Purification and Wa 和 ‘Harmony’
Posted on April 8, 2018 Leave a Comment
(This is an excerpt from my Masters thesis on a Contextualized Theology of Purification in and for the Japanese)
Promoting harmony is a key idea in Japanese culture and observable in many areas of their social life. (i) The concept of uchi to soto 内と外 ‘inside and outside’[1]. (ii) Shinto festivals and its focus on community building. (iii) Ancestor veneration. (iv) Favoring ambiguity over making direct statements[2]. (v) Japanese tea ceremony[3]. (vi) Strong emphasis on hierarchy and family based off Confucian principles[4]. The general understanding of harmony based off these examples is that it seeks to keep a tranquil balance and order in all things. This desire for harmony should not be despised since we can find evidence for the value of harmony in the Scripture. This theme of harmony can be traced all the way back to Genesis and be used to further develop a theology of purification.
In Genesis 1-2 we read how God established order at creation. He created cycles, seasons, day and night, animals, birds, and creeping things all according to their kind. The text gives the impression of complete order, peace and tranquility, a mist going up from the ground (Gen 2:6), a river flowing through the garden (Gen 2:10), these natural scenes were all very good. God also created man in His own image (Gen 1:27). He made them male and female, two creatures who would complement each other in their respective functions, producing offspring by means of a harmonious, unifying and intimate act. God also established a hierarchy in creation, giving human beings the responsibility to be stewards over His creation (Gen 1:28). However, God still maintained His divine authority as Lord over all that He has made. To demonstrate His loving rule, He gave His creatures only 1 command, not to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil (Gen 2:17). After everything was established by God it was declared very good (Gen 1:31). All creation enjoyed a pure existence where everything had an ordered place and existed in complete harmony.
Genesis 3 tells the tragic story of how this beautiful harmony was ruined. The tempter tempted Eve to step out of her place of purity, to challenge the legitimate rule of her Creator. Soon Adam followed her in this rebellion and from there the curse of sin entered their hearts to defile them. As God’s appointed stewards, the consequences of their sin spread to every part of creation. It spread to their descendants, it corrupted their relationships, and to this day all creation groans under the weight of this curse (Rom 8:22). The harmony of life was ruined. Their bright fellowship with God was turned into a dreadful sense of fear and shame as they hid from their Creator in the garden (Gen 3:8). They died a spiritual (Gen 2:17) and physical (Gen 5:5) death because of their disobedience. The woman would have pain in child bearing (Gen 3:16) and the ground became cursed (Gen 3:17). The complementary relationship between husband and wife became damaged, husbands will now seek to rule their wives instead of leading them in love. Wives will now try to fight against their husband’s God given headship (Gen 3:16). They were driven out of the garden (Gen 3:24). Their descendants demonstrated jealousy that led to murder (Gen 4:8). The rest of the Bible echoes the tragic events of Genesis 3 as all the whole world was thrown into chaos.
But the Creator God did not simply stand by, allowing His good creation to be thrown into chaos forever. Genesis 3:21 gives us a tiny glimpse into the gracious provision of God. He clothes his naked and shamed creatures with the skin of an animal. The very first sacrifice recorded in the Bible. In spite of their sin, God was still gracious and although sin continues to echo throughout man’s history, another story began with Genesis 3:21 which would also echo forth. The story of God’s provision of a Savior. This Savior has been revealed in the person of Jesus who came to restore the purity of man and creation. He came to restore the harmony that was lost. His harmony restoring works are well described in Colossians 1:19-22,
For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross. And you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, he has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him.
The above Scripture details how Christ reconciles to himself, all things in heaven and on earth. It especially highlights the vertical reconciliation. Man was alienated from God but has been reconciled through the incarnation and death of Jesus who is the agent of God’s purifying work.
Ephesians 2:14 is another important Scripture that explains the horizontal aspect of reconciliation. Jesus in His body on the cross, broke down the wall of hostility that separated Jew and Gentile, making them one people. Jesus also declared, “By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another” (John 13:35).
