Refugee

Hebrews 6:18 So that by two unchangeable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled for refuge might have strong encouragement to hold fast to the hope set before us. 19 We have this as a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul, a hope that enters into the inner place behind the curtain, 20 where Jesus has gone as a forerunner on our behalf, having become a high priest forever in the order of Melchizidek.

Last February I had the honor of meeting Christian Nkulikiye in Togo, Africa. Christian serves with Vapor ministries, a group expending themselves for the lost, starving and neglected. As I got to know Christian over the ten days I was there, it became apparent that He was one of the strongest disciple makers I had bumped into on this planet. His journey through life had been a bumpy one that began with him almost dying as an infant. Later in his life, a genocidal war broke out in his home country of Rwanda. He was a Tustsi and the rival Hutus began a slaughter that ended up with a death toll of around 800,000. As the war raged, Christian's family fled Rwanda on foot. He recounts a time when they were surrounded by Hutus in a swamp and they were forced to be still and quiet for three days. During that time his grandfather died as a result of Pneumonia, but the danger outside kept the family standing paralyzed with fear until the murderous Hutus had given up their manhunt for blood. There are many details to the story, but their flight for refuge was long. They walked through seven countries and finally ended up in Kenya. Christian and his family set up life in one of the largest slums on the planet and he turned to soccer for relief. God sent Christian a wife to be named Seline who introduced him to Christ and later a White boy named Micah (founder of Vapor) who discipled him unto the Lord. God is using him mightily in Africa, and now in Haiti, as the refugee is now a missionary! When you talk and walk with Christian, his passion and desire for God bubble up and out of him naturally 24/7. His life's story seems as vivid as those found in the Hebrews 11 hall of faith. Christian knows what it means to flea for refuge from this world and he knows what it means to flea for Refuge into Christ's arms. I thank God for Him!

When I read through the words in Hebrews six above, I feel the weightiness of them as the author intimately details out a Christ follower's flight to refuge in God. When I examine the depth of the meaning and apply it intimately into my own life it is convicting in a righteous and helpful way.

Refugees, you see, don't get to take anything with them and when they get to their place of Refuge they don't have any rights to citizenship, unless the local authorities grant it to them. Refugees arrive in their new land meek, powerless and empty handed. Refugees flea to a new place as they know the place they are fleeing form equals destruction for them and the people and things they value. The flight of a refugee is fueled by a faith that senses the place they are headed is the only path that leads them away from destruction. I believe that is physically what Christian felt as as a physical refugee as he left Rwanda in 1994, and I know that is what drove Him as a spiritual refugee in 2004 when he surrendered it all to Christ.

Now take that and apply it to yourself and others you know around you. Does it seem like we are refugees in Christ? Does it seem like we are totally and gratefully abandoning the World? Do we eagerly seek to walk by Faith into a humble walk with Christ as a refugee, powerless and humble?

It honestly seems to me like we want our cake and eat it too! At the core of my soul, I believe there is a lie that says you can have both! It says you can be committed to God and the world. Kind of a hybrid faith that pulls some biblical precepts over into the current American culture and just proceeds along that path with just a higher moral compass. I know because I bought that lie for a long time in my life.

I believe that God is looking for refugees from the present world system that come to Him broken and desperate. I see all around me people that know that they should dive into God's grace, but just can't let go of the provision of the World!

Do you see yourself in the refuge of Christ? Are you seeking refuge as a refugee from the World or hoping to meet Him in it? Christ came and is now the anchor to God for His faithful followers. The hope that is spoke of is one of rest, identity and peace. We will not find it looking in this world, only in The Kingdom of Christ!

Divine Currency

John 5:41 I do not receive Glory from People

Just for fun, a friend of mine will hand a cashier a foreign currency from his travels with a stright face when they tell him his total bill. Teenage cashiers looking at a Honduran Limpera, and trying to figure out a cordial way to communicate their thoughts of "what is this nut thinking?", always provides some awkward tension. That tension is relieved when the cashier says, "um, we don't accept this, sir", and my friend greets them with a tender smile and laughs. It can spring forth a conversation about Honduras, Faith, travels, or other things, but usually brings smiles from both sides as the daily monotany is broken with a little levity.

