Scared – by Tom Davis

I’ve read Fields of the Fatherless and Red Letters by Tom Davis.  In both of these books Davis uses his  passion to convict the reader to care for orphans, the poor, the down-trodden, and AIDS victims in Africa.  When I heard he was writing a novel that wove these human sorrows into a story I was intrigued and ordered a copy before it was even released.

Scared is a story of two different people from two different worlds whose lives cross.  God works in both of their lives to lift them from the pit of hopelessness to a new found peace in him.

Both the hero and the heroin are in desperate times.  Adanna is a young girl in Swaziland that lives in a village where many of the adults have died or they are dying of AIDS.  She often goes days without anything to eat.  Life is desperate.

Stuart is a free-lance photographer.  His pictures of the massacre in the Congo earned him honors in his field but the images in his mind have left his personal life and career quickly spiraling downward and out of control.  Life is desperate.

The Tau Connection

What a fine looking group of young men…  I lost touch with many of these guys until recently on Facebook.  Now I see random status updates from time to time.  Amazing as it seems, most of us grew up.

What’s more amazing is how God has used a part of my life that was way off the Christian path for his good purposes.  There are many past experiences and life choices (good and bad) that make up who I am today.  God has used them all to mold me and grow me and he is still at work.  The job often looks hopeless to me but with God all things are possible (Matt 19:26).

This story however is about how God has used my past not just to mold me, but to dramatically change the life of 57 orphans in Liberia and a suburban Baptist church in Cypress, Texas.

How much do I give?

Each month I receive a variety of solicitations from worthy Christian organizations asking for money.  These organizations are doing great things to help those in need both physically and spiritually.  Right now on my desk I have requests from the following organizations:

ServLife – this organization has a vision to equip 1000 indigenous leaders to share the gospel with their own people, educate and care for 1000 children through sponsorships, and help start 1000 micro-businesses to rescue people out of poverty – all by the year 2013.

Crazy Love – Francis Chan

A friend of mine recommended Crazy Love: Overwhelmed by a Relentless God to me.  Prior to that I had not heard of Francis Chan.  My friend let me down in a way.  Before you recommend this book to anyone, you need to provide a warning.  If you’re comfortable in your Christian life, good family, good church, good job, all in all life is good – then do not read this book.  Unless of course, you’re brave enough to challenge your comfortable status quo.

Chan has a unique way of starting a book.  In chapter one he asks you to stop and watch a couple of videos on the book’s website, “Just Stop and Think” and “The Awe Factor of God”.  The reason that he wants you to watch these videos is that the purpose of the first three chapters is to make sure you have an understanding of who God is in the bible.

Chapter one discusses God being holy, eternal, all knowing, all powerful, and fair and just.  Chan brings home the point that many Christians today have learned this at some point but that we suffer from spiritual amnesia.  We start to take the awesomeness of God for granted.

Chapter two reminds us that life is short (James 4:13-14).  In this chapter, you are challenged that worry and stress are sins where you are making your problems greater than God.  He then ends the chapter asking if you’re ready to face God today.

In chapter three Chan really set me up.  He talks about God being this awesome Father, how He loves me, and how I need to love and fear him like a child does their own loving Dad – safe, secure, loved, but with respect and awe.  After these three chapters you’re feeling good about God and who you are with Him.  You might even be more encouraged to get back on track with your quiet time and bible reading.  Then comes the next chapter.

Some might say that Chapter four and five are the crux of the this book.  I don’t know about that.  In fact, Chan gives that title to the last chapter.  If these Chapters were all the book was about then this would be a discouraging book, but it’s meant to encourage.  The last half of the book picks you back up off the mat after chapter four hits you in the gut and then chapter five delivers the knock-out to your glass jaw.

Chapter four is about lukewarm Christians.  Francis Chan goes through verse after verse in describing lukewarm Christians.  It reminded me of Jeff Foxworthy and his famous routine, “You know you’re a redneck when…”.  The chapter reads like, “You know you’re a lukewarm Christian when…”.

