Keys to Thriving (not just Surviving)

Something to think about.
This contribution comes from InterVarsity Christian Fellowship - Emerging Scholars Network.
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Keys to Thriving (not just Surviving)

Last week when Dr. Joe Kearns, MD, Emergency Medicine, presented on Keys of Thriving (Not Just Surviving!) in Medical School and Beyond at PSU-Hershey’s Christian Medical Society lunch lecture, I couldn’t help but think this has ESN written all over it. Below are a few main points which I culled/distilled from his presentation. Let me know what you think of their relevance to your graduate school/professional experience. Feel free to highlight, expand upon, or share a story in relationship to one or several points.

• “Life is going to get better after…” This is just not true. Life doesn’t get any better after you finish your degree, it only changes. Note: it is particularly important to keep in mind the growing complexity of commitments/responsibilities with family, friends, community, church, workplace, professional societies. …

• We must feed upon the Word of God. We need to learn how to live between Genesis and Revelation. As Jesus answered the tempter, by quoting Deuteronomy 8:3, “It is written, ‘Man doesn’t live only on bread. He also lives on every word that comes from the mouth of God’ “ (Matthew 4:4, NIV). Do not forget as you treat your patients [translate to your vocation/profession] that although the creation is broken, God created it all good. Furthermore, part of our mission as members of the Kingdom of God is to restore the creation. And one day God will bring full restoration in a new heaven and new earth.

• Dwell in the wisdom literature, i.e., Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and Song of Solomon. Why? Because in school you’ll get a lot of knowledge, but you’ll not engage with wisdom directly. Soak up the poetry, songs. A lot of life is vanity. Don’t take yourself so seriously. It’s important to keep yourself in perspective.

• Be troubled by the account of the rich young ruler (Matthew 19:16-30). Why? Because being rich is a mixed blessing. The more you have, the more trouble you have. And having everything doesn’t make you happy.

• In summary, the two things necessary to thrive in school and after graduation: read/query the Word of God AND have fellowship with the people of God no matter the work load. If you can’t do the two above, then quit school. Don’t become narrow and seek accolades. Before moving for your job, make sure there is a good match with a local congregation. Don’t focus on making money, limit your hours to be involved with community, church, family. Take time to interact with your patients (translate to your vocation/profession).

• Jesus came to give life and give it abundantly, not just to survive in school. Without a relationship with the Creator, you don’t know who you are.

Written by Tom Grosh
September 9th, 2009 at 10:21 am

Day of Jubilee (A Sunday morning story)

I don't think I know Josh personally. But I know SVC (Sycamore View Church), and this sounds characteristic. It's good to know there are times when Christ is so clearly reflected.
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http://preacherjosh.blogspot.com/2009/07/day-of-jubilee.html

I've never witnessed anything like it. It was bizarre and it was risky.
After preaching from "The Lord's Prayer" with a focus on "Give us this day our daily bread," I ended the sermon by pointing people to the communal function of this prayer. We've often interpreted this phrase as a call to personal reflection about our willingness to trust in God to provide. There is a sermon there; it just isn't the way this prayer functions.
Jesus teaches us to pray, "Give us..."
Jesus teaches us to pray with the world.
The church in Acts 2 and Acts 4 seemed to have been formed by these words of Jesus. They met each other's needs by selling land and homes. They grew because they knew how "to do" compassion.
My prayer this week was that Acts 4 would come to life at SVC today.
And...it did.
We had two baskets up front. Mark Taylor (a good friend and a minster at SVC) was holding one and Stoney Ramsey (a dear friend and a man of compassion) was holding the other. God provided me with $3200 in cash, and I had divided it into 4 piles of $800--2 for the 2 baskets in early service and 2 for the 2 baskets in late service. Then, I invited people to give whatever cash or change they wanted to give, because today we were going to take care of one another.
Then, it got bizarre. Very bizarre.
We have members like many of you do who are struggling with needs. Do they pay for healthcare or do they buy food? Do they pay off credit cards or do they pay the utility bill? Do they buy school supplies or new clothes for the kids?
I invited all who were in need to come and to take handfuls of money. (I know...it sounds crazy, right? I know of a couple of churches who have done something similar, and I was inspired.)
I rebuked the spirit of pride, embarrassment, fear, and shame. We have created a culture where we are unable to say, "I am in need." Needy people are often looked down upon as if they don't work hard enough, or they haven't managed money well, or they just haven't been blessed by God.
I begged those in need to not deprive people from the joy of giving. I pleaded with them to not deprive God of providing for their daily necessities.
And, it happened.
Within the first verse of the first song, people were waiting in line to drop money in the baskets. I was shocked to witness how many people were carrying cash. I had people coming up to me afterwards saying things like, "I never carry cash, but for some reason I went to the ATM yesterday."
I will never forget the lady who came forward with a handful of change and said, "This is all I have, but I want to give it." It was the story of the woman who gave her two coins lived out right in front of me.
We had people dropping checks in the baskets with the "Pay to the order of" left blank. These checks were for $50, $500, $1000 and the memo read, "Acts 4".
As people were putting money in the baskets, others were coming to take money out. There were plenty of tears and even more laughter. Widows were provided for. The needy were taken care of. The people who cried on the way to church today because they didn't know how bills were going to be paid went home rejoicing in the providence of God. We witnessed the power and activity of the Holy Spirit.
We gave away every single penny. We refused to count the money, but I'm assuming we gave away close to $10,000 today. I sent the basket of change home with a 20-year-old college student whose grandmother needed the money.
I am so proud of our people at SVC. I get to preach in front of people every Sunday who have surrendered their lives to the Jesus-story. They teach me something new every week.
Today, at SVC, it was a day of Jubilee. We were leaping for joy because the presence of God was alive and active.

