Living in light of eternity

“Wherever you are, be all there, live to the hilt every situation you believe to be the will of God.”- Jim Elliott, 1927-1956. Philip James "Jim" Elliott was an evangelical Christian who was one of five missionaries killed while participating in Operation Auca, an attempt to evangelize the Huaorani people of Ecuador. My wife and I served in youth ministry for thirty-three years. I must admit there were times where I had trouble following Jim Elliott's advise.   I didn't want to be there. Whether it was a conference or retreat, a small group discussion, or a one-on-one discipleship appointment, there were times when I just wanted to go home. Sometimes I just wanted to be somewhere else. I’m not proud of this. I'm just being real. Maybe it was burn out, or just the boredom that comes with repetition.   Maybe it was my flesh fighting against the Spirit. Maybe I was tired.   It really doesn't matter what the cause.   What matters was the solution....

God was certainly at work on campus back in the 70's.   There were many Christian groups springing up.   As a    young believer in Christ, I soon noticed that not all Christians looked the same.  Most were similar, but one looked very different.   I called this group "the Kumbaya Christians".     They liked to meet and sing and share Scripture with each other. There was nothing wrong with that, but they seemed so passive.   There was very little action.   They seldom shared their faith or reached out to others. They were sleepy Christians , I called them "Kumbaya Christians". Peter, Paul, and Mary popularized the song, "Kumbaya" in the late 60's.   The lyrics are quite interesting: Kumbaya my Lord , kumbaya Kumbaya my Lord, kumbaya Kumbaya my Lord, kumbaya Oh Lord, kumbaya Someone's singing Lord, kumbaya Someone's singing Lord, kumbaya Someone's singing Lord, kumbaya Oh Lord, kumbayah Someone's la...

The Book of Ecclesiastes gives wonderful words of wisdom but also raises many unanswered questions.   Solomon reflects on life "under the sun".   This seems to indicate life in the human sphere of existence.   He rarely comments on what is right or wrong, but only tells about what actually happens.   He also brings a grand perspective and looks at life from beginning to end. One of the most interesting little stories he tells is of "The Poor Wise Man".           13        Also this I came to see as wisdom under the sun, and it impressed me.           14       There was a small city with few men in it and a great king came to it, surrounded it and constructed large siegeworks against it.           15       But there was found in it a poor wi...

The biblical story of Gideon found in Judges has always been on of my favorites.   There is his unusual encounter with The Angel of the Lord, "The Lord is with you, O valiant warrior." Gideon seems far from valiant at this stage of his life- hiding from the Midianites as he threshes out the wheat in the wine press.   He obeys the Angel and tears down his father's altar to Baal. He only had the courage to do it at night, but still shows determination to follow the Angel's leading. That's impressive.   Of course we also have Gideon's fleece, possibly the most well-known aspect of the story. Gideon seems willing to obey, but wants to make sure he is hearing from the Lord.   We can all relate to that.   What leaped out at me this last time I looked at Gideon was the great extent to which the Lord took to diminish the size of his army.   Gideon as able to gather 32,000 men from the Abiezrites, Manasseh, Asher, Zebulun, and Naphtali.   That army ...

Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant ( Phil 2:5-7) This term "bond-servant" literally means "slave" in the original Greek.   Rather a strong term isn't it?   The Apostle Paul took this challenge seriously and often called himself a "slave of Jesus Christ". ( Rom 1:1; 2 Cor 4:5; Gal 1:10; Phil 1:1; Titus 1:1) How many of us have taken Paul's exhortation to heart?   How many have adopted the attitude of Jesus when He took the form of a bond-servant?   I would imagine quite a few of us.   There was probably a time when we said to Christ, "I want You to be Lord of my life.   I am willing for You to be my Master, and I your servant." It's one thing to declare Christ as Lord, ourselves and His servant.   It's quite another thing to actually live li...

Several years ago a group of us were on a mission trip to Moscow.  We took American teenagers into the public schools of  Russia to share their personal testimonies.  They had carefully crafted their story to tell how Christ had changed their life.  We were warmly received everywhere we went.  We stayed at the hostel that the Nuclear Energy Commission used to host visiting scientists from around the nation.  They were still learning much from Chernobyl. At the end of our stay several of our leaders were invited to dinner at Dr Alexandrov's flat.   You could actually see the Kremlin when looking out their large picture window on the second floor. We sat down to a wonderful spread and enjoyed pleasantries with the family and friends around the table.   Towards the end of the meal Mrs. Alexandrov turned to   me and asked, "So, what is your mission?"   What an opportunity!   I've never forgotten that dear woman's simple questio...

Every once in a while it's good to ask, "Do I smell?"   Hopefully someone can respond, "Yes, you smell great, what are you wearing?" "But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and manifests through us the sweet aroma of the knowledge of Him in every place. For we are a fragrance of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing; to the one an aroma from death to death, to the other an aroma from life to life. And who is adequate for these things?" New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update (La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995), 2 Co 2:14–16. Once we hit adolescence the question, "Do I smell?" can be quite common.   No one wants to give off an odor that could be offensive.   We would rather bring a pleasant scent into a room or a conversation.   Unfortunately body odor, bad breath, or foot odor can be unavoidable. But modern man has found easy solutions, for a price. ...