Jesus says in John 5 above, that he does not accept any "currency" that is not originally from God when it comes to worship. Rather it be in prayer, mission, singing or any other effort, He can not accept something that He did not first give. Just as a Honduran limpera will has no value at my local chik fil a, anything we try to conjure up aside from the spirit's leading and empowering that is anchored in the Word of God is useless in the Kingdom. Why? If it is not Holy and divine, then it is tainted and wordly. If it is of this created, fallen world, we should not expect a perfect, Holy God to acccept it. Not only will he not accept it, but He will hate it as it is sin.

This can be a little confusing until we understand how this undergirds the mission of Jesus. Jesus' divine nature was wrapped temporarily in human flesh. It is in the sacrifice of His perfect Holy life that the father is pleased. It is in the mediation of Christ, that we bring acceptable worship to the father. Why? Because we are simply re-directing His own Glory back to Him as we exhalt Christ. The Glory we praise is not our own, or even from our own world, but is simply a taste of the Holy God that He graciously gives us. As we encounter Him and wonder at His majesty, acceptable worship in the form of redirected Glory points back to the Lamb on the Throne and honors the triune God.

So what is it that you bring in your prayers and worship? Routines, memorized words. dutiful obligations? Unless our transformed Hearts are simply mirrors of praise that point His Glory back to Him based and fueled upon the work of Christ, it is unacceptable "currency" to our Lord. You best be bringing Him something else.

Finally

Luke 23:46 Then Jesus, calling out with a loud voice, said, "Father, into your hands I commit my spirit!"

Patience is quite simply not my strongest suit. How I long for the day when I get home on a regular basis when the chores are done and all of our kids treat their mother and I with the proper respect out of the gladness of their hearts. Until that time, we must suffer through the huffing, puffing, pouting and rebellion. As a father, you can get a small sense of how God sees the actions of mankind, as measures of mercy and discipline are required to shape your children. The process is a slow and painful one that forces me to my knees in prayer for guidance. I believe it is when we are on our knees that we can fully appreciate that same picture of a divinely patient father looking for righteous worship from mankind.

Throughout the Old testament, God is quoted many times saying things like "Your burnt offerings are not acceptable to me" and " I desire steadfast love and not sacrifice, the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings" (Hosea 6:6) to a people who were steeped in religion, but had no desire to worship. This constant theme of a righteous God scanning the Earth looking for righteous worship and finding men worshipping themselves while patronizing the laws of God builds a thick tension between man and his maker. God is simply wanting to draw men into His Glory, while men are quite content in their own. The Father knows they need His healing and mercy, but His created beings are too blinded by their own sin to see their own need, so they save their passion and desire for sinful acts of rebellion rather than God.

Perhaps the greatest words spoken by a person (who was also fully God), were Jesus' words above as He folds His life into the Father's hands on the Cross. Finally a man whose life, work and sacrifice fully pleased and satisfied the Father's appetite to be delighted in. As His flesh was torn into as the passover lamb was slaughtered, those who he calls gain access to the Father by faith with a true Heart. Hebrews 10 says that Jesus' work on the cross is a one time permanent, perfect offering that ratifies a peace treaty between God and man. As we realize the work is Christ's, and not ours, we have confidence to draw near to the father as we are changed into His nature through his spirit. What a relief this is when we can fold our life into such a loving Father's hands. What a picture of us gaining relation to the Father through the opened wounds of the Son. What a gift to have the Holy Spirit change our passions and desires from rebellion to right worship of a God who would allow His Son's sacrifice due to our ineptness to please Him, as we wander away from Him seeking sin. Praise God for the Son's identity and work on our behalf. Do you sense it? Do you rest in that? Do you boldly draw near to God firmly clutching the identity of Christ as the basis of your acceptance?

