Learning to "sit"

Nobody likes to wait....

I remember counting the days until Christmas or the agony of knowing that there were still 200 more days until the next birthday.

Hannah and I were talking about waiting this past week. There are a lot of her college details that are still up in the air. She's waiting. We're waiting. We finally couldn't stand it any longer and managed to write a little nervous e-mail. We were told to "not be nervous" and wait...

During the "waiting" conversation, I was also having a good time playing with our new 10 weeks-old puppy, Schnazzy. She is a bright little schnauzer who has become super-motivated by a handful of premium puppy chow. She loves to eat almost as much as I do. So....it was really simple to teach her to sit for a small sample. However, it was not as easy to teach her to wait. She can see the little kibble in my hand and it drives her nuts. She cannot stand the couple of seconds that she has to wait.

So, Hannah and I coined a new spiritual term: Learning to sit.

You know that the good and wonderful thing that God has for you is right around the corner. He has it in His hand. It is perfect in every way, including its timing. But, waiting is driving you nuts. Hang in there, God has a beautiful goal in mind.

James wrote in Chapter One,

² Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, ³ because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance.

⁴ Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be

mature and complete, not lacking anything.

God is working on your character, my character. His goal is our maturity, our arrival at spiritual adulthood. He is conforming us to the image of His Son.

Sooooo.....SIT!

Another advocate to help you and be with you forever...

I am overwhelmingly convinced that I cannot live in obedience to Jesus. Although He calls me to obey Him as a sign of my love and devotion, I must confess that I have fallen short so many times that I have concluded that what He requires is humanly impossible. Even more emphatic is the reality of Jesus´s own statement in John 14...

¹⁵ “If you love me, keep my commands. ¹⁶ And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever—

Jesus knew that what He was asking would be impossible without supernatural help. In fact, He knew that He would have to send a perfect replacement, one who was divine and perfectly in tune with the will of the Father. The Holy Spirit must completely take control of our lives in order to direct, correct and empower the special abundant life that Jesus has promised.

Are you frustrated with your level of spiritual life, angry at your own lack of discipline and daily victory? Good....perhaps your frustration and disappointment will make you humble and point you to the ever-present reality of the Holy Spirit!

Who would have believed it?

I noticed something interesting this last week as I was studying for the resurrection sermon. I had never paid any attention to the time delay between Mary's encounter with the risen Christ and His appearance before the cowering group of disciples.

The first verse of John chapter 20 reads, “Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the entrance”. That certainly fits with our ideas of a sunrise resurrection. However, here is where I made my small discovery. In verse 19 we skip to a much later hour, “On the evening of that first day of the week, when the disciples were together, with the doors locked for fear of the Jewish leaders, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!”

Very early in the morning, Mary has a wonderful encounter with Jesus and goes back to tell the disciples. Ten to twelve hours later they are sitting together in a locked room fearing for their lives. Did anyone believe her story? Did anyone actually believe that she had seen the risen Lord or did they discount her story as the result of severe and prolonged grief-ridden trauma on an already over-emotional lady? After all, she was the same lady who poured out a whole year’s salary on Jesus’ feet.

I wonder what the disciples talked about all day. Did they debate the scriptures? Did someone create a biblical defense for a crucified and resurrected messiah? Or did they simply contemplate the different methods of possibly leaving town without suffering the same fate as Jesus?

I wonder why Jesus chose to make them wait. More importantly, I wonder why He makes me wait. How do the uncomfortable moments of waiting and wondering, worried and distressed, contribute to my growth and my ability to continue to trust the Savior?

I am sure that we have all felt this type of intensely agonizing doubt. We all must learn to embrace the reality that the rewards of His revelation (in His time) bring great joy.

“After he said this, he showed them his hands and side. The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord”. John 20:20

New lessons learned...

CELebracion is the name of our new church plant. We knew that beginning something new would be a lot of fun...and from the pic you can see that we were right. However, there have been a few lessons that maybe we didn't see coming.

1) Preaching can be a lot more fun and fulfilling when there is more participation. It can get uncomfortable, but have you ever wondered what would happen if the congregation actually responded to the questions that we place throughout our sermons? What if they actually ask a few questions of their own? Wouldn't it encourage our people to be more engaged with God and His word? Wouldn't it make us have to respond in authentic and relevant ways? We would have to scratch where it itches. We might also get the privilege of simply saying, "Wow! Great question! I don't know. We'll have to study that one together".

