confucius and it was occupied, I checked the tomb of Mohammed and it was occupied, and I came to the tomb of Jesus and it was empty.

And I said, there is one who conquered death. And I asked the second question, did He make a way for me to do it too?

And I opened the Bible and discovered that He said, ‘Because I live you shall live also.’

Paul understood that the claim of resurrection was the pinnacle truth claim of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

At death, all human resources are exhausted there is no power on earth that trumps death.  Paul had met Jesus–resurrected from the dead — the One who is stronger than death!

He knew that his brothers in the Jewish faith had nothing greater than this life giving Jesus.  Their way of dealing with death was to avoid it in order not to be defiled.  They warned their followers to stay away from dead bodies and tombs so that there would be no chance of becoming unclean from the corrupting influence of death.  The truth was avoidance was all they could offer and there is not way to ultimately avoid death.

But Jesus!  Rather than avoid death Jesus reached out to touch the dead.  Rather than be defiled Jesus’ touch brought life to that which was dead!

His resurrection is a message–it is the message and Paul was so secure in the truth of it that he was willing to die knowing that yet would he live.

Christ’s resurrection is an invitation to be united with the One whose life overcomes death.  With our future secure we are freed to really live the life we have been given here and now.

“I am the resurrection and the life.  He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die.

Do you believe this?”  (John 11:25-26)

Faith in Jesus is Life Giving and Death Defying!

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Its All About Me

me“If then there is any encouragement in Christ, any consolation from love, any sharing in the Spirit, any compassion and sympathy, make my joy complete: be of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility regard others as better than yourselves.Let each of you look not to your own interests, but to the interests of others.Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God as something to be exploited, but emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, being born in human likeness.And being found in human form, he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death—even death on a cross.”Philippians 2:1-8

Then he said to them all: “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will save it.” Luke 9:23

The verse is Philippians snatches the rug out from under my natural “Me-ology.”  Jesus was not like us Americans!  He did not think equality was the highest value in life!  For Him the highest good–the greatest joy was found in emptying Himself for the sake of others.  He did not demand that it be all about Him–even though in reality it is!

As Paul describes the self giving attitude of Christ, he invites us to consider a value that he says leads to complete joy…having the same mind and the same love as Christ.

“I am personally convinced that this submission, this dying to self, this crucifying of pride is crucial to our joy.  We think of denying self as somber, grim-faced business when it is in truth a prelude to dancing.

The reason our death [to self] increases the joy level all around is that it also increases the love level all around.

Only when we die to self can we fully love another.

Self is a devilish creature, demanding all of our energy, wanting our constant attention, reaching even into our pocketbooks for favors.

How can we ever hope to be attuned to another when self screams for our constant care?

When self is alive and well, it offers us an all-or-nothing proposition.

We either pacify self, or crucify it!”

Judson Edwards

Pathway to joy is the pathway that goes from “Me-ology” to “Thee-ology!”

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Nazarite Vows

“Jesus…cried in a loud voice, “If any man is thirsty, let him come to me and drink!  He who believes in me–who cleaves to and trusts and relies on me–as the Scripture has said, ‘Out from his innermost being springs of living water shall continuously flow.'”   John 7:37-38 Amplified Bible

The real question, however is this: Where are we to find our fresh springs of life? 

“Glorious things are said of you, O city of God…All my springs [of joy] are in you!”  (Psalm 87:3, 7)

water_fallb Can you or I say the same thing truthfully?  Or is it not a fact that quite without realizing it, certain forms of “recreation” have taken hold of us and hinder rather than help?

A Nazarite was one who made a special vow—the vow of one who is willing to be separated from worldly pursuits and snares—to separate himself totally so he may be put to service by the Lord.  The special vow meant total abstinence, even from certain things which were not wrong in themselves and which, to other people, might actually be beneficial.

Those of us who are God’s emissaries are to treat the world (not just its corruptions, but its legitimate joys, it privileges and blessings also), as a thing to be touched at a distance.  We must be aware at all times that, if we are caught by its spirit, or fed by its meat, we lose our sensitivity to the very breath of the Highest and will no longer receive the manna that falls from heaven to feed our souls.

Therefore, we may bind ourselves to God with the kind of vow that commits us to this: to look upon the world, in all its delights and attractions, suspecting that traps are set there for us, reserving ourselves for a higher way.

We are called to live daily in a higher Kingdom, where we are touched and our souls drink from the Spirit of God. ((Amy Carmichael, God’s Missionary,p. 4-5))

My Father, so often I feel restless.  Unsatisfied.  Wanting something more.  I try to satisfy my inner thirst for life in ways that don’t satisfy–they only leave me thirstier still.

Maybe underneath, I don’t really believe you are what you say you are: Life itself, pure-flowing.

Today, Father, help me to “cleave” to you–to embrace you fully with my trust.  To see the things that draw me for the mirage they are.  And to drink more deeply from your spring of living water. (David Hazard)

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New Kind of Co-Dependence

ac-emera "Imagine flying in an airplane, look out one side of the plane and see the left wing–it reads "dependence".  On the right side is the wing of "discipline."  We need both to "fly" in the Christian life.  Discipline refers to those activities designed to train a person in a particular skill.  Dependence refers to the trust we have in God to work through us.  We mistakenly assert that the believer’s job is to trust, while God does the work."

 "God’s work does not make our efforts unnecessary but rather makes them effective." 

Jerry Bridges, The Discipline of Grace.

While I agree with Jerry Bridge’s above conclusion, I wonder if he does not express more confidence in our "efforts" than we rightly deserve?  As I understand Scripture, both our "dependence" and our "discipline" are gifts from God ( Philippians 4:13. 1 Thessalonians 5:23-24)  I find believers need no more encouragement to strive or exert more effort.  In fact, we need all the help the Spirit is willing to give to trust in the God who boldly affirms, "work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure." 

I am strengthened by the truth that I can worry less about "my part" in the mystery of union with Christ and rest more in His work accomplished and being accomplished in me!