Now, I'm drained. I'm going to sleep.

PS--I wish you could have been at the bank with me when I cashed a $3200 check. I handed it to the lady and I said, "Mam, I need a bunch of cash, preferably in all 20's." She laughed. I told her that it was for a day of Jubilee. Before I knew what was going on, I was explaining to the workers at Bank of America what Jubilee meant for God's people. They couldn't believe that there was a church that was going to give money away to people on a Sunday morning. The workers at the bank went home knowing about the power of God in Acts 4.

Is being Christian "cool"?

Please read this one! It's an incredible post!

http://experimentaltheology.blogspot.com/2009/04/hip-christianity-part-3-christianity-is.html

Hip Christianity: Part 3, Christianity is Cool

Hip and cool are related even though John Leland in Hip: The History argues that hip and cool should be treated as distinct constructs. However, given the relationship between hip and cool we should, at least once in this series, wrestle with the question:

Is Christianity cool?

Similar to hip,...

Pungent

In the college group at Westover, we consider "Pungent" our name. It's an unusual word and right out of Paul's first letter to the Corinthians. (2:15) A few days ago, another blogger made use of our theme.

Fragrant Jesus

2009 March 24

by Mike

Jesus smelled.

That may not roll off the tongue like the more familiar “Jesus grew” or “Jesus wept” — but it’s still true.

Everywhere he went on passion week, he smelled. The good kind of smell, that is. When he went into the upper room, people caught a whiff. Ditto for his appearances before Pilate and the Sanhedrin — even as he walked the Via Dolorosa. He smelled because his friend Mary of Bethany had anointed him with nard, an expensive spice from India. It was strong; it wouldn’t wash right off; and this was a world where people weren’t washing their hair, splashing on aftershave, or dabbing on perfume daily.

Sunday I spoke about that extravagant gesture of Mary in John 12. Afterward, our dear friend Sherry Rankin shared these thoughts before communion — thoughts that called us not only to talk about Jesus but to be the presence of Jesus in this world.

The Aroma of Christ

They tell us that the sense of smell is the sense most connected to memory, and I believe that. My grandmother has been gone for 25 years, but the smell of Ivory soap transports me back to her tiny, neat bathroom. Just a whiff, and I’m 7 years old again, taking a bath in the deep, porcelain tub, drying off with the towels that were stiff and scratchy from being dried on the line.

The smell of coffee and bacon instantly transports me onto the hide-a-bed in grandma’s living room. I can hear her bustling in the kitchen, making a breakfast for my grandfather before he would go to work, long before daylight, at the gas station down the road.

Many smells are associated for me with specific memories:

The chalky smell of rain after a long dry spell takes me back to the back porch of the house in Wyoming where we lived till I was eight years old.

The odor of Johnson’s baby shampoo, and I am rocking my daughter late at night, holding her head against my chin.

Pine trees, and it’s Christmas time. Wood smoke, and I’m camping. The smell of the ocean at night, or of sawdust in a workshop; freshly washed sheets; hay in a barn; my husband’s favorite cologne; someone smoking a rosewood pipe; laundry starch; lavender and rosewater; the lemon polish used on the dark wood of the church pews where my father preached. Even the distant odor of a skunk. All of these smells come packaged with a specific and wonderful memory.

But then there are the bad smells, and the bad memories.

The reek of mildew, and I’m back at work cleaning dormitory bathrooms in the July heat of Arkansas.

The smell of pimento cheese spread immediately reminds me of an unfortunate morning sickness incident over 20 years ago.

And the smell of a certain brand of disinfectant takes me back to the hospital room where my father died.

Smells are so powerful because they contain within them a story; a memory. A whole event, complete with the emotions, good or bad, that went with it.

So what does it mean for us to be “the aroma of Christ”? Who is smelling us, and what memories will that smell encompass? When someone remembers you, what will their association be? As we’ve all heard and known: Actions, like odors, speak louder than words. If we say one thing but do another, it is our actions, not our words, that will leave a stink in other people’s nostrils.

St. Francis of Assisi once said, “Preach the Gospel at all times; only if necessary use words.”

We preach without speaking. We leave an aroma everywhere we go. Let it be the aroma of Christ, poured out upon the feet of others to the eternal glory of God.

(Thanks, Sherry, for letting me put this wonderful communion meditation here.)

http://preachermike.com/2009/03/24/fragrant-jesus

Woes of Weakness

Throughout school, I’ve always wondered what ‘difficulty’ actually looks like. 15.5 years of formal schooling later, the question persists. This is not to say in any way that the studies I’ve had thus far were any less taxing, challenging, or infuriating than my dismal high school sleeping schedule suggests. However, for me, the idea of difficulty has always been very binary: you either get it or you don’t. Perhaps internalizing Master Yoda’s wise words from an early age, physics problems in which I had poured countless hours in complete befuddlement didn’t seem quite so bad once the solution was apparent. Homer didn’t quite seem the transcendent, enlightened savant once his initial barricade of “winged words” was penetrated. Even courses in college that, at the time, were long, bloody, painful wars of attrition seemed almost elementary once the concepts were mastered (circuits come to mind). Furthermore, this suggests that the process of learning only seemed ‘difficult’ as long as I was failing, not understanding, not cutting it. For some strange reason, hindsight is always 'easy.' Where then does ‘difficulty’ live? Does she only take up residence in the present (gender assignment completely arbitrary I assure you)?