That tension between God and man and its resolution in the Cross is the core message of the Gospel. If that righteous work of Jesus on the cross is not what has your mind, soul and heart captivated as you read this then what are you waiting for? What is it you are worshipping?

Equipped

2 Timothy 3:16 All scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, 17 that the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work.

No cleats, 15 pounds overweight, and no practice. It is clear that I am not equipped to play soccer on bumpy, slick dirt fields of Honduras after trying dozens of times. It's not that I don't want to be able to do it, as it would help me minister better to our boys at Grace Farm. I am just not equipped for soccer. Last night as I returned home on the plne, I thought about trying to scratch out some time in my crazy schedule to be better equipped the next time I go. I have a choice in the matter. I can be better equipped on my next visit or I can remain inept, providing only a few laughs and an occasional lucky gringo goal.

Now stop and ponder all of the work that you are involved in. Raising a family, ministries, your job, volunteer work at schools and in the community, coaching, teaching others, or just trying to struggle through the tough headwinds of 2011 financially, mentally and spiritually. Are you equipped? Do you rely on the power of the Gospel and the equipping of God's Word to guide your life and actions. Or do you believe that the Word of God is an optional component? Maybe you think that the Bible is one of many "inputs" that you use to make decisions, or you just disregard it as a book of "opinions" by other men stated 2,000 years ago.

We need to look carefully at what Paul is telling Timothy. The Bible is the breath of God on a page. All Scripture is the breath of God. Not just some, but all of it is the Breath of God, written through men for His Glory and our benefit. Obviously there is not specific instructions for questions like, "Should we send our kids to a Christian School, public school or home school? There are hundreds of reminders to drive us to our needs to seek His council so that His will we be walked out in our life. For many other specific questions we have, the answers are screaming off the page we if we will listen. Sadly, not many people want God's answers. They would rather just ask other people who are unequipped or google. Unfortunately when we rely on our feelings or thoughts instead of God's, our life looks a whole lot like me trying to chase around 20 year old fast Hondurans on a soccer field -downright silly.

So when you walk through life and need answers, where do you turn? God's breathed out word on a page or something a little "softer" that has more "meaning" in your life today? I plead with you to think through that question slowly. Aren't we playing with fire if we think something other than God has more meaning and relevance in our lives? Isn't that a marker in and of itself?

Who is Right?

Isaiah 50: 10 Who among you fears the Lord and obeys the voice of His servant? Let him who walks in darkness and has no light trust in the name of the Lord and rely upon his God. 11 Behold, all you who kindle a fire, who equip yourself with burning torches! Walk by the light of your fire, and by the torches that you have kindled! This you have from my hand: you shall lie down in torment.

"Well, that may be right for you but don't you think God gave us a brain to reason with?"

"I know that may be what the Bible says, but I just feel different about it."

These are the two most common rejection statements that I hear when I am trying to extend the mercy of God, through the word of God, to people I know and have compassion for. "Great and Wise" prophets like Oprah, Dr.Phil, Barrack Obama, Sean Hannity and Glenn Beck now have greater influence on American life than God. The odd thing about it though is that most of these "new prophets" and their disciples use vague references to the Bible and God. Why?

I believe it is clear that since man hit the face of the Earth, we want to be like God. Our own God. As we start down that path, we realize that we are far from it, so we throw in a little "God -talk" into our dialogues and discusisons as a hedge to our bet. When this happens in 2011 ,Jesus is a partioned part of our lives, talk and actions but mostly as a fall back plan in case our Kingdom we are building for ourselves caves in.

Modern man is busily trying to convince himself that there is not one true God worthy of all worship. Why? Because most refuse to worhip Him and desire tow orhip themself. In response, they just make their own God, set of rules, and throw in just enough aspects of the True God and Worship derived form the bible that it has some magnitude and half-truths so it will seem right. That is idolatry in the clearest since. The problem with that equation is that if we get to define God on our terms in place of His, then we are creators of God. That allows us to be like God, a Creator and master of ourselves and our destiny. Or so we think.