As a Christian I want to live in the harmony God has achieved through the death of His Son. Harmony with God, and harmony with my fellow human beings. The Christian’s purpose: Love God, love people. Mark 12:30-31
[1] Controls the way a Japanese person relates to those inside and outside their group. It is employed to produce a sense of balance and harmony.
[2] Davies (2002:11) writes that ambiguity, aimai is essential for Japanese social interactions. People learn to become aware of how others think and feel and ambiguity maintains harmony by working as a lubricant in communication.
[3] Sen no Rikyuu 千利休 was a famous Japanese tea master who taught 4 important spiritual values for the Japanese tea ceremony, wa 和 ‘harmony’, kei 敬 ‘respect’, sei 聖 ‘purity’ and jaku 寂 ‘tranquility’ (Nesbitt, 2017:198).
[4] From an Asian perspective, harmony is the measure of all things. It is maintained through hierarchy where relationships are built on the inferior person’s respect rather the superior’s domination (Wu, 2012:82).
Citations
Davies RJ and Ikeno O (eds) 2002. The Japanese Mind Understanding Contemporary Japanese Culture. Tokyo: Tuttle.
Nesbitt M 2017. Jesus for Japan Bridging the Cultural Gap to Christianity. © 2017 by Mariana Nesbitt.
Wu J 2012. Saving God’s Face. A Chinese Contextualization of Salvation through Honor and Shame. Pasadena CA: WCIU Press.
Beware, sensuality leaves a lasting legacy
Posted on December 30, 2017 Leave a Comment
I’ve been reading a book “Disciplines of a Godly man” by R Kent Hughes. If you are guy, you need to read this. If you are married to, or dating a guy, buy your man this book as a late Christmas present. There is so much hard hitting truth in this book, I read chapter 2 yesterday and was so convicted that I decided to write about it.
The chapter is about sexual purity and the statistics are alarming. According to a survey done by Christianity Today 25% of Christian men confessed to have committed adultery, 50% of Christian men surveyed confessed they had done something sexually inappropriate. The writer explains that this leads to an inescapable conclusion: “The contemporary evangelical church, broadly considered is Corinthian to the core. It is being stewed in the molten juices of its own sensuality”. OUCH!!!
The Corinthian church struggled with holiness in the midst of a pagan, sensually charged culture. The church today is not so different. Consider the shows we watch, the music we listen to, the jokes we make and you will quickly see how subtly Corinthian we still are. We have not separated ourselves from many Corinthian ties. There are at least 3 reasons for this lack of separation. The first 2 are “palatable” but the third one is frightening and requires much humility to accept.
- We live in a thoroughly Corinthian environment
Through the media (TV, Magazines, Music, Comedy) we are constantly exposed to sensuality. It has become normal to make sexual jokes, flirt around, use foul language, and get a little “tipsy” with friends. These cultural delights are laughed off and we use excuses to rationalize our lack of holiness – “It’s just innocent fun”. “I’m not hurting anyone”. “Surely God wants me to be happy”. “At least I go to church on Sunday”. We “rationalize” while a lot of this behaviour flies in the face of New Testament commands on holiness.
- We believe purity is old and Victorian
Christians do from time to time toss out holiness in an attempt to be with it. The idea of modesty, purity, and self-control has become synonymous with being out of touch, or Victorian. Maybe you tempted to think that now while reading this blog. “Here’s another one of those legalistic Christians”. “Here’s a guy taking the FUN out of Fundamentalism”. Please continue reading. Honestly, I wrestle with these issues too. I don’t want to be Victorian and out of it. I want to be cool and in. I want to contribute to conversations and have people like me. But at the same time I must fight to believe that God doesn’t want to deprive me of joy and fun, rather, God wants to give me authentic, lasting joy, even if it means not being culturally with it. Yet, like you, I too sometimes get this wrong and I need to repent for my lack of holiness and satisfaction in God.
- We suffer from forgetfulness
Like I said, this one takes humility to accept…are you ready? …When we ignore holiness, we forget God. Bonhoeffer observed that when lust takes control, “At this moment…God loses all reality…Satan does not fill us with hatred for God, but forgetfulness of God”. God disappears to lust-glazed eyes.
