How firm a Foundation

How firm a foundation, ye saints of the Lord,
Is laid for your faith in His excellent word!
What more can He say than to you He hath said—
To you who for refuge to Jesus have fled?

Fear not, I am with thee, oh, be not dismayed,
For I am thy God, and will still give thee aid;
I’ll strengthen thee, help thee, and cause thee to stand,
Upheld by My gracious, omnipotent hand.

When through the deep waters I call thee to go,
The rivers of sorrow shall not overflow;
For I will be with thee thy trouble to bless,
And sanctify to thee thy deepest distress.

When through fiery trials thy pathway shall lie,
My grace, all-sufficient, shall be thy supply;
The flame shall not harm thee; I only design
Thy dross to consume and thy gold to refine.

The soul that on Jesus doth lean for repose,
I will not, I will not, desert to his foes;
That soul, though all hell should endeavor to shake,
I’ll never, no never, no never forsake.”

attr. to John Keith, pub.1787

                This has always been one of my favorite hymns ever since I sang it in college.  I like the metaphor of a foundation of faith because foundations are so important to the Christian family.  Since I am always doing some small project’s at home I find foundations are really important.  Now I am tiling shower walls and providing a good foundation is very important, because mortar is soft and gravity is constant.   As I lay my first course of tiles, I understand they will be the foundation for the remainder of my tiles.  They must be straight, level and evenly spaced. 

As I work on my tiles, I have been aware that materials only get you so far.  My tiles should make it easy; they are solid and square, two things that help create a firm foundation.  But, having good materials is only a start, it is setting the foundation that is so important and it is hard, time consuming, frustrating, and needs lots of shoring up until the mortar is set.  It is because gravity is always working against our ability to create a square and level foundation.  It is always exerting constant pressure opposite to my goals.

               As a Christian parent I need to realize that it is not just about getting the right raw materials in my kid’s lives.  In many ways this is one way we are blessed in the Church, we have Sunday school and Awana, so our kids are loaded up with good raw materials.  But, as I am learning with my tiling job this is just a start.  Read Matthew 7:24-29, it is the parable about the foolish man building his house on the sand.  The issue is not the materials, both the foolish and wise man have heard the teachings of Jesus.  It is about practice, it is about shoring up our beliefs in the mortar of life. 

                Our kids need opportunity to wrestle with and decide how their beliefs fit into the life we are helping them build.  Because good building materials do not guarantee a good home, it is the skill of the craftsman using the materials that creates a solid home.  It is the same in our lives.  How are you managing your building materials?  Are you demonstrating your skill as a craftsman to your children and grandchildren?  

                The culture we live in is working on our foundations like gravity or a river as the hymn suggests, every day we deal with ideas that are opposite to our belief system.  At times it seems like we are knee deep in the torrent.   How can you shore up your kid’s beliefs?  Talk to them about things you see, and help them wrestle with the Biblical truths that reinforce right thinking or repel bad thinking.   When they are wrestling with who they are remind them of who God says they are.  Pray with them regularly.  Do not avoid topics that scare you or shake your beliefs, these are the most important!

I am praying, God gives you strength and patience for the hard work of setting a firm foundation in your kid’s lives!


For more info on the Nevala Family and our transition from Pastor's Family to Missionary family, Check out: www.walkinginobedience.com

Emperors, Presidents, and Christians, Oh my!

                For the last several months, I have been walking the High School Sunday School class through the book of Romans.  We have been talking about what it means to be a follow of Jesus.  This week we will be looking at Romans 13.  Although I have looked at this passage before, it really caught my attention with the current tension between our nation’s leadership and the Church. 

                In this passage, Paul is talking about how we should relate to the government.  I understand that this was written before democracy and “we the people”, but should this still apply to us today.  This passage follows the Romans 12 passage that talks about being transformed.  It is a continuation the list of behaviors Christians should strive toward.  At the beginning of chapter 12 we find that people naturally conform to the world, not to God.  We need God and His Spirit to be at work in our lives to bring about the transformational thought processes.

                In our culture, we have to be good stewards of our vote and be diligent to understand the issues we face as country.  But, once the vote is cast what is our responsibility to the leadership that has been established by God.  Paul, the author of Romans was not living in a good time for government leadership; they had people in power that were Godless too.  It was written during Nero’s reign, he was known for having Christians captured to burn them in his garden at night for a source of light.  In fact Paul was imprisoned for time in his life because of his teaching, but he challenges us to still give the respect and honor of the position.  We see this evidenced in Paul’s life.  Think of the jailer who was saved because Paul respected him enough to stay in prison after being released by God during an earth quake.  Would we be willing to sit in jail and allow the jailer to do his job?  The result was the salvation of this man and his family. 

