5 May 2009 by Brian.

As many of you know, our family spent several years as missionaries in Youth With A Mission (YWAM).  You may also be aware that YWAM missionaries must raise 100% of their financial support, including the rent they pay to live on the YWAM campus, for those who choose to do so.  For those unfamiliar with the practicalities of this arrangement, it means that you share your vision for ministry with individuals, family members, and churches who may want to partner with you to accomplish the vision.  Those who choose to “support” you, send money on a “regular” basis.  However, from month to month, supporters drop out, churches alter their budgets, supporters forget for months at a time…you NEVER know how much income you will have in any given month.  Sometimes, the missionary is surprised by a large ‘one-time’ gift that covers the shortage from deficiencies created as other supporters couldn’t come through for them.  (We were blessed to experience God’s provision this way MANY times during our years in missions.)

“YWAMers”, as we commonly refer to ourselves, often - very wrongly - refer to this lifestyle of living on financial support as “living by faith”.  Okay, they’re not 100% wrong…it is living by faith, but the tacit belief that those “in the real/secular world” (a.k.a. “living a normal life”) are not living by faith is, without a doubt, 100% wrong.  In fact, I’ve found it more challenging to my faith to live on a salary than I found it to live “on support”.  Lately, that challenge has grown significantly and I’ve been trying to understand exactly why.  I think I’ve finally figured it out…okay, to be honest, God has finally gotten something through my thick skull.

When we were on the mission field, we were renting an apartment, and the sum of our possessions were a computer, some clothes, a car (our first one was purchased for $500…remember, we were in SWEDEN, not a third-world country where $500 is the average annual income!), and a few other odds and ends.  Our challenge each month was to pay all of our bills and come up with enough money for plane tickets, when necessary.  We were blessed that we never went into debt for anything during our time on the field, thanks to God and the generosity of those He led to support us.  To each of them, we are eternally grateful.  NOW, however, we have a decent car, lease a 2nd car, “own” a house (we share ownership with the bank, anyway), have some furniture, and so on.  We don’t have a lot, but we have enough that I prefer (rather strongly) not to lose it!

So, what did I learn?  I have come to the realization that a) I STILL don’t have anything of consequence to lose, relative to the value of my relationship with God and the blessing that comes in that relationship, regardless of the challenges one must face in order for it to grow and b) to my shame, I wasn’t actually exercising much faith at all while in missions, because I didn’t have much on the line and, therefore, I wasn’t pressured by the fear of losing anything.

I’m grateful for these lessons.  They certainly don’t come cheap, but they’re worth every penny.

Posted in Humanism, Bible study, Missions, Missionaries, Europe, Religion, False Doctrine, Relativism, Sanctity of Life, Contemporary Christianity, Biblical Worldview, Spirituality, Secularism | 1 Comment »

10 March 2009 by Brian.

Funny how many Americans were worried about Bush and his Christian beliefs.  Very few worried about Obama’s faith…or even knew for sure what it was.  Now, it’s finally clear.  The author of this article agrees that Obama’s speech regarding his action on stem cell research speaks volumes…it’s just that the books aren’t very good.

Let me summarize what I heard from his speech (I will confess that I didn’t hear the entire thing): We CAN do it, therefore we SHOULD do it.  If we DON’T DO IT, our ECONOMY will suffer as other countries take advantage of the otherwise MORALLY WRONG opportunity we chose to forego.  Therefore, EXPEDIENCY trumps any other conception of MORALITY.  Or, put simply, “EXPEDIENCY is the NEW MORALITY.”

Why do I have the nagging feeling that CHANGE will not be for the better.

Maranatha.

Posted in Community, Abortion, Humanism, Naturalism, Politics, Taxes, Leadership, Evil, Trinitarianism, Trinity, Social Injustice, Radicalism, Sex, Contemporary Christianity, Relativism, Sanctity of Life, Biblical Worldview, Spirituality, Morality, Morals, False Doctrine, Secularism | 1 Comment »

8 March 2009 by Brian.

As big government looks to get even bigger, it seems that more of our earnings will being taken by government for use in curing society’s ills.  I heard a sermon this morning that made me think and I thought I would pose these questions to you:  Once government starts taking more of my paycheck AND it has a program for every conceivable problem in our country, will I be less generous in my giving?  Would that absolve me of my God-given responsibility to love my neighbor and meet his/her needs out of love for Christ?  If it doesn’t relieve me of the responsibility altogether, is it lessened?