In 2 Corinthians 12, Paul says that, “To keep me from becoming conceited because of these surpassingly great revelations, there was given me a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weakness, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weakness, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong” (NIV). For me, the most curious part of this assertion is in the last line; Paul groups together weakness, insults, hardships, indicating that this is the cross we must bear. However, there arises a qualitative discrepancy that I can’t seem to reconcile.

Upon closer examination of this laundry list of struggles, it appears that insults, hardships, and persecutions are all external while both weaknesses and difficulties are deeply internal. For me, the two are worlds apart. While the external persecutions that we face in America are certainly insidious, subtle, and conniving, I certainly don’t fear for my physical safety when attending church. The focus of my dilemma however is on the internal. Weakness and difficulty often like to hold hands and play together. While weakness describes my inability to act/overcome/understand, difficulty perhaps then describes the nature of the need to perform the very same action. Paul himself describes this internal struggle he faces in Romans 7: “I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do.” What Paul wants to do is obviously very difficult and where he fails, instead doing what he hates doing, is where lies his weakness.

What then is weakness? What is difficulty? Is it only the storm of internal conflict that rages when I am struggling to do what I know is right and then abates once I make the right choice, then relegated as ‘easy’? Or does weakness depend on my continual failure? Do I understand my own weakness by how persistently I “have the desire to do what is good, but […] cannot carry it out”? If difficulty ends when understanding/action begins, does boasting “all the more gladly about my weaknesses” require my ongoing inability to perform? I know that when I overcome evil, it is not I, but Christ living in me who does it. But if this is true, where is my weakness?

bit of Eternity

This is from a friend of mine.

bit of Eternity

July 23, 2005

My paternal Grandma lost her sister about 15 years ago. She told me often how hard it was to let her go because they were so close. She told me once about a dream she had about Jodi and in this dream she could feel Jodi’s flesh and even smell her. She said that the dream was refreshing and brought her much comfort.

About a year after Nathan died I laid awake, finally fully aware in one instant that he was completely gone and that I was to for the rest of my life be lonesome for his touch. I wanted so badly to feel him and see him again.

I remembered my Grandma’s dream and begged God for the same small bit of relief. It was some months later that I woke up with tears soaking my face and the feeling of a deep something inside of me that I couldn’t place.

It was one of those dreams that sits right at the front of your brain all day and just on the tip of your tongue until finally, a word is spoken, an image is flashed and the memory of the dream comes flooding back. I was on the phone with Mom when she said something that triggered my memory.

I had dreamed that I saw Nathan. He was in a building that was under construction and he was wearing a suit and a hard hat. I knew somehow that he was in charge of the construction, like a real estate mogul or some sort. He didn’t say anything to me and I didn’t say anything to him, we just embraced.

I could feel every muscle in his arms and I could even hear the deep thudding of his heart. I started to weep, loudly. I cried with a loud, mournful and yet joyous wail that I could actually see reverberating off the walls of the building and then outside into the world. I saw the echo of my cry repel off canyons and skim the waters of the ocean. In one instant I saw the surface of the entire universe, and I saw it all get bathed in my grief and my joy.

When I woke up I had this sense calm and peace that had no tangible identity. It was as though I knew the truth, but I wasn’t sure what the truth was; a feeling of all at once wholeness and longing.

At the remembering of the dream, I realized the word for what I was feeling: Eternity.

That was the feeling deep in my gut that gave me that peace. For just an instant I felt Nathan, I smelled him and I felt the eternity in which he waits. Eternity is the only comfort the grieving have. It is the promise that death is only for a little while and grief knows an end.

I am not sure if any of this makes sense. I just really needed to write about this dream.

Christmas... Hope

Here's a little Christmas hope. This is the kind of football I'm trying to teach my son to play.

There are some games where cheering for the other side feels better than winning.

by Rick Reilly

They played the oddest game in high school football history last month down in Grapevine, Texas.

It was Grapevine Faith vs. Gainesville State School and everything about it was upside down. For instance, when Gainesville came out to take the field, the Faith fans made a 40-yard spirit line for them to run through.

Did you hear that? The other team's fans?

They even made a banner for players to crash through at the end. It said, "Go Tornadoes!" Which is also weird, because Faith is the Lions.

It was rivers running uphill and cats petting dogs. More than 200 Faith fans sat on the Gainesville side and kept cheering the Gainesville players on—by name.

"I never in my life thought I'd hear people cheering for us to hit their kids," recalls Gainesville's QB and middle linebacker, Isaiah. "I wouldn't expect another parent to tell somebody to hit their kids. But they wanted us to!"

And even though Faith walloped them 33-14, the Gainesville kids were so happy that after the game they gave head coach Mark Williams a sideline squirt-bottle shower like he'd just won state. Gotta be the first Gatorade bath in history for an 0-9 coach.

But then you saw the 12 uniformed officers escorting the 14 Gainesville players off the field and two and two started to make four. They lined the players up in groups of five—handcuffs ready in their back pockets—and marched them to the team bus. That's because Gainesville is a maximum-security correctional facility 75 miles north of Dallas. Every game it plays is on the road.

This all started when Faith's head coach, Kris Hogan, wanted to do something kind for the Gainesville team. Faith had never played Gainesville, but he already knew the score. After all, Faith was 7-2 going into the game, Gainesville 0-8 with 2 TDs all year. Faith has 70 kids, 11 coaches, the latest equipment and involved parents. Gainesville has a lot of kids with convictions for drugs, assault and robbery—many of whose families had disowned them—wearing seven-year-old shoulder pads and ancient helmets.

