Bill and Lena's fancy slideshow update from October, 2017

The past six months have been some of the most challenging and most fruitful of our lives. We have seen more salvations, baptisms in the Holy Spirit and disasters than I can remember. We want to thank you for being partners with us in it all. The new disciples that are being made and the hungry mouths that are being fed will thank you, with us, when we meet in heaven. Please click the big picture, below, for a quick rundown of all that has taken place or for an impressive array of photos that will amaze you! If the picture doesn't click, try here.

Make Every Day a Norma-l Day

I am NOT super kind.

But I AM afraid of being the rich man in the story of Lazarus the beggar, who died and suffered eternally for being a selfish man.

That is why I didn’t send Norma away on her first visit to my house. Not long into our conversation, I realized that Norma probably had some learning issues. She was about my age, stocky, and badly in need of some dental work, which I later related to her great love of sweets.

It was a sunny, hot afternoon about two months ago when Norma first came to my door. Our conversation went like this:

“Hi. There was an older lady who lives here who told me that I could come and get a piece of cake this afternoon. Can I talk to her?”

Me: “I’m the lady of the house here, and there isn’t one older than me.”

Norma: “Well, she told me I could have a piece of cake.”

Me: “I don’t have a piece of cake.”

Norma: “Do you have something to eat?”

The conversation (or better said, barrage of requests) continued on…..Norma wanted to be certain that she asked for all her favorite things. She asked me for something sweet to drink, for jewelry, for purses (she LOVES purses), desserts, jello, cookies for her son. She has also had two birthdays in the short time I have known her. 😊 Norma began to visit me regularly…every other day, sometimes every afternoon. I put a stop to the daily visits, as I realized that soon I would have to budget Norma into my grocery trips if I didn’t. I told her she could come once a week, which she MOSTLY abides by.

Norma has impacted my life in the strongest of ways, and probably not in the way you might think. All of you mercy people out there are thinking about all the nice things you might do for Norma, and assume that it is kindness that motivates me. Don’t be deceived. I usually know from her persistent ring that she is at my door, and it is not mercy that makes me answer. I just give her what she wants because I am obliged to care for the poor and because if I don’t, she will continue to pester me anyway. The real thing about Norma that speaks to me is that she NEVER STOPS ASKING FOR STUFF!  She is one of the most persistent people I have ever met. If an entrepreneur went after business opportunities the way Norma does with jello, they would be a millionaire.  I HATE asking for things, and Norma reminds me every week that he who does not ask does not get.

I am in a season where I am forging new territory with ministry to university students. I have to ASK---pastors, university officials, prospective student leaders. Over and over again. After the third try, I want to give up. But then there is Norma in my mind, asking for gelatin. And I knock again. Norma is God’s way of telling me that if I would just keep pushing, I would get more of what I want! The woman with the unjust judge cries out until he gives her what she wants, not because he likes her or even cares for her needs, or about justice. He does it because she is driving him nuts. I relate.

One day, I didn’t have any food for her. She was sorely disappointed. She kept running through her list. Nothing. I was ready to send her on her way with a pack of cookies and a drink of water (sometimes I get stubborn about the sweet drinks issue, thinking it is better to give her water). Then like a light going off, she asked for flan. I realized I had the remains of a HUGE flan in the fridge that my flan-loving husband wouldn’t finish because of his travels. I told her that, yes, I actually DID have flan! She literally jumped up and down with excitement. She had hit the jackpot! I was flabbergasted that she had just happened to ask for something that was in my house, that usually wasn’t. It was almost like an angel playing a joke on me had dropped it into her mind.

One day, it’s going to be my flan day. A door will open on a campus that looked impenetrable a day before, or someone will decide to become a disciple of Jesus because I listened to the Holy Spirit. I'll risk crossing the line of making a bother of myself.  I will put on a little bit of Norma-tude, and a huge portion of Holy Spirit-gifted flan will fall in my lap. I may even do a Norma dance. And then I'll do it again!

Hosea 3 and God’s unfolding revelation

Hosea 3 and God’s unfolding revelation

I recently had a brief conversation on Facebook with some XA disciples, in which one of them referenced my teachings on how to interpret the Bible. He quoted my teachings, saying, “It can never mean what it never meant.” It was gratifying to know that someone was listening and that he still remembers! But, it also revealed my own growth as a biblical scholar and theologian, since I no longer agree with what I used to teach! (This enables me to give grace to politicians who change their views – though I have no plans to extend that grace to anyone who is currently running for office!)

The quote was saying that, when one is interpreting the Bible, the meaning of the text for the original audience is THE meaning. So, when Jesus told the parable of the lost coin, he was talking about a lost coin and not about Syrian refugees or Taylor Swift's latest boyfriend. Whatever the text meant to the original audience is still, by far, the best place to start in interpreting the Bible. BUT, the conversation doesn’t end there. As such, I feel the need to write my old friends back and explain that I don't hold as strongly to that as I used to. The reason is that I’ve grown in my understanding of Biblical Theology and the firm belief that the later books in the Bible reveal and explain God’s plan, intentionally, with greater clarity than the earlier books. So, even though we can see salvation by grace in Genesis, we see it much clearer in Ephesians. And once we’ve read Ephesians, we will forever see Genesis in a different light. The amazing aspect of this is that God knew, all along, that the day would come when Ephesians would influence what I see in Genesis. He knew that! In fact, when Jesus preached, he knew that his audience was made up of first century farmers and fishermen – but he also knew that I would one day read the same sermon. God was preaching to them in their time and to me in this time at the same time. Therefore, limiting the text to the incomplete perspective of the original audience unnecessarily limits God's "unfolding revelation."

I realized early on (even as I was teaching the limited methodology) that such a limited perspective of interpretation completely negated the possibility of prophecy. So, I changed the quote to say, “It can never mean what it never meant … except for prophecy.” Unfortunately, that limits God, too, for the entire Bible is prophecy. It's like when movies or video games put in "Easter eggs." Those are fun little clues that reveal that there is a unified author often telling apparently disconnected stories. Pixar movies are full of references to other Pixar movies; e.g., in the dentist’s office of Finding Nemo, there is a Buzz Lightyear doll on the floor and a little boy is reading an “Incredibles” comic book. Also, in nearly every Pixar movie, the same Toyota Pizza truck can be seen and the number A113 is in all of them. In a similar way, God has put parts of the N.T. in the O.T. -- not to mention that Jesus is the subject of all of it.

