For Goodness Sake, Do Something!
by Randy Nabors
How? "How should I live out my faith?" I hoped you would ask. I want to emphasize that the Scriptures move us beyond a simple personalization of religion. If we understand our religion simply to be a moral change, or a change of personality so that we become "nice," or a spiritualized change where now we have personal meaning and relationship with God, then we have missed what true religion is supposed to be. Yes, the gospel can and does all of the preceding things mentioned, but it calls us to more. It calls us personally to "weightier matters of the law, like justice and mercy"(Matt. 23:23). It calls us, both as individuals and corporately as congregations, to help the poor (James 1:27, 2 Cor. 8-9, Matt. 25: 31-46).
Monday, December 25, 2006
Thursday, December 21, 2006
Humility is difficult
By Jim Wallis
We all know Lent is meant to be a time of reflection, deepening, and preparation for Easter. Lent is also a call to repentance and, especially, humility. With Lent's beginning on Ash Wednesday, we impose (I love that word) ashes as a very physical, visual, and tangible act of repentance and humility - a mark and act of commitment, not merely a rote ritual.
Some members of our staff have suggested to me that the events of recent weeks and months call us to humility. But humility is a difficult virtue for those who are called to a prophetic vocation - people like us.
Humility is difficult for people who think they are, or want to be, "radical Christians."
Humility is difficult when you're always calling other people - the church, the nation, and the world - to stop doing the things you think are wrong and start doing the things you think are right.
Humility is difficult for the bearers of radical messages.
When we're always calling other people to repent and change, it's not always easy to hear that message for ourselves.
I want to suggest that there is a real and very deep tension between humility and the prophetic vocation. And most prophetic Christians I have known - present company and preacher included - are really not very good at humility.
You see we are always making judgments of others - church leaders, political leaders, majority cultures - but are not often good at applying the judgment to ourselves. Even when the prophetic judgments we are making are necessary, they seldom lead us to humility. After all, we are the ones who know how other people are supposed to change. We are the ones with the answers. We are the ones who are doing it right.
How do we preach like Amos - "Let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like a mighty river!" - without becoming self-righteous ourselves? I think that is very difficult. Perhaps Micah had it right: "What does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?"
And we are especially prone to turn our righteous judgments on each other, at those close at hand, even within our own community - and that can be especially destructive. When that happens, if the truth be told, radical Christian communities are not always pleasant places to be.
When the prophetic indignation we offer daily to the world is turned toward those who happen to be in judging, glaring, or shouting distance of us when we decide they too have fallen short of our ideals - look out!
And let me be human and honest enough to say that leaders in church, state, and certainly faith-inspired organizations should always be held accountable, but being a leader in a prophetic Christian community is often a very hard place to be. Just look at the qualities necessary for the prophetic vocation: The capacity to speak clearly, strongly, boldly, decisively, distinctively, and of course, visibly. I would say, from my experience, that none of those qualities lead directly to humility.
Likewise, the call to be and offer an alternative reality, community, vision, lifestyle, etc., requires an energy and confidence that, again, is not necessarily prone to humility.
So what can save us radical Christians? The same thing that saves everybody else: the grace of God.
I've found myself remembering an old article prompted by a time in the life of Sojourners when these issues were very much at play. It was an article I felt quite convicted to write as a correction to ourselves, to myself, to the prophetic vocation we had chosen. I remember I stayed home from a prophetic anti-nuclear action that many of us were undertaking because I felt the need to think and write instead. It's from May of 1979. It's pretty faded now, but I think it might be relevant to us today:
"Sojourners has written much and often about the abuse and cheapening of grace. In many ways, it is the place where we began. That concern still stands; cheap grace continues to be the greatest affliction of the churches.
"Radical Christians, however, face another problem. It is the tendency to seek justification in our lifestyle, our work, our protest, our causes, our movements, our actions, our prophetic identity, and our radical self-image. It becomes an easy temptation to place our security in the things we stand for and in the things we do, instead of in what God has done. It is a temptation to depend on things other than God's grace.
"'For by grace you have been saved through faith; and this is not your own doing, it is the gift of God - not because of works, lest [anyone] should boast (Ephesians 2:8-9).' Grace is the logic of a loving God. There is nothing we can do to earn it, win it, or deserve it. Grace is simply a gift, not a reward. We can receive it only by faith, not through good works.