                To me it seems there is little difference with how the church and those outside of the church look at their government leadership, we are equally prone to show disrespect toward our leadership as our lost peers.  I understand that we are just conforming to our culture, but this is not our calling.  Are we more willing to attack their bad choices then praise the positive things our leaders do?  I realize this seems difficult at times, but could you imagine the peace that it would create in your life.  I see many posts on Facebook and hear discussions that are far from being peaceful or respectful.

                How can Paul write these things?  Doesn’t he realize the difficulties the government can create?  Paul is thinking from a Kingdom mindset, there is nothing that any law can do to remove us from God (Rom. 8:38-39).  The reality is our earthly home is corrupted and gets more corrupted leading up to God’s judgment and salvation.  What do you think has more impact on our world?  Complaining and disrespect about our worldly governments or sharing with a lost world about the wonders of God’s Kingdom!

Romans 13:1-7

Let everyone be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God. ² Consequently, whoever rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves. ³ For rulers hold no terror for those who do right, but for those who do wrong. Do you want to be free from fear of the one in authority? Then do what is right and you will be commended. ⁴ For the one in authority is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for rulers do not bear the sword for no reason. They are God’s servants, agents of wrath to bring punishment on the wrongdoer. ⁵ Therefore, it is necessary to submit to the authorities, not only because of possible punishment but also as a matter of conscience.

⁶ This is also why you pay taxes, for the authorities are God’s servants, who give their full time to governing. ⁷ Give to everyone what you owe them: If you owe taxes, pay taxes; if revenue, then revenue; if respect, then respect; if honor, then honor.


For more info on the Nevala Family and our transition from Pastor's Family to Missionary family, Check out:  www.walkinginobedience.com

Treasures and Pearls

Matthew 13:44-46 (NIV)

 “The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field.

 “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant looking for fine pearls.  When he found one of great value, he went away and sold everything he had and bought it.

            This is one Parable that I do not remember teaching, until very recently.  I think I just skipped over it because it made me uncomfortable.  First, I did not fully get what it was saying about the Kingdom of heaven.  Second, I was not sure what to make of selling everything because most Christians can follow Jesus and keep their stuff.  Even in Acts you do not see this as a universal principle, some people did sell everything and others did not.  Even Zacchaeus only sold half of all what he had, while Matthew the tax collector sold everything.  So what was Jesus trying to tell us about the Kingdom of Heaven by this passage?

            When Jesus talks about the Kingdom of Heaven he is not talking about an earthly Kingdom. But at the same time, it is made up of people from all over the earth.  The highlight of the Kingdom is that those who are a part of it live and think differently.  Here is how I see it:  I feel that sinful thinking is like this, the many good things God gave us are twisted so they lead us away from God. So kingdom thinking is the opposite, the good things we have are twisted in great ways that bring us closer to Christ likeness.    

            And this passage is really not about investing, as in both stories the men sell everything to buy something of seemingly equal value.  But like I said I think this passage is about how we think, so that is why I feel I now have a better understanding of this passage.  I just came back from Honduras and while in Honduras I met some people who think differently.  And when I ran across this parable it was like a light bulb flashed to life above my head.  It is about understanding true value, going from just having stuff to having a treasure worth treasuring. It is about knowing what God treasures.  Because it is in human nature to treasure things that are not worthy of our hearts, unfortunately we give our hearts away cheaply.  Understanding true treasure is really about seeing what God sees, and treasuring what God treasures.

            I think it is interesting that Jesus used two illustrations here.  I believe it is because people are unique and God works with our uniqueness.  Not all treasures are going to shine as brightly for me as they do for someone else.  But, we need to keep our eyes open; we need to always be on a treasure hunt. 

            But now I sit back, and think… It seems my wife and I have just had the chance to stumble across our treasure… What kind of thinking drives us? 

The Plans I Have!

I think humans seem to run in two groups; those who could care less about tomorrow or those of us who are constantly thinking about and planning for our future.  Although I believe plans are very important, I am beginning to feel that I put too much value in the plans I have made for myself. 

As I stood outside this morning waiting for the kids who walk through my crosswalk I begin to think about the plans that I am always making.  I was struck that lots of my plans start with doing what God has called me too, and then planning how I am going to live out that calling.   But then I get frustrated along the way when things do not go as I have planned.  What struck me is that I get frustrated where MY plans take over.  I started to think about Abraham and especially the plans God laid before him.  Cold air and lots of traffic noise seem to get my brain going in the morning; hopefully it is not just the exhaust fumes.  Look with me at Genesis 15 and 16.  Here is a little piece.