With that in mind, we come to my own devotional reading from a couple of days ago. It is Hosea 3:1-5: "The Lord said to me, “Go, show love to your wife again, even though she loves another man and continually commits adultery.  Likewise, the Lord loves the Israelites although they turn to other gods and love to offer raisin cakes to idols.” 3:2 So I paid fifteen shekels of silver and about seven bushels of barley to purchase her. 3:3 Then I told her, “You must live with me many days; you must not commit adultery or have sexual intercourse with another man, and I also will wait for you.” 3:4 For the Israelites must live many days without a king or prince, without sacrifice or sacred fertility pillar, without ephod or idols. 3:5 Afterward, the Israelites will turn and seek the Lord their God and their Davidic king. Then they will submit to the Lord in fear and receive his blessings in the future. (NET)"

From my N.T. perspective, I see 3 things:

1.       V 1-2: Hosea had to pay a "redemption" price to get his wife back. Somehow, in her sin and idolatry, she got into debt (perhaps to a pimp or maybe she was in jail for a DUI -- it's easy to get into debt when you live without boundaries) and Hosea had to pay the price to set her free. How difficult it must have been for him to have to pay for her, knowing full well that she was guilty. This makes me think of Jesus, paying the price for us, out of his love for us, knowing full well what shameful harlots we are. You could say that Jesus isn’t in the text, but I would beg to differ. God commanded Hosea to return to his unfaithful wife as an example of God’s love for His people. God planned this out intentionally. It is not coincidental that Hosea had to pay a redemption price for his unfaithful wife and we cannot overlook that God paid a very costly redemption price for us. He who orchestrated this story did so as a prequel to the even more tragic story to come.

2.       V 3-4: Hosea withheld having times of intimacy with his wife as an illustration that a time would come when God's presence would not be with His people. They would not have a King or a priest--before a Davidic King would come. I look at this and see the 400 years without prophecy, before Jesus (the Davidic king and Priest in the order of Melchizedek) came. It would be very unlikely that the original audience would have had the same interpretation, since they lacked the information that we currently have.

3.       V 5: After this long time without God's intimate presence, there would come a new time of intimacy in which the previous rebellious people would become God seekers. A Davidic King will reign over them and they will willingly submit to the Lord. This is clearly (from my N.T. perspective) referring to Jesus and the character transforming ministry of the Holy Spirit. It is, again, unlikely that the original audience could have foreseen this fulfillment. What is very likely is that the original audience could only see the general outline that God would not reject them forever and that the Davidic dynasty would not be wiped out. All of that is true, but we now know how it came to be fulfilled.

So, proper biblical interpretation recognizes the interpretation of the original audience (as much as we can surmise it) and also brings clarity to it with an awareness of, and insights from, God's unfolding revelation.

2 Samuel 23 - The Waste of Worship (Sermon starts at 17:00 minutes)

Manna Hoarding and Cheerios in the Closet

This from Lena:

When we arrived in the States last June, I was sure my fascination with shopping for things I can’t get in Peru would fade after a month or so, but that wasn’t the case. In my family, we always joke saying, “Hey, did you know there is a sale at Kohls?!!?” (There is always a sale at Kohls).  Even though I know that much of the shopping has been totally reasonable, I find that there are heart issues that have surprised me with their voracious spirit—an inner demand for more, for “enough” that is impossible to satisfy.

When the Israelites were miraculously delivered out of slavery (and into the desert), they went immediately into God’s training program for How To Be God’s People.  They were free, but they were out in the dessert with all they owned and all their families. They were like a traveling metropolis, with no way to keep themselves in food and water—the most basic of elements. I am always fascinated by God’s delivery system for the manna that saved their lives.  Manna was delivered only by God’s hand, it was delivered daily, it was un-hoardable, it was provided in such a way as to never be too much or too little regardless of how much you gathered, and the only time you could gather extra was in preparation for the Sabbath. God was clearly their only source for food, and He insisted that they trust Him to provide what they needed, but only when they needed it. Nothing more, nothing less.

These rules remind me of the process of adoption and the way parents need to proceed to form a secure emotional connection to their children—especially those who come to their new home having been a victim of neglect or abuse or lived in extremely impoverished situations. The new parents have to be the only ones to feed the adopted child, the only ones to care for their needs, so that trust can be built. They have to learn to trust their parents enough to accept in their hearts that they don’t need to hoard food for later—for just in case things go south—in case they need to make a quick get away.  It seems to me that when the hoarding stops, it is clear evidence that trust is formed—something to celebrate!

It has been so clear to me lately that the impulse to hoard is a clear sign that the hoarder does not trust that what they need will be provided. As a child of God, it means that I am still thinking I may have to keep a suitcase ready in case this God doesn’t come through. In my own heart, I find myself needing to cling to scripture. I tell myself, “Lena, if he dresses the lilies so beautifully, how much more will He take care to dress you?” The orphan in me fights back, but the loved adopted daughter declares her security, and says, “My Father is a good father, and He will provide everything I need!”

So I do regular checks for cheerios in the closet. It’s a journey, like everything else! Hoarding gives me a false sense of security that doesn’t satisfy and a nagging worry over scarcity, but trusting the hand of the Father gives peace and an opportunity to prove his love, not only to me, but to those who walk with me and have their own stash hidden away that they need to surrender. Even cheerios eventually go stale sitting in that closet, but his mercies are new every morning, and his manna is ready for the day. 

Ps. 66:11 -- Suffering and God as athletic coach

This, from Bill:

Ps. 66:11 is strong and, for many, hard to reconcile with their concept of God. It says, "You led us into a trap;  you caused us to suffer. (NET)" To understand it, it is helpful to look at the verses before and after.

    66:9 He preserves our lives

    and does not allow our feet to slip.

    66:10 For you, O God, tested us;

    you purified us like refined silver.

    66:11 You led us into a trap;

    you caused us to suffer.

    66:12 You allowed men to ride over our heads;

    we passed through fire and water,

    but you brought us out into a wide open place. (NET, Ps 66:9-12)

This is a great juxtaposition of concepts. In the heart of it is God as athletic coach or good father. He intentionally puts the trainee under pressure so that when real pressure comes, the person can withstand it and come forth victorious. 66:11 is really strong, "You led us into a trap; you caused us to suffer." In today's culture the goal of life is pleasure and comfort. In God's culture, the goal is strength and freedom. Some people say that it is unjust for God to cause us to suffer. This is either evidence that the Bible's depiction of God is untrue (since a good God would never do that) or that the God of the O.T. is cruel and should not be worshipped. Ironically, they would not say the same of  a drill sergeant at boot camp or of one of the coaches on "The Biggest Loser." There is an understanding in those contexts of the classic adage, "No pain, no gain." In the passage above, the difficulty the we press through is the very thing that produces victory. The suffering is the lesson that "preserves our lives and does not allow our feet to slip." (verse 9) And that, brings us to freedom; i.e., "into a wide open place. (NET, Ps 66:12)"

Over the last year, I've gained about 10 pounds. That has caused its own kind of suffering and, yet, I still have a very high opinion of ice cream. 

