My Christmas vacation was absolutely wonderful and, following ten grueling months of language study, it was just what I needed to get recharged. I spent Christmas Day itself with several other mission personnel here, and we had a great time together, complete with turkey, dressing, and pecan pie. Immediately after Christmas, I left for a week-long vacation at the beach. I read through all four Gospels while I was there, and it was just a refreshing time with a new friend and with the Lord. I'm so grateful for that time of encouragement and rest!
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| Riley and I after opening Christmas gifts (yes, she got some, too!) |
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| Vacationing in paradise! At Koh Chang (Elephant Island) in Thailand |
Prayer Necessities:
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| Christmas party at my language school |
2. I recently met a lady named Pui who works in a bar not far from my house. She has two little girls who live with their grandfather (her dad) in another province, and she has recently entered life in the sex industry in order to support them. She was very friendly and seems very interested in continuing our new friendship. Please pray that my relationship with her would grow and that my language skills would improve so that I can communicate with her better - and, ultimately, can communicate the Gospel to her.
3. Please pray for me as I begin to teach Bible stories next week to a group of women who have recently left the sex trade. Pray that I would memorize the stories and communicate them well, and pray that they would understand and learn the stories. Pray that God would open their hearts to His Word.
Inquiring Minds Wanna Know:
My last class in language school was entitled "Social Problems." Each day we would read about and discuss political corruption, drug addiction, poverty, and other social ills. We talked about the factors contributing to these problems and how to fix them. And the class wound up being a very depressing one because we couldn't discuss the only thing that can really fix those problems: Christ. Governments cannot fix them. Individuals cannot fix them. Societies cannot fix them. Only the God of perfect justice can fix what's wrong with our world.
Lately, Thailand has had increasing political protests, and there seems to be little chance to resolve the disputes. South Sudan has recently been embroiled in violent conflicts that threaten to dissolve the newly formed nation. Syria and Iraq have had their share of infighting. And in my own country, the United States, it seems that people are more divided than ever - politically, socially, spiritually. Conflict abounds in our world at every turn.
Even within the church, we are divided. Believers doing battle with other believers, arguing over things that don't really matter and hurting one another in the process. Spiritual warfare is very real, and one of Satan's greatest weapons is division among the saints. We get angry with one another but, rather than dealing with it straightforwardly as Scripture teaches, we follow the teachings of the world, trying to "protect" ourselves from those who would hurt us by avoiding intimate relationships with them. The only problem with this philosophy is that EVERYONE will hurt us because EVERYONE is human. That's just the way it is.
Have you ever thought about Jesus' disciples and how well they got along? Actually, not very well at all. They seemed to constantly argue over who was the greatest among them. They worried and fought among themselves, and I'm sure Jesus must have been completely exasperated with them. Seriously, though, it was to be expected. These were 12 guys from all walks of life. They couldn't have been more different. There's a zealot, a revolutionary, someone who wanted to overthrow the current tyrannical Roman government and re-establish Israel. Then, there's a tax collector, a traitor to his Jewish race, a puppet for that same tyrannical government. Who would ever have thought to put those guys together? Who would ever have thought that would work?
Only Jesus.
The same Jesus who prayed that they would be one in the same way that He and His Father were one. Only He could have foreseen such unity. Only He would have ever dared to hinge the world's belief that Christ was sent by the Father on such an unlikely occurrence as the unity of His disciples. Have you ever thought about His last prayer for them - and for us?
"I do not ask for these [His disciples] only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me." (John 17:20-21)
And what was the outcome of that prayer? A mere six weeks or so later, that same motley bunch of disciples were gathered together in an upper room, united in prayer when the Holy Spirit descended upon them. They saw 3000 new believers come to faith in Christ that day. A short while after that, a couple thousand more were added to that group. With such rapid expansion of the church - and I'd say 5000+ members qualified easily as a "mega-church" - you'd expect lots of problems, right? But here's how that church is described:
"All the believers were one in heart and mind." (Acts 4:32)
Does that sound impossible? I'll admit that it does to me. Why? Well, I'm selfish and constantly want to put my needs ahead of the needs of others, even though Scripture warns against this (Phil. 2:4). The truth is, maintaining unity in the body is hard work. We all want our own way. Others should meet my needs, and others should always agree with me. It's my way or the highway.
But I think maintaining unity in the body requires maintaining an eternal perspective. Politics? Really don't matter. Secular governments can't solve the root problem of society's ills - the wickedness of people's hearts - anyway. Race? That's just what our outer shell, which is only dust, looks like. Socioeconomic differences? The Kingdom of heaven is not even worthy to be compared with something as worthless as money.
But let's bring this right down to where I live. My own petty disagreements and conflicts with my brothers and sisters? To think that others may not believe that Christ was sent by the Father because I'm not unified with my brother is heart-breaking. My perceived "needs" are far less important than that. Here is what I've been commanded to do:
"This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends." (John 15:12-13)
I am called, daily, to lay down my life for others. To give up what I want to serve my brothers and sisters. There is no greater love than this. If I love someone this much, all the rest of it won't matter. And that is what it means to be one in heart and mind.
I think, if the world see the church love one another like that, it will be obvious Who we belong to. Our Lord will be glorified, and His Spirit will move among us.
Are we ready to lay aside our differences and really love each other? And, making it even more personal... am I?