Posted in Community, Humanism, Social Injustice, Politics, Social Medicine, Missionaries, Missions, Taxes, Social Justice, Radicalism, Contemporary Christianity, Relativism, Sanctity of Life, Biblical Worldview, Spirituality, Morality, Morals, Secularism | 1 Comment »

26 February 2009 by Brian.

For those who haven’t heard, the word ‘Islam’ actually means, “submission.”  The idea is that one submits themselves entirely to Allah.  Now, I have no argument with submitting oneself entirely to God…but the character and nature of the God to whom we submit makes (literally) a world of difference.

Wherever Islam is present, submission is required.  In fact, in contrast to Christianity, the reason for the submission isn’t nearly as important as the fact of submission itself.  So, one can submit voluntarily, under duress, or resist and incur the wrath of Allah as executed by his servants (Warning: side effects may include property destruction, rape, and/or sudden and violent death.)

This FoxNews article relates the brilliant strategy of pacification (which looks suspiciously like submission to me) being employed in Pakistan in response to the violent attacks which had been occurring in that region.

“Amir Haider Khan Hoti, the chief minister for the North West Frontier Province, said authorities would impose Islamic law in Malakand region, which includes the Swat Valley. Swat is a one-time tourist haven in the northwest where extremists have gained sway through brutal tactics including beheading residents, burning girls schools and attacking security forces.
“He said the laws would only be implemented when the valley was peaceful.”

I’m not the smartest guy in the world, but I know that when one of my children throws a tantrum, if I enjoy it and want to see another tantrum in the future, then I give them the thing they’d wanted, couldn’t obtain, and which resulted in the tantrum.  So…how did these militants react?  To no one’s surprise:

“The Swat Taliban said Sunday they would observe a 10-day cease-fire in support of the peace process. They welcomed Monday’s announcement, which did not mention any need for the militants to give up arms.
‘Our whole struggle is for the enforcement of Shariah (Islamic) law,” Swat Taliban spokesman Muslim Khan said. “If this really brings us the implementation of Shariah, we will fully cooperate with it.’”

I, for one, am glad that’s all over with!  Good thing they didn’t ask them to give up any of their arms.  That would’ve simply prolonged the illegal violence.  I’m sure everyone feels much better, knowing that from now on, almost all of the violence will be legal!
Jesus said that the gates of Hell would not prevail against His kingdom.  We need to pray for believers in Pakistan and elsewhere in the Muslim world whose homes share a wall with these gates.  These brothers and sisters endure terrible conditions, often having to work menial jobs, even though they have Masters’ degrees, M.D.’s, etc., and face obstacles at every turn.  Those are the good days.  Physical violence, torture at the hands of the government, alienation, and death are real possibilities for them, simply because they have chosen to accept Jesus’ offer of salvation and a relationship with God through Him.
I urge you to pray for missionaries and for the church in the Muslim world.

Posted in Community, Social Injustice, Social Justice, Politics, Evil, Leadership, Missionaries, Missions, Religious fanaticism, Radicalism, Biblical Worldview, Contemporary Christianity, Islam, Spirituality, Morals, Religion, Morality, Sanctity of Life | 1 Comment »

4 February 2009 by Brian.

Due to the demands of work and family life, my posts had already become infrequent last fall before Thanksgiving.  The Saturday after Thanksgiving, I came down with pneumonia and as you know, I’ve been completely absent since then.  So, as an effort to break the ice again, I offer you the following quote.

“And since the egg-bird-egg sequence leads us to no plausible beginning, is it not reasonable to look for the real origin somewhere outside the sequence altogether?  You have to go outside the sequence of engines, into the world of men, to find the real originator of the rocket.  Is it not equally reasonable to look outside Nature for the real Originator of the natural order?”

- C.S. Lewis, God in the Dock

Posted in Humanism, Naturalism, Quotes, Biblical Worldview, Sanctity of Life | 2 Comments »

13 November 2008 by Brian.

These two articles graphically (perhaps too graphically) illustrate the problem faced by the anti-theist when it comes to morality.  Read this article about humanist propaganda designed just for the holidays (derived from “holy days”, by the way, if you’re wondering why non-theists feel “a little alone” during the holidays).

Then, check out this story from Sweden regarding a bestiality ring, to which the Agriculture Minister (is he a 45 year old father of two?) seems to be sympathetic.

