The Real Reason for the Season

"Jesus, the Reason for the Season" we often see this during this time of the year.

I think it's a cute saying that is not totally accurate. We tend to do that a lot of times, especially in a world of marketing.

But I read a verse that shook my faith world yesterday. "Love is the fulfillment of the law."

Simple.

Jesus is love because God is love. He came and loved. When we love others deeply, purely and to the fullest, we will automatically be fulfilling the law.

But love like this isn't easy. It takes humility.

I messed up the other day. In my own hurt and anger I took a jab at someone I loved. If I loved instead, I would have set myself aside at whatever cost, put my pride in the backseat (or out the window), and humbly received whatever was going on.

I love watching parents act totally RIDICULOUS in public just for their kids. You've seen 'em. Watch next time you're out (dancing, talking like a baby-forgetting all English grammar rules, hopping through the mall, counting everything they see, making faces you've never SEEN before), and as you watch......imagine the child NOT being there!! Haha, it is SOOOO funny. If there was no kid there, for sure the mom or dad or grandma would totally be committed to an insane asylum!!!

But this is love. These parents are so in love with their children and loving them and meeting their needs that they would do just about anything short of crude to get that smile out of them or to make them feel loved or just to have interaction. It's love.

This is the love that Jesus came to teach us. His love for broken people who need Him is why He came. We can worship God for anything, but that fact that Jesus came for us and humiliated Himself, allowing Himself to take on human form as a baby, this is love. He allowed Mary to change and WASH (by hand) his diapers/nappies. He allowed her to clean his spit-up. To clothe Him, dress Him, teach Him. This is humility on the part of God Almighty.

And the opposite of humility is pride. During this season, gifts are everywhere. And let's be honest, some of us, our hearts drop at the thought of presents because we see the word O-B-L-I-G-A-T-I-O-N. If someone gives us a present, we feel like we need to return the gesture. And often it seems like the giver feels that way too.

But it's not just obligation from other people. We feel obligated on our part. We often feel like to receive a gift is to receive strings to that person and we owe them until we reciprocate. As soon as we do the strings fall and we are free.

This year I gave homemade jam to people who have just encouraged me lately. But as I gave it I downplayed it so that they wouldn't feel obligated. But it made me a little sad because I felt it downplayed how much I cared too.

What's the deal? Why are things this way? Why is it so difficult to just receive a gift with a thankful heart and go on without feeling obligated? Pride. That's it.

The truth is it's hard to receive a gift without reciprocating. And boiled down, in its simplest form. Pride is the answer to 'why' or at least "lack of humility". It takes humility to simply receive.

So let's look at this
Jesus humbled himself from God form to human baby form. He gave himself up, humbly, in love. To fulfill the law. He offers Himself as a gift.

Only, we have a hard time receiving without giving back (thus somehow "deserving" the gift). We can't do this with Jesus. We cannot truly receive Love until we humble ourselves and realize there is nothing we can give in return for this gift. There is no way to match it or deserve it.

The reason for the season? I say it's HUMILITY and LOVE. The fulfillment of the law. Love God and love your neighbors as yourself.

When we humbly love, I believe we begin to see God's kingdom here on earth.

So Jesus IS the reason for the season. But our pride is also the reason/need for the season. His humility is our reason/need for the season. Love is the reason for the season. Our own Humility is what should come out of this season...

...just something to chew on.

Merry Christmas to all! I so hope that you will have a joy-filled Christmas!!!

Blast from the Past missionary

So I have this fear that I'm going to turn into one of those missionaries who comes back to the US and wears khaki pants up to the belly button with a cotton blue collared shirt tucked in, with white scrunchy socks and keds...Fro hair, glasses, and clueless when it comes to common English phrases and fads, and unable to relate to ANYONE.
Dissecting this a bit...
- I already care less about what people think about what I wear
- However scrunchy socks still are strange to me.
- I don't own any keds.
- I feel like I can relate to people better now than I could in March
- My priorities have changed; how could they not when living life in between a Western and Third World country

+ I was totally confused when I got home last time and saw all of these little black squares that look like some strange barcode EVERYWHERE
+ When I got home last February or June, I had no idea what "Silly Bands" were or why people would get so crazy over a shaped rubber band.
+ I still don't understand what 'Angry Birds' is or why they're a big deal.