An Open Letter to Our Son, Colton, and the Class of 2016

Congratulations! You have worked hard and long, stayed up into the night to complete your tasks, enjoyed time with your friends and now you are looking back and soaking it in. You pause in these last hang-outs with friends for just moments and think, “Wow. This really is it!”  You know that your heart is in the business of choosing a path. It likely will not be a path from which you cannot re-trace your steps, because much of the joy of youth is that there is abundant time for a do-over.

Still, little by little, you will choose. A pattern will begin to emerge from what looked like a crazy jumble of yarn in the beginning. Your story will take unexpected turns—some that you never would have chosen, and at least a few that take your breath away.  

Some would say that times have changed; that life is harder now than it was in the past. Because you are a young man of the Word, you know that Biblical times dressed sin differently, with its pagan worship, but that the expressions were the very same sins we see today. Paul and the apostles consistently warned against conforming to these sins that are obvious to those who are awake—sexual impurity, drunkenness, greed, selfish ambition, vain conceit, hard-heartedness. True followers of Jesus lived differently, not just adding a thin veneer of Jesus on top. These standards have not changed!

And so, I challenge you now as I have many times before. Root yourself deep in the Lord. I don’t care what the rest of the world is doing, you be a soldier for Jesus. The standards your dad and I have set for you set you out on the path to freakdom. You feel the strain of pulling in a different direction, and you will feel (as you already have felt) like a weirdo as others watch your choices to treat with kindness those who are rejected by others, your purity of speech, your way of only speaking the Name of Jesus with the reverence of one who serves Him, your readiness to share the gospel. You look and smell different. As life goes on, you will do campus outreach when others are watching Netflix, you will go to worship practice when you know you could really use some more study time, you will continue to take time to show kindness to someone everyone else ignores. In lots of little ways, you will set a standard that others see as extreme and unnecessary. They may even insult you, persecute you, and falsely say all sorts of evil things about you. Rejoice and be glad, because a great reward awaits us! (Matt 5:11). Your life will be set on a trajectory that little by little, with each decision to put the Kingdom of God first, you will mark out a path that will be rich and adventurous and the kind of life that leaves few regrets. And you WILL be a weirdo. It runs in the family.

Much Love,

Mom

What Jesus Said

This from Lena:

From the time I first discovered the power of the Word of God as a young believer, I have been captured by the power of Jesus’ teachings.  “Guard your heart against all kinds of greed!” (How many kinds are there?  I could think about that a good long time!) It’s always fresh to me…no matter how many times I read it, I come away knowing I have only begun my journey of obedience…seeking the Kingdom of God first of all, making sure that I am more concerned that my cup be clean on the inside than the outer appearance.  I chuckle to myself when people talk about how gentle Jesus was, knowing how many times I have been rocked and threatened (but also amazingly comforted) by his words.  The gospels are a plum line by which we must consistently be measuring our lives, and I find myself more often than not wincing as I sneak a peek at the slant of my life.

During some times of prayer walking, I began to dream of how we could begin to reach out to university students in our mammoth metropolitan area.  I began to formulate the idea for an evangelical Bible study in which we offer a chance for university students to practice their English and at the same time examine the teachings of Jesus for themselves.  Seeing as how subtlety has never been my strong point, I thought that sort of fit my personality: “I have English, I want you to think about Jesus!”  That was when “What Jesus Said” was born!  We (meaning me and one super-faithful young lady from our church who has a really gorgeous smile) hit the streets and started to invite. 

We have been meeting since November, and the group has grown.  One girl we met is actually Peruvian, but grew up in Columbus, Ohio!  She not only attends the group, but now she also attends the church plant we support.  Our group has consistent attendance from young believers, with a sprinkling of those who are seeking.   We are excited about the possibilities!  We are also looking to open two new groups before long with two different young leaders in other locations. 

This has been the easiest evangelical program I have ever had the joy of promoting.  When I tell people about it, they often ask if there is a cost, and are shocked to find that it is free!  Please pray for us that we reach many with this tool, and that it opens up opportunities on campuses all over Lima!

This from Bill:

Working with college students and teaching in the Seminary, I am frequently confronted with the idea that the Bible is just the invention of men. This morning, in my quiet time, I was reading Galatians and noted that Paul confronted the same issue! That lead me to the following thoughts:

^{Gal 1:11} “I want you to know, brothers, that the gospel I preached is not something that man made up.” – People often say that they don’t trust the Bible because it is just teachings of men. Paul addresses this directly, continuing to say, ^{Gal 1:12} “I did not receive it from any man, nor was I taught it; rather, I received it by revelation from Jesus Christ.” Paul is saying that he is a prophet like Moses; that is, just as God and Moses met on the mountaintop, where God revealed the Law to Moses, Jesus did the same with Paul, explaining the Gospel of salvation by grace through faith. Paul didn’t just think of it. He didn’t make it up. Jesus revealed it. Some people, even some Christians, are not comfortable with that. They like to think that the Gospel evolved, naturally. It did not. It was a supernatural, burning bush, shining light, knock-you-off-of-your-horse-on-the-road-to-Damascus epiphany (God appearance). 

The question is, does God really speak? Does God really appear on the scene? The notion of the Gospel being invented by men or just a collection of human teachings presupposes that God does not appear on the scene, or that God does not talk or reveal things miraculously. In Paul’s context with the Galatians, some humans have added to the Gospel, to make salvation a thing of grace plus works. Their fallacy was thinking that they could add to what Jesus had miraculously revealed (like they could improve on His revelation). The modern day fallacy is that God doesn’t reveal anything; i.e., that Moses never saw a real burning bush and that Paul never actually met the resurrected Christ. Paul’s first-hand testimony to the Galatians doesn’t allow for either.

University Evangelism

This from Bill:

Lena and I began the past year with a strong emphasis on University ministry. Here, in Peru, we call Chi Alpha, La Red Universitaria de Las Asambleas de Dios -- the University Network of the Assemblies of God. It's been an exciting experience for both of us. Lena is doing multiple evangelistic Bible studies with students from various campuses, and both of us have taught at churches and national youth leaders conferences about how to start a campus ministry. The pictures above and below are of us teaching on Evangelism. These pics were taken at the "Christ - Light of the World" church in Trujillo, which has six small groups on 5 campuses! I'm a big fan of using a white board, instead of PowerPoint slides (because I like the organic nature and the intentional emphasis on content over form). After I teach, I take a picture of the white board and invite the students to do the same. Looking at these boards reminded me of what a great time we had! After taking the college students and leaders through some basics of university evangelism, we hit the streets and had a blast talking with people about Jesus. I was very proud of Will, my younger son, who (with unassuming warmth and friendliness) is an incredibly effective evangelist! 