2) Also, New christians challenge our religion. Just like week, we were praying for a couple from a new rural congregation. The husband was involved in a hit-and-run accident. He was hit by a motorcycle as he travelled home on his bicycle. His face caught the worst of the damage as he landed on the pavement. The family spent 4 days in Tegucigalpa trying to get the one plastic surgeon at the public hospital to work him in. Eventually, they gave up and came back to Siguatepeque. As the principal bread winner in his home, the family has suffered from his lost wages.

After praying for this family, one of our newest believers stands up and admonishes the congregation, "Is that it? I thought that we were going to be a church of action?" Needless to say, we had to respond. I grabbed a young man's hat and placed it where everyone could give. Our giving was more generous than the usual weekly offering and probably got the family through a week or so of groceries.

Another lesson learned, true Christianity is actually putting the compassion of Christ into action. Praise His name!

Notes on a page...

Last night, I was looking through an old Theology Proper textbook that we used long ago in our Mobile Bible Institute. I noticed that most of the pages had been filled with underlined passages and scribbled notes. About half of them I easily recognized as my handwriting, but the other notes were even more obvious. My dear friend, Jorge Espinal, had written the other notes in his distinctive cursive style.

At different times, both Jorge Espinal and I used the same book to teach different groups of rural pastors. The Mobile Bible Institute was really a fulfillment of his dream (along with Paul Talley) to make theological education available to the poor, bi-vocational pastors of Honduras and Nicaragua. It began in 1994 and continues today in many different countries.

You see, I was on a bus travelling to teach an MBI group last week when I received a text message about Jorge's death. His long battle with cancer was finally over. A large group of us had spent a few hours with the family and friends the night before and we knew that it was only a matter of a very short time. I had been given the privilege a week earlier to actually share a few words with Jorge. It felt like we were saying goodbye and I will always cherish the gift of that moment.

Last night, as I flipped through the pages, I sat in silence, praising God for my friend, his life and his legacy. His notes were not simply written on these pages but also on the reality of my heart....knowing that his kindness and generosity have helped to shape so many of us. Thank you, Jesus....Praise be to your name!

Have you ever seen a miracle?

As a new church here in Honduras, we have been studying through the Gospel of John. For me, it has been refreshing to see the wonder of Jesus, His words and His miracles. We see Jesus' miracles, we are amazed at His glory and we receive the grace that we need to worship Him. It is a wonderful pattern.

This week, I have been studying the resurrection of Lazareth in chapter 11. The story has all the makings of a classic novel or an award-winning movie: great friendships, tragic sickness, misunderstandings, compassion and grief. All of this culminates in an over-the-top display of power and glory as Jesus calls Lazareth away from his 4-day taste of eternity. I can only begin to imagine the emotions that were displayed as Mary and Martha welcome back their dear brother and Jesus enjoys the fellowship of His dear friends.

However, here's the rub, not everyone appreciated the miracle. Some of the witnesses were not able to see the goodness of Jesus and were frightened by His power and the inevitable change that He would have on their lives. Some of the little tattletales ran back to the religious authorities and stirred up their commitment to doing away with the radical teacher. They knew that their power was being threatened. Their way of life could not continue with a miracle worker in their midst.

How about you? Do you realize what a radical change He is planning in your life? Just a chapter earlier Jesus promises the wonderful proposition of "life in abundance" as the new norm for those who are living in His kingdom. See His glory. Be convinced. Receive grace to follow Him through your life of worship!

Put it in the ground....

Yesterday, while I was running, (Yes, actual excercise) I noticed something strange about our avocado trees. You see, we planted those trees about four or five years ago and although they had grown to about 6 feet tall, we had never seen any kind of flower and we wondered if they would ever produce anything. Well, yesterday, I noticed that one side of the tree was full of the cutest little avocados you have ever seen. Some are about the size of a nickle. Wow, this certainly is a lesson in planting and harvesting.

Way back, when we were about to plant these trees, some friends warned us to have some realistic expectations. "Avocado trees take a long time to produce" was their warning. To be honest, that was a little disheartening to me. I questioned whether or not I was willing to wait that long. Should I even bother?

Do you ever feel that way about your ministry or your church? It's going to take forever for this new group to get off the ground. It will be years before we ever see any fruit or growth. Is it worth the wait? It will be years before these people change and are willing to make real changes in the lives?

Well, here's my thought. Start it! Plant it! Make the long-term investment. If it's going to take a few years to actually see some fruit, then you had better hurry up and get it in the ground!