So Hogan had this idea. What if half of our fans—for one night only—cheered for the other team? He sent out an email asking the Faithful to do just that. "Here's the message I want you to send:" Hogan wrote. "You are just as valuable as any other person on planet Earth."

Some people were naturally confused. One Faith player walked into Hogan's office and asked, "Coach, why are we doing this?"

And Hogan said, "Imagine if you didn't have a home life. Imagine if everybody had pretty much given up on you. Now imagine what it would mean for hundreds of people to suddenly believe in you."

Next thing you know, the Gainesville Tornadoes were turning around on their bench to see something they never had before. Hundreds of fans. And actual cheerleaders!

"I thought maybe they were confused," said Alex, a Gainesville lineman (only first names are released by the prison). "They started yelling 'DEE-fense!' when their team had the ball. I said, 'What? Why they cheerin' for us?'"

It was a strange experience for boys who most people cross the street to avoid. "We can tell people are a little afraid of us when we come to the games," says Gerald, a lineman who will wind up doing more than three years. "You can see it in their eyes. They're lookin' at us like we're criminals. But these people, they were yellin' for us! By our names!"

Maybe it figures that Gainesville played better than it had all season, scoring the game's last two touchdowns. Of course, this might be because Hogan put his third-string nose guard at safety and his third-string cornerback at defensive end. Still.

After the game, both teams gathered in the middle of the field to pray and that's when Isaiah surprised everybody by asking to lead. "We had no idea what the kid was going to say," remembers Coach Hogan. But Isaiah said this: "Lord, I don't know how this happened, so I don't know how to say thank You, but I never would've known there was so many people in the world that cared about us."

And it was a good thing everybody's heads were bowed because they might've seen Hogan wiping away tears.

As the Tornadoes walked back to their bus under guard, they each were handed a bag for the ride home—a burger, some fries, a soda, some candy, a Bible and an encouraging letter from a Faith player.

The Gainesville coach saw Hogan, grabbed him hard by the shoulders and said, "You'll never know what your people did for these kids tonight. You'll never, ever know."

And as the bus pulled away, all the Gainesville players crammed to one side and pressed their hands to the window, staring at these people they'd never met before, watching their waves and smiles disappearing into the night.

Anyway, with the economy six feet under and Christmas running on about three and a half reindeer, it's nice to know that one of the best presents you can give is still absolutely free.

Hope.

Walking and Talking

I remain totally convinced that when human sperm penetrates human egg, you get a new human immediately. And at that point, it's Life that trumps Liberty and the Pursuit of Happyness every time. (Yes, it's misspelled.) The order was intentional.

Walking and Talking
Pro-Choice as Rhetoric

December 3, 2008

The smartest thing “abortion rights” advocates ever did was to coin the phrase “pro-choice.” That shifted our attention towards the act of choosing and away from what was being chosen—the dismemberment of a human being in utero.

Eventually, however, at some point, “choice” has to go from mere rhetoric to an actual deed. Somebody has to actually perform an abortion if “freedom of choice” is to become a reality, as one medical student learned recently.

The November 23rd issue of the Washington Post Magazine told the story of a medical student named Lesley Wojick. She plans to specialize in obstetrics and gynecology and is unapologetically “pro-choice.” She even helped organize a “day-long abortion seminar” at her medical school.

At the seminar, a medical director for Planned Parenthood of Maryland asked the attendees, “How pro-choice are you?” She asked them what their families and neighbors would think of their performing abortions.

Wojick was determined to “walk the talk,” to make her “actions to be consistent with [her] words.” She thought that if “pro-choice” doctors like her didn’t do this, “the right to abortion might be rendered meaningless.”

Wojick then attempted to “walk the walk.” But not for long. During her obstetrics rotation, she realized that “vacuuming out a uterus and counting the parts of the fetus” wasn’t for her. “Somebody else . . . would become an abortion provider. But it wouldn’t be her.”

It’s not surprising. Once you get past the rhetoric of choice, what’s left is a bloody and, for most people, disreputable business. As Wojick discovered, even people who insist that it’s a right want little to do with the actual practice or the practitioners.

Someone else who understands what abortions really mean is Stojan Adasevic, a Serbian doctor who performed 48,000 abortions in 26 years. Studying medicine in communist Yugoslavia, he was taught that abortion was simply removing a piece of tissue.

Then he began to have nightmares about a field filled with children playing and laughing. When they saw him, they ran away in fear. In the dream, a man in a black and white habit explained to Adasevic that these were the children he had aborted. The man in the habit was St. Thomas Aquinas.

Adasevic insists that he had never heard of Aquinas. In any case, he knew what he had to do. He stopped performing abortions. What he calls his “conversion” came at a cost—the then-communist government “cut his salary in half, fired his daughter from her job, and did not allow his son to enter the university.”

Today, Adasevic is a leader of the pro-life movement in Serbia and persuaded authorities to air the pro-life classic, The Silent Scream, on television. Not surprisingly, he has returned to the “Orthodox faith of his childhood.”

These stories are reminders that rhetoric can only obscure the truth for so long. Then those on both sides of the abortion debate will have to decide how to “walk the talk.”

http://www.breakpoint.org/listingarticle.asp?ID=10635

Prop 8 Post

Posted something about Prop 8 on my blog: http://livingonapearl.blogspot.com/

Please feel free to comment here or there if you wish. I posted it there for the sake of some of my church, and even non-church, buddies.

Persecution is heating up.