"Grace saves the prophetic vocation. The knowledge and experience of grace can ease the seriousness with which we tend to take ourselves. Grace can restore our humility, our sense of humor, and our ability to laugh at ourselves. All are regularly needed by prophets.
"To trust grace is to know that the world has already been saved by Jesus Christ. It is to know that we cannot save the world any more than we can save ourselves. All our work is done only in response to Christ's work. To receive the gift of grace is to let go of self-sufficiency and to act out of a spirit of gratitude.
"Radical Christians must pursue more than a successful strategy; we must seek a deeper faith. Only then will we have the assurance of salvation, not because of what we have accomplished, but because we have allowed God's grace and mercy to flow through our lives." This article was adapted from Jim Wallis' reflections at Sojourners' Ash Wednesday service March 1, 2006.
We all know Lent is meant to be a time of reflection, deepening, and preparation for Easter. Lent is also a call to repentance and, especially, humility. With Lent's beginning on Ash Wednesday, we impose (I love that word) ashes as a very physical, visual, and tangible act of repentance and humility - a mark and act of commitment, not merely a rote ritual.
Some members of our staff have suggested to me that the events of recent weeks and months call us to humility. But humility is a difficult virtue for those who are called to a prophetic vocation - people like us.
Humility is difficult for people who think they are, or want to be, "radical Christians."
Humility is difficult when you're always calling other people - the church, the nation, and the world - to stop doing the things you think are wrong and start doing the things you think are right.
Humility is difficult for the bearers of radical messages.
When we're always calling other people to repent and change, it's not always easy to hear that message for ourselves.
I want to suggest that there is a real and very deep tension between humility and the prophetic vocation. And most prophetic Christians I have known - present company and preacher included - are really not very good at humility.
You see we are always making judgments of others - church leaders, political leaders, majority cultures - but are not often good at applying the judgment to ourselves. Even when the prophetic judgments we are making are necessary, they seldom lead us to humility. After all, we are the ones who know how other people are supposed to change. We are the ones with the answers. We are the ones who are doing it right.
How do we preach like Amos - "Let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like a mighty river!" - without becoming self-righteous ourselves? I think that is very difficult. Perhaps Micah had it right: "What does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?"
And we are especially prone to turn our righteous judgments on each other, at those close at hand, even within our own community - and that can be especially destructive. When that happens, if the truth be told, radical Christian communities are not always pleasant places to be.
When the prophetic indignation we offer daily to the world is turned toward those who happen to be in judging, glaring, or shouting distance of us when we decide they too have fallen short of our ideals - look out!
And let me be human and honest enough to say that leaders in church, state, and certainly faith-inspired organizations should always be held accountable, but being a leader in a prophetic Christian community is often a very hard place to be. Just look at the qualities necessary for the prophetic vocation: The capacity to speak clearly, strongly, boldly, decisively, distinctively, and of course, visibly. I would say, from my experience, that none of those qualities lead directly to humility.
Likewise, the call to be and offer an alternative reality, community, vision, lifestyle, etc., requires an energy and confidence that, again, is not necessarily prone to humility.
So what can save us radical Christians? The same thing that saves everybody else: the grace of God.
I've found myself remembering an old article prompted by a time in the life of Sojourners when these issues were very much at play. It was an article I felt quite convicted to write as a correction to ourselves, to myself, to the prophetic vocation we had chosen. I remember I stayed home from a prophetic anti-nuclear action that many of us were undertaking because I felt the need to think and write instead. It's from May of 1979. It's pretty faded now, but I think it might be relevant to us today:
"Sojourners has written much and often about the abuse and cheapening of grace. In many ways, it is the place where we began. That concern still stands; cheap grace continues to be the greatest affliction of the churches.
"Radical Christians, however, face another problem. It is the tendency to seek justification in our lifestyle, our work, our protest, our causes, our movements, our actions, our prophetic identity, and our radical self-image. It becomes an easy temptation to place our security in the things we stand for and in the things we do, instead of in what God has done. It is a temptation to depend on things other than God's grace.
"'For by grace you have been saved through faith; and this is not your own doing, it is the gift of God - not because of works, lest [anyone] should boast (Ephesians 2:8-9).' Grace is the logic of a loving God. There is nothing we can do to earn it, win it, or deserve it. Grace is simply a gift, not a reward. We can receive it only by faith, not through good works.
