Why We Exist

I made a phone call the other day, kind of out of the blue.  Something in me wanted to call a man that I had spoken to in the past about some business.  As the conversation went on, I knew that the call was much more than business.  It was clear that he was struggling with some things and needed some prayer.  I’m always reluctant to ask someone if I can pray for them, especially if I’m unsure of how they’ll respond.  This was true in this case.   Although I’m a pastor, I’m not this man’s pastor and I’m not even certain that he goes to church.

How many times do we miss the opportunity to reach out with the love of God, so consumed with our own lives and our own plans that the people right in front of us is invisible?  I think this is so true of many of us in the church.  We look at the blessings of being a Christian without understanding that we are blessed to be a blessing.  It’s really why we exist as followers of Christ- why the church exits in the world.

Someone once said that the church is the only organization that exists for those who aren’t members of it.  I like that quote…but I need to live it out more.  To be outward focused instead of inward focused is more than a matter of self-discipline.  It takes a constant remembering of where we came from and how God brought others into our lives when we were not following Him.  It’s how God came to us in the form of another person- to bring life.

The Christmas story speaks to us about God being “incarnate” in Christ; meaning God became man in order to relate to us and reach us on our level.  “He came to his own, but his own did not receive Him.  Yet to all who did receive Him, he gave the right to become children of God-” (Jn 1:11-12)  Incarnation didn’t stop with Jesus.  The church and those who are members of it, need to continue the process of restoring the broken, completing the task of Jesus.  Until we return to this mission, we will just be living our faith for ourselves alone.  And eventually that becomes a real drag!

It’s so easy to focus inward and miss the bigger picture of the world around us.  Like a light that is under a bushel, it makes no difference, shines in a very limited space, and even has the potential for internal combustion causing pain and damage.  But when we are engaged with the community that God has called us to reach, light shines so that the world may see our good deeds and praise the Father in heaven.

I’ve missed it so many times, but I’m grateful I made that phone call the other day.  Even though I believed I was calling for one thing (something that was about me), I obeyed the Holy Spirit who loves to draw people to Jesus.  God offers us many opportunities, and this is the season for giving, so let’s be a “go church”- a people that look outward not inward. This is why we exist!  We’ll be talking more about it beginning this Sunday in our new series: Them.  http://www.gccnh.com

-Peter

No Wonder Why He Wept

I’ve been reading the prophet Jeremiah for several weeks now.  Honestly, I haven’t wanted to.  Who wants to hear of God’s disappointment and impending discipline on a people who should have known better?  But, I have learned a lot along the way.  Jeremiah, also known as the weeping prophet, has been a good teacher.

I’ve learned that instead of going forward- toward God, we all have a tendency to go backward and follow the stubborn inclinations of our own heart.  I’ve learned that our own heart deceives us even though we think it’s so reliable.  I’ve learned that we are more prone to hear what we want, even when the words are opposed to God’s.  I’ve learned that we can stray if we don’t set up clear road signs and guide posts along the way.  And, most disturbingly, I’ve learned that God seems to have His limits.

Now, I know that the book of Jeremiah is written to a people who are brought into captivity because of their reckless and wayward ways.  That they have been warned time and time again to turn back to the truth and they persist on going their own way.  I also know that this is Old Testament, old covenant stuff.  Jesus hasn’t come yet and grace, although present, is not fully demonstrated through the cross.

How would you like to be the guy having to tell God’s people to straighten up, or else?  Jeremiah wept at the thought of God’s people being taken captive.  I’m sure he also had a difficult time reminding them that this wouldn’t be a quick fix, but would last seventy years.  No wonder why he wept.

Today, I am pondering what it is like having to encourage, warn and rebuke.  This is not just an Old Testament, old covenant, idea.  It says in 2 Timothy 4:2, Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction. This is for today, under grace and in love.  Yet, it does make me weep.  Maybe I’m sad for myself, knowing that when I bring about words like this, I’m liable to be rejected just like Jeremiah was.  But, more than that, I am saddened by the response of His people that brush away the Word of the Lord to return to Him.

“Walk in obedience that it may go well with you,” Jeremiah said. “But they did not listen or pay attention, instead they followed the stubborn inclinations of their evil hearts.  They went backward and not forward.”  I’m preaching a series called Follow…and I need to do just that.  But, I’m not alone and I’m calling others to come along- going forward and not backward.  It really does make more sense to follow Him!