I guess its a silly fear because some things are inevitable (AND superficial). Its silly because I have family and dear friends who will help me along the way. Its silly because I serve the One True God, who is over ALL and in all.

Even though I can acknowledge this shouldn't be a fear, its still something I think about. I think I need to learn to trust God in this and allow others the chance to accept me as I am, whether a "stuck-in-the-past-missionary" or not.

God please give me enough of Your grace that I can always connect with others.

Trusting God with the people around us

Do I believe that God is sovereign? Yes.
Do I believe He is a God of purpose? Yes.
Do I believe that He has a plan when I don't see it? Yes.

Then if all these things are true. Then I have no choice but to trust God with those He has put around me. I've mentioned this before but reading the other day I found Jesus doing the same thing.

It's easier to trust God with our pastor, our Sunday school teacher, our bff, our family...but what about the people in our daily lives who are spreading rumors behind our back? Making our jobs more difficult than they have to be? Or the ones who looove drama and it affects you? The people who are crass? Do we trust God with the difficult people? Should we? Do they have a place in our life? What's the point?

The point is

1. Jesus had known from the beginning which of them did not believe and who would betray Him. (Jn 6:64)
2. Jesus replied, "Have I not chosen you, the Twelve? Yet one of you is a devil!" He meant Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot, who, though one of the Twelve, was later to betray Him. (John 6:70-71)
3. But one of his disciples, Judas Iscariot, who was later to betray Him, objected, "Why wasn't this perfume sold and the money given to the poor? It was worth a year's wages." He did not say this because he cared about the poor but because he was a thief; as a keeper of the money bag, he used to help himself to what was put into it. (Jn 12:4)

This blows my mind. All rationality appears to be thrown out the window when Jesus chose His disciples. The truth is, He trusted the Father- and that was the most rational thing to do. As He chose Judas as a disciple, Jesus trusted that His Father had a plan and a purpose.

I mean let's be real. Judas probably had a reputation and even if he didn't, you spend enough time with someone, you learn who they REALLY are, as did the disciples I'm sure. So not only did Jesus choose His betrayer as a disciple and to spend the last few years of His life with, but He chose someone of whom surely others did not approve.

So Judas, the thief and future betrayer spent three-ish years around Jesus, in the presence of the Son of God.

I don't see anyone who would compare to Judas in my life. But I do see others that I don't exactly understand why they are around. There are a couple of people in Ghana who believe that I am ready to compete against them in ministry. They have made it known who they will allow and not allow me to work with. I've no doubt that they would gladly take a chance to sabotage ministry efforts. Why? It has nothing to do with me but with the experience with another white person. So why does they continue to be in my life? When I have stepped away and tried to stay out of the way, it turns out that I live near one of the person's family. Why? I don't know...yet.

I trust God's sovereignty and that He has place me where I am. I trust that He has a purpose and plan although I cannot understand it. I'll not try to remove the "Judases" in my life but instead, trust God with them.

I have seen God turn former "Judas-type people" into followers of Him. In Jesus' case, God used Judas to bring mankind to Him. Looks can be deceiving and feelings definitely are deceiving.

I encourage you, when you see a Judas (or a lesser extreme) before you, or in your life, whether at work, church, school, Wal-Mart, a restaurant or in your family...bring him or her before God and ask Him to help you trust Him with that person, even when we don't understand. This is faith.

Its crazy, isn't it?!?! I don't know other faith/religion of which their "God" comes to live among His people and give His life. But even if there was one, I am certain it would be like Jesus, who not only died but lived among and actually served those who would betray Him...We can never say that our God is not for us.

Ministry Update

We are working on getting a friend from Ghana to come to the States to help cast the vision for sports ministry and share what is already going on in Ghana and other parts of the world. I'm praying that God would open the door for Gloria to come. Last year 58% of Ghanaians applying for a US Visa were denied. Please pray that God gets her here.