"Grace saves the prophetic vocation. The knowledge and experience of grace can ease the seriousness with which we tend to take ourselves. Grace can restore our humility, our sense of humor, and our ability to laugh at ourselves. All are regularly needed by prophets.
"To trust grace is to know that the world has already been saved by Jesus Christ. It is to know that we cannot save the world any more than we can save ourselves. All our work is done only in response to Christ's work. To receive the gift of grace is to let go of self-sufficiency and to act out of a spirit of gratitude.
"Radical Christians must pursue more than a successful strategy; we must seek a deeper faith. Only then will we have the assurance of salvation, not because of what we have accomplished, but because we have allowed God's grace and mercy to flow through our lives." This article was adapted from Jim Wallis' reflections at Sojourners' Ash Wednesday service March 1, 2006.
Saturday, December 16, 2006
Praise You in This Storm
Praise You in This Storm
Casting Crowns
words by Mark Hall/music by Mark Hall and Bernie Herms
I was sure by now, God You would have reached down
and wiped our tears away,
stepped in and saved the day.
But once again, I say amen
and it's still raining
as the thunder rolls
I barely hear You whisper through the rain,
"I'm with you"
and as Your mercy falls
I raise my hands and praise
the God who gives and takes away.
Chorus:
And I'll praise you in this storm
and I will lift my hands
for You are who You are
no matter where I am
and every tear I've cried
You hold in your hand
You never left my side
and though my heart is torn
I will praise You in this storm
I remember when I stumbled in the wind
You heard my cry to You
and raised me up again
my strength is almost gone how can I carry on
if I can't find You
and as the thunder rolls
I barely hear You whisper through the rain
"I'm with you"
and as Your mercy falls
I raise my hands and praise
the God who gives and takes away
I lift my eyes unto the hills
where does my help come from?
My help comes from the Lord, the maker of heaven and earth
I lift my eyes unto the hills
where does my help come from?
My help comes from the Lord, the maker of heaven and earth
Casting Crowns
words by Mark Hall/music by Mark Hall and Bernie Herms
I was sure by now, God You would have reached down
and wiped our tears away,
stepped in and saved the day.
But once again, I say amen
and it's still raining
as the thunder rolls
I barely hear You whisper through the rain,
"I'm with you"
and as Your mercy falls
I raise my hands and praise
the God who gives and takes away.
Chorus:
And I'll praise you in this storm
and I will lift my hands
for You are who You are
no matter where I am
and every tear I've cried
You hold in your hand
You never left my side
and though my heart is torn
I will praise You in this storm
I remember when I stumbled in the wind
You heard my cry to You
and raised me up again
my strength is almost gone how can I carry on
if I can't find You
and as the thunder rolls
I barely hear You whisper through the rain
"I'm with you"
and as Your mercy falls
I raise my hands and praise
the God who gives and takes away
I lift my eyes unto the hills
where does my help come from?
My help comes from the Lord, the maker of heaven and earth
I lift my eyes unto the hills
where does my help come from?
My help comes from the Lord, the maker of heaven and earth
Testimony on Unity
I'm gonna share my testimony this Monday with the MAS & GIC fellowship.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hi, my name is Xiaojia. I just graduated last year and have been working in GIC for a year and a half.
I became a Christian when I was in primary school. Back then, my maid, who was a catholic, shared Christ with me. Her boyfriend was a Christian, who wrote me letters and taught me how to pray. Salvation was a gift for me, as I readily believed and prayed to God whenever I was sad or angry. I was a self professed Christian who never attended church.
I only started attending church when I was in secondary 4. At 15, I was faced with the question of whether I was really saved, for God seemed so distant to me. I had a lot of doubts about God, but I experienced Him in many tangible ways, and that was when my faith was cemented.
As I attended a charismatic church, I believed in a style of praise and worship and sermons. Praise was dynamic and I jumped up and down in jubilee. Worship meant raising my hands and praying in tongues. Sermons were preached by charismatic speakers who were powerful and impacting.
At NUS, I started attending the Varsity Christian Fellowship. There, I was exposed to different styles of worship. God put in our hearts the desire for unity among Christians. As leaders, we prayed for Singaporean Christians to be one body in Christ in spite of denomination.