For this event, we were joined by our friends Shawn and Melissa Pallotta, who (along with their kids) have a very prophetic ministry. Shawn and I taught on making godly decisions.

Some of the evangelism themes we covered included: 

1) The power of your personal testimony (Rev. 12:11). 
2) Basic components of the Gospel (1 Cor. 15). 
3) Apologetics -- explaining why the Christian faith is reasonable (that is, it's requires faith, but not blind faith). Also, Jesus claimed to be God, therefore he is either a Liar, a Lunatic or the Lord (hint: it's the last one!)

4) The best 3 questions to do Evangelism: If you died tonight, do you know where you would go? If you were in front of Jesus and he asked you why he should let you into heaven, what would you say? And, the best question of all: How can I pray for you?

Peruvians love their late night soccer matches, which provides a great way to make friends and share the Gospel with your neighbors. These pics are of Colton (above) and Antonio Pallotta (below) playing.

Colton and Antonio also teamed up for some street evangelism, outside the C&T Restaurant.

Why I disciple

This from Bill:

Matthew 28:18-20 is the Great Commission, in which Jesus commands us to "make disciples." But, that isn't what motivates me. On an emotional or motivational level, the reason why I disciple people is that I’ve had a life changing encounter with Jesus that is real and profoundly positive. It’s not like everything that happens to me is positive, but experiencing Christ and being transformed by Him – that has been overwhelmingly positive. I strive to introduce others to Jesus and his way of life because I want them to have as good a life as I have. I frequently challenge young adults who are making self-defeating decisions to imitate my life, because I know that I have a better marriage and a happier life than the vast majority of the world. “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes: first to the Jew, then to the Gentile. (Romans 1:16)”

Sinless

This from Lena:

I was in the market today and noticed as one of the vendors bowed her head to pray before she ate her lunch.  I was touched at her reverence, and asked her if she was a believer in Jesus.  I wasn’t really looking for a witnessing situation—just a moment to connect with a Jesus lover. 

The conversation continued, and I asked if she was an evangelical believer.  She said no, but that she was a Christian.  I had never met people here before saying that they were Christian, but denying being an evangelical, apart from an occasional Catholic.  I asked her what she perceived the difference to be, and she informed me that she doesn’t sin anymore.

Really.

I told her that First John was a great book in the Bible, and that it says that he who says he is without sin is a liar, and the truth isn’t in him.  She looked shocked, and questioned my version of the Bible (just for the record, she was King James only, but in Spanish).  She was new to this path, but not very shaken by my challenging words, and invited me to come to her church so I could understand better.

I left my new friend, telling her that I wasn’t interested in an argument, and I encouraged her to get into the Book herself, so that she could start to sift things that are taught in regard to the true teachings of Christianity.  I was afraid to push her—I have heard stories of people starting out with the Jehovah’s Witnesses, or the Mormons, and becoming disillusioned when they realized that what they were learning was not true, and throw all of it out together.  I left a bit deflated, and angry that someone had routed a soul’s honest attempt to follow Christ as a repentant sinner.  Now she is “sinless.”  I feel sorry for her family and friends, who now have no way to speak into her life, as she is currently completely free of sin!

Peru is a minimally literate country.  Latin America in general is not a print-rich region of the world, but compared with the rest of Latin America, we fall toward the very bottom.  This creates vulnerability among our believers, because many of our brothers and sisters here have never read an entire book of the Bible---and I am talking about faithful ones!  These are the 20% who do all the work, lead the worship, and facilitate cell groups.  So what happens when a false teaching comes along?  The heresy sensors don’t go off, and the church is often fighting off bad teaching.

Bill and I are passionate about Peruvian believers becoming strong in the Word.  This is one of the reasons Bill is teaching in the seminary this year, even though it comes at a high cost in time and effort.  We need pastors and leaders who handle the Bible well and teach their people to read it and study it for themselves.  This is also a reason why I am doing an English conversation group based on the life of Christ aimed at university students (nonbelievers and believers combined).  We want to get people into the Word by all means possible until it penetrates—separating even the bone from the marrow.  It never fails to do the same for me!

Lena teaching university students about discipling new believers in Argentina

Bill giving our first pitch to Peruvian youth leaders on the importance of university ministry

When We Ask Jesus to Leave.

 This from Lena:

Everyone else had given up on the Village Scary Guy.  You know who I am talking about—the one who sets your spiritual Geiger counters to the tune of the William Tell Overture.  The Bible clearly states that folks re-routed their paths to avoid the lifeless zone where he wandered.  Where everyone else took their u-turn,   Jesus headed straight in his direction and cast a whole crew of demons out of him and into a herd of pigs worth a fortune.  The townspeople react like a mother who just found her toddler “decorating” her new Coach bag with permanent marker.  They weren’t happy. 

To Jesus, the treasure of one soul was worth the porcine fortune lost in one glorious episode of rescue.  The freedom of one soul was worth more than a treasure trove of bacon and pork chops.  Can you imagine how much even one of those pigs cost?  Can you imagine how freaky it was to see the Village Scary suddenly sane and harmless-looking at the same time you see a herd of dead pigs floating in the river?  It was disgusting, gross, scary, and messy.  So they asked Jesus to leave.

This one fact—that they asked Jesus to leave—won’t leave me lately.  I can’t stop feeling broken over their desire for him to leave. 

At that moment of determining to follow Jesus, every truly-saved sinner knows what was going on in his own heart.  The sense that this Jesus is really going to “mess up my life”  is imminent.  He starts reviewing all the things he suspects this crazy savior—crazy enough to give his life for us willingly—is going to ask of him. The first rays of light in ages breaks into his creepy attic, and instinctively we know that a housecleaning is about to begin. 

Even more so, there are moments when seeking Jesus looks weird or even crazy…praying for someone with serious disabilities, cancer.  I suspect that casting demons out looks more orderly for those with a lot of practice, but so far my experiences have been crazy looking.  Following Jesus means that you begin to walk in a reality that is not visible, and you become a member of a Kingdom that has different rules than this earth. 

