The one in the morning

What do you think of when you wake up in the morning?

Here’s what I think of- likely in this order

1.     What time is it? Can I go back to sleep?

2.     Man, that was a crazy dream, what was I dreaming. (I want to change that dream, or I want to go back to that dream)

3.     What do I need to do today? (Or Man! I got a lot to do today). First I’ll do…this… then that…  - and I map out my day

4.     Then after considering all that I need to do, I say: “God, Help me!”

5.     I probably at that point realize I need to lean on God, ask Him what He wants me to do this day.

6.     Then I think “I’m hungry”

7.     Then I think “I have to pee”

And that’s when I usually get up.

Of course, I will notice my beautiful wife… either before all that or after all that.

May be a bit different for some of us, but our thoughts tend to drift this way.

We get caught up in our own little world.

We’re thinking of our own comforts.

We get caught up in our to do list and consumed by it.

We think about God, but quickly regress.

Our belly becomes our God. Our tasks & responsibilities and to-do list becomes our Master. Our desires & passions become our King.

We are wrapped up in our own little world. We miss out on God.

See this is a problem.

Because we are so wrapped up in our own little world, we miss the bigger picture.

We miss out on seeing the beauty and splendor and wonder and glory of God.

And we focus just on those things near to us, the things we can see. And we miss out on God’s goal for His glory throughout the whole world and God’s glory in the Nations.

Psalm 67, Psalm 96, Acts... the whole Bible really.

God’s focus is not you. His focus is His glory, His great & glorious glory that deserves to be recognized and honored.

Let’s take our eyes off ourselves and our limited world, and seek to bring glory to God in all nations.

The Thing about the Nations

What do you do when asked to share about God’s heart for the Nations?

Why talk about the Nations when there is so much here that can be done?

I looked at the Bible, and there were several places I could look. In fact it is everywhere.

I decided to look at Psalm 96

Read it and allow yourself to feel. What emotions arise? What sticks out to you?

Anything compared & contrasted?

 ¹Oh sing to the LORD a new song;
   sing to the LORD, all the earth!
²Sing to the LORD, bless his name;
   tell of his salvation from day to day.
³Declare his glory among the nations,
   his marvelous works among all the peoples!
⁴For great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised;
   he is to be feared above all gods.
⁵For all the gods of the peoples are worthless idols,
   but the LORD made the heavens.
⁶Splendor and majesty are before him;
   strength and beauty are in his sanctuary.

 ⁷Ascribe to the LORD, O families of the peoples,
   ascribe to the LORD glory and strength!
⁸Ascribe to the LORD the glory due his name;
   bring an offering, and come into his courts!
⁹Worship the LORD in the splendor of holiness;
    tremble before him, all the earth!

 ¹⁰Say among the nations, "The LORD reigns!
   Yes, the world is established; it shall never be moved;
   he will judge the peoples with equity."

 ¹¹Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice;
   let the sea roar, and all that fills it;

 ¹²let the field exult, and everything in it!
Then shall all the trees of the forest sing for joy
 ¹³before the LORD, for he comes,
   for he comes to judge the earth.
He will judge the world in righteousness,
   and the peoples in his faithfulness.

What emotions are evoked? What feelings arise?

 People used words like exhilleration, passion, joy, excitement, fear, awe, right.

It just feels right.

And as it goes it just seems to build- become more and more consuming.

Yeah? Do you feel it?

This is a song of worship. The Psalmist is rejoicing in God. He is enthralled with the greatness of God. And he wants to express it, and get others to join in.

I compare it to when you see an amazing hit at a football game, and you exclaim “Woah! What a hit! Did you see that? You gotta see it. Wait for the replay… oh here it is… bam! Wow!”

You know, if something is amazing we want to tell others about it. We tell people to go watch movies or read a book. IF something is really cool , we may post it on facebook. This is what we do.

This is what the Psalmist is doing. He is worshipping God. And he wants others to see the greatness of God.

Someone took my illustration further. He said “If I convince people to go to Lucas Oil field to watch a game, I don’t just want them to enter the stadium, I want them to root for the Colts”

He compares the greatness of God to the worthlessness if idols.