I didn’t fail all of the lukewarm Christian tests but I saw myself in enough of them that I was humbled and broken.  I know lots of people that I would point to and think, “lukewarm Christian”.  However, when I read all the passages on how Christians are called to live, I saw the large log in my own eye.

Chapter four was harsh.  Chapter five starts by Chan stating, “Of all the chapters in this book, this one was the hardest for me to write.”  What?  Maybe I should should close the book now.  However, I took a deep breadth and continued.

The key passage in chapter five is Revelation 3:15-18.

I know your works: you are neither cold nor hot. Would that you were either cold or hot! 16 So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth. 17 For you say, I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing, not realizing that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked. 18 I counsel you to buy from me gold refined by fire, so that you may be rich, and white garments so that you may clothe yourself and the shame of your nakedness may not be seen, and salve to anoint your eyes, so that you may see.

The message in chapter five is, true Christians, Christ followers, cannot be lukewarm.  If you are a lukewarm Christian, the bible says that Jesus “spits you out”.  Basically, Chan is saying that the bible is teaching that lukewarm Christians are not Christians.  After reading chapter four and realizing how much of my life is a lukewarm Christian life, chapter five delivered the blow and challenged my faith.  If I am a lukewarm Christian, am I a Christian at all?

For such a controversial and tough topic, Chan again does what more Christian authors should do.  He tells the reader to stop and read the gospels, all the way through and see for themselves what God says about those that claim to follow Jesus but don’t lead the life that follows Jesus.

I don’t want to scare anyone from reading this book.  Chan makes it clear that he is not wanting us to doubt our salvation.  He reaffirms that God’s grace covers our failures to follow Jesus how the bible tells us to follow him.  The point at which you need to think about your salvation is if your not 100% sold out for Jesus, and you’re ok with that.

As I mentioned, the rest of the book picks you back off the mat and encourages on how to live a life that is on fire for Jesus as opposed to the lukewarm life that has become too comfortable to us.

Chapter six is about what it means to truly love God.  What does that look like?  He quotes John Piper’s challenge from “God is the Gospel”.

The critical question for our generation—and for every generation— is this: If you could have heaven, with no sickness, and with all the friends you ever had on earth, and all the food you ever liked, and all the leisure activities you ever enjoyed, and all the natural beauties you ever saw, all the physical pleasures you ever tasted, and no human conflict or any natural disasters, could you be satisfied with heaven, if Christ were not there?

Chan’s point is this chapter is to encourage the reader to seek a true love relationship with Jesus.  If we try to pursue obedience to Jesus out of fear and guilt, we will fail.  We must be in love with Jesus.  If you’re not there, ask God to get you there.

Chapter seven encourages you to live for your next life and not this one.  We all know the verses about storing up treasures in heaven, but yet we still all live pursuing perishable treasures here on earth.

Chapter eight sort of reads like the antithesis of chapter four.  This chapter examples of what it is like to be obsessed for living for Jesus.  “You might be obsessed if…”.

Chapter nine follows up the theory of chapter eight with some real-life examples of people living radical lives for Jesus.  It includes well-known Christians from history like George Mueller to an everyday family that delivers food to the homeless every Christmas.

Chapter ten is titled, “The Crux of the Matter.”  Basically, now that you’ve read this book, if it cut to your heart and has convicted you to start living all out of Jesus, what next?

I highly recommend “Crazy Love” to everyone.  However, don’t forget the warning: This book may challenge you more than you want to be challenged if you think your life is comfortable and comfort is what you want.

I’m actually going through it again with a group of guys I meet with each week.  It was one of these guys that recommended the book to me but I later found out, he’d never read it yet himself.  Well, he’s going to read it now, and I’ve fully warned them all.

Faith of Costello

Have you ever felt as lost as Costello in “Who’s on First” when trying to figure out this whole Christianity thing?