I remember a moment when I was still new in the Lord and I was in a coffee house with a friend.  She was such a sweet believer…the Lord had rescued her out of many things, and as we talked, we felt the presence of the Holy Spirit growing stronger.  There was an electric presence of the Holy Spirit that day.  We were talking about revival and how much God wanted to touch the little college town where we lived.  I remember thinking, “What are you up to, Lord?”  One of those famous local crazy guys was also in the coffee house.  If I had been alone, I probably would not have engaged him, but my friend had such a loving presence, and she began to talk to him.  She told him how much Jesus loved him and had such a sweet tone.  I was already feeling the presence of the Spirit, and I can’t tell you if it was the “mature” thing to do, but I started rebuking the evil spirits in my prayer language, and the guy threw his cup of coffee at me.  The owners asked us to leave, called the cops, and closed the coffee shop for the afternoon.  True story.

I know that there are those who will say that I was immature, that we shouldn’t have “gone there.”  To be honest, I am not sure it would play out like that in my life today.  I can tell you, though, that our hearts at that moment were set on following Jesus and seeing his Kingdom come, and that is how it ended!

 I have a hate/love relationship with these crazy moments when He wins me….I hate risk, and I am anything but an adventurer at heart,  but when He gets a hold of me, there is no telling what He will talk me into. 

I wish I could say that every time he has tried to break the part of me that prefers control to holy insanity, that he has won.  I don’t want to ask him to leave, ever…and yet, I know that my actions betray me.  There are days when you just know that if you step just one baby step closer to the Lord, you are going to be signing your name to some costly enterprise.  Costly perfume is going to pour, or some pigs are going over the cliff.  We reach that moment of decision and…we either take a step closer or step away.  Some say the cost is just too high and they ask Jesus to leave.  Others step into the crazy without regret.

Kingdom of Heaven Lessons in a Baby Church

This from Lena:

We have been enjoying a fresh season these last 8 months of seeing a baby church take shape!  We are part of an international team of missionaries who are working together to sort out the difficult task of forming our identity as a church and how we present it.  One of the great joys of this process is seeing people come to Christ and being witnesses to the transformation that is taking place—and also the great responsibility we have to correctly present the Kingdom of God to these baby believers!  As I have specifically focused on the Kingdom of God in my recent studies, here are a few scripture points that have stuck in my heart. I wanted to share them with you, too!

In the Kingdom of Heaven…

Mark 1:15 Repentance is a precursor for citizenship.  We can paint things as pretty as we like, we can try to de-uglify sin and make it sound as though they have just made an oversight until now….but if the recognition of our own sinfulness is not there, followed by sincere repentance, we run the risk of misrepresenting the gospel.  I remember being 18 at an Amy Grant concert, trying to convince myself that I was fine—that my dark little teenaged soul didn’t need rescuing (yeah-back then there was an altar call after an Amy Grant concert!  And tracts on the way in!).  It was a horrible experience.  I was so glad to finally walk that humiliating walk to the altar and lay my burdens down.  We need to not cheat others of the revelation of their own sin and need for a root change of heart.

Luke 11:20 Demons gotta go.  I am not sure why, recently, we have had so many encounters of the demonic kind—but we have had many in the last 8 months.  I think it is interesting that demons can even sit through a sermon politely, but once the individual starts doing serious business with God, demons get pretty angry about the breach of contract.  At first, I wanted to try to make sense of the fact that in 20 years or more of ministry, I have not seen anywhere near the consistent appearances I have seen in the last 8 months.  Now, I sort of wonder what was wrong before, that they were comfortable to hang out around me.  Perspective!

Luke 9:2 Citizens of the Kingdom of God are supposed to be praying for the sick!  I have heard testimonies galore of healings and I have been present for some healings…but I want a lot more.  I think we should be totally going for it.  I have heard that Heidi Baker became determined to just keep praying for healings until she saw them up close.  She prayed for hundreds before seeing anything.  I don’t want to quietly accept sickness.  If we don’t ask, we won’t receive.

Matt 21:31 Audacious sinners of the past who are now obeying Christ passionately are entering the Kingdom quicker than good religious talkers.  I think we all better take note of this one. What a dangerous place it is to be where you know how to play the game all too well; that is, to make people think you are on Jesus’ speed dial, when you are just playing a game.  It doesn’t matter if you are a missionary, pastor, worship leader, or the church’s accountant.  Obedience is where the blessing is—in the secret place, where nobody knows what you are doing.  But someone does. And we are not talking about yesterday.  Today.  Now. 

Matt. 13: 1-23 You’ve got to sow a lot of seed to get some of it to stick. People are hindered from entering the Kingdom by  a variety of things—sometimes they are just blind to the truth because they are so lost in sin and haven’t been made desperate enough yet for an alternative.  These folks are the blank stares and social smiles we get when we try to evangelize.  Then there are those you have a good conversation with, but it goes nowhere. It may not have been because you did a horrible job—which you might have. But even the fact that you were trying calls them to wake up to their real need.  I am convinced that a lot of people don’t let on that they know Jesus is real because they know life is going to change radically the minute after they give their life to him.  Let’s not lie—that is very true.  You might lose your friends, your addictions (those are DEFINITELY gonna have to go), your comforts, or even your job.  All this to say—sowing is hard work, and you don’t have any control over the soil you are preaching to.  The only thing we can control is how much seed we scatter.  Let’s scatter a LOT.

Matt 13:31-2 Some of that seed you scattered is going to surprise you with how big and well it grows. If you scatter enough seed, you are going to get to see some folks really explode.  Maybe they will even pass you!  In our later years of campus ministry, Bill used to tell our university students that they were his last hope for greatness!  He said it jokingly, but he meant it.  “Grow as far as you can grow little seed!  Pass me up!”  That should be our heart for all we nurture in Christ.

Matt 13: 24-30 You don’t really know who’s who until the end.  I suspect that this dynamic is a little like reading our donors list.  We realized long ago, and with great humility, that some of the sweetest little ladies on Social Security are the most faithful and have been the longest, steadiest supporters. I think it will be that way at the final judgment.  I try to warn myself periodically to not become Miss Fancy Pants Missionary—because there may be some rude awakenings at the end, if I see some surprises up ahead of me in line!

I hope this list at least gave you something to think on.  I am so thankful for the opportunity to help form a new church and disciple the new citizens.  Blessings to all of you!

One of our sweet young believers giving her testimony of how the Lord has been changing her life!