He desires and craves that God be worshipped. He is disgusted by the worthless things being exalted.

He worships God, b/c God is great & greatly to be praised.

It is right. God is worthy.

If someone compliments me for cooking a great meal, but in fact my wife made it- well, I may take credit, but it wouldn’t feel right. I’d want to give credit to my wife.

Giving glory to God is right- because He is worthy of it.

And the reality is: in the nations, God is not receiving the glory He deserves. HE is not getting what He truly deserves anywhere.

He is God of all. And He is so great, He deserves praise from all.

Acts 17:16 Paul is grieved by the idol worship. Greived! He wants the name of Christ to be exalted.

In Muslim Nations, they say they honor God. But they insult the name of Christ. They call him a Prophet and say they honor Him better than Christians. But they insult Him by calling Him less than God.

He is great and greatly to be praised!

John Piper said it this way:

“Missions exist because worship doesn’t”

What do you think of that?

The whole quote:

“Missions is not the ultimate goal of the church. Worship is. Missions exists because worship doesn’t. Worship is ultimate, not missions, because God is ultimate, not man… Worship, therefore, is the fuel and goal of missions. It’s the goal of missions because in missions we simply aim to bring the nations into the white-hot enjoyment of God’s glory. The goal of missions is the gladness of the peoples in the greatness of God… But worship is also the fuel of missions. Passion for God in worship precedes the offer of God in preaching… Missions begins and ends in worship.” – p.17

Missions is an act of worship.

We’re declaring what God does in the nations.

We’re not all called to go. We’re all called to be part of it.

If your worship doesn’t extend to the Nations, your worship is too small.

Here’s the thing:

God is working in the Nations.

People are coming to Christ all over the world.

This has always been part of His plan. From the time when the people were dispersed at Babel, He has had a plan to redeem.

We see it in His call to Abraham- thru him He will bless all nations.

We see it in Abraham’s new name: Father of Nations.

We see it throughout the Old Testament

We see it in the Great Commission: Go therefore into ALL nations…

Always there

Not only that, but it will happen

Revelation 7 shows us, there will be people from every tribe, tounge and nation.

Mattew 24:19. The message will be preached to the ends of the earth and then the end will come.

It’s going to happen.

And being there: well, it’s a priviledge, a blessing!

God is working and we get to be a part of it!

He is changing people, and what do we do? We watch as God amazes us.

And worship is a beautiful thing.

Worship in another language is a beautiful thing.

Worship in another culture is a beautiful thing.

We’re not all called to go. Some of us are blessed to go.

We can worship God in the Nations by going. By leaving our comfortable lives to serve the Lord. by leaving friends to follow God.

We can worship by praying for His glory in the Nations. By praying for Missionaries. By praying for the lost in different countries.

David Gap says Missionaries just go and reap the labor of those who prayed before them. Prayer is powerful & important- yea even essential.

We also are part of this work by encouraging those who are there, by supporting them.

And we worship thru giving. Giving are offerings of money toward God’s work in the world.

Still only 5-10% of all Christian workers go to the 90% most unreached people. So more people could go.

³Declare his glory among the nations,
   his marvelous works among all the peoples!
⁴For great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised;
   he is to be feared above all gods.
⁵For all the gods of the peoples are worthless idols,
   but the LORD made the heavens.
⁸Ascribe to the LORD the glory due his name;
   bring an offering, and come into his courts!
⁹Worship the LORD in the splendor of holiness;
    tremble before him, all the earth!

 ¹⁰Say among the nations, "The LORD reigns!

The Lord is worthy of glory in the Nations.

We ask why go to the Nations when there is so much here to be done. We miss it. We so limit how glorious and great God is.

We have lost focus of God’s glory and scope.

He is worthy of worship- everywhere.

If your vision, your purpose, your goals, your worship – doesn’t extend to the world- it’s too small.

The thing about being called

I have lived the last 5 years in a foreign country. And had another year previously. I plan on going back soon. And living there for some time.

When people see me upon my return to the states they say “You must really like it there.”

A long-termer warned us people would think this and say it.