Glory, Holiness, and Suffering

Confession: Sometimes I post here because I know only our little group ever looks at this, if even you.

I've long wanted to write about how glory, holiness, and suffering collide. Here is a story that illuminates it: Punk Rock Mommy. You see, we cannot solidly be who we are called to be, His holy ones, until we know where we stand in God's eyes, a display of the glory of God. And that will not be clear until we see our suffering in the proper light.

Glory: worshipful praise, honor, and thanksgiving; to exult with triumph, and rejoice proudly. YES! Highest praise only accompanies sacrifice. Inherant talent isn't sufficient. Pain is required. Even fanciful dreams of our grand requiem flirt in the imagination. But supreme praise is hoarded for supreme self effacement even when thrust upon us. War gruesomely offers examples in rows even inspiring Glory. Mother Teresa's name requires no introduction, engenders deep respect, because she poured out her life selflessly to the very end.

But at the crossroads of glory and affliction, you find holiness. (No! Not piety! Though perhaps a bit in its root, kindness.) In ASL, with palm up and palm down the motion swipes across from heal to fingertips leaving one with the image of cutting. A removal or separation, or to be set apart, to be made unique and special is the reality of the Holy. Jesus sits atop that mountain too. Talk about weird and wonderful, He defied normality in every sense. He trusted the Father to make Him. And the Father sculpted Christ into the perfect man that Adam failed to achieve. And Peter knew it wholeheartedly. Pete's first letter explores sacrifice, death, holiness, and glory. Amazingly, Peter uses Jesus suffering as an example with his point to encourage us in our time of trial. For those who dare to stand outside the World's norm will pay the price, but be encouraged by Jesus' example because the glory of God is completely worth it.

Praise be to the lamb that was slain! Be glory and power and strength. Hallelujah. Amen.

Christianity at the Visitor's Center

Long time, no post.

Here's a vision for our lives. But it requires risk, courage, and faith.

Christianity at the Visitor's Center
Just Courage

September 18, 2008

By Mark Earley.

In his new book, Just Courage, Gary Haugen, president of International Justice Mission, recounts a childhood trip to Mt. Rainier with his father and two brothers. When his dad suggested that they try to reach base camp, 10-year-old Haugen wasn't sure he could make it. His father reassured him he'd be there to help. But Haugen opted to stay in the cushy comfort of the visitor's center. As he writes, "I went on the trip, but missed the adventure."

Haugen uses this to illustrate a widespread malady in the Church today. Christians often choose safety and comfort over courage. We don't believe that risk and suffering may be part of God's plan for our lives. But in cutting ourselves off from the risk, explains Haugen, we also miss the adventure, the joy, and the experience of seeing God meet us at our point of need.

Haugen—the 2007 recipient of BreakPoint's William Wilberforce Award—speaks from experience. He and his colleagues at International Justice Mission take risks for God every day. In some of the world's darkest regions they liberate women and young girls from sexual slavery, families from forced labor, and communities from widespread injustice.

Haugen tells the story of one young man, Sean Litton, a brilliant lawyer, who was at the top of his game professionally when he decided to join IJM's staff. According to Sean, he wasn't afraid of joining the on-the-ground work in the Philippines. But he was afraid of losing that competitive career edge when he came back. But Sean came to decide, "If I can rescue one child from the unspeakable horrors of prostitution, it would outweigh any sacrifice."

Sean got his wish and a lot more. Through his efforts, he and his staff rescued hundreds of women and girls from sexual exploitation.

He knew it was all worth it when, as he says, "I looked into the eyes of a fifteen-year-old girl who had been brutally raped two years previously and no one had done anything to help her: I was able to tell her, 'God loves you. I know he loves you because he sent me here to help you.''

As a result, the man who raped this young girl is now serving a 20-year prison term, while she is now studying social work at a local university. She hopes to help other abused women one day.

Stories like this should thrill you, and I recommend you get yourself a copy of Haugen's book. But, like Haugen, I want to encourage you not just to listen to the stories and be moved, but to join the adventure.

Maybe you'll volunteer your expertise with International Justice Mission. Maybe you'll help to break the chains of men and women enslaved overseas. Maybe you'll move out of your comfort zone to share the Gospel with millions of incarcerated men and women right here in America, helping them loose their chains of addiction and spiritual bondage, helping them reintegrate into society once they leave prison behind.

Perhaps there is some other way that God is asking you to take a risk for Him. But either way, I hope you won't be content to stay put. It's time we all left the visitor's center.

http://www.breakpoint.org/listingarticle.asp?ID=9317

Are we able to pray, "God, help us avoid the rich young man's plight"?

Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani!

"My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?" We all know the words Jesus said while he was dying on the cross. Here's the question: Why would Jesus say that? What was he feeling? What was his purpose? Countless speculations have been made online, some including:

1. When Jesus took on the sin of the world, God turned away because He cannot look upon sin. This means that Jesus was left by Himself to suffer. (Although this explanation is discredited by Deut 4:31, 2 Chronicles 15:2, and Psalm 37:25,28, all which show that "God does not forsake the righteous.")
2. When Jesus made the call, He wanted the people to recognize that He was referring to all of Psalm 22, not just the first verse. The people would recognize the quote and later would read all the psalm. Then, they would know that what had just happened had been prophesied long before.
3. In the introduction to his translation of the Bible, George Lamsa criticizes the various versions in their rendering of Matthew 27: 46. He points out that what they say is in contradiction to the King James Version of John 16: 32 and several instances of the Old Testament (which he does not state). His translation includes:

Psalm 22: 1
My God, my God, why hast thou let me to live? and yet thou hast delayed my salvation from me, because of the words of my folly.
Matthew 27: 46
And about the ninth hour, Jesus cried out with a loud voice and said, Eli, Eli, lemana shabakthani! My God, my God, for this was I spared!
Footnote: This was my destiny.
Mark 15: 34
And at the ninth hour, Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, Eli, Eli, lemana shabakthani! which means, My God, my God, for this was I spared.
Footnote: "which means" used by Mark to explain translation from one Aramaic dialect to another.
Luke 23: 46
Then Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, O my Father, into thy hands I commit my spirit. He said this and it was finished.
John 19: 30
When Jesus drank the vinegar, he said, It is fulfilled; and he bowed his head and gave up the spirit.