Whenever we succumb to sensuality, we forget the holiness of God. We forget about the consequences of sin. We forget about our witness to others. We forget about the commands of Scripture. Kent Hughes uses the fall of King David to drive this point home. Staring at a naked beauty from his rooftop, David lost all awareness of God. In that moment, David who was once called a man after God’s own heart became a dirty, leering old man. He could never have imagined the destruction that would follow this one act of indulgence. “David’s progressive desensitization, relaxation, fixation, and rationalization set him up for one of the greatest falls in history”.
He broke the 10th commandment in coveting his neighbour’s wife which led him to break the 7th commandment; committing adultery.
Then in order to steal his neighbour’s wife (breaking the 8th commandment) he committed murder and broke the 6th commandment.
He then broke the 9th commandment by bearing false witness against his brother.
This all brought dishonour to his parents, breaking the 5th commandment.
In violating these commands he transgressed the first 2 commandments; not honouring God and choosing to worship the idol of self.
David forgot His God and he fell…he fell hard. Sadly, his life went downhill from there:
His baby died. His daughter Tamar was raped by her half-brother Amnon. Amnon was murdered by Tamar’s full-brother Absalom. Absalom hated his father for his moral depravity and led a rebellion under the tutelage of Bathsheba’s resentful grandfather, Ahithophel. David’s reign lost the smile of God and his throne never really recovered.
Do you think David would have given Bathsheba a second look if he knew all this disaster would result from that one night of passion?
My intention for writing this is not to sound self-righteous. I struggle with sin as much as anyone else. But in reading this chapter I have been challenged to look at my life through a fresh set of lenses. In what ways am I entertaining impurity? In what ways are you entertaining impurity? Let’s be quick to repent and with God’s help, strain towards the holiness that we are called to.
For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you abstain from sexual immorality; that each one of you know how to control his own body in holiness and honor, not in the passion of lust like the Gentiles who do not know God;
that no one transgress and wrong his brother in this matter, because the Lord is an avenger in all these things, as we told you beforehand and solemnly warned you. For God has not called us for impurity, but in holiness. Therefore whoever disregards this, disregards not man but God, who gives his Holy Spirit to you.
1 Thessalonians 4:3-8
Does Prayer Work?
Posted on November 15, 2017 1 Comment
In 2 weeks time I will be preaching at my home church about prayer from James 5:13-20. I have been thinking about the effectiveness of prayer a lot these days as we prepare for missions in Japan. Today is Wednesday the 15th of November and in order to have clearance to go to Japan in February 2018 we must have our support raised by Monday the 20th of November (6 Days!). We have already sold our stuff, I quit my job, and we moved in with friends. We have trusted God for our support but we are still only at 60% So, if we miss this deadline will it mean that our prayers, and those of others on our behalf did not work?
Now this is where theology meets practice. I am sure you have been in a similar situation. Praying for healing, protection, or any other need. What do we do “if” those prayers are not answered? Does it mean I did not have enough faith? Does it mean we are not really “called”? Does it mean I made a mistake? Is there perhaps sin in my life preventing an answer? Is God even hearing me?
Listen to this touching story. One of my friends went to a massive Christian prayer meeting this year where the speaker declared that God was going to do miracles. My friend was there to pray for healing over his mom…how can God not hear his prayer? All these people praying, surely God will notice, surely his prayers will be answered, even the main organizer and spiritual leader of this event said so! Well, my friend returned to Pretoria encouraged and filled with hope, first thing he heard from his sister – “Mom has died”. The timing of her death was the biggest blow of all – it happened during the prayer meeting. What does this mean? He was broken as you can imagine. As his friend what could I say to help? Questions started running though my own mind…does prayer even work?
One of the saddest prayers in the Bible is in Psalm 13:1 – How long o LORD? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me? In light of these questions, how do we make sense of James 5:16, “The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working”.
In light of seeming unanswered prayer, some have come to sad conclusions. (i) There is no God, (ii) God is absent, or (iii) God is not all powerful. I can’t fall into any of these options. I feel the urge to fight the good fight of faith. I believe that God is there, God is involved, and God is able. Bear with me a short little while as I try to harmonize this with the apparent lack of answered prayer for the believer. Bear in mind, this is me trying to make sense of it in my own heart and mind.