It’s natural to assume that. It makes sense. Why else would I be living there?

There are several advantages: It’s cheap, the food is good, there is a small tight community.

Plus, I actually like the pace of life.

Some may like the challenge -not me so much… Or the experience – but I could care less…

This is not the reason we’re there.

I don't really like it there that much, and i don't miss the place that much now that i've been gone.

Then why am I there?

Well, it’s not because it’s easy.

It’s not because I have better friends there.

It’s not because I like to travel.

It’s about God.

See… it’s not even what you may think… I don’t particularly love the people… or even like them.

The ministry is thriving… but it’s not easy.

If it were because of the people, I wouldn’t be there.

The reality is, the longer I’m in Asia… the more I dislike it. What I used to laugh at annoys me. What I used to tolerate, grates at me. What I used to see as innocent, I see as sinful. And what used to taste good, is old. What used to be nice, is aggravating.

The longer I am there, the more I see sin, the more I experience people taking advantage of me, the more people frustrate me.

But that is why I am there… b/c these people NEED Jesus.

BUT…

The Need itself is not enough… there is need everywhere!

 But this is where God called us. This is where God wants us to be.

And we are glad to be there.

We see God at work.

We experience His power and grace and faithfulness and provision

We grow in our faith… we depend on Him.

And we enjoy His glory.

God is working around the world, amongst the nations – and we want to be part of that.

Psalm 67 fuels my passion.

May the peoples praise You oh God

Shine your face upon them.

May the peoples praise You!

As Piper states “Missions exists because worship doesn’t”

We have seen God work. We have seen lives changed. We have seen movements develop. We have been amazed.

No, it’s not easy. And it is not fun. We don’t just have compassion on the people… but we do want to see God’s glory in the Nations. And that is the place to be.

We’re there for God’s Glory.

Ultimately though, it’s God’s Call.

We go because this is where God has called us to be.

It is hard. We long for stability. We long for a home. We long for good friends.

We know Hebrews 11:13-16

These all died in faith, not having received the things promised, but having seen them and greeted them from afar, and having acknowledged that they were strangers and exiles on the earth. ¹⁴For people who speak thus make it clear that they are seeking a homeland. ¹⁵If they had been thinking of that land from which they had gone out, they would have had opportunity to return. ¹⁶But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared for them a city.

Acts: 20:22-24 is my calling verse:

And now, behold, I am going to Jerusalem, constrained by the Spirit, not knowing what will happen to me there, ²³except that the Holy Spirit testifies to me in every city that imprisonment and afflictions await me. ²⁴But I do not account my life of any value nor as precious to myself, if only I may finish my course and the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God.

I don’t know what will happen to me – except suffering – but I go bound by the Holy Spirit.

I don’t consider my life dear to myself, only that I may finish the course God has given me.

We want to see God’s Name Glorified.

We want to experience God’s glory.

We want to be where God wants us to be.

It’s about being where God wants us to be: for His purposes, His glory – in my life & in the world

We don’t make decision based on what we like or dislike. Not because it is easy, or because of the challenge. We don’t go b/c it is fun or an adventure, and experience or fun. We don’t go to feel good about ourselves, or simply to feel good.  We go bound by the Holy Spirit. We go to follow God. We go to honor Christ. We go to experience God’s glory. We go to worship. We’re there, because that is where God wants us to be.

The thing about facebook

i took Soo out on a facebook date tonight.
It included watching "The Social Network", talking about facebook and spending some time on facebook.

The movie was great! Great story-telling & great casting (but that is to be expected with Aaron Sokin & David Fincher).
It reminded me how much i liked facebook when it was clean & simple - and not the mess of applications it is now.
And how much better the facebook was when it was exclusive.
But yeah, it was an intense movie, great character development, fun.


It also showed me how much facebook has changed the world... i mean, we can know things about people we barely know at all...

i do often wonder what my life would have been like if facebook was around when i was in college. i'd have 500+ more friends... i think it would have made dating easier (knowing who was single and who was somewhat interested) but also more difficult (b/c i wouldn't know how to talk to people in person).
And would i have graduated?