-Peter

Faces Like Flint

There is saying that is not used that much anymore, but perhaps it should be.  “Keep your chin up!”  I don’t know if it’s old fashioned or if it just seems impossible in the face of life’s challenges, and so we just don’t say it anymore.  I like it better than “hang in there” because that sounds kind of desperate- like your barely hanging on and hoping that somehow you don’t let go and end up at the bottom of a canyon somewhere.

There’s also a statement that the prophet Isaiah made thousands of years ago that resembles this encouraging word that we rarely use today.  After realizing that the Lord’s call is upon him, not only to follow God but to be used as a source of encouragement to the people, he reflects on how to sustain himself.  He says,

Because the Sovereign LORD helps me,
I will not be disgraced.
Therefore have I set my face like flint,
and I know I will not be put to shame.

I have set my face like flint. That’s even less likely of a saying to be used today than “keep your chin up,” but it basically means the same thing.  Isaiah was saying that he wouldn’t be moved or discouraged or become weary with the way things were going, the way people may have treated him, or even with his calling.  Do I set my face like flint?  Am I able to have the kind of resolve that is hopeful even when things seem kind of hopeless.

This really speaks to those of us that are not only trying to keep our own chins up but are trying to encourage others to do the same.   It’s the very context of Isaiah’s words that have profound meaning.  You see, he’s been commissioned by God to speak words to “sustain the weary.”  It can truly become wearisome if the ones we are trying to bring hope to just don’t want it.  And yet, we can’t stop.  We have to set our faces like flint and be an encourager no matter what.

I feel compelled to do that for anyone who is reading this.  Stay strong!  Don’t give up! Keep your chin up! Look right into the storm and set your face like flint! It won’t be long until you see the answer to your prayer come to pass and it can be as soon as this moment when you sense the hope of God even during the waiting.

-peter

In The Waiting Room

Depending on where you are in life, waiting is either an inconvenience or an annoyance.  To me, it’s mostly a waste of time.  I was reading somewhere about how many hours and days and months we wait in lines or are on hold on phone calls.  A few weeks ago, we went to a theme park and I think our kids were permanently cured of wanting to go back- the lines were terrible.  90 minutes for a 60 second ride.  If you put that in dollars it would be like paying $90,000 for something worth $1,000.  What a waste!

Yet, all of us know that there are some things that are really worth waiting for.  Our three children are perfect examples.  In addition to the time leading up to their conception, they had another nine months in the womb and then labor.  We waited and it was well worth it!  Some of you ladies out there may question the waiting involved in the labor pains, but I hear that moms usually forget the pain enough to have more children.  So, if this is true, the waiting and the pain were both worth it.

One of the things that I have been thinking a lot about lately is how God tells us to wait.  Through the prophet Isaiah, He says that when we “wait upon the Lord, we renew our strength.”  I think many of us don’t know how to do this.  There’s no ticket line or hold button with God.  It’s not like someone is on a recording saying “your wait time will be between five and ten minutes.”  I’d like that if there were!  Instead, we are encourage to wait and be renewed with His strength.  It’s in the waiting that there is renewal- not in the fulfillment of the waiting.

Jesus told his disciples to wait for the Holy Spirit to come to them.  This was as He was making his great departure after the resurrection.  He gave them instructions to go into an upper room- a waiting room- and wait.  What must that have been like?  I’m sure they thought, “for how long?”  and “how will we know when it’s time?”   Whatever they thought, they obeyed- they waited and the Holy Spirit showed up in a way that was undeniable.  Each of them recieved a touch of God that they had never expereinced before for this was a personal meeting and filling of God’s spirit into them.  The waiting paid off because God never disappoints.

I wonder if we are more willing to wait for a table at a restaruant than we are willing to wait for God’s Spirit to show up?  Could it be that we get less antsy in a waiting room where our car is being fixed (which is exactly where I am as I write these words on my laptop) than when being still and silent before God?  I need to get better at waiting upon the Lord and waiting in His waiting room.