(i) God is not a pawn. If prayer was simply a tool to be used for our human ends, then God would simply be a pawn that moves according to our will. Take this to the logical, frightening conclusion. If God ultimately bends to do the will of people, it will couple human sinfulness with God’s power; and this will lead to disaster.
(ii) God is all sovereign, wise, and good. I remember a talk from a Church camp where a friend of mine spoke about suffering. He said something that stuck with me, “If we had God’s power, we would probably want to change everything in this world. But, if we had God’s wisdom along with that power, everything will continue exactly as it is.” God is working out his own purposes that will ultimately bring glory to Him, and God glorifying His name is our ultimate good. I have to believe by faith, that God’s purposes will end for good and that He has the power to achieve it.
(iii) Prayer by itself should be a blessing. I remember another incident where I lead a prayer group and as an introduction asked “Why do you pray?” There were the usual answers, “I believe in the power of prayer”, “We are commanded to pray”, but one answer stuck out and touches me to this day “I enjoy it”. This seems to be something we forget about prayer. Consider that through prayer we get to commune with God, we get to enter His throne room and actually speak to Him. That by itself should be awesome! Too often we act like brats before a father, thinking we can manipulate him to give us stuff and we get angry when he doesn’t. This is not prayer that pleases God, nor is it good for us. Prayer should be practiced out of our sheer enjoyment of God.
(iv) Remember Jesus’ model prayer. It started with what? “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come, your will be done”. This must be the Christian’s attitude in every prayer. We don’t come to God with a sense of entitlement, we come with a sense of awe and humility.
(v) God sees from an eternal perspective. We might see a page or two from the book called “my life”, but God sees all of it. We are often occupied with our here and now needs. I want relief now! I want an answer now! I want healing now! But God is not only concerned over your here and now, nor is he concerned about answering all your selfish needs. He is concerned about your sanctification, your character, your eternity. Think of any “unanswered prayer” as God teaching you a lesson, God is working for your good in all things. Our own hearts desire to be serving in Japan next year February, but we must trust that God is working for our good in ALL THINGS, even delayed departures. Rom 8:8
(vi) Consider all God has already done. If you are reading this blog that means you have access to the internet, probably from your phone or computer. I am sure you can think of many more blessings that you enjoy so stop and consider these right now. For my friend who lost his mom he could remember her faith, he could remember her example, he could remember her love and this was a beautiful thing. We seem to focus on our “have nots” instead of focusing on all our “haves”.
In the case of our personal situation in raising support, I can get discouraged about the 40% of support we are still short, OR praise God for the 60% we have raised. We have 58 individuals and 5 churches on board with supporting us, we should praise God for that.
(vii) Prayer is exciting, powerful, yet mysterious. I’ll end on this one. None of us can say that we know exactly how prayer works, especially in light of the sovereignty of God. This is why prayer must be accompanied by faith. Not necessarily BIG faith to ensure we get our prayers answered, but HUMBLE faith to ensure we trust in the loving purposes of God. I can’t explain why God allows certain things to happen, I cant understand why He should listen to any of us at all, I cant explain why some people have their prayers quickly answered and for others it takes longer, if at all. All I can say is that prayer DOES work, because it draws me into relationship with God, what a tremendous privilege.
P.S. Whenever I blog it is actually to help me work through my own trials, disappointments or lessons. Pray with us as we continue to trust God to get us to Japan and that we will be seeking His kingdom first during the process.
Overwhelming Kindness (Thank you Berean Baptist Church Livonia)
Posted on October 26, 2017 2 Comments
I don’t know about you but I almost never cry in front of other people. I remember on my wedding day shedding a tear when I saw my wife walking down the isle towards me. The dam walls around my eyes could no longer hold back the overflowing river of joy that I felt. I believe that tears are a wonderful gift from God that helps give expression to our feelings. For some the waterworks open easily, for others it tends to be a bit harder – I am the latter kind of person. So, whenever I do cry, it can only be because something incredibly moving has happened. Well, that happened for me yesterday (25 Oct 2017). Aven and I have been blessed to be part of a missions conference hosted by Berean Baptist Church Livonia. I don’t think I have ever experienced this level of generosity and kindness. Let me explain.