Genesis 15:2-6 (NLT)

But Abram replied, “O Sovereign Lord, what good are all your blessings when I don’t even have a son? Since you’ve given me no children, Eliezer of Damascus, a servant in my household, will inherit all my wealth.  You have given me no descendants of my own, so one of my servants will be my heir.”

 Then the Lord said to him, “No, your servant will not be your heir, for you will have a son of your own who will be your heir.”  Then the Lord took Abram outside and said to him, “Look up into the sky and count the stars if you can. That’s how many descendants you will have!”

 And Abram believed the Lord, and the Lord counted him as righteous because of his faith.

When I reread this passage this morning I had to smile, and notice that Abraham was a planner too.  God has just promised to bless Abraham in verse 1 now in verse 2 Abraham is right away making a plan to accomplish God’s blessing.  Since he had no children he was looking to his servant to carry the blessing.  God steps in and lays down his plan, “Abraham you will have your own son” basically a reminder, hey Abraham this is My (God's) plan for you.  So what does Abraham do he set a new plan to action (we read about this in Genesis 16) to accomplish God’s blessing and Ishmael is born.  And was Ishmael God’s plan for Abraham?  No, once again Abraham is trying to accomplish what God had promised He would accomplish.

I believe I always run into this tension of what I plan and what God plans for my life.  I felt called to serve God and knew that meant going to Bible College, so I planned to attend Moody in Chicago.  Moody did not want me so I planned to attend for a year at Oak Hills in Bemidji Minnesota, and then transfer to Moody.   In the end I stayed at Oak Hills all 4+ years it was a great school and it put me in the place to be equipped and trained for ministry.  But it was not my plan, and I was still greatly blessed, I met my wife and had many great experiences.  I planned on graduating College and serving in a church right away! But that is not what happened I spent 7 years working in a Group Treatment center.  I felt like I was put on the bench, this was not my plan. I spent much of my time there frustrated that I was not doing what "God wanted of me."  Now I think I was just frustrated because my plans were not the same as what God was planning in my life, I just thought my plans were on par with God's.   The reality, once again as I look back I was very blessed by my time “on the bench” working my unwanted job.  I enjoyed the people and the work I was doing.  I was transformed by that job, I will never see the world the same again.   I was blessed freezing, in northern Minnesota for 17 years. Who would have made that plan for themselves? But I was not living my plan,  I guess that is the point.

Time and time again I find my plans bring frustration, but God’s plans bring blessings.  Why is it this way?  I think as people we want a clear plan and destination, we want to make a single life defining change that lays out our course.  We want to be changed just not transformed.   But, God wants transformation, let at Philippians 1:6

Philippians 1:6 (NLT)

 And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue His work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns.

We are always looking for the ending we see for ourselves. But Paul is reminding the Philippians of the beginning, and then noting that it is God’s work, and His finishing day.  I have to remind myself that my best plans are to keep listening, keep being transformed, keep following and try'n to keep up. 

 

 

Stepping out in Obedience

A few months ago my wife and I spend a week in Honduras serving with World Gospel Outreach www.worldgospeloutreach.org (WGO).  Beside sharing our faith and working to meet the needs of the Honduran people, God was using this time to work in our lives.  God spoke to my wife and me by opened our eyes up to the possibility of serving God in Honduras.

This started as we understood the needs of the organization and noticed how we had specific gifts and abilities to meet these needs and a passion to reach at-risk children.  And really like the direction of WGO.  As we spoke to the leadership we found that not only did we think we fit they asked me to consider a position that really ignited my imagination and pulled at our hearts.  Then we started to pray and asked others to pray, asking them to especially pray that God would make his desires for our life clear.

This makes it sound like it was all pretty easy to roll all this together in our heads.  But, it has been a tug-o-war with our heart.  It has been back and forth as my wife and I talk through what God is doing in our lives, I am truly bless with a Godly wife, with her eyes always in God’s word.  So some days I am all for it and other days I am fearful, but on those days my wife encourages me and back and forth.   I am responsible for the mission committee at our Church and I see what it takes to raise support.  And I also have 4 kids, how does it work to uproot my children and move.  We are just learning Spanish and can barely speak the language.  I walk through my home and I am deeply in love with my stuff and all my little home improvement projects.  All of our fears and excuses seem to be rooted in baseless wants and desires.