In this season of difficulty and uncertainty in our nation, followers of Christ can truly become a light to the world by learning the secret of waiting with faith and hope and patience.  This kind of waiting brings no sorrow to it and never disappoints us.  Come Holy Spirit!

-peter

Ask, Seek, Knock

What does it mean that most people say they pray?  Do they whisper thoughts to the Lord throughout the day, or do they actually set aside time to hear from Him.  Prayer must include both seeking and finding- it cannot be a one sided conversation.  How often do you pray?  (take the survey below)

I knew someone who could talk for an hour straight and not let you get a word in edgewise.  They were really sweet as a person, but not a good conversation at all.  Often I found myself trying to jump in and make a comment only to be cut off by their ongoing verbiage.  I never want to be like that with others, but I really have been like that with God on many occasions.  Haven’t you?

You know- it’s like we have our list, our one-sided desire list and we send it to God like kids do their Christmas lists to Santa.  I don’t think God has this growing frustration with us if we don’t stop and listen, it’s just that we miss out on what He desires for us.  I think He waits for us to settle down and stop talking long enough to listen.

It says in Revelation that He stands at the door and knocks, if anyone will hear His voice and open the door then He will come in.  So, it makes sense that he’s waiting for us to respond to His voice…and that starts with hearing it first.

So, the next time you hear someone tell you that they “pray everyday” ask them what it means.  Do they hear God speak everyday through His Word?  Do they spew out their list or get in His presence to hear Him.  I’m wanting to hear Him more because I know that as I do the questions and requests and desires I have will either lessen or become less important.

-Peter

Reflect

Today I was reading from the book of Luke and was reminded of what it must have been like when Jesus said goodbye to his friends and disciples.  It wasn’t a time that he packed his bags and found a new job in a new city, but a time when life was literally cut short.  Voluntarily, Jesus went to the cross- but that didn’t make it any easier.

There is a particular passage that I caught for perhaps the first time.  It’s when the women are weeping as Jesus passes them by on the way to Calvary.  He looks at them and, with a word of both comfort and challenge, tells them that they should be weeping for the generations to come. It’s as though He is saying, you think it’s bad right now?  There will be a day when the tree (the cross) is not green, but brown- and on that day things will even be worse.

As I have been reflecting on this past year, I can’t help but to notice how things have gone from bad to worse in our country.  Of course, the obvious place to look is the economy, the infighting politically, wartime, and family turmoil.  But that’s not what I mean.  People have become more and more oblivious to the love and grace of God.  They have managed so well at avoiding the most obvious source of all that is good- Jesus himself.

As I reflect, I also think of the church that, in many ways, has become just as oblivious.  We sit around weeping for ourselves, while the world around us has no one to intercede for them.  It’s much easier for us to judge them and live our own “blessed” lives.  At least it has been…but maybe not so much anymore.  In fact, the stuff that is is affecting all of us on the outside may be just the thing we need to shake us up on the inside.

As I reflect, I think of Jesus passing us by as we’re weeping for ourselves, our financial issues and things not going as we wanted them to go.  Maybe we are weeping because we are afraid of what this means for us.  And then Jesus passes by and says- don’t just weep for Me, and don’t just weep for you- but weep and intercede and care for those who have no concept.

As I reflect, I want to go into 2009 with an attitude of intercession, love and hope.  As the government is creating bail-out plans, let’s remember that the greatest bail out ever took place on a cross and that the way is open to anyone who would say yes.  Reflect with me.

-peter

Friends in High Places

Sunday in Rwanda is always full for missionaries.  It’s full because there are so many people worshiping God in so many diffferent churches.  It’s full because everyone of these churches would love to have you come and give a greeting.  And, it’s full because the whole day is given to God and to others.

Today I was asked to speak at one of our Foursquare churches three hours from the guesthouse we are staying at.  And not just any three hours- but three hours east up through one of the thousand hills.  The roads were dirt and rough and steep and meandering through small villages along the way.  There were times when I wondered if we would be able to climb them in the Nissan 4WD because of how narrow and how uncertain they seemed.  But, finally we arrived to a singing choir of people who were expectantly awaiting our arrival.  It seems that I was one of few Masungos (white person) that may have made it up to this village.  Most of the children were amused, but some were frightened.