I'm interested in seeing what people interaction's will be like in a few years- when all they've known is facebook. Will they really know how to talk with each other? Will they go out and make new friends? Will friends really be friends - or will they stay at superficial levels.
Will freshman in college have to go out and make new friends, or just stay in their room staying in touch with highschool buddies?

i am thankful for facebook now, i have reconnected with a buddy from college who i haven't talked to in a decade and a buddy from high school i hadn't talked to in 12 years... + i can keep up with people while living a continent away!


On our date, we discussed how can facebook be detrimental to our walk with God?
And how can we use facebook to advance God's Kingdom, serve God's purposes, glorify God?

Detrimental:
1. obviously wasting time
2. similarly: turn to facebook instead of God as a default
3. could keep from actually knowing people, initiating
4. could judge people w/o knowing what is going on

for glorify God:
1. pray for people- reminds us to pray, know better how to pray
2. write encouraging notes on people's walls
3. write notes, status updates that could encourage, challenge others by talking about God's Word.
4. make people aware of prayer requests
5. write praises, make people aware of God
6. post sermons, videos
7. contact old friends, build relationships, use for Evangelism


There were a few more things we did, could have done... We prayed for people on the date. We uploaded some pictures. we talked about stuff in our information section: tv shows, books, activities...
It was pretty fun.


Back to facebook: My first 2 fb friends: Nate Racklyeft & Laura Shunta... when i first started fb when i accepted friend requests i would write a note to them to say why i considered them a friend... that stopped pretty quickly. Paul Gustafson was the first person to write on my wall.
And being on facebook as a staff was a key insider move. When i left Michigan i i said "I'm not a student, but i am on facebook."


Go watch the movie.
Go spend time with your wife and/or friends, and don't waste all your time on facebook.
And spend your time on facebook wisely and to serve God's purposes.

the one with memory verses

Last week a friend sent me a list of verses i could read to Soo during labor. It was great!

i knew several of the references - but i couldn't remember the verse! Others i would read and was like i should know that.

When i was younger i was in AWANA clubs and memorized a lot of verses.
Back then it was kind of a game.
But now i know Scripture memory isn't a game. It's part of the WAR!
Jesus used Scripture to fight off the devil when He was being tempted.
And my favorite memory verses to start with is this: Psalm 119:11:
     "Thy Word I have hidden in my heart that I may not sin against You"

i was struck by how little i had remembered. i used to spend a lot of time in God's word: so that even when i wasn't actively memorizing, i remembered things. And at time i worked hard to memorize.
At one point i said this is my new favorite verse and this is my new favorite verse and my friend Greg said "Yeah my favorite verse changes every time i read the Bible." There is so much good stuff in there!

i think i fell into that stage of cynicism, that so many slightly older Christians fall into.
i can look at new Christians or New Staff and just think it's a stage...
Really, i love being around New Christians- they bring life to me. i need to feed of their zeal, enthusiasm and excitement.

But maybe now i can rub off some on you.

i made a list of 100 verses(passages) to memorize & meditate on.
Soo & i will be working on one a day.
Will you accept this challenge with us?
We'd love for you to join us. We could give each other accountability. We could talk about it together. We can encourage one another.

Who's in?