Also, I don't even know who all is doing it, but there are people who are working on establishing a non-profit Stateside for this ministry. Please pray over this as it comes together. Its so easy to stray from the Gospel. Pray that as we continue in ministry and gain partners that Christ would remain the center...ALWAYS! :)

I should have an update on these two things in January! Can't wait!

Do IT!!!

My life is crazy. People allude to this thought often if not daily.

I would agree. Below are some off-the-wall things that have taken place in the last few years.

• Grounded in the UK for 8 days due to Icelandic volcanic ash cloud
• Eaten rodent while overseas, known locally in S. Texas as river rat
• Spent a summer in Italy for mission training
• Met people from dozens and dozens of different countries
• Spent a few hours too many in Libya airport with way too many Americans and saw way too many rifles in those few hours, carried by way too many HUGE military men
• Was able to spend time with Gypsies playing games and sharing Jesus
• Drove over 10,000 miles in a little over a month...all...by...myself
• Jumped off of a bridge (into a river) from at LEAST 50 feet up...felt like 500
• Ran a half marathon with my sister
• Began to learn an Africa language
• Learned to cook African food on a coalpot, no easy feat!
• Experienced an earthquake in Italy...I'm not from Cali so it was kind of a big deal
• Correspond weekly with different friends from Europe and Africa...by phone not facebook
• Hiked somewhere around 18km or miles, can't remember, down a mountain carrying a friend with 5 other people
• In one summer learned to count in five different languages...Evegbe (Ghana), Italiano, Romaneste, Gypsy, and English (I know it shouldn't count but you know how it is...:)
• Spent a day in Venice on a loooong journey from assignment in Romania back to training in Italy
• Watched a young man go from motorbike driver to passionate follower of Christ in less than a year!
• Spent time in villages with friends drinking coconut milk and eating the meat while visiting
• Stood in front of crowds and speak (come on, its intimidating and you know it!!!)
• Hiked through an incredible cave with freezing water in Romania
• Played my first game of soccer/international football ever

Okay that's more than enough.

The point...its true, my life has been crazy. Way outside what I ever would have deemed NORMAL!
Most of the stuff I listed had nothing to do with what I wanted but is where I "ended up." And I just went with it. I don't know what happened to me.

Here's what I think though. I think when we do something outside the box, outside the comfort zone, maybe outside of "normal" we get a sense of boldness come over us! Sure part of it is adrenaline, but for me part of it is seeing that I can do wayyyy more than I thought capable and it frees me to press the mold a little bit, step out a little bit further, trust a little more.

I was pumped to hear of a group of believers in a small community reaching out in a manner never before attempted. I pondered over why people in this community would do this but wouldn't participate in other less extreme ways of ministering. And I think it comes back to the sense of adventure! It's a stretch, they could get in trouble...but let's be real, there are times when that really piques our interest and makes us dive in, even as adults.

So I will forever be putting this theory to the test by inviting others along for an adventure. I encourage you, design your own adventure! Go jump into the river/lake when its 34*F/1*C outside. No worries, you won't catch cold, I know from experience- not by choice however. Or play Hide-and-Seek in cars. Or walk up to someone and tell them Jesus loves them. Ride an elephant. Or do a crazy video that no one would EVER suspect and post it online for friends. Hike a mountain...or a big hill. Run. Pet a lion. Skydive (a future goal). Tell someone something you've never shared with anyone. Or go crazy and smile in a picture...for some that's a big deal! Whatever the case...DO something. God has given us incredible abilities, talents and gifts. He's put a huge world before us. Be wise and EXPLORE!

I'd love to hear of different/weird/crazy/exciting things that you have been a part of and would OR wouldn't recommend!!


Oh I forgot the important part...when we do things and realize just HOW much more we are capable of, I believe that mentality becomes a part of our spiritual lives as well, since we can't really compartmentalize like we think. And when I run over thirteen miles and my body hates me, I realize, umm, its much easier to open my mouth and say the three most important little words..."Jesus loves you" than to do this.

So don't do silly or extreme things for the sake of silliness or extreme-ness, but do them so that they will AwaKeN you to all that is before you. To the King of kings, to His grandeur, His creation, His love and His people.

Okay done :)