As we worshiped together, we became friends.  My sermon notes were left in the pages of my Bible and I shared what I knew to share about Jesus being the only Way for all of us- Masungo or not.  Way up in these hills of Rwanda, I had new friends- friends in high places.  And many of them became friends with Jesus for the first time also.  I was so thrilled to see many respond to the message of God’s love and grace and accept Christ into their hearts!

Afterward, I was a guest at the pastors home- a meager mud house with two or three rooms.  Served the traditional drink of Fanta and the traditional meal of rice, boiled banana and stewed goat, we ate together and smiled and laughed and prayed.  Saying goodbye was like seeing off a close family member with pictures and embraces and holding the pastors small children.  It’s hard to believe it all happened so quickly, in just one day’s time- these friends in high places.

It took three hours to get there, but a lifetime of memories will be with me.  Mostly because I feel the Lord brought me there to receive their blessing, the blessing of knowing them and of helping them.  You see, the  Foursquare church started a school up in those hills so that the children would not have to walk 1-2 hours by foot.  And now children are coming from the surrounding hills to learn and to be brought to Jesus.  I think the Lord has called me to care deeply for my new friends in high places.

-Peter

A Lesson From Mud

Yesterday in Rwanda was a great day.   We did everything from visiting an orphanage, personal one-on-one times with sponsored children, a full scale evangelistic crusade and building a chicken coop!  That’s right, we built a chicken coop for a widow that Richard and Robin have taken the responsibility to care for.

We knew it would be messy, and it was as we stacked bricks made of dried mud and layered them with wet mud.  We felt like kids playing in mud and so did many of the children that came to join us.  Some of these kids were more interested than others and were very skilled in doing something we knew little about.  I was impressed with the intensity and the resourcefulness that they had.

This all felt like a Nehemiah moment for me…many  hands doing their part to make the work easy and really fun!  But it was also relevant at the end of the project.  I felt impressed to pull the children aside who were helping and individually bless them with some money- even though they didn’t ask.  They were surprised and blessed.  One boy who was standing right beside us wasn’t too happy though.  You see, all he was doing while the others were working was leaning on the wall and watching.  Almost as to say, I’m not interested.  But he was interested…at the very end when the kids who helped were receiving the blessing.  In fact, he tried to steal the money from one of the younger boys who worked really hard.

I guess the lesson I learned from mud is the lesson of teamwork.  All of us playing a part wherever we are, whatever our culture, whatever our age.  Like the workers who worked on different sections of the wall with Nehemiah and friends, God calls us to pick up some mud, carry a few bricks, draw some water and be “in it” together.  At the end, the rewards will come- and that’s not why we do it- but because the real reward is having our hands in the mud all at the same time!

Today we are off to another evangelistic crusade with Tentmakers- way up on the mountains in a small village where we will baptize and share the love of Jesus.  Thanks for your prayers!

-Peter

Ready in Season

I arrived in Rwanda this morning and was shuttled to the guest house before heading out to the hospital to preach at a chapel service.  This was one of those “always be ready” moments- even when you’re tired and don’t feel ready.  God is good though, and it turned out well.  I spoke about the paralyzed man who was helped by two of his friends to get to Jesus.  Considering the chapel service was filled with many of the hospital workers, this really hit home for them as they daily help and servie others.

Afterward we had an opportunity to pray for many people at the hospital, including lots of little ones in two separate wards.  One little girl was tiny and born deformed.  When I asked how old she was, I couldn’t believe it- 13 years old.  It was a blessing to pray for her and her sweet face- and a blessing to thank the two ladies who were her caretakers.  They are truly doing the work of Jesus here in Rwanda.

The team is doing great and very excited about how the Lord is using them!  It’s always neat to watch God build a team and build relationships while serving!

Thanks for your continued prayers!

Layover

We made it from Boston to Amsterdam on a red eye flight last night.  Here we sit in the airport waiting for our next flight to Africa.  The term layover is a nice way to say “a very long wait on uncomfortable chairs.”  Anyway, thinking about how we can actually get half way around the world in such a short amount of time is truly amazing.  We’ll be in Rwanda tomorrow and look forward to joining the rest of the team from Grace Capital Church.

Thanks for keeping us in your prayers during this time.  I’ll try and update photos on my facebook page as well as here on the blog.