It all seemed so simple when I first said that short prayer as a ten year old boy.  Just believe that Jesus is the Son of God that died for my sins and ask him to be in my heart.  At that point, my sins consisted of being mean to my little brother and sometimes not obeying my mom and dad.  If believing in Jesus would save me from hell and the devil then I was all for that.

It started to get a little more complicated when puberty hit.  As a teenager, suddenly my sins started mounting up and I began this endless cycle of guilt and confession.  Finally, at some point I found it was easier to justify my behavior than feel guilty about it.

Christianity became real easy once I just ignored it all together.

Who’s on First? I don’t care.  It wasn’t very complicated at all.  I had my prayer done and my eternity ticket punched.

Fortunately for me, it was not just up to me.

Romans 8:29 (ESV)
²⁹ For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers.

God pursued me and would not let me cast him aside.  You can read my story in detail under My Damascus Road.

This however, is when Christianity started to get much more confusing and I started to find myself frustrated with what I call the “faith of Costello”.  What I mean by that is Christianity is simple, but my expectations had made it very difficult.

I know we are saved by faith.  There is nothing we can do to save ourselves.

Ephesians 2:8 (ESV)
⁸ For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God,

However, just a few books to the right, we read that faith without works is no faith at all.  And Jesus tells us those that belong to him will bear good fruit.

James 2:17 (ESV)
¹⁷ So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.

John 15:2 (ESV)
² Every branch of mine that does not bear fruit he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit.

So what are some of these good works that I need to be doing or maybe my faith is dead?  Oh, nothing much…Just lose your life, crucify your life to this world, consider everything worldly as crap.

Matthew 10:38 (ESV)
³⁸ And whoever does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me.

Romans 6:6 (ESV)
⁶ We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin.

Philippians 3:8 (ESV)
⁸ Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ

I’m saved by faith alone.  Ok, but I’m still living a pretty comfy life.  I’m not sure where my cross is to carry even if I was willing.  I sure don’t feel that crucified and while some of my stuff is crap – some of it I really like!  I can’t do this.  This is too hard God.  I just want to know what it takes to be a Christ follower.

Who’s on First?

I don’t know.

No, he’s on Third.

Who?

No, Who’s on First

Is it really that difficult to grasp?

Not really.  It’s no more difficult than when I was ten.  Only now, I understand it better because I understand that my sin is much more than just being mean to my little brother and not listening to my parents all the time.  My sin is in my very nature.  However, the answer is still the same.  Jesus died for all this sin.  And the power that resurrected him from the dead is the same power that will allow me to overcome my old nature that fights against my new nature.

The reason this seems so complicated to me sometimes, is because I forget that the gospel that saved me in the beginning is the same gospel that rescues me everyday.  When I come before His cross each day, I want to pick up my own, I want to crucify myself to this world, and everything else does become rubbish.  Not because of what I do, but because of the power of his grace that gives me the faith to do the works.

Who’s on First?

Jesus.

The Theology of Adoption

My wife and I attended the Christian Alliance for Orphans conference held in Dallas this April.  On the way to the conference my wife was excited about the conference and about getting involved in this ministry.  I was looking forward to the conference but I had other issues that God had been working out in me.  I was not completely sure that orphan ministry was where he wanted me right now.

I tried to share my concern with my wife but I did not do too well.  I tried to explain that God has been working on pride issues in me and telling me to focus on Jesus first above all else.  My struggle is that I don't think I do the basics right.  I’m still wrestling at making sure Jesus is glorified in all I do and that my life needs to be about living out the gospel and telling others about Jesus.

This may sound weird to some, but something like orphan ministry actual sounded easy compared to my first responsibility of living the gospel and sharing it with others.  It’s easy to have a broken heart for the orphan.  But I need to have a broken heart for my neighbor.

I teach a Sunday morning bible study.  I enjoy it.  God’s word excites me and teaching it excites me.  But when I am at my job or with others that don’t know Jesus, I stay quiet.  This is what God has been working out in me.  Orphan care ministry needed to come after the gospel ministry.

