Kenya - Update #2

Yesterday we made the 6 hour journey from Nairobi to the Samaritan's Purse compound where Nate & Stephanie Thomas live.  Along the journey we got to first hand experience of the Kenyan culture.  For instance, alongside the road it was normal to see donkeys, cows, goats, zebras, baboons, men peeing, speed bump fruit salesmen, and much more.

We spent the evening getting settled in and then had dinner with the Thomas family.  It just so happened to be their son Ben's 15th birthday so we got to celebrate with them which meant cake and ice cream!  We were excited to finally be with them and they were really excited to see some faces that they knew.

Today (Thursday) Kyle had to leave at 5:45am to go ride along on a Samaritan's Purse mission to South Sudan.  I guess when you are an airplane mechanic you get certain perks.  He got to serve as the 3rd crew member on a DC3 plane and got to see two refugee camps, one which had over 100,000 refugees.  The rest of the group spent the day helping a Kenyan man named Reuben.  He has been blind since the age of 3 but God has done a tremendous work in his life.  Reuben had the opportunity to study with Ravi Zaccharias in the USA and now has an Apologetics and Radio ministry called Word of Truth.  Mark was able to help him with some IT issues at the radio station and Sadie was put to work with her interior design skills to help them better lay out the space.  The rest of us fixed a swing and got most of the library reorganized.  We ended the day by Reuben making us some traditional Kenyan Chi and singing worship songs.

We give thanks to God always for all of you, constantly mentioning you in our prayers, remembering before our God and Father your work of faith and labor of love and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ. - 1 Thessalonians 1:2-3

During my time in Kenya I have decided to really dig into 1 Thessalonians.  As I began this morning I couldn't help but be struck by the three things Paul remembers before God about the Thessalonians.  My prayer is that these things would be a legacy of my life.

Work of Faith: that my life would be evident of faithfulness to God and dependence upon Him.

Labor of Love: an unconditional love towards people that often times leaves me weary & tired.

Steadfastness of Hope: to remain, stand, and endure through the trials of life with a hope unshaken.

- reorganizing the library

Kenya - Update #1

So if you haven't heard I am in Kenya.  A group of us from church traveled here to encourage, support, and serve alongside the Thomas family.  They left our church almost 2 years ago to work with Samaritan's Purse in Eldoret, Kenya.  The trip has had its challenges so far but God has been faithful.

We left Ohio 11:00am on Monday morning and arrived in Nairobi at 10:00pm Tuesday night.  Our first challenge was that Amy needed some medication and most pharmacies were closed because of Memorial Day.  We were able to find one that was open and still make our flight in Pittsburgh.  On the drive there we almost hit a deer and when we got there the ticket agent was stressing out trying to get our bags checked in time to make the flight.  For some reason it took 30 minutes just to get our bags checked.  We flew to Newark and met up with Don and Mark.  After sitting in the plane on the Tarmac for 2 hours while they fixed a mechanical issue we were off to Brussels, Belgium praying that we would make our connection to Nairobi.  When we landed we were pressed for time and rushing to our gate.  Kyle and Sadie were told to go the wrong direction and got separated from the rest of the group.  We continued on determined not to get on the flight till we found Kyle and Sadie.  They ended up having to go through security again but got to the gate before we did.  We were happy to see them and make our flight.  God is good in the midst of our worries and stresses at airports.  We are learning quickly that no matter the obstacle God will work things out.  We don't need to worry, just trust.  When we don't think things are going right God is letting us know that He has got it in His hands.

During our travels I was reading A.W. Tozer's book "The Knowledge of the Holy."  Here is an excerpt I will leave you with for today.

"Man is a created being, a derived and contingent self, who of himself possesses nothing but is dependent each moment for his existence on the One who created him after His own 

likeness.  The fact of God is necessary to the fact of man.  Think God away and man has no ground of existence.....As a sunbeam perishes when cut off from the sun, so man apart from God would pass back into the void of nothingness from which he first leaped at the creative call."

We need to understand our need for God for each and every moment of our lives.  We need to stop elevating ourselves, holding on to control, and not trusting in God's care for us.  Today may we trust in him, lean into him, and hold on to him.  Would you pray that for you and for us today?

"Trust is The LORD with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding.  In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths." - Proverbs 3:5-6

- breakfast in Nairobi

Cast Your Cares Upon the Lord

“Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.” 

- 1 Peter 5:6-7

Control is deceptive and powerful, like a chameleon it is always changing what it looks like to blend in.  Our fleshly desire to control fights against us casting our cares upon the Lord.  We often times are taken to a point where we realize we no longer have control and our only option is to cast our cares upon the Lord.  Often times God humbles us instead of us being obedient to 1 Peter 5:6 and humbling ourselves under the mighty hand of God.