I love what the Lord says through Isaiah in the verses above. If you Fear the Lord, obey the Voice of His servant, trust in the Lord and rely on God that path will lead you to true worship of the true God. Look at the dire warning of inventing your own truths and light to follow. "Behold, all you who kindle a fire, who equip yourselves with burning torches! Walk by the light of your fire, and by the torches that you have kindled! This you shall have from my hand: you shall lie down in torment.

If that is not crystal clear, I do not know what is. If you are not leaning into God's word in humble worship of Christ and are relying on man made, look-a-like half truths it will not end well my friend.

If you are in a spot where these words seem right, but you just don't belive there is enough evidence to Worship Christ. Do a couple of things today:

1) Look at your calendar. The calendar we use in Roman in origin and it's foundation is the birth of Christ. His birth bi-sected history. No other religion can make any claim like this one.

2) If you are a man. Look at your circumcision. No philosopher or anti -God basher has ever produced any other valid reason for this mark upon men, except it being a covennat marker of promise to Abraham from God.

3) Look at a map. If you were God (and you aren't as we discusssed), and you wanted to plant a nation that would demonstrate your glory to the world in the nation of Israel, where would you put it if you think in terms of the known World until the last 500 years. Israel is in the middle, of the Middle East for a purpose. That purpose will be fulfilled one day as all will bow the knee to witness the glory of God.

Have you plunged from the high dive into a full submission of Christ, or are you standing on the side of the pool dipping your toes in the water and testing it?

Astounded

Isaiah 29:13 (NIV) The Lord says: These people come near to me with their mouth and honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. Their worship of me is made up only of rules taught by men. 14 Therefore once more I will astound these people with wonder upon wonder; the wisdom of the wise will perish, the intelligence of the intelligent will vanish.

Astounded: To be suddenly filled with wonder or amazement.

Do you know in the core of your heart what it is like to be astounded and captivated by something or someone?

I remember the first date I had with Evie. She showed up at the end of a long, long dry spell for the old Chadster. I mean a long one! From the onset, she completely captured my attention. Warm, Real and Beautiful. She was exactly what I had been searching for. God began to knit our hearts together on day one and hasn't stopped ever since. My encounter with her literally changed the course of my life in every way. We celebrated 14 years of marriage last month with four kids and some gray hairs sprouting up!

The only encounter that I had with someone that was more life altering and astounding was when I met Christ at the age of 34. I had heard about Him all of my life, but had never met Him. He graciously came in to my life after I suffered through decades of off-based and burdensome struggles in religion. When I read the verses above in Isaiah, I can remember what it is like to have no wonder or astonishment of Christ, yet go through religious motions every Sunday and most Wednesdays. I remember vividly struggling with a sense that there is a God, but only wanting to use Him to advance my agenda. In that time of spiritual deadness in my life, God was mostly an imaginary genie in a bottle I wanted to rub to get me out of jams. He was more of a utility in my life than a God. I still wonder why He showed me grace. I did not and don't deserve it. That alone is reason to be captivated by his love. As religion faded, and true Worship sprung forth from my heart for my God, abundance and joy in life multiplied in every way possible. Where once I could find ways to be discontent in a five star hotel, I can now find perfect contentedness worshipping for hours in a tool shed in 95 degree heat in Togo, Africa. Why? Christ is that astounding!

To be sure, the adversary still flaunts false lures to try an distract my attention to both my God and my wife. Regular appeals to the throne of God for greater mercy from Him, and desire for Him carry me along in His power. I am His and He is Mine!

Where once I could be identified by Isaiah's words that describe a spiritually dead routine, guided by men's rules. I can now identify with some of His words used later when He says "you shall take delight in the Lord, and I will make you ride on the heights of the Earth; I will feed you with the heritage of Jacob your father, for the mouth of the Lord has spoken." (Isaiah 58:14)

So are you astonished at the amazing transformation that God is doing in your heart or are you satisfied standing on the outside looking in?