As I tried to explain this to my wife on the trip up to Dallas I think I frustrated her.  I sounded like I was looking for excuses but I wasn’t.  I just was not explaining where I was coming from very well.

The first breakout session we attended at the conference was a lesson called “A Theology of Adoption”.  It was presented by Daniel Bennett, the Senior Pastor at Bethany Community Church in Washington, Illinois.  God is so good.  He took the very first session and within the very first five minutes, let me know that AdoptionOrphan Care ministry starts when the church’s heart is first desiring to know and glorify God.

You see, I was concerned about orphan care ministry being focused on the orphan.  Don’t get me wrong, we need to love and care for the orphans and that is the point of the ministry.  But here I am struggling with glorifying Jesus above all else and I knew a heart-breaking ministry could tempt me to focus primarily on the injustice.  My focus would be what “I” could do or encourage “others” to do.  Any ministry has to be about what “God” will do.  My heart needs to be about glorifying God, and through glorifying Him loving others – orphans in orphan care ministries, but also my co-worker and my neighbor.

So what is the theology of adoption?  Here are the six points that Pastor Bennett laid out:

1. Our adoption was accomplished despite our condition.  (Romans 3:10-23; Romans 5:6-11)

2. Our adoption was an act of God. (Romans 3:24-26)

3. Our adoption was accomplished through the suffering of our savior. (Romans 5:6-11; Romans 6:1-11)

4. Our adoption makes us part of a new family. (Romans 8:14-17)

5. Our adoption can never be revoked. (Romans 8:14-39)

6. Our adoption is for the glory of God. (Romans 9:22-29)

The theology of adoption is about glorifying God and about the gospel.  What God has been working out in me these past six months and still today, is preparing me for this ministry.  I don’t know if he has me ready yet, but I’m placing one foot in front of the other and we’ll see where he takes me.

Philippians 2:12-13 (ESV)
¹² Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, ¹³ for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.

Help! I’m an Orphan

My son has a couple of private blogs.  One of them is about waiting for his new little brother from Ethiopia.  He recently posted a great article on orphans so I got permission to re-post it here for everyone else.

(by Tate) I was watching someone on the TV the other day with my mom and dad. He was talking about helping the orphan. I started crying ( on the inside ) and really thought about what he was saying.

He started talking about adopting, and it struck me - these orphans aren't just orphans, they're kids! Kids that don't have anybody, or anything. The man on TV said something I'll never forget, he said "If Jesus comes in the next 2 minutes, none of this would matter - if he comes in the next 200 years, it does."

Let me list a few of the things your typical orphan has and doesn't have.

Has:

• 2 small meals a day


• 1 outfit


• an orphanage to sleep in

Doesn't Have:

• clean water


• a nice bed


• good clothes


• toys


• a pet


• a family

See what I mean. It's a recipe for starvation and if we aren't going to help who will? And we aren't even thankful for what we have half the time! I just wanted to share that with you. And if you are reading this now, you should be thankful you have a computer.

Don’t Waste Your Life - John Piper

I read this book on the way to Liberia last summer.  If you read or listen to much of John Piper you know that he has a passion for people to understand the joy that comes from the glory of Jesus.  For him, everything is about the cross, the price Jesus paid for our sins even though we deserve no mercy, and the glory and joy of God’s forgiveness anyway.

Piper believes we are created to be full of joy and the joy comes from the glory of God.  Chapter 3 includes some resolutions from Jonathan Edwards, including Resolution #22: “Resolved, to endeavor to obtain for myself as much happiness, in the other world, as I possibly can, with all the power, might, vigor, and vehemence, yea violence, I am capable of, or can bring myself to exert, in any way that can be thought of.”

This is a powerful quote that can easily be misunderstood.  In our PC world it is not good to talk about violence but as Piper explains, Edwards is expressing what Jesus meant when he said if your eye is causing you to sin, gouge it out.  Basically, do whatever is necessary to live in this world for the next.