We do this because we don’t believe two important truths 1 Peter tells us.  First of all we need to believe that God cares.  Our God is covenantal, which means He is committed to us and doesn’t change (Malachi 3:6).  The lie we fall into is believing God is out to get us.  That he doesn’t really care.  Depending on if God handles the situations in life how we want, we determine whether God cares or not.  Look what we just did, control snuck in there again and had us thinking we control God and us defining what it means to care.

“He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?” - Romans 8:32

God cared and continues to care.  He will always care about His children.  When we look at the cross how can we not know that God cares and is waiting for us to cast our cares upon Him.

Secondly, we must believe that God will lift us up.  No matter what storm comes your way, no matter how deep your pain, God is ready and able to lift you up when you humble yourself under His might hand.

Have you been walking with your head down, looking at your feet?  Have your eyes been looking at your past?  Jesus comes along and lifts our heads up so we are looking at Him.  When we look upon Jesus all the storms, all the pain, and all the worries disappear in the light of His glory.

Are you looking to the future?  A future redemption is coming.  We will be lifted up into eternal glory with Jesus Christ.  All the cares and worries of this world will be gone and we will be in the presence of our Lord.  So cast your cares upon the Lord and ask Him to lift our eyes to Him.

Life, Death, & Eternity

This past week my friend and co-pastor lost his only son in a motorcycle accident.  His son was 29 years old, six months younger than me.  As I flew to Alaska to spend time with the family and attend the funeral I had a lot of time to process and think about life, death, & eternity.

Life is a gift

"He does not deal with us according to our sins, nor repay us according to our iniquities."

- Psalm 103:10

Has anyone ever asked you, "How are you doing?"  I want my response to be, "better than I deserve."  What a perspective change, isn't it?  Our culture tells us all the time how much we deserve.  Nothing is a gift anymore because we justify in our heads why we deserve it.  Have you ever thought about the fact that the reason you are still breathing is because God allows you to.  Each day we are given here on this earth is truly a gift from God no matter how good or bad that day is.  God blessed Ryan Beachy with 29 years on this earth before he was called home.

Death is a transition

"For David, after he had served the purpose of God in his own generation, fell asleep..." - Acts 13:36a

God created each of us for a purpose.  Our life should be us living out that purpose for the glory of God.  When God says we are done, we are done.  After that comes the transition.  Most transitions and changes in life are met with challenges and difficulties.  Whether it's a new addition to a family, a loss of someone, or an organizational or church change.  We must continue on serving the purpose of the Lord in our generation that God has placed us in.  Ryan did just that with a humble spirit and now the friends, family, and community must continue on keeping their eyes firming fixed on Jesus.

Eternity is unfathomable

"For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us." - Romans 8:18

The more I read Scripture the more I start to realize I have no idea how glorious eternity will be.  It is unfathomable.  I can read passages like Revelation 21 and be brought to tears but that still is only a glimpse of what is to come.  The sufferings in this life aren't even worth comparing to the glory that is coming for those who know and follow Jesus.  What an amazing truth to understand and know.  Ryan now understands the fullness of that truth.  He is enjoying an eternity that is unfathomable to us.

Mt. Everest

As you read through the book of Psalms you come to the Mt. Everest of the book at chapter 119.  This chapter is an acrostic poem composed of 22 sections, each containing 8 lines.  Each sentence in each section starts with the same Hebrew letter.  There are 22 Hebrew letters, one for each section, starting from the beginning and going in order.

The most obvious observation for me after reading this Psalm was how much the Word of God dominated the life of the Psalmist.  From before sunrise to after sunset his thoughts, prayers, and perspective were constantly on God's truth.  I encourage you today to pick up your Bible and read Psalm 119.  Allow the Word to speak to you and focus in on a few verses that really connect with you and commit them to memory.

Living Our Priorities

"...God gives me enough time to do what God wants me to do.  God never calls us to do something and fails to give us enough time to do it." - John Ortberg

Are you living your priorities or are you just trying to do guilt management?  Many of us are missing out on the life God is calling us to live because we are just too busy.  It is often said, "If the devil can't make you bad, he will make you busy."

We can find ourselves in guilt management when we pray, read our Bible, or go to church just enough to appease our conscious.  When we live like this growth rarely happens, our faith is dull, and our lives are weak.  The early church did not reproduce like we see in Acts because they figured out how to reduce worship, prayer, serving, and community into tiny, small commitments that fit in around life as usual.  These were their priorities.  They were of first importance and the world was changed because of it.