Last year, my faith hit a crisis as I started reading books written by Christian authors from different denominations. I found some of their points very enlightening and grew a lot through these materials. It was then that I began to feel uncomfortable with my church’s teachings and started praying about whether I should change church.
During this period of visiting different churches, I was rather confused, angry and bitter about my old church. I had been there for 8 years, and uprooting was difficult. There are practices that I don’t understand and perhaps disagree with, yet I am thankful that God was with me during this period. He encouraged me in various ways, through songs, encouragement from others and books as well. One morning in Oct, I woke up and felt this stirring within me. There was an unspoken happiness and assurance from God that He was with me through my journey. I was so thankful for His peace in the midst of the struggles that I faced. I felt my faith had grown as it was not anchored on any human being, but anchored in Him. As time passed, I began to understand the distinctive that God has blessed my previous church with. I missed the praise and worship there, as well as praying in tongues. The sermons preached there were simple and ministered to the youths. After 10 months of prayer, I am now settled down in Covenant Evangelical and am very blessed by the in-depth and strong teachings in the church.
Recently, I went to Philippines with Habitat for Humanity on a house building project in the urban slums. It was an experience of humility, working alongside the poor, regardless of our backgrounds. It strangely reminded me of how united the Israelites were in rebuilding the temple. Some stood guard against the enemies while the rest built. And what is amazing is how the gospel has come full circle in my life. My domestic helper- a Filipina was the one who first shared Christ with me, and now I was back in Philippines to share God’s love.
The body of Christ must be united in tackling the real enemy and not major on the minors by attacking each other. Many of us Christians tend to be inward looking and criticize other denominations without understanding more. Just a few days ago, a colleague asked me which denomination of Christianity I came from. I didn’t know how to answer her. I think I belong to the church of Christ. And being a Christian simply means living out a life that is Christ-like, that glorifies Christ. I find Christ most of all in the slums, when I work alongside the poor. Thank God that He still chooses to work through us, even though no church or human is infallible or perfect!
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hi, my name is Xiaojia. I just graduated last year and have been working in GIC for a year and a half.
I became a Christian when I was in primary school. Back then, my maid, who was a catholic, shared Christ with me. Her boyfriend was a Christian, who wrote me letters and taught me how to pray. Salvation was a gift for me, as I readily believed and prayed to God whenever I was sad or angry. I was a self professed Christian who never attended church.
I only started attending church when I was in secondary 4. At 15, I was faced with the question of whether I was really saved, for God seemed so distant to me. I had a lot of doubts about God, but I experienced Him in many tangible ways, and that was when my faith was cemented.
As I attended a charismatic church, I believed in a style of praise and worship and sermons. Praise was dynamic and I jumped up and down in jubilee. Worship meant raising my hands and praying in tongues. Sermons were preached by charismatic speakers who were powerful and impacting.
At NUS, I started attending the Varsity Christian Fellowship. There, I was exposed to different styles of worship. God put in our hearts the desire for unity among Christians. As leaders, we prayed for Singaporean Christians to be one body in Christ in spite of denomination.
Last year, my faith hit a crisis as I started reading books written by Christian authors from different denominations. I found some of their points very enlightening and grew a lot through these materials. It was then that I began to feel uncomfortable with my church’s teachings and started praying about whether I should change church.
During this period of visiting different churches, I was rather confused, angry and bitter about my old church. I had been there for 8 years, and uprooting was difficult. There are practices that I don’t understand and perhaps disagree with, yet I am thankful that God was with me during this period. He encouraged me in various ways, through songs, encouragement from others and books as well. One morning in Oct, I woke up and felt this stirring within me. There was an unspoken happiness and assurance from God that He was with me through my journey. I was so thankful for His peace in the midst of the struggles that I faced. I felt my faith had grown as it was not anchored on any human being, but anchored in Him. As time passed, I began to understand the distinctive that God has blessed my previous church with. I missed the praise and worship there, as well as praying in tongues. The sermons preached there were simple and ministered to the youths. After 10 months of prayer, I am now settled down in Covenant Evangelical and am very blessed by the in-depth and strong teachings in the church.
Recently, I went to Philippines with Habitat for Humanity on a house building project in the urban slums. It was an experience of humility, working alongside the poor, regardless of our backgrounds. It strangely reminded me of how united the Israelites were in rebuilding the temple. Some stood guard against the enemies while the rest built. And what is amazing is how the gospel has come full circle in my life. My domestic helper- a Filipina was the one who first shared Christ with me, and now I was back in Philippines to share God’s love.