So the church invites 5 missionary families to be part of their annual conference. Sunday to Friday night missionaries get to share their work to the church and then we get to sing praise songs and listen to a sermon. Pastor Bob Johnson from Cornerstone Baptist Church Roseville Michigan is the keynote speaker. We have enjoyed exceptional preaching focused on missions being the heartbeat of God. These sermons have been a tonic for my soul.
On top of the great preaching, the church has welcomed us with open arms. Each night we are treated to meals, our host family has been a tremendous blessing to us, we are given so many words of encouragement and kindness…and then came the gifts. Aven was at a ladies meeting and sent me a message: “Come help carry”. Huh? When I got to the church to pick her up I saw SO many gifts from people in the church! People who don’t even know us. Its hard to put these feelings into writing. After we packed the car, as we were driving back to our host family, the weight of it all just became too great. The waters of emotion surged again, the dam walls collapsed, I was overwhelmed. Overwhelmed by the tremendous generosity, kindness, and unconditional friendship offered by people I hardly knew, people I can never pay back.
At this conference I feel like one of the Old Testament characters in the Bible; Mephibosheth. Know him? He was the son of Jonathan who was the son of King Saul. Jonathan was killed in battle when Mephibosheth was 5 years old. Fearing that the Philistines will also kill the boy, a nurse rushed to try and get Mephibosheth to safety but in her haste she dropped him and he became a cripple for life.
Some years later, David conquered all of Israel’s enemies and in an effort to show loyalty to his friend Jonathan – David called for Mephibosheth. This guy must have been quaking in his sandals, it was well known that kings destroy any trace of the previous king’s descendants in order to wipe out any competition to the throne. So imagine, Mephibosheth standing before one of the most powerful kings…oops, he was probably sitting; remember he was a cripple! He is from the house of Saul, and he has absolutely nothing to offer David as a way of negotiation. But David responds in the most incredible way. David commits to showing Mephibosheth covenant faithfulness. David honors this man, he gives land to this man, he gives him a place in the royal palace, he showers him with grace, upon grace, upon grace! I am pretty sure the waterworks were flowing as Mephibosheth listened to David’s kind words. I am pretty sure this man had an incredible feeling of being overwhelmed. Overwhelmed by kindness.
I relate to the story in the way I have been treated by this church. I have been given far, far, far more than what I deserve. I am a ordinary South African, I am by no means a superstar missionary, I am not much known to the people of this church. Yet they decided to shower us with such kindness. For that reason I feel like Mephibosheth.
But far more than this, I relate to the story on another level. God has decided to give me far, far, far more than what I deserve. I have been spiritually and physically crippled by my own sin. I cannot stand on my own feet, I cannot live in a way that glorifies God. I am broken, shamed, and condemned to a hopeless existence. BUT GOD! He stepped into my world to rescue me from the crippling affect of sin. Isaiah 40:31 – He makes me rise on wings like eagles, he makes me run and not grow weary.
Like Mephibosheth I am from the wrong house, a descendant of Adam. Yet through Jesus I am brought into friendship with God. Colossians 1:22 – I have been reconciled back to God through Christ. Like Mephibosheth I had no home, I had no family. But Jesus right now is preparing a place for me. John 14:3.
I have nothing in my life that I can use to bargain with God. Nothing to negotiate with. I am a cripple, poor, homeless, enemy standing in the presence of a Holy King. But this king is infinitely compassionate, kind and gentle. He is full of covenant faithfulness. He is a king worthy of my worship. This king exchanged his crown of glory for a crown of thorns. He exchanged his throne for a cross. He gave himself up for my sins so completely, how can I not be overwhelmed?
I hope that you will also be overwhelmed by this love and grace that God offers us through his Son Jesus.
Showing the need for church planters in Japan.