When we look at our calendar we see a lot of squares.  The question we must ask ourselves is, "How will I fill these squares?"  One day will be your final square, will you have lived your priorities?

It All Goes Back In The Box

I enjoy playing board games.  One of my favorites is Ticket To Ride.  Each time we set up the board my goal is to plan my routes strategically so I will accumulate the most points at the end of the game.  As I observe life, I notice we live it very similar to how we would play a board game.  John Ortberg explains it this way,

"It's not bad to play the game.  It's not bad to be really good at it.  It's not bad to be Master of the Board.  My grandmother taught me to play to win.  But there are always more rungs to climb, more money to be made, more deals to pull off.  And the danger is that we forget to ask what really matters.  We race around the board with shallow relationships, frenzied schedules, preoccupied souls.  Being smart or strong does not protect you from this fate.  In some ways, it makes the game more dangerous, for the temporary rewards you get from playing can lull you into pretending that the game will never end."

There is a connection between our emotional scoring system and our behavior.  We tend to compare, compete, or climb.  The danger is that we will spend our lives comparing to others, competing against others, or climbing over others.  None of these emulate the call of a disciple of Jesus Christ.  Actually, Jesus came down, humbling himself by taking on humanity and becoming a servant.

"Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men.  And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross." - Philippians 2:5-8

When the game is over it all goes back in the box.  Life one day will be over and all you have accomplished, worked for, built, etc. will go back in the box.  The challenge for us is will we arrange our lives around what matters most.

Thoughts on Boston

In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.

- 2 Corinthians 4:4

As I reflect on what happened in Boston yesterday I see something more dangerous than a terror attack, I see the deceitfulness of sin.  You see, the terror attack is an obvious manifestation of a sinful, corrupt, depraved generation that is devoid of God.  We have seen this first hand in America over and over again in the forms of shootings, bombings, and attacks.  While Satan has us looking at the tragedy that is on the news we miss the real tragedy.

This is what I like to call the cycle of deceit.  Follow me for a second; a bomb explodes and people die, then the nation unites, seeks justice, and starts to reflect on life which raises spiritual questions.  After the initial sting of the event and maybe a visit or two to church it slowly becomes a faint memory.  Most people continue on in their lives blinded, unable to see the light of the gospel and glory of Christ.

We need to pray for Boston, but most importantly we need to pray the the eyes of people's hearts will be enlightened to the gospel and glory of Christ.  Pray the scales will fall from their eyes and the deceitfulness of sin will no longer rule their lives, that the Spirit of God would fall on them to see the glory and majesty of Jesus.

Many people want answers, many people want hope.  We as followers of Jesus Christ have been given the privilege and responsibility to be the hope givers.  May we rejoice that our hope is built in nothing less than Jesus blood and righteousness.

Overwhelmed

"Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.  Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.  For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light." - Matthew 11:28-30

Do you ever feel overwhelmed?  I have a tendency to stay under control and not get too high or too low.  At times though, I can find myself carrying a heavy weight, a weight of unmet expectations, failures, and trying my hardest and not being good enough.  The burdens of life can very quickly press hard on us and begin to crush us.

The problem is that I begin to carry the weight and don't seek rest in the Lord.  When I labor and am heavy laden I must remember to find rest for my soul in Christ Jesus.  As hard as we try to succeed, as much as we try to please people and meet their expectations, we will always come up short.  We must remember to come to Jesus, to learn from Him and experience the rest that only He can give.

Eye Contact

"Those who look to him are radiant, and their faces shall never be ashamed." - Psalm 34:5

Eye contact is one of the most telling forms of non-verbal communication.  We communicate in non-verbal ways all the time throughout our day.  Positively or negatively our body language communicates a lot to people.  Sometimes we don't even notice how much it effects those around us.

Have you ever thought about your non-verbal communication with God?  What posture do you approach prayer, worship, & devotional time with?  Are you making eye contact with God and allowing Him to make eye contact with you?

The outward evidence is on the faces of those making eye contact with God.  They are radiant, they are in awe of the glory and majesty of Christ Jesus our Lord.  Our sinful flesh keeps deep hurts, pains, and lies trapped in our soul.  When we just stop and make eye contact with our God our soul is detoxed.  We understand that God sees into the depths of who we are; our fears, our worries, our pain, and the longings of our heart.

In relationships you know the fellowship between two people is good when they can look each other in the eye.  Many times our sin makes us look at the ground because of the feelings of shame and guilt.  Know the steadfast mercy and love of God, receive the forgiveness found at the cross of Christ and in turn look to Him and you will become radiant!