The body of Christ must be united in tackling the real enemy and not major on the minors by attacking each other. Many of us Christians tend to be inward looking and criticize other denominations without understanding more. Just a few days ago, a colleague asked me which denomination of Christianity I came from. I didn’t know how to answer her. I think I belong to the church of Christ. And being a Christian simply means living out a life that is Christ-like, that glorifies Christ. I find Christ most of all in the slums, when I work alongside the poor. Thank God that He still chooses to work through us, even though no church or human is infallible or perfect!
Sunday, December 03, 2006
Heart of a missionary
Check this out:
Eternal Perspectives Ministry set up by Randy Alcorn. There are quite a few good links.
In particular, I've extracted two articles for yr read. ;)
The Heart of a True Missionary
"So, I felt duty-bound to just tell my own story of how Jim Elliot and I made up our minds long before we ever fell in love, that we did not belong to ourselves, but to God Himself; and this body in which I live is holy, it belongs to God until God gives it to somebody else. So, Jim and I were perfectly clear about that independent of each other and then, when he came along and confessed to me that he was in love with me, he followed that immediately with saying, 'I'm not asking you to marry me. You go ahead and go to Africa and I'll go to South America, and if God wants to bring us together, God knows how to do it.'
"I thought I was going to Africa, but in various ways, God indicated that it was South America. And so, we waited 5 ½ years for each other. That, of course, is another tremendous lesson in sacrifice. Young people today, it is my impression, are not prepared to sacrifice. They want what they want and they want it now. They're going to get what they want, any way they can get it. When you start at the foot of the cross and lay yourself totally at God's disposal, there are a whole lot of pitfalls that are avoided."
Elizabeth Elliot
Dreams & Visions Move Muslims to Christ
More and more Muslims are having dreams and visions of Christ, Christian ministries say. There is increasing evidence that the supernatural is playing a role in drawing Muslims to Christ.
Campus Crusade for Christ has received thousands of letters from Muslims, many of whom claim to have had a similar dream of Christ, according to the ministry's radio broadcast office in northern Africa. In the dream, Jesus appears and tells people, "I am the way," Campus Crusade founder and president Bill Bright said. Moved by the dreams, they contact the radio ministry and "freely respond" to the gospel message, he said. In Algeria, an imprisoned Muslim political radical said Jesus appeared to her in her cell. The woman now is a Christian and works with Campus Crusade ministering to Muslims.
Eternal Perspectives Ministry set up by Randy Alcorn. There are quite a few good links.
In particular, I've extracted two articles for yr read. ;)
The Heart of a True Missionary
"So, I felt duty-bound to just tell my own story of how Jim Elliot and I made up our minds long before we ever fell in love, that we did not belong to ourselves, but to God Himself; and this body in which I live is holy, it belongs to God until God gives it to somebody else. So, Jim and I were perfectly clear about that independent of each other and then, when he came along and confessed to me that he was in love with me, he followed that immediately with saying, 'I'm not asking you to marry me. You go ahead and go to Africa and I'll go to South America, and if God wants to bring us together, God knows how to do it.'
"I thought I was going to Africa, but in various ways, God indicated that it was South America. And so, we waited 5 ½ years for each other. That, of course, is another tremendous lesson in sacrifice. Young people today, it is my impression, are not prepared to sacrifice. They want what they want and they want it now. They're going to get what they want, any way they can get it. When you start at the foot of the cross and lay yourself totally at God's disposal, there are a whole lot of pitfalls that are avoided."
Elizabeth Elliot
Dreams & Visions Move Muslims to Christ
More and more Muslims are having dreams and visions of Christ, Christian ministries say. There is increasing evidence that the supernatural is playing a role in drawing Muslims to Christ.
Campus Crusade for Christ has received thousands of letters from Muslims, many of whom claim to have had a similar dream of Christ, according to the ministry's radio broadcast office in northern Africa. In the dream, Jesus appears and tells people, "I am the way," Campus Crusade founder and president Bill Bright said. Moved by the dreams, they contact the radio ministry and "freely respond" to the gospel message, he said. In Algeria, an imprisoned Muslim political radical said Jesus appeared to her in her cell. The woman now is a Christian and works with Campus Crusade ministering to Muslims.
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