Posted on September 21, 2017 2 Comments
#Notjustmycity #Heart4thenations #Heart4Japan
You can’t fire a cannon from a canoe
Posted on August 28, 2017 3 Comments
Today I came across an interesting quote coined by a Canadian strength coach of all people “You can’t fire a cannon from a canoe”. He was referring to your body needing a stable core that enables a strong production of force.
Nope….I have not taken up body building BUT, I think this gives pretty good perspective on ministry too. Every gospel worker longs for strong, lasting, and deep impact. Church planters want to see healthy, vibrant churches. Youth leaders seek growing, passionate and Christ centred youth groups. Preachers want to stir a passion for God in the hearts of their listeners. Missionaries want to communicate good news effectively. Deacons want to serve efficiently. Sunday school teachers want to see Christ like character develop in the children they teach. If you are a Christian involved in any kind of ministry, in the church or outside, your desire should be for powerful impact BUT, you can’t fire a cannon from a canoe. You can’t be effective unless your ministry is rooted and made stable on a rock solid fortress. The canon of ministry needs to be fired from a position of strength.
This rock solid fortress is daily, personal, soul feeding time with the Lord. We call this our spiritual disciplines. It’s the reading of Scripture, spending time in prayer, confession, thanksgiving, praise, turning our gaze toward the God of heaven and earth. There is no substitute for this. Without this your ministry will be firing from a weak position and will not have lasting impact. Even worse, over time the canon of ministry will become burdensome, heavy and cause you to sink.
A.W. Tozer said “The highest accomplishment of humanity is entering the overwhelming presence of God. Nothing else can satiate this burning thirst”. Paul put it like this in Phil 3:10, “That I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death”.
Real ministry power is to be intimately connected to the source of all ministry. Remember Jesus’ words…“Without me you can do nothing” John 15:5
It’s not the size or success of your ministry that is important; it’s whether your ministry is grounded in a rock solid love, commitment and reverence for Christ.
Fire your ministry canons from a fortress, not a canoe.
Partner Churches in the Great Commission
Posted on July 26, 2017 Leave a Comment
A while ago I posted a blog about sending churches like Antioch in the New Testament sending Paul and Barnabas. This time around I want to share about partner churches, looking at the Philippian church as a model. This church was planted by Paul and Silas and had converts like Lydia, the seller of purple goods, a demon possessed slave girl, and the Philippian jailer. Paul helped to establish this church and his epistle to the Philippians is a kind of thank you letter for how this church treated him. Paul is full of optimism in this letter, which is kind of amazing since he is writing from jail and not a penthouse suite. There was something about this particular church that filled Paul with exuberant joy. Let me highlight a few things about this church that makes it stand out as a model partner church.
- Partner churches brings joy and encouragement to gospel workers
Listen to Paul’s introduction; “I thank God in all my remembrance of you, always in every prayer of mine for you all making my prayer with joy, because of your partnership in the Gospel”. Even in the midst of trial, Paul is encouraged by this church, they were a blessing to him. Phil 2:19, “I hope in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy to you soon, so that I too may be cheered by news of you”. Encouragement is something very necessary and practical that partner churches can do for their missionaries.
- Partner churches have concern for a missionary
In chapter 1 verse 12 Paul tells the church not to be concerned about what has happened to him regarding his imprisonment because God was using it to advance the Gospel. It shows that this church was genuinely concerned for Paul. Phil 4:10, “I rejoiced in the Lord greatly that now at length you have revived your concern for me. You were indeed concerned for me, but you had no opportunity”. Partner churches have real concern for a missionary. I am sure this church prayed for Paul, they eagerly awaited news from him, their partnership was deep. This is another way a church a can be involved as a partner.
- Partner churches contribute financially
Phil 4:14-15, “Yet it was kind of you to share my trouble. And you Philippians yourselves know that in the beginning of the gospel, when I left Macedonia, no church entered into partnership with me in giving and receiving, except you only”. Their encouragement and concern was not only sentimental, it was genuine and practical. It affected their bank accounts, they gave materially towards the needs of Paul. It is sad that other churches did not partner in this way, the Philippian church sets the better example. This is just another practical way in which a partner church helps in advancing the Gospel among the unreached.