Verses to memorize

1.     Psalm 73:25-26

2.     Philipians 3:7-8

3.     Eph 3:14-21

4.     Matt 11:28-30

5.     Pslam 16:6

6.     Det 6:4-9

7.     Psalm 63:3-4

8.     Psalm 34:8-10

9.     Col 3:15-17

10. Col 3:1-4

11. Phil 3:12-14

12. Psalm 19:14

13. Psalm 20:7

14. Deut 8:2-3

15. Col 3:12-14

16. Lam 3:21-23

17. Jeremiah 29:13

18. Phil 1:9-11

19. Deut 30:15-20 (Deut 11:26-28)

20. Heb 9:11-14

21. Heb 11:13-16

22. Romans 13:8

23. Romans 13:14

24. Deut 8:1-10

25. Deut 7:6-9

26. I Peter 1:13-16

27. Psalm 16:8-9

28. Deut 8:11-20

29. Deut 6:10-12

30. Psalm 63:7-8

31. Psalm 37:3-7

32. Pslam 99

33. Lam 3:24

34. Deut 6:13-15

35. II Cor 5:18-20

36. Deut 30:11,14

37. Psalm 96:3, 10a

38. Isaiah 40:8

39. Col 1:9-12

40. Ezekial 35:25-27

41. Isaiah 41:10

42. Psalm 13

43. Psalm 95:1-7

44. Col 2:20-23

45. Philipians 3:7-11

46. Psalm 34:1-3

47. Joshua 24:14-15

48. Jude 24-25

49. Matt 6:19-21

50. Col 2:6-7

51. Prv 3:3

52. Ezekail 33:11

53. Isaiah 55:1-2

54. Deut 7:6-11

55. I Cor 2:1-2,5

56. Eph 1:15-22

57. Rev 19:6-9

58. Rev 19:10

59. Matt 5:13-16

60. Psalm 63:1

61. Rom 8:37

62. I Peter 1:3-9

63. Pslam 16:1-2,5

64. Psalm 96:7-9

65. James 1:2-4

66. Joshua 24:23-24

67. Psalm 100

68. II Cor 4:8-10

69. Isaiah 40:18-19, 21-23,28-31

70. Psalm 96:4-5

71. Isaiah 40:12-17

72. James 4:6-7

73. Prov 3:7

74. Ezekial 34:11-16

75. Deut 10:16

76. Deut 10:12-13

77. II Cor 2:14-17

78. Psalm 33:16-17

79. James 3:13-18

80. Psalm 1

81. Psalm 31:1-3

82. Isaiah 43:1-7

83. Isaiah 55:6-7

84. Isaiah 45:22

85. Deut 11:18-23

86. Lam 3:25-26

87. Phil 1:27

88. I Peter 3:8

89. Romans 15:5-6

90. Romans 14:19; 15:2

91. Lam 3:31-33

92. Psalm 32:1-5

93. Psalm 33:18-22

94. Psalm 31:7-8

95. James 1:17

96. I Peter 2:9-10

97. I Peter 2:11

98. I Pet 4:7-10

99. James 4:17

100. I Timothy 6:11-12

We already started... and may not do it in exact order (We're reading Godward life by Piper and i'm studying Isaiah - so that may influence us).

So, who's in?

The thing about Giving

The Lord has struck me recently about giving.

It is an interesting thing, when you set your own salary.

We determine our salary based on what we think we need.

So, what do we do?

I create a budget

I think of what a reasonable salary would be.

The first thing I do, is think of the 10% giving to the Lord… then I consider the obvious big payments like rent, utility bills, phone, transportation, date nights, and of course food. I also have to consider entertainment, clothes, gifts… and then a huge chunk for savings. Really most of our budget is savings… cuz I don’t buy anything… but I want to be able to buy/go whatever/wherever I want. (but I don’t want to buy wasteful things).

Here’s the thing though… it’s easy.

It’s easy to give, when I can set up a salary that covers all my needs.

Sure, I may live modestly. Some couldn’t imagine living on the salary we live on. We have to have someone co-sign because our salary is so little. We get all our money back from taxes.

But, we have been blessed. So many things we just got. Where we live is cheap. Our parents paid for all our schooling. We don’t own a house or have a car payment.

We’re not living in need.

We have enough to give to others.

We give 10%

But this isn’t sacrificial giving.

Sure, a lot of people don’t even give 10%. The average is 3%

But if I have a budget, and I know I can handle the other costs… am I giving by faith? Am I giving sacrificially?

So… what if we not only gave the budgeted amount… but also gave from our other allotted expenses?

What if we spent one month’s clothes budget to help the homeless?

What if we spent some money each month from our food budget to feed someone? You know, I could fast a meal and give that money to someone else.

What if we took some of our money set aside for date night, - to invite someone else over and cook them a meal… or baby-sit someone’s kids so they could have a date night?

What if instead of buying a book for myself, I bought a book for a friend?

And what if I allowed others to use stuff freely- even if it meant it’s come back damaged?