God's Got Your Numbers

This from Lena:

Every once in a while these days, I slip up and count out 6 plates instead of the 5 our family now requires.    We left one of our best legacies (our 19 year-old Hannah) back home in the States this past summer.  I hate when I miscount, because it usually brings with it a pang of missing my oldest  daughter, my no-nonsense, type-A extrovert sunshine.  My Peruvian motherly friends are wonderful for consoling me, as most of them find the thought of sending their sweet baby birds out into the world for the sake of education a ghastly proposition.   Still, like the rest of my American Mom friends, I believe in the value of giving that little birdie some help out of the nest. 

Almost ten years ago, we had no plans to go full-size on the mini-van.  Our cap family-size number was 5—a very practical number that we had settled on because at the time there was a three-child cap in missions of the Assemblies of God, and we felt that we would go into missions some day, and wanted to go with the Assemblies.  We decided to plan 2, and leave a little room for a surprise, but something had happened years earlier that planted a tiny questioning seed about whether our numbers were going to line up with God’s.

Years earlier, when we were trying to get pregnant with our second child,  we received a cryptic phone call from a member of our church. 

Prophetic Lady: “Pastor Bill, do you know whether or not that baby your wife is carrying is a boy?”  (She did not know that we were trying to have a baby, and for all we knew at the time, I was not pregnant.)

Bill: “My wife isn’t pregnant.”

Prophetic Lady: “Oh, I see.   Well, you do know the families___________and___________---do you know that I prophesied their babies?” (This is not an exact quote, just so you get the drift).  “Well, Pastor Bill, can I ask you how many children do you plan on having?”

Bill (read in slightly uncomfortable tone): “Uh…two?”

Prophetic Lady: “Why not four?”

That phone conversation never left us completely; especially because just a short while after, we found out we were indeed pregnant, and we were having a boy!  We laughed about it through the years, how surprising it was that our sister knew before we did that we were pregnant with a boy, but never in a mocking way, as if the entirety of that word might not be true.  Bill and I both believe that God can and does at times speak prophetically into the lives of his children.  We also understand that the best-intentioned child of God needs some room for error, so we weigh these things against the Word of God and what actually comes to pass.

Years passed (around 6 of them), and the desire to go into missions grew, and it went into overdrive when we received a prophetic gift of two alpaca sweaters (you will have to read about our call in this blog for THAT story!).  The day we received that gift was within 24 hours of us finding out that we were going to have Abigail.  The fourth baby.  The not-planned baby.  The baby that would disqualify us for missions with the Assemblies, arriving at the same moment as the call.

Except for it didn’t disqualify us.  We didn’t even know, but at that time the child limit had been lifted.  We also had not taken our age into account, because previously we would not have qualified because we were over 35.  Over 35, four kids….and headed into missions.

When I think of how all of that converged, I am in awe of His math. He knows all our numbers….the happy ones and the sad ones.  He knows how many kids we will have, the day we lose our parents, the day we graduate from college.   He knows how many houses we will live in, and even the house addresses.  He knows the day you lost the baby, and that that same baby is now safe and happy with him.  The mature among us acknowledge that all those numbers are best left safely in his hands, without us trying to cajole Him to a pre-mature release of information. He shares what will be to our benefit, and we trust Him with the rest.

When I think of what I would have missed if my plan had been the end of it, I am filled with thankfulness.  I can’t imagine life without our little number 6, and I can’t help but wonder what other mysterious un-planned numbers He holds that I wouldn’t ever choose for myself, but will treasure some day.  Those mysterious numbers can be like a gift so well-chosen, and yet you hadn’t thought of before….and over time, it becomes one of your favorites.  

Wood Piles and Sweaty Little Scripture Books

This from Lena:
It was the wood in the garage that did me in.  It pulled me out of denial, basically. The wood is stacked every which way in my parents’ garage.  It is evident that my dad thought through how he was going to keep all that stored…there is a sort of order to it, even though the overall appearance is chaos.  Piles and piles of it.  What was it that he was planning on making?  He clearly had enough lumber to make a tree house, a tool shed, AND replace the picnic table he made 30 years ago.   Interspersed are dry, stripped   chair frames with a broken leg or lacking a seat that he was going to fix and refurbish for someone so long ago that we don’t remember who owned them.

Emotionally, people generally deal with belongings of their departed dear ones in one of two ways.  They either cling to it for dear life, as if it actually WAS the person who is now gone from this earth, or they robotically pitch it the day after the funeral because it hurts to look at it.  I lean toward the pitch (to the frustration of my more sentimental momma and sisters), dreaming of what I would do if I had 24 hours and free reign to purge, but the wood did something else in my heart besides propel me to throw it to the curb.  It tore a hole in a veil of denial in my own heart.

My dad was an awesome guy.   He was happiest when he was downstairs in his workshop , working on a piece of furniture.  My dad was a printer who worked in a constant drone of heavy machinery, and often arrived frazzled and exhausted—and yes, crabby-- to three giggly girls.  The three of us knew to leave him alone if he was reading or in the bathroom (we fought over who had to interrupt him to ask him something many times) but we also KNEW that if Dad was downstairs in his workshop listening to jazz music, it was the best time of all to talk to him.  When the conditions were right, one of us would feel the change in the environment and head downstairs for a heart to heart.  He was his best there—kind,  thoughtful, wise---and contented.  He loved furniture, wood, the smell of varnish.  At the root, I know exactly what my dad was thinking when he lovingly gathered each stick of lumber.  Each one was a little creative dream that was brewing in his heart.  Those dreams started small, but grew.  There are woodworking magazines in the house, bookmarked with the seeds of a project.  I don’t really know if he ever started preparing to make these things.  I just know that there is a ton of wood out there, and that somewhere in my teen years, most of the wood dreams slowed to a narrow trickle.

I do the same thing with quilting fabric.  My rate of production as a quilter is similar to some plant in a botanical garden that only blooms once a decade.  I take pictures of Spanish tiles in Peru that I want to reproduce in a quilt.  I page through Pinterest when I am bored and look for ideas.  I have three quilt projects that are undone and sitting to my side, untouched for at least a year.  I totally understand the wood. 

I also understand---and this awareness has come through the pain of losing my dad---that the dreams we will have on this earth will end.  In my 20s, I lived like life was an eternal proposition.  I was full of dreams, but the push to see them come true was somewhat vague, and seemed far off. 

Now in my 40s, I have lost my dad, whose dreams are still out in the garage, untouched.  My back hurts and it takes a few seconds when I get up to work out the kinks.  I wear progressive lenses and sensible shoes.  OK, so I have always worn sensible shoes, but that is beside the point.  I don’t really want to be inspired anymore…I want to be confronted.  I want to dangerously rip the rest of the veil off that I caught a glimpse of in the garage that day, because if I don’t, I might die with way too many bins of fabric.  I don’t want my kids to rummage through my belongings with sadness for all the things I dreamed of but never dared attempt.  And that is a real danger—much sadder than trying and failing and dragging a wood pile to the curb.