Living for the next life is probably the best way to describe the theme for this book, “Don’t Waste Your Life”.  The point Piper makes is that everything we do needs to be to magnify Christ.  To magnify Christ is not to make him bigger, because you can’t, but to live your life so that others can see the glory of Christ – magnify him to others.

Chapter four starts to take you into what it means to live a life that magnifies Jesus.  It means a life of suffering and pain but full of joy.  Quite a paradox but right from the gospels and Paul’s letters.

After chapter four makes it clear that you can expect suffering when you don’t waste your life, chapter five urges you forward to take action, take risks.  We certainly crave the good life in our country.  The American dream is to be financially independent and successful.  Risk taking is ok in business but not when the reward you can expect is pain and suffering.  We don’t call that a risk, we call that stupid.

I heard a great point by Francis Chan the other day.  When we are at God’s throne and making an account for our lives, who will feel stupid?  The one that was sold out for Jesus and risking it all, or the one that played it safe, built up a great retirement plan and financial security for his children.  When everything in this world burns away, which life is stupid?

There is a warning here however.  God is always interested in our hearts.  Are you wanting to risk it all so you feel exalted?  Do you look down on others whom you perceive to be wasting their lives and see yourself as a better Christian?  Self-righteousness is not an acceptable heart for God.  Everything is for his glory, and his glory alone.

Chapter seven asks a great question that every follower of Jesus should ask themselves.  It is based on 1 Peter 3:15.

1 Peter 3:15 (ESV)
¹⁵ but in your hearts regard Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you;

Do people ask you about “the hope that is in you” or is your hope the same as theirs?  Does your life look so radically different that your neighbors know that your live for a different purpose?  Or does your life look like your goals are like theirs, a comfortable suburban life, kids in college, and a comfortable retirement?

I think whenever I’ve read this verse in the past, my thought was that this meant how people see me handle adversity.  How do I handle the death of a loved one?  How do I handle the loss of a job?  However, it is much more than that.

Peter is talking about the suffering that comes from a zeal for living for Christ.  To the early Christians reading Peter’s letter this meant real persecution like many of our brothers and sisters face in other countries today.  For us in America, it means others, including my neighbor, are more important to me than me.  If my neighbor cannot tell from my everyday life that I live for the glory of Christ, I’m not giving him any reason to ask about the hope that is in me.

While the preceding chapters are convicting and cause you to think about how you're living your life, many of us may think that this “sold out” life-style is reserved for preachers and missionaries.  However, chapter 8, “Making Much of Christ from 8 to 5”, brings it back to you, wherever you are at.

1 Corinthians 10:31 (ESV)
³¹ So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.

Chapter nine is for those that are reading the book and know they are being pulled by God beyond their 8 to 5 job.  Missionaries and preachers are called and Piper winds down his book encouraging those that feel the pull to not resist, give it all up, and do it.  However, even if you are not called (at least yet) to join the front lines in reaching the unreached, Piper makes this point.  In war, even the civilians need to have a heart for the battle and for the people in the far corners of the world that have not yet heard the good news.  The news that there is a God and he loves them and wants to draw them to himself.

Piper has a great analogy – don’t be content to just be a bat boy that thinks the great point of the World Series is to hand the players a bat.  If you are a “sender” then show your love and mercy to those in need at home.  There is no reason for any of us to just sit on the sidelines and waste our life.

I read this book on my own and again as I used it in a Sunday morning bible study and with my men’s accountability group.  Piper draws you to God’s word and challenges you to live it out.

The only criticism that I have received from those that have read the book along with me is that Piper is super intelligent and uses words sometimes that may require a dictionary.  I’m too lazy for that and usually just went with the context so it never really bothered me too much.  The overall intent of his words were always crystal clear.

One final note, as I know John Piper would agree, this book is just the words of a man.  It’s meant only as a supplement to challenge you based on what you read for yourself in God’s word.