The Humanists want to, “plant a seed of rational thought and critical thinking and questioning in people’s minds.”  Mission accomplished.  So, in the spirit of rationality, here’s a question for you:  “If there isn’t a deity who defines good and evil, then what is ‘good’?”  Consider the nauseating questions posed by the Ag Minister: “Is it, and should it be, legal to spread something on the genitalia that might smell or taste nice to a dog, in order to allow the dog to lick off whatever is spread on the genitalia?  Should it be permitted to stroke a bitch’s teats with love, or should it be classified as animal sexual abuse?”  If there is no absolute moral lawgiver, then there can be no absolute moral law…only physical laws and moral preferences.  Furthermore, if we and our dogs are only the product of time, plus matter, plus chance, then why would those actions be wrong…just a little animal on animal gratification, right?

Without God, the concept of “good” and “bad” are meaningless.  There is only “is”.  We could state preferences for one situation over another, but those would be purely subjective.  In order to be rational and consistent, I challenge the anti-theists to alter their ad campaign to say, “Just act in a manner we prefer, for preferences’ sake.”  Somehow, I don’t think they want their “seed of rational thought” to grow too much.  If it does, it may just reveal itself for what it is…a useless weed.

Posted in Homosexuality, Community, Politics, Abortion, Humanism, Eurabia, Naturalism, Trinity, Trinitarianism, Christmas, Leadership, Europe, Missionaries, Evil, Missions, Social Injustice, Religious fanaticism, Sex, Biblical Worldview, Contemporary Christianity, Relativism, Sanctity of Life, Marriage, Postmodernism, Postmodernity, Radicalism, Radicals, Religion, Morality, Spirituality, Morals, Secularism | 1 Comment »

6 November 2008 by Brian.

Victor Davis Hanson says it well.  It’s a fair question: “After running up the annual deficit to a near half-a-trillion dollars in stimuli rebates and bailouts, now we are to send checks out again for subsidies for food, housing, and power? And how to pay for it? And the consequences of looking for others to channel money to be redistributed? At some point, there should be some overarching exegesis to explain all this. Something like: ‘Compensation is arbitrary and not based on either fairness or logic. So government is necessary to make the needed corrections and to redistribute in the way a flawed market cannot.’ At least then we could learn the logic involved.”

Posted in Community, Abortion, Humanism, Politics, Social Medicine, Leadership, Environmentalism, Taxes, Social Injustice, Social Justice, Contemporary Christianity, Relativism, Sanctity of Life, Biblical Worldview, Morality, Radicals, Radicalism, Secularism | 6 Comments »

4 November 2008 by Brian.

It’s not like I couldn’t see it coming, but I was holding out hope as long as possible.  I am very glad that the USA has elected a black President, as I believe it makes an important statement about how far we’ve come in the area of racial prejudice.  I’m just very, very sorry that the first black President was Barack Obama.

I only hope that his desire to stay in office pulls him toward the center and he cannot implement the socialist ideas he has espoused over the last few months.  As always, let’s pray for our leaders and trust the One who is Sovereign over all our political maneuverings to work towards his good purposes.

Posted in Social Medicine, Community, Taxes, Trinity, Leadership, Trinitarianism, Social Injustice, Social Justice, Biblical Worldview, Contemporary Christianity, Spirituality, Radicalism, Radicals, Secularism | 1 Comment »

28 October 2008 by Brian.

I’ve been reading in the book of James lately and was reminded of just how relevant the book is today.  Many Biblical scholars believe that James was written during a time of economic crisis in the first century.  Specifically, the Roman Empire was experiencing a famine, putting extreme pressure on the Jewish community.  Of course, Jewish followers of Christ were seen as traitors and idolaters by the Jewish religious and political establishment, making them even more vulnerable.  Simply put, these were extremely difficult times which could make it difficult to stay faithful to God and His ways, rather than to take matters into their own hands and attempt to provide for themselves, even if it meant acting in un-Christlike ways.  Sound familiar?  You can see the evidence of the pressure that the original readers of James were under and you can see how James drove the message home by using so many agricultural images while speaking to members of an agrarian society during a famine.

Try reading James again with this background in mind.  I think we may find it easier to put ourselves into the shoes of the original readers and to really understand what God is trying to teach us through this powerful little letter.