(Source)

I keep reflecting onto why we use phrases such as "why have you abandoned me" and the times that I have accused God of exactly that, even though my spirit knows that it is not possible. We know that Jesus was baptized to "fulfill all righteousness" (Matt 3:15) even though He didn't need to wash away any sins, but was fulfilling Scripture the only purpose for his cry?

I wonder if Jesus was really in despair. I wonder if Jesus was expressing an accusation to describe his frustration. I wonder if Jesus doubted God for a split second of his decision to sacrifice his Son. I wonder if Jesus was angry at God. I wonder all these things because all these things I feel toward God- despair, frustration, doubt, and anger- and yet, my Spirit knows that God is in control. Does Jesus truly understand this battle within? And can this battle be attributed to humanness (which Jesus would have endured) or just lack of faith (which Jesus would not have endured...or would he)? And is this kind of "little faith" a sin?

Apologetics...

Hi everyone!

Recently I've had a very long conversation with a friend who is not a Christian and he raised some very important questions that I do not have the answers to. He is willing to believe the bible (although he doesn't yet), so it's okay and desired that the answer to these questions be backed with bible verses. I thought maybe all of you could help me. Perhaps these questions don't have answers.. but I don't know this for sure. Actually, these are statements that need to be counteracted (and perhaps the statement itself is not spoken in a correct manner)

1) If God created us in His image, than He is not ALL good.. because we are evil. If He created Lucifer, and Lucifer is evil, than God is evil. Questions: Biblically, were angels also created in God's image (or just the humans)? We can explain that humans are evil because we fell prey to the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil and that God didn't create us evil. However, He created the tree... and according to the bible everything He created is good. But the tree wasn't good... the tree was the knowledge of evil. So, DID He create evil? Or is evil just the absence of good? In Genesis, when it says that "and He saw that it was good", does it mean that it was "well done, properly created" or that it was "good good, pure and likable good"??? The verse I have found to reference that it was good good is 1 Timothy 4:4... do you all think this is confirmation as well? Lastly, I know we've discussed in this blog before the nature of good and evil (and if evil is the absence of good)... but I don't think the verse which indicates God allows us to go through tribulations to refine us actually proves He CREATED evil... although it does prove He allows evil (or rather, the absence of good in my opinion.. because He gave us choice).

2) Was Lucifer thrown out of heaven before the creation of man? Can we prove this biblically? Was the snake in the Garden of Eden possessed by the Devil? Or was this just a cunning snake, the most intelligent of all the animals (which perhaps had itself already ate from that same tree)?

Ok, I think these are all for now.

God Bless,
Evelyn

Possible answers to "Troubling Thoughts"

If you read comments on here, you might remember my asking 2 questions: "Does Christianity demean life?" and "Does Christianity hold a lower value on life than other worldviews and specifically atheism?" The first is answered elsewhere. And below is a response to the second. Consider this carefully and honestly.

Theology at the Theater
Atonement

February 21, 2008

The film Atonement won a Golden Globe for Best Drama and has been nominated for an Academy Award for Best Picture. It may look like just another period drama, but there is something in this film that is resonating deeply with audiences. It might be the love story or the performances or even the look of the film, but I would venture that it is something deeper: the way it touches on one of our deepest spiritual needs. (Before I go on, you need to know that I am not recommending the film. It deserves its "R" rating. But I do think the film's themes are having an impact, and Christians should be ready to discuss them.)

The story revolves around a little girl named Briony Tallis, who tells a lie. She claims she saw a man who molested her cousin one night, when it was actually too dark for her to be sure of what she saw. For reasons of her own, Briony is convinced that she really knows who committed the crime and that she is doing the right thing by swearing that she saw him do it. But her lie sends an innocent man to prison and lets the real rapist go free.

Her guilt, as she comes to realize what she has done, haunts Briony for the rest of her life. The title of the film, though, is deeply ironic, because although she tries in her own way to atone, all her attempts fall short.

It makes the story all the more poignant when you learn that Ian McEwan, author of the critically acclaimed novel on which the film is based, is an atheist. In a recent interview, McEwan told the New Republic, "It is crucial that people who do not have a sky god and do not have a set of supernatural beliefs, assert their belief in moral values and in love and in the transcendence that they might experience in landscape or art or music or sculpture or whatever." He continues, "Since they do not believe in an afterlife, it makes them give more valence to life itself."

But when you apply McEwan's reasoning to his own story, the resulting principle is unbearable. Briony's victim had the only life he could ever know taken away from him. But Briony's plight is even worse. She is never able to earn forgiveness from the people she wronged, and, if McEwan's beliefs are correct, there is no God to forgive her for her disobedience to the "moral values." She has, as the novel suggests, played God with people's lives, but she has neither God's power of omniscience nor His power to bring good out of evil.