I want to give the Lord my first-fruits… and then I want to give sacrificially after that. Give money, give time, give energy, give resources : for the Lord’s purposes, to honor Him.

The Lord loves a cheerful giver.

And when we give, we become like Christ, and experience Christ more fully. It is a great thing.

(side note: read in “Radical” how a church raised 23 million for a building project, and $5,000 to help Refugees in Sudan… )

We want to give to the local church, we want to give to world missions, and we want to give to help the poor and needy. But in all we want to give by faith, give sacrificially, give cheerfully and give to the Lord!

It is more blessed to give than receive!

the one where God doesn't need your help

God doesn’t need our help.

He didn’t create us because He was lonely.

He’s not sitting up in heaven right now wondering what to do, and just hoping humans will come to the rescue.

He did leave the job of proclaiming the Gospel to the church… but this does not mean He needs us. In fact, we need Him in that process.

When Jesus was betrayed, his disciples took out knives to fight people with swords, and Jesus rebuked them. He could call angels… and let’s face it, He didn’t need the angels either!

So, why are we so persistant in trying to help Jesus out these days?

The Gospel message is not enough… we need to package it to make it more appealing. We need to market Jesus to make Him more attractive.

The Word of God is not enough, people won’t come to Church… unless, we make the seats comfortable and the building look grand. We need entertaining videos and colorful powerpoint slideshows.

Didn’t we see this in the Bible. David wants to make God a great big temple- but He is fine in a tent.

People will never follow God’s Word… unless we can paint pretty pictures for them… we can make clever slogans  ….we can appeal to their fleshly desires…  we make it simple…

We don’t expect people to change, we don’t expect God to work.

Even more so, we see it how we pray. We pray to give God a break, make it easy for Him to answer our prayers. We don’t pray specific, we don’t pray big. And even if we do ask for something, we cover it up with making a “good feeling” just as good as actual healing. We don’t want to corner God.

We’re afraid to ask for actual conversions- because we can’t control that.

Wait, are we only supposed to pray for things we can control?

True, sometimes we’re the answer to our prayers- but not most of the time, and certainly not all the time. If we’re praying in a way that we can answer our prayer requests- are we really praying to God?

We need to pray in a way that only God can answer. We need to pray in a way & act in a way, that if God doesn’t show up- we’re in “SUaR”  ( a whole lot of trouble).

What really got me thinking about this was K-Love. And not in a good way K-Love. I like the music, but I can’t listen to the station anymore. You say the right things with your lips, but your heart is far from God.

Their recent fund-raising(which has been extremely ridiculous before) got to a new low.

DJ 1: “How much money do you think we can raise in the next ½ hr?”

DJ 2: “I think we can get ___ much in” (can’t remember the exact amount)

DJ 1: No. No that’s too much. I know God is big, but he can’t do that much.

DJ 2: Let’s prove DJ 1 wrong. Let’s show him how big God is.

Are you kidding me?

You’re not trusting God- You’re trusting your deceitful, conniving words to work for you.

But don’t we all do something like this?

Instead of praying for someone to come to salvation, we pray for an opportunity.

- sometimes an opportunity is a big deal. In fact, I’d love an opportunity these days, and I am praying for it… but I want to pray bigger. I can make an opportunity, I don’t need God for that. What I do need God for is: boldness, courage… and for Him to work in the person I’m talking with

Instead of giving sacrificially, we make a budget, then give some money… but only while we still have a job.

Or instead of raising support, and trusting God will continue to provide, we raise more than is needed, so we always have a buffer.

And instead of just sharing the Gospel or challenging our brother, and letting God work thru that… we wait for the perfect time to speak up… we wait til we feel comfortable… we try to come up with the perfect anaology… we use methods from the latest book… we try to use entertainment.

Don’t get me wrong. We can & should use insights to the culture and people around us. We need to be wise about our decisions and actions. We need to pray in humility.

But we don’t need to help God.

He doesn’t need our help. He is powerful & able enough.

And quite frankly, our “help” can get in the way of God’s work… and steals from His glory… which He doesn’t like.

Let’s stop trying to help God, and just join Him in what He’s doing, walk by faith and not lean on our own understanding.