- Partner churches are just as much part of the work as sending churches AND the missionaries themselves
Phil 4:17-18, “Not that I seek the gift, but I seek the fruit that increases to your credit. I have received full payment, and more. I am well supplied, having received from Epaphroditus the gifts you sent, a fragrant offering, a sacrifice acceptable and pleasing to God”. Paul says that when a partner church invests resources in the work of a missionary, the fruit is shared. They have direct involvement through their partnership. They are equal partakers in the blessing that comes from advancing the Gospel of Jesus Christ. They can rejoice as though they did the work themselves.
And then finally. Philippians 4:19 gives us an amazing promise, “And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus”.
What a wonderful promise! BUT…its not for everyone! If we are faithful to context, this promise is for the Philippian Christians who were cheerful givers. Often we see this verse printed on a coffee mug or cross stitched on a pillow, everyone wants to claim it for themselves, even when they contribute nothing to the kingdom of God. No, No, No. I had to learn this personally, I cannot seek God’s provision and riches, if I am not personally being generous. This has convinced me that even as a missionary, I must live willing and prepared to help others. Consider HOW you can live generously and enjoy the promise of being rich in Christ.
In our own preparations for Japan we are in need of partner churches like Philippi. Our sending church does not have the resources to support us fully. If you are able to link us to a potential partner church please contact us. We would love an opportunity to share our vision as we trust God to provide for our needs.
Are all men trash?
Posted on May 19, 2017 Leave a Comment
#ALLMENARETRASH
This is a trending tag in South Africa right now. Just giving my 2 cents…
First we need to understand a few things…
1. Women are equally created in God’s image. They ought to be respected, honored and valued for their inner worth. Not exposed, abused, dishonored or mistreated like a piece of meat. The Bible is clear.
2. All men are not trash BUT it has got to a point where this is HOW women are feeling. Why as a male gender have we allowed this to happen? What are we going to do to change women’s view of men? THINK!
3. Be a man and own the sins of your gender. Ask if you have contributed to this problem in any way. A crude joke? A comment about a girl’s figure? “I’d tap that” “Check out those buns” Guys – you know the bathroom talk.
I can’t say that my life is completely free from any of such discrimination or sin. Neither can you, neither can anyone else. But I want to be willing to listen, repent and learn.
If I can speak personally here: The desire of my heart is that by God’s grace I will see my wife flourish and blossom like the beauty that she is. When I said yes to her, I said no to every other girl. I made a commitment to enter into a covenant of love with her, and I committed to give only friendship, respect and kindness to every other women. I am ashamed of many of my gender who would dishonor and mistreat women. Shame on us. But I am also inspired and encouraged by faithful men who do indeed uphold and fight for the value of women. Also, for the example of men who under God, love their wives and cherish them, being willing to sacrifice anything for their well being. I can name a number of such men. They are not trash, and their wives will agree to that.
To the ladies willing to listen to a Christian voice…
1. Consider the love of God…
1 John 4:9-11 In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.
Ephesians 2:4-5 But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ— by grace you have been saved.
If not for Jesus I too would be trash, but Jesus changed me, and He enables me to love true and well. My wife finds the ultimate example of love in Jesus, not me, not in any other man. I understand that, I find joy in that, and I can only strive to love her like Jesus does.
2. Find a man who would strive to love you like Jesus does
Ephesians 5:25 Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her,
There are men who would love you like this if you would commit your steps to the Lord. Do not settle for a low life only interested in what he can get from you. Commit to the man who will serve you and sacrifice for you as Christ did for His church. This is the love life you can have if you let God write your love story. You wont find this guy wasted at the bar, you wont find this guy rubbing up against you in the club, you wont find this guy holding crude, sexist and obscene posters at a university residence.
Satan is writing a fake love story filled with evil, heartache and tears. The first few pages seem fun and exciting but as the story continues the pages are stained with alcohol, porn and crude joking. Later the story gets more gruesome; rape, abuse, divorce. This story does not have to be your story. Let God write your love story.
Do not give up on happiness, do not give up on love, just give up on the books that don’t have the answers.
God gives us His book, His love story – it has changed me, it has changed my wife, it has changed many others I know…it can change you.