As his story suggests, McEwan's universe—as noble as he tries to make it sound—offers no second chances for those who get it wrong. Atonement, the theological doctrine that for Christians provides the path to a restored relationship with God, here becomes only an elusive, mocking wish that can never be fulfilled.

Although McEwan's atheism is not spelled out in the story, the viewer comes away with a sense of tragedy and waste that reflects the author's ideas, perhaps even better than he knows. But the film also makes us face our own desperate need for atonement and forgiveness. It just goes to show, yet again, that the truth of the human condition and the law of God are written on our hearts, no matter what we tell ourselves we believe.

If this still is not enough, try the further thoughts found on The Point.

Finally, I often find that I should pay closer attention to atheists' own words, particularly the more qualified ladies and gents. The disparity in how our beliefs play out in the real world becomes more apparent. This from Peter Singer is a pretty good example.

I'm still concocting a response for Kenaz first question: "Does there need to be a BAD for every GOOD or is BAD only the absence of GOOD? If there is no hardship, then there is no discipline, and thus no true sonship. (Hebrews 12:7)"

Two Empowering Verses

In light of recent events including the absolute ownage by both my engineering classes and other unpleasantries throughout the week, here are two verses that i've "meditated" on:

"He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak.
Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall;
but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles;
they will run and not grow weary,
they will walk and not be faint."

Isaiah 40: 29-31 (future tattoo)

"Now when my heart is troubled, and what shall i say? 'Father, save me from this hour'? No, it was for this very reason I came to this hour. Father, glorify your name!"

John 12: 27 (emphasis added)

Why Would I Need Salvation?

Not referencing any Biblical verses, why would someone like me need to be saved? I don't murder, cheat, steal, smoke, hate, cuss, commit adultery, or covet. I'm obedient, polite, respectful, helpful, loving, serving, and I even give a buck to the hobo down the street once in a while. I'm happy with my friends, family, and position in life. Sure, I'd like to be rich and not have to worry about a job or money for the rest of my life, but I believe that when a door closes on one opportunity, a window opens somewhere else. I know I'm lucky to have grown up with both my mom and my dad, to have received thousands of dollars worth of stuff over the years, and to have enough resources to live an above-average lifestyle while making $0 a year.

Sure being a Christian has its benefits. There is love, joy, and peace in a Christian household. There is patience, kindness, and goodness in a fellowship of believers. There is faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control grounded in a belief that God will, essentially, provide the next meal. But how is that different from a Jewish household or a Muslim household? What difference is there between believing in Jesus (and that he was raised to life) and just believing in his teaching as a good prophet?

Basically, what have I done since birth that I should feel some sort of remorse for? Yes, I've fibbed here and there, and gossiped during that seventh grade slumber party, but I've reconciled all of that with the people whom it hurt. What evidence is there (not referencing the Bible) that I need to "make right" with God? What evidence is there that God was hurt? What evidence is there that I, personally (not mankind), need to be saved? And saved from what?

Really Paying the Price

Have you ever wondered about passages like Exodus 22:16-17? This article might be helpful.

Melting Hearts
Crime and Accountability

April 2, 2008

As she sat in her boyfriend's car, a young Texas woman named Dee Dee Washington was shot and killed—an innocent bystander of a drug deal gone bad. For 14 years, the man who fired the shot, Ron Flowers, never admitted to killing her—not until, that is, Ron was admitted to the InnerChange Freedom Initiative® (IFI), the prison program launched by Prison Fellowship in Texas.

IFI applies principles of restorative justice by confronting offenders with the harm they have done to their victims. During one of IFI's Victim Awareness sessions, Ron finally admitted that he did commit the murder, and he prayed that his victim's family would forgive him. He wrote a letter to Dee Dee's mother, Mrs. Anna Washington, expressing his repentance and deep remorse.

For her part, Mrs. Washington had written angry letters every year to the parole board, urging them to deny Ron parole. But when Ron confessed, Mrs. Washington felt an overwhelming conviction that she should meet the man who had killed her daughter.

Prison Fellowship staff carefully prepared Mrs. Washington and Ron for the meeting. Mrs. Washington finally could ask the questions that virtually every victim wants to ask: "Why did you do it?" "How did it happen?" Ron reassured her that her daughter was not involved in the drug deal. As Ron told her about the day that he killed her daughter, Mrs. Washington took his hands in hers and said, "I forgive you."

I was in Houston for Ron's graduation from IFI. As Ron crossed the stage to receive his diploma, Mrs. Washington rose from her seat and walked over to embrace Ron, the man who had murdered her daughter. She then told all of us in the audience, "This young man is my adopted son."

After Ron's release, Mrs. Washington helped him adjust to the community, sat with him at church, had him over for dinner, and even stood by him when he was married.

Only God could bring about such reconciliation and healing.

Unlike our criminal justice system, which focuses solely on public safety and order, restorative justice is also about repairing the harm caused by crime. An important part of the reparative process is victim-offender reconciliation. These meetings allow "victims, offenders, and community members" to discuss what happened and its "aftermath"—to seek repentance and forgiveness.

This is more than an ill-defined sense of "closure." Coming face-to-face with victims can cause offenders to think about their actions and their consequences in a way that punishment alone never can.

Anyone who has spent time around inmates knows that many view themselves as victims—something that is harder to do when you have spoken to the real victims. Research suggests that inmates who meet with their victims are more likely to pay court-ordered restitution than those who do not.

You see, as I have said countless times, crime is a moral and spiritual issue. That being the case, rehabilitation can happen only when offenders see their offenses as more than rule-breaking: They must see them as a transgression against God and other people.