Posted in Naturalism, Social Injustice, Social Justice, Humanism, Community, Leadership, Politics, Inductive Bible study, Inductive study method, Contemporary Christianity, Relativism, Sanctity of Life, Spirituality, Morals, Bible study, Morality, Secularism | 1 Comment »

15 October 2008 by Brian.

Fear.  We haven’t known too much of it for the last 15 years or so.  Sure, there was a period after September 11th when everyone was on pins and needles, but at least for me, this is different.

You know, the impact of so much of what I hear on Sunday mornings or read in books is dependant upon where I am in my life at that moment.  Well, this past Sunday, our Teaching Pastor (Bill Goans) talked very plainly about the need to trust God during these fearful times.  It was one of the best sermons I’ve ever heard, simply because he spoke in a simple, straightforward and very practical way, directly to the issue facing our nation today.  Here’s what I’m learning.

#1 - I’m selfish and deep down in my heart, in places I don’t really want to admit exist, I don’t want to go through the kind of extreme difficulty that would require dependence upon God for the physical survival of me and my family.  I’ve taught the Bible and talked about the faith of Daniel, Peter, Paul, and others.  Faith that faced physical death, torture, extreme poverty (maybe even castration in Daniel’s case! I REALLY don’t want to face that one…I think I’d prefer death!).  Anyway, I digress.  The Bible teaches about the God who is there, no matter what the circumstances and who gives grace through the circumstances.  In fact, it is those who need His grace the most who often have the deepest relationship with Him and the greatest joy, regardless of their plight in life.  It was easy to teach about those men of faith, while I lived in safety and comfort.  With sadness, I must admit that I sometimes looked down on them in their failings and weaknesses, as though I really knew all about how to live life in relationship with God.  As you read the rest of this post (if you haven’t decided to give up on it at this point), please don’t misunderstand me; this post is about me as much as anyone else.  I’m the problem.  Maybe you agree?

In our generation in the USA, we have enjoyed prosperity that exceeds (I’m guessing here, but I feel certain that I’m not far off) 99.99% of that of all the humanity that preceded us.  For most of us, trusting God means getting the promotion that will allow us to get the 3 year old used Honda instead of the 10 year old Ford we’ve been driving.  Hard times means having to say no to going out to eat more than twice a week.  What I’m saying is that we’re spoiled rotten.  Somehow, we’ve come to believe that our current lifestyle (whatever it is) is our God-given right and any threat to it is somehow unfair.  It simply isn’t true.

If the markets collapse worldwide and we’re plunged into a depression that lasts for years, is God no longer God?  Is He no longer faithful?  Will it shake our faith in Him?  If you have to admit that it does, then what do we say to the Chinese believers who face imprisonment and torture for their faith?  Is God only real in the West, where it’s safe and the economy is (or was) expanding?  What about the Sudanese believer, sitting in the desert with nothing to occupy his time, no resources to put to use, and a greater likelihood that the approaching vehicle is a militia coming to kill him and take his sons than that it is a friend offering food and help?  What do we say to Him?  Is God not real in Sudan?

The Bible states that perfect love casts out fear:

1John 4:13   We know that we live in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit.  14 And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world.  15 If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in him and he in God.  16 And so we know and rely on the love God has for us.

God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him.  17 In this way, love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgment, because in this world we are like him.  18 There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.

I’ve decided that I’m finished with fear.  I’m willing to walk through this life in faith that the One who gave me life will sustain it on this Earth for as long as it pleases Him AND that at the end of this life, I will enter a glorious eternal existence that will make any temporal discomfort fade into insignificance by comparison.  You see, things may never get as bad as they possibly could (in my lifetime, at least), but whether I have to lower my standard of living, face financial destitution, or am privileged to continue to enjoy tremendous material blessing, my goal never changes.  I’m here to glorify God, the One who not only created me, but died for me to have an eternal relationship with Him.  My prayer is that this will be my focus at all times and that His goodness and grace will be evident to those around me.  Honestly, I don’t think I’ve done such a great job of this lately and I’d appreciate your prayers that He will transform me into the man He’s called me to be.  Feel free to let me know how I can pray for you.

Posted in Trinity, Politics, Trinitarianism, Missions, Leadership, Missionaries, Community, Humanism, Contemporary Christianity, Sanctity of Life, Biblical Worldview, Spirituality, Naturalism, False Doctrine, Secularism | 1 Comment »