But, God is continually encouraging us in forward a motion, it has been amazing how God has encouraged and directed us. This does this mean a decision is made? No..  But, my wife and I have decided that we are following Jesus for a life time and that means doing the hard things too.  So we are trying to discern what God is doing, part if that means we need to explore.  We changed our vacation plans and decided we need to take some time to listen and see.  So we will be taking our family to Honduras for 2 weeks in February.  We felt the best way to understand what it would be like to raise a family in Honduras would be to take our family.  So all six of us now have our passports and plans our set.

We have been wrestling with a passage in Matthew 12 where the Pharisees are asking Jesus for another sign, Jesus calls them faithless.  The reason Jesus has a problem with their request is the fact that they have heard about everything he has already done. Jesus lists other towns that have been more faithful with less signs.   I think it is really tempting to wait until we are sure he really means it by ignoring what God is already doing in our lives.   Like with our kids how many times do we have to tell them to do something before they should get it done.  We expect that if they hear and instruction once they should immediately follow through.  But, many times they are so caught us doing what they want to do that they have no problem waiting for the 4^th or 5^th request.  I am not afraid that God will ask me to do something but whether or not I will stop to listen and follow through. 

Just do it!

2 Timothy 1:5-7

 I remember your genuine faith, for you share the faith that first filled your grandmother Lois and your mother, Eunice. And I know that same faith continues strong in you.  This is why I remind you to fan into flames the spiritual gift God gave you when I laid my hands on you.  For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline.

            This was one of the scriptures I was given in Honduras, it was written on a card and it was lying on the table when I sat down for breakfast.  It is a powerful piece of scripture to start my day.  It is so easy to feel inadequate to the tasks that are set in front of me sometime.  I was tired that morning and on the schedule for Evangelism.  I was not afraid of Evangelism but more about being able to connect and find common ground with the Honduran people in those short moments that day.  We seemed so different and in many ways we are, but there are some small pieces of common ground to find.  For me it was kids and family.

            I am often shocked at how God will put something in front of me and I begin to worry if I can pull it off.  Then I am reminded that it is not a solo mission, God’s spirit is in me. But, I am quick to create my own roadblock and then struggle to see my way through them.  But the roadblocks only exist in my mind, not in the mind of God and not in reality. 

            It is like Paul tells Timothy in this passage, Timothy has been given a gift to be used to serve God.  How much different is it for us?  The Jesus told his followers that the spirit would come and gift them, and Paul reminds Timothy and us to fan the flame and put it to work. 

            If God gives us the passion, and set our heart to motion we have to realize that he will empower us to see it through.  I think it is also good to put ourselves around others to help fan the flames for us.   Let other people see in us what refuse to see in ourselves. 

            You will not know what God can do in your life until you step out and let his spirit work in your life.  So, Just do it!

 

            I pray that God will work in your life this New Year and move you in new direction past self imposed roadblocks that have stood in your way too long.  Have a blessed New Year!  For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline.

 

Missing our place in the Plan

            As we approach Christmas I am amazed at the extent to which God went to reach his broken people.  He held nothing back; he touched down to earth those 2000+ years ago to provide hope.  This was His big event; the fix for all of lives sufferings, maybe not in the immediate but for certain in the eternal.  Because God set His big plan into action we live in hope and celebration, that is our focus at this time of year.

            God has gone so far to make sure He is not a secret, He came to earth, and He shared his good news.  But not only that He made sure it was all written down for us and we can pick up his Bible and get to know him better each day.  He also designed His Church so we would have the opportunity to connect and be fed together, and to use our gifts to minister to each other.

            But as we read God’s word we have to realize even with all that God has done to let us know about him we still need to respond.  I was thinking about the story of Deborah, a Judge in the Old Testament (Judges 4-5).  She would really be an insignificant Judge if not for the fact that she shared God’s message with Barak and he would only move forward on his conditions.  If you remember the story Barak was suppose to deliver the Jewish people from Sisera.  God had the plan and the place, but Barak did not want to it God’s way.  He set his own plan in place of God’s.  Although he moved forward he missed out in providing the deliverance of Israel.  In the end a women, some milk, and a tent spike ended Sisera’s life. 

            I am shocked by how many times my conditions get it the way of what God is doing.  We have our time frame and our plan.  But God often has the right plan and at the right time, we can either choose to respond or miss the opportunity.  The good news is, God will still accomplish his plan, and the bad news is we may not have the blessing of seeing it through.  How would you like to be in the Bible like Barak, a person who got their place in scripture for being stubborn and missing out!

            This time of year is a reminder that God is trying so hard to get our attention.  We need to let his passion for us, build our passion for him, and fuel his plans for us.