 I want them to treasure just a few things of mine.  I have been working for the last year on Bible memorization, one book at a time.  I am not fabulous at it at all.  Every verse seems to be a fight.  But when I die, my goal is to have a huge stack of these little booklets I use to memorize as I walk, and that my kids will be tempted to fight over them because of the meaning and perseverance it produced in my life--although if they don’t, I will understand, because they are really sticky and gross!  But you get the picture.  I want them to want my recipe book, because I put a lot of care into making them good meals.  I want them to even HAVE enough quilts so that each one can have one (as of today, only Hannah owns one)--a few things, and not too many wood piles.

So, I am carefully examining my wood piles these days.  I am fairly confident that some of them will be thrown to the curb, because not all wood piles are created equally.  Some I would have liked to do, but the time has passed.  Some I have tried to get rid of, but they keep on finding a way back into my heart and announcing their permanence in my life, the way a truly God-breathed wood pile does.  It hurts to tell myself the truth about the things I have delayed, as though God would just drop them into my life without my investment, but truth is always harder at first, much more fruitful later.  When I think about what I want my kids to find in the garage at the end of my life, the answer is:  a car!  That would be fabulous.  A few woodpiles aren't the end of world, especially because that means I was still dreaming when I went home.  But mostly a car.

My devotional life

This from Bill:

Recently, a friend asked about how much time I spend in prayer and how I do my daily devotions. Here's what I wrote:

The answer on how much time I spend praying is: Not enough! My daily devotional regimen is 1) listen to the Bible in Spanish while working out on the elliptical at 6:30 Am. Usually for 20-25 minutes. I usually listen to one or two chapters. 2) Listen to or read 1 chapter of the Bible in English with my kids at breakfast, while discussing it's historical or literary context, proper interpretation and how to apply it to our lives. That's about 15 minutes 5-6 days a week. We leave for school at 8:00 AM. 3) After I drop the kids off, I read the Bible in Spanish out loud (so as to practice my pronunciation while edifying my Spirit). I usually read 1-2 chapters. In English I read much more, but I can’t pull that off in Spanish, yet. I believe it is important to read whole books of the Bible and not skip around from one chapter to another in a disjointed manner. God wrote Ephesians with a specific intent--whch is interpreted correctly in it's context. Therefore, I read the books from beginning to end. I do jump from New Testament to Old and back, but always reading complete books. I outline the chapters and write notes about the book's general argument and how that chapter ties into the book’s theme and also, how it applies to my life. I also journal and pray in English/Spanish and/or tongues. The combination of reading, journaling and praying usually takes about 1.5 hours--except on Mondays, when it's about 3 hours. How do I do that and work a regular office job? First, my hours are flexible. Second, I put in plenty of time in the office. I'm usually in the office between 9 and 10 AM and I work until about 7:00 PM. After dinner, I may put in 1-2 hours more. I try not to work on Saturdays, apart from leading the Young Adults group on Saturday nights. Sometimes that means I have to do sermon prep on Saturday afternoon.

I can't tell you how much time is spent in prayer, versus Bible study or journaling; since I don't separate them much in my brain. When I'm reading the Bible out loud, I think of it as one form of prayer and praise. When I'm journaling, I'm often writing out a prayer. My goal for the whole process is to be honest with God. I see that as an important step towards hearing God's voice. That is to say, often we already know what God wants, but we have to be honest about our own motivations and desires before we can even see clearly. So, on a normal day, I spend a minimum of 2 hours in Bible study and prayer. In addition to that, a few days a week I go out for walks at night, during which I pray in tongues and English. This is in addition to the times when I'm praying while in transit or doing repetitive tasks. For example, when I'm riding the bus, I'm praying in tongues very quietly. (Here, a white guy on the bus looks pretty silly, since white guys drive luxury cars. So, a white guy mumbling to himself is just one more notch on the odd scale!)

Another strategy/tactic for one's devotional life is memorizing scripture. Lena does this every morning while going on a long walk. That way she gets the Word in her and she gets her heart beating. I do this sometimes on the elliptical. Be cautioned, this takes commitment. It bares incredible fruit, but at the cost of being very dry. Once you get the Word in your memory, you are much stronger in your faith and convictions. It is the primary key to hearing God's voice.

All of the above is somewhat separate from the practice of worship in my life. Worship (singing to and about the Lord) is a form of prayer--especially in that my goal is to open myself up to God's presence and enjoy the experience of His intimate presence. I do this in the car, sometimes with the help of a CD, but often just acapella. I also do it with the guitar. It used to be a daily practice, but now that I'm out of XA ministry and spend more time in an office (working with Latin America ChildCare), I don't do it as regularly. On Saturdays, we do family worship. Here I train the little ones to give their all in worship, and I train the big ones how to lead worship. We talk about the theology of the words and music, how to transition successfully, what kind of response we're looking for from the congregation, how to help people experience God's presence, how to do a good job without becoming puffed up, how to lead a Pentecostal/charismatic worship or a non-tongues and prophecy evangelical service. Of course, we have a general objective of experiencing God's presence and learning to be proficient on whatever instrument we happen to be playing that day (e.g., drums, guitar, violin, piano, percussion or bass). This is about 1 hour long for the little ones (who just want to watch TV) and goes longer for Hannah, Colton, Lena and Myself.

The final aspect of our daily devotions is sharing what we're reading, praying about, journaling about and what we think God is saying. Lena and I talk about this every day. We also share it with the kids, when it's appropriate. The community factor imperative in discerning the Spirit. God speaks to us when we bring things out into the light.

In terms of church activities, we all attend at least one Sunday service. The kids have chapel every week, as well as their respective Bible studies. Lena is in two women's groups. She and Hannah also help me in leading the Young Adults/College age group on Saturdays. I also preach/teach/lead worship in other churches on a regular basis.

I usually advise students to shoot for a 30 minute quiet time as a bare minimum. That should include some degree of Bible reading (two to three chapters a day), journaling and prayer. I don't do all three every day, but I do try to do all three every week. That is, some days are mostly reading and some are mostly prayer or journaling. One important goal for all of it is listening. Being able to adjust what you do enables you to respond to your current needs and gives you another option when the process gets boring. The goal must be to hear God's voice, know God's will and/or have God's perspective. That is very rewarding and takes much of the drudgery out of the discipline.