Let God write your love story.
Some photos to help you see…NOT ALL MEN ARE TRASH – JESUS MADE US DIFFERENT
Holding the Rope: A Model for Biblical Sending.
Posted on April 25, 2017 Leave a Comment
William Carey was a missionary to India under the banner of the Baptist Missionary Society. In that time Andrew Fuller said: “There is a gold mine in India; but it seems as deep as the center of the earth; who will venture to explore it”? “I will go down”, responded William Carey, and included these words: “but remember that you must hold the rope”.
This picture of Christians holding the rope is a fitting analogy for the relationship between missionaries and their supporters. This relationship is seen in the book of Acts when Antioch sends Paul and Barnabas to do the work of the gospel.
Now there were in the church at Antioch prophets and teachers, Barnabas, Simeon who was called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen a lifelong friend of Herod the tetrarch, and Saul. While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.” Then after fasting and praying they laid their hands on them and sent them off. Acts 13:1-3
Here we have a case study for a sending church and we can make the following observations.
- They were sensitive to God’s agenda.
This church was able to discern God’s call upon Paul and Barnabas. This was no arbitrary sending, there was a kind of synergy between the church, the Spirit of God, and the missionaries Paul and Barnabas. The church responded to God’s call together, missionaries can never act independently from the church.
- Their priority was worship before mission.
As John Piper puts it: “Missions exists because worship doesn’t.” Antioch proves that when authentic worship is present, missions will be a inevitable result. Antioch had no missions mobilizers, no agencies pushing for the unreached, nobody putting them on a guilt trip about the unreached billions, nobody pleading with them to go to the Gentiles. It was worship that compelled them towards missions. Sending churches make worship their top priority and missions flows naturally from that. (See Psalm 67)
- They stood with their missionaries.
There is wonderful symbolism in Acts 13:3. When the church laid hands on Paul and Barnabas it was an expression of their identification with these two men. It was as if they were saying: “Brothers we are with you in this great enterprise.” Or “As you go, we go with you.” Or “We will hold the rope.” Also, Paul and Barnabas were not strangers in this church. They spent months in the church encouraging, teaching and connecting with the believers. Missions is a mandate given to the church and when it comes to reaching the unreached we either go down the mine or we hold the rope.
- They gave up their best.
I am sure it hurt to send Paul and Barnabas off into frontier missions. I mean these guys were significant leaders, they were adding great value to the church in Antioch. But the church let them go because they were following God’s agenda. The church in the west must be careful not to adopt a gathering approach rather than a scattering approach. A strong church is not identified by its seating capacity, but by its sending capacity. Sending churches realize that at some point they must allow their best people to go down into the unreached mines.
- They kept their missionaries accountable
In Acts 14:24-28 we read how Paul and Barnabas reports back to Antioch about all that God has done. It shows that Paul and Barnabas were not off gallivanting, doing their own thing. They had a task and reported back when the work was complete. There was a genuine relationship and gospel connection between the church and its missionaries. This relationship is not the primary role of the missions agency, it’s the role of the church.
Antioch gives us a good model for the relationship between sending churches and missionaries. In my next blog I hope to write about partner churches and their role in terms of sending missionaries.
I’d like to end off on a personal note. God has been so gracious in providing a team of people holding the rope for us. Like India, Japan is a gold mine that runs as deep as the center of the earth. Multiple unchurched cities and towns, many who have never personally heard the good news, 127 million precious souls. Who will go down into these mines? Many are already there, but many more are needed. We are willing to go down – but only if others will hold our rope. The resources needed are large, the training needed is tough, the time needed is long, but it is a necessary task.
We have 3 churches so far supporting us financially. We have about 30 individuals supporting us financially. Most importantly we have 6 churches and over 100 individuals praying for us. We praise God for these dear rope holders. But the rope is not secure enough yet…In order to go by February next year we need about 10 churches and 70 individuals to hold the rope. If you want to be a rope holder please contact us and we will share all the Lord is laying on our hearts to do.
Personal email: ajmeiring316@gmail.com
Sending church email: office@central.org.za
Called East 