While promoting order is the God-given role of government, there is more to justice than police, prosecutors, and prison. Justice also means repairing the harm caused by crime, which requires going where government cannot go—to the human heart.

A Non-intuitive View on Relationships

Why I Don't Watch Grays Anatomy

"You deserve to be with somebody who makes you happy, somebody who's not gonna complicate your life, somebody who won't hurt you." -from the television show Gray's Anatomy

It's possible that I'm taking this quote completely out of context (I came across it on someone's blog as a sort of "credo of love"), but it seems like one of those things we think we deserve that really we wouldn't even want.

Now, you don't want to be with someone who is always making you unhappy or someone who is always complicating your life unnecessarily or someone who is always hurting you.

But I am married to the most amazing person I know and the idea that all she does is make me happy or that she never complicates my life or that she never hurts me...well, that's absurd. If that were my ideal, I'd be with someone far less interesting and exciting or else I'd be someone far less interesting or exciting.

You folks that seek out chaos and confuse it with love, I'm not talking to you.

But you folks who think love is the final scene in "Sleepless In Seattle", I am talking to you. All that scene is is two strangers in love with the idea of being in love.

Give me someone who makes me happy and also makes me so much more. Give me someone worth complicating my life over. Give me someone I care enough about to be hurt by as well as someone who loves me enough to not want to hurt me.

Give me the love that doesn't feel like work, but takes work nonetheless. Give me a third choice besides Gray's Anatomy drama and Gray's Anatomy platitudes. Give me the challenges of real life love.

Credit: PastorKes at "The Dope Is That There's Still Hope".

Troubling Thoughts

So I often feel like I spend more time thinking about the seeming inconsistencies with the tenets of Biblical philosophy than I do about all the happy good things about being a Christian. Every time I run into one of these troubling questions I write it down, think about it, and usually let it simmer. Nevertheless, I frequently go back and see how my viewpoint has changed. While I normally am able to reconcile to at least a passable extent most of the initial disconnect I encounter, there are two questions which I feel have plagued my thoughts more frequently than others:

Hebrews 12:7 states that we must "endure hardship as discipline. For what son is not disciplined by his father? If you are not disciplined (and everyone undergoes discipline), then you are illegitimate children and not true sons." We can only interpret this, as far as I can see, in one of two ways. The first implies that the father causes this hardship in the same way that the father causes discipline. If this were so, then how can we say hardships (that is discouragement, depression, anger etc.) are not then caused by God but by Satan? Who is then the father? The other interpretation is that God allows hardship as a matter of necessity so through hardship, we may be disciplined and become "true sons." Although this interpretation seems to be more in line with conventional credo, it is not any more comforting. The crux of this interpretation stands on the fact that hardship, like discipline, is absolutely essential. If we are to believe that all hardship is born of Satan, then are we to say that Satan is essential? Does there need to be a BAD for every GOOD or is BAD only the absence of GOOD? If there is no hardship, then there is no discipline, and thus no true sonship. How then does hardship not come from God for, without it, we could not be called "sons of God"?

And even more troubling in my mind:

Opponents of atheism claim that atheism inherently diminishes the value of human life. The claim of absolute nihility of God and therefore of meaning or purpose in life certainly supports this accusation. After all, if the forces-that-be orchestrated matter to, by an infinite series of coin flips, give one species on one planet in one galaxy to possess an itching need to know why it has been given such a gift and the search ultimately come up fruitless, then indeed life is rather pointless. Nevertheless, the question then is doesn't Christianity trivialize the human life even more? Doesn't scripture say that "you are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes"? If our ultimate goal is reunion with God and that reunion is only achieved by corporal death, are we not then diminishing the value of human life? The mothers on the news who intentionally kill their young children are seen, rightfully, so as abominations of society. However what can be said about the mother who, rather than risking her children growing up and turning away from God, children who will stumble in the righteous race and are very likely to be sucked in by the world, pays the ultimate sacrifice by ensuring her children's salvation while sacrificing her own?

These thoughts have been bothering me a lot. The second one is largely from this man's refutation of Lee Strobel's A Case for Faith (http://www.infidels.org/library/modern/paul_doland/strobel.html#obj4).

Any input would be appreciated!

Leaving your Mark vs. Leaving a Bruise

When I stop & think, I recall times that I've laid people to waste. No, I wasn't a great football player. No... I mean with my words. Honestly, I don't remember hurting people when I was young. Maybe I just don't remember my youth with clarity and honesty. Unfortunately, most of the pain I remember inflicting has come more recently. Perhaps this is because my words now weigh more than they once did because of the much greater intensity of relationship I now experience. Perhaps I'm worse, less thoughtful, less holy, than I once was. Perhaps my eyes are being opened more clearly to what I say and how I say it. I'm not sure. But I feel like I've been leaving a lot of bruises lately.

When I stop & think, it is easier to pick out the times that I think I've left a positive mark. I remember a study partner who confided her pain with hometown churches. Just discussing those hard times and giving comfort was worth the time. I remember first comforting my (then future) wife regarding fearful revelations being made to her. And there are other moments I've honestly and openly attempted to encourage and uplift. I've even been told of a moment I gave loving correction, which was rejected by the receiver and reported to another, who properly took those painful words (about him) with humility as an exhortation, and urged him on to reconcile with God. He's still God's child.

Do you easily forget leaving bruises? And easily remember leaving your mark? I do. Why is that? Is it extraordinary pride? Or is it God's grace, his free offer to remove guilt? I honestly don't know.