All the Single Ladies

I have been watching the awakening happening for some time now.  I remember my daughter’s  14 birthday.  She wanted to have a “mixed”  party.  I remember watching her shyly inviting a group of boys to our home for the gathering, and then marching down the street to the Revlon store to buy the long-awaited make-up.  It was a rite of passage we had set in place years before as a moment when she would pass from the world of little girls to that of young ladies.

Four years later, the tones are more serious, but the heart is the same.  Most of us ladies—apart from the occasional peaceful soul—have to accustom ourselves to a certain ache and longing that is part of being a single woman.  I wish it wasn't so, but my memories are so clear.  There were days when I just had to fake it to get through.  There were plenty nights in tears, crying out to God for relief from the feelings that were customary to those years for me.  Even worse, my single lady friends all assure me that it doesn't ever really go away.  We are wired for romance, to respond to a single noble man who recognizes our value and beauty.  And to make it worse, we have precious little control over it. 

We Christians don’t talk much about this…but it is there.  I want my daughter to be able to function, to pursue her personal goals, to be a focused, mature person, but I can’t promise her that there won’t be dark days when her heart is breaking and she has to take the final anyway, or has to go to work, even if that means a few trips to the bathroom to wipe her eyes and try to pull herself together.
 I know there is an option.  She can try to turn it all off, and some do. Some of us Christian parents, in the interest of protecting their hearts, encourage our daughters to ignore what is happening in their hearts, and instead of keeping them from pain, we end up training them to be distant with men.  I don’t ever want my daughters to turn their hearts off to the possibility of finding love, to the beauty of walking through life committed to loving someone and knowing someone else as deeply as is possible in a good marriage. We can't be slaves to our wayward hearts, but neither can we pretend like they are machines controlled by pressing a few buttons.  Love is crazy, messy, and sometimes defies logic or circumstances. Love makes life rich, even when it is at the same time disappointing. 

All the single ladies (and even the married ones!) have to walk through this and learn to pour out our feelings at Jesus’ feet.  In my single days---days in which I really didn't believe I would ever marry—I started imagining myself dancing with the Lord in a white dress.  I had to make Jesus the one who met those needs.  Even when I knew the ache would return later, I could pour out my feelings and find relief.  Now my girl is joining the single ladies, and she will have to learn to do the same thing.  I am so thankful that He is able to keep her, the Lord of crazy, risky love.  He understands.

Hunger Flames

This from Lena:
OK, so the title is totally contrived, but it got you here, right?

An alumni from our Chi Alpha ministry years ago (for those of you who don't know us very well, we cut our ministerial teeth In Chi Alpha Campus Ministries and loved that ministry dearly) just celebrated his birthday.  I found myself thinking about what it was that delighted me so much about this person.  When I comb through the archives of my mind (and Spanish acquisition has diminished them considerably), what sticks out is one of the first times he came to our meetings.

Now, you need to understand that we were Jesus Culture when Jesus Culture wasn't cool.  We were (are!) die-hard Pentecostals.  This does not mean that we jump.  It means that we love the presence of the Holy Spirit, believe that what He brings is worth waiting in the upper room for.  That what He brings is going to equip us to make a difference in this world, and that without His move, we are powerless.

Our worship times were characterized by a deep sense of the presence of the Spirit.  When this particular student arrived, he took to it like a fish to water.  Like Mozart to a piano.  Like Justin Bieber to the heart of pre-adolescent girls.  He laughed, he cried, he acted like a hungry man who had just found a KFC in the middle of a desert.  And it affected all of us.  His hunger was palpable, and it drew the rest of us deeper in, made us value His presence more.

Have you ever been in a supermarket next to someone who is excited to find some great fruit?  One person starts looking, sees that maybe the mango is just right, and lets out a little squeal of culinary anticipation.  Pretty soon all the housewives are acting like they got to have some mango, or they are going to die.  One person's hunger or anticipation of something good coming affects everyone else.  Everyone around them starts thinking, "If I don't move, I am going to miss out!"

Hunger for God is like a fire that shoots out sparks all around.  It is infectious.  It makes spiritually bored people wonder how they got to be so disenchanted with church life, and makes them long for the first flush of love with God in which they were willing to do anything, go anywhere.  Those sparky people stir something of longing inside of us.  How I love them!

So I want to dedicate this to all you sparky people out there, whose hunger for God fans into flame passion inside the rest.  Keep flame-throwing.  There is bound to be some nice, dry wood around just waiting for a spark.

Unseen

But when you pray, go to your room, close the door, and pray to your Father, who is unseen.  And your Father, who sees what you do in private, will reward you.  (Matt. 6:6)

When you go without food, wash your face and comb your hair, so that others cannot know that you are fasting—only your Father, who is unseen, will know.  And your Father, who sees what you do in private, will reward you.   (Matt. 6:17-18)

I never saw it before.  The Father, who is unseen. 

I started thinking about why it mattered to say that the Father was unseen in this teaching.  Obviously, we know that we don’t see God all the time.  Given.   So why does it matter so much in this passage?

Jesus is teaching about things he wants us to do in secret:  giving, praying, fasting.  They are disciplines that Jesus wants us to keep under wraps-so that even our best friends don’t know what we are doing.  Why does it matter so much?

As I reflected on this, I realized all the blessings that fill my life daily, carefully planned out by my unseen Father, that go unnoticed.  How many times has the Father snuck into my life to throw me a little (or huge!) blessing, and I went on my way, completely oblivious?  The right door opens up for a job opportunity, a word of encouragement from a friend just in time, a little extra cash in a really tight month that comes from an unexpected source,  a trip to the doctor’s that “accidentally” finds something they weren’t even looking for that is in the early stages of developing instead of the last…..there are unseen blessings everywhere that reflect the unseen Father.  Unnoticed.  Undetected.  Overlooked.

And so it seems that Jesus is telling us that we should try to do things the way the Father who is unseen does things.  It might be an anonymous detail that touches the heart, or even something huge and costly that absolutely no one knows about.

It feels like He just wants us to walk a mile or two at His side.  To understand for a moment what it means to do something that brings us nothing except His pleasure-to totally erase the flesh factor from an act of devotion.  We religious types can get confused as to why we even started down this road.  The flesh can learn to masquerade as ministry with a little practice.  So in some of the most flesh-costly acts—prayer, fasting, and giving—He asks us to just out-and-out kill any possibility of getting a kick-back to our ego or reputation.  Don’t even put it on the books.  Slide the money into the basket in a blank envelope.  Don’t explain to anyone why you have to get up at 5 or 6. 

I personally have a long way to go on this one.  I think I need Unseen 101, the remedial track, so don’t call me for advice on how to live this one out.  And I know there are those of you who are out there who are really good at this, but you won’t say anything.  You’ll just smile and move along.