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losing my religion?

March 24, 2011
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a report (click here to just read the article) came out yesterday saying that certain countries may be completely irreligious soon.  the report predicts that nine countries are heading towards religious extinction, with the czech republic headlining the list.

 

hm, interesting, i live in the czech republic.

 

here are my initial thoughts on the subject:
- Jesus’ church will never die: under communism, czech was specifically singled out by the communists to see if they could eradicate faith from the culture.  while the church shrunk enormously and the vast majority became atheists, a small percentage of believers held on and suffered a social persecution because of their great faith in Christ.  these men and women now fill our evangelical churches and, unfortunately, many are now dying off.  but their faithful legacy lives on as their children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren fill the pews and (more importantly) proclaim the risen Christ to their friends, co-workers, and family.  the church is still small, but strong, because of those who held strong under communism.
- is it wrong if religion dies?: the study says that religious affiliation is dying out.  while that is probably not a good sign, it isn’t a bad sign either! checking a box on a piece of paper with the word “christian” written next to it doesn’t change someone’s life and eternity.  only personal faith in Christ results in a changed life and eternity. so, while religion is dying, we hope that life-giving relationship with Christ is catching on…one that isn’t contingent on doing good works or going to church, but one that walks in good works because of what Christ has done for us!
- i have hope in this generation of young people: every summer (and throughout the year) i hear story after story about young people deciding to follow Christ and giving their lives to serving Him.  this young generation isn’t shackled by old beliefs.  many of them still proclaim atheism, but are open to discussing the reality of God and the consequences of following Him.  students are MUCH more open than they were ten years ago when i first started coming to czech.  most students i talk with believe that there is something more in life…they may not know what it is or know if they want to pay the cost of following Jesus, but some are.  and our prayer is that many more will!

10aday: circumcision as missionary prep? + weeks one & two

January 23, 2011
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week three: genesis 13-17, joshua 13-17, psalms 13-17, proverbs 13-17, isaiah 13-17, matthew 13-17, acts 13-17, romans 13-16, first corinthians 1, first timothy 5-6, second timothy 1-3


circumcision as missions prep?
i was blessed to spend five weeks (on two separate occasions) at mti in colorado for missionary training.  we went through tons of prep that not only benefits my life here in Czech, but is perfect for life in general.  both times i came away knowing more about myself and being better prepared to live and love well.  one thing that mti doesn’t do there is circumcisions…thankfully! but, in my reading this week i noticed that timothy wasn’t so lucky.  in acts 16.3, in preparation for his service with Paul to the Jews, Timothy was circumcised!
compassion
i have always loved the Lord’s compassion.  His compassion knows no bounds.  i was reminded of His great compassion in a few passages i read this week with one passage revealing more than i’ve seen in the past.  in matthew 14.14 Jesus has compassion on the people and he heals their sick.  but, what stood out to me most this time is that the Lord was grieving over the death of john the baptist.  He had purposefully left to go away and be alone upon hearing of john’s death and yet the crowds followed Him.  grief is a very internal and potentially isolating emotion.  when we grieve we focus on the sadness and deep emotion that seems to be lodging itself in our hearts.  yet, when faced with a crowd of people who had lived with grief (the sick, the dejected, the poor), Jesus didn’t run away to focus on His own grief, but rather overwhelmed with compassion, He healed those that came to Him!    would i be so selfless to identify with the grief of others even amidst my own grief.
peter and abram: men of great faith?
i was struck by two interesting stories this week that revealed the weakness of two of the men we look up to the most in the Christian faith.  first is the story of abram from genesis 15 & 16.  in the earlier chapter we see abram’s great faith as the Lord appears in a vision and based on abram’s faith, declares him righteous.  the Lord then follows with reaffirms His covenant with abram.  then, in the very next chapter, we read of abram’s great doubt and lack of faith that results in the birth of ismael with hagar.  the second story is of peter in matthew 16.  Jesus asks the disciples, “who do you say that i am?” and peter responds in great faith (and accuracy) that Jesus is “the Christ, the Son of the living God”.  but then, in the very next passage, when Jesus tells the disciples that He must suffer and die, peter responds by saying, “far be it from you Lord! this shall never happen to you.”  and Jesus responds, “get behind me, Satan! you are a hinderance to me.  for you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man.”
we often focus on the great success of abraham and peter, but how do we respond to their great failures? do we ignore it because we see the entire scope of their lives and we know that they redeem themselves? do we identify with it in secret knowing that we ourselves, are filled with such little faith at times, yet dare not say it to anyone? when those we know react in doubt, do we judge them and declare them as some sort of sub-Christian? do we give up on them? do we give up on ourselves?
we have the fortune of seeing with hindsight how the lives of these men finished. when we too lack faith or our friends lack faith, would we be slow to judge and quick to think of the end…ask ourselves this question, “how, amidst failure and doubt, can i help this person (or myself) to finish strong.” we can add to this list of failed men, david, who although being guilty of murder and adultery, was called “a man after God’s own heart,” and when confronted with his guilt, fell on his face in repentance.  would we, when we fail, be quick to repent and turn our eyes back to the One who saved us and was patient with those great men when they too failed and lacked faith.

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week one: genesis 1-6, joshua 1-6, job 1-6, psalms 1-6, proverbs 1-6, isaiah 1-6, matthew 1-6, acts 1-6, romans 1-6, first thessalonians 1-5, second thessalonians 1
circumcision of the heart
romans 2.29 says, “but a jew is one inwardly, and circumcision is a matter of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the letter.  his praise is not from man but from God.”  this theme seemed to run through my readings this week.  this idea of circumcision (cutting away-for lack of a better term) and how it removes what is unnecessary.  i obviously don’t remember my circumcision, but i can only imagine.  but i think any of us who has experienced the cutting away at our heart, the stripping of something desired, the discipline of the Lord to peel away the shell around our heart, then we know what circumcision is like.  plus, this circumcision seems to be the one that the Lord desires more than any other.
as the israelites re-entered the promised land after wandering the wilderness, the first thing they do in this foreign land, with foreign enemies, is not destroy Jericho, its circumcision! all the men of the camp were circumcised.  this, therefore, means that the entire army, every soldier, every fighter, was laid up in recovery for weeks(?) as they camped in the plains of jericho.  circumcision alone isn’t vulnerable enough, but God orders that they are all circumcised on the doorstep of their enemy.  to me this is more of a circumcision of the heart than anything.  would the israelites trust their God, the one who had lead them through the desert for forty years, to protect them as they lie vulnerable? do they trust that this is good?
i think that sometimes our physical reality, whether it be proactive obedience or passive acceptance of life’s difficulties, is a means of circumcising our hearts to show our trust in the Lord.
(see also: job 1.20, first thessalonians 5.18, romans 5.3-5)
giving
another verse that struck me this week was matthew 5.42, “give to the one who begs from you, and do not refuse the one who would borrow from you.”
i have missed this verse for years.  its tucked in there right after “turn the other cheek” and “go the extra mile” and right before the golden rule, so i can see how it would get skipped.
i have often thought about giving and what our responsibility is with beggars.  surely we’ve all heard the story of the guy who makes more money begging than the one who works a real job.  or we all know that we shouldn’t give because they are just going to go and buy alcohol.  but, while we should use wisdom, i also think that we have used these two excuses to protect our pockets.  maybe we should just trust Jesus when He says to give.  what could it hurt to give a begging man a quarter/a five-crown piece/one złoty?
Jesus in the old testament?
i think i might have seen Jesus in the OT this week! in joshua 5, joshua meets with a man called, “the commander of the army of the Lord”.  my immediate thought is that this was an angel, but upon further review, it seems like it was actually a pre-incarnate Jesus.  the key seems to be that joshua falls on his face and worships him, calls him Lord, and the Man doesn’t tell him to stop! in most instances when a man worships an angel, the angel tells the man to stop worshipping him.  interesting!

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week two: genesis 7-12, joshua 7-12, psalms 7-12, proverbs 7-12, isaiah 7-12, matthew 7-12, acts 7-12, romans 7-12, second thessalonians 2-3, first timothy 1-4
two stonings
it was interesting to read about two stonings in one day as i read acts 7 and joshua 7 on monday morning.  one is the stoning of achan (joshua 7.10-26) and the other is the stoning of  stephen (acts 7).  one stoned because of disobedience (taking idols and lying).  one stoned because of obedience (proclaiming the risen Christ).  both equally gruesome deaths, yet one because of righteousness and the other because of sin.
we really have no idea how we are going to go.  will it be in my sleep or a heart attack or murder or a car accident or being martyred? we have no idea.  since we have no way to control how we die, then we have to be focused on how we live.
OT God is a gracious God
i often struggle with how harsh God is in the Old Testament.  i know most of the right answers, yet it still shocks me how many people God ordered killed.
because of that, i think it is easy to overlook when He displays his graciousness in the OT.  one such instance is in Joshua 10.  in the previous chapter Joshua and the Israelites make a treaty with a foreign nation (Gibeon) without asking “counsel from the Lord” (9.15).  this treaty was against what the Lord had commanded.
yet, as we move to chapter 10, we see God’s grace even after disobedience.  six nations decided to band together and defeat the Israelites and their new allies, so they set out to destroy Gibeon.  upon the appeal of the Gibeonites to Joshua, the Israelites came back to Gibeon to defend them and defeat their opposing enemies.  before going into battle, God said to Joshua, “do not fear them, for i have given them into your hands.  not a man of them shall stand before you” (10.8).  God, who had just been disobeyed specifically in regards to the Gibeonites, was now promising to Joshua that He would help defend them.
as i reflect on this passage, i see God’s grace displayed in such a powerful and beautiful way.  where we are used to seeing justice, the grace of the Lord shines beautifully.
all is good
i was reminded twice this week about the repeal of the Old Testament food laws.
acts 10 is the story of  peter’s vision of God declaring that all food is good.
first timothy 4.4-5 says, “for everything created by God is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving, for it is made holy by the word of God and prayer.”
as a response of thanksgiving, i ate this:

thank God for those passages!

10aday

January 9, 2011
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look up.

yep, there is a new page where i will be writing regularly.

its called 10aday.  my goal this year is to read ten chapters of the bible every day.  professor grant horner developed this reading plan where you read ten chapters a day from ten different books of the bible.  the ten different sections are different lengths, so supposedly, you should never read the same ten chapters on the same day…ever…or at least for many, many years.

so far, i’ve read for six days in a row and have compiled my first week thoughts in the 10aday section.  the plan is to write every sunday about the sixty chapters i read for the week…so sunday is my synthesis day.

hope you are blessed by it!

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