CFC first sent a team to Morelia, Mexico in 2005 as part of its summer missions program and had a wonderful time doing campus ministry there. With its colonial architecture and vibrant culture, the city exuded energy and beauty. It’s hard to believe that Morelians woke up this morning to see this splashed in the headlines:

7 Killed in Mexico Independence Day Grenade Attack

By TRACI CARL – 18 hours ago

MORELIA, Mexico (AP) — Assailants threw two grenades into a huge crowd of Independence Day revelers, killing seven and injuring more than 100 in a brazen attack that escalates the war between Mexico’s army and drug gangs. (Read more…)

I can’t believe this picture. I am pretty sure this is the same spot we were at during our first weekend outreach.

The New York Times covered it too. (Read here)

Needless to say, please please pray… for Mexico, for Morelia, for the churches, for the victims, for the assailants, for God to reveal His glory in the midst of this chaos.

Collage from safer times ’05:

slide by Judy Lee

This is a sermon I preached at J-Gen in blog form. I thought it might be helpful to some, especially myself! If you don’t want to read the whole thing, just check out the video at the end.

14 Do everything without complaining or arguing, 15 so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe 16 as you hold out the word of life — in order that I may boast on the day of Christ that I did not run or labor for nothing. [Philippians 2:14-16]

I love this imagery the Bible uses to describe what Christians ought to be like–shining stars. Stars shine at night, which is fitting because there is certainly a lot of darkness in our world today.

Some say we must shine by engaging the world—be relevant. After all, Jesus Christ was very relevant, indiscriminately reaching out to the riffraff of society. The danger, of course, is slipping into compromise.

Some look at it from a different angle. With all the moral and spiritual chaos around us, this view says one can shine the brightest by detaching oneself from the world and seeking holiness. It’s a modern day monastic model. Churches like this throw out a truth grenade once in a while but overall lack the sensitivity and authenticity needed for true effectiveness.

Both camps have a valid point, but combining them would produce a synergetic shining effect to the world around us. We should be both distinctly different (holy) yet lovingly relevant (love) with the world. The result is the Light of Jesus shining to the whole world.

DISTINCTLY DIFFERENT | HOLY

14 Do everything without complaining or arguing

Pulling no punches, Paul goes straight for the jugular when he tells the Philippian church not to “argue” or “complain”. Attitude is everything! Of the many things the aged apostle could’ve addressed, he directs his punch at seemingly domestic issues. Why not talk about something worthwhile, like dying for Jesus? Because if one can’t live for Jesus with a right attitude, he can’t die for him with one either.

Paul understood that a bad attitude is like AIDS of the heart. Don’t argue (an inward argument with God because we want to get our own way) and don’t complain (an outward expression of the internal argument we have with God). Why? Because a complaint filled heart has no room for Jesus.

15 so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe

Paul is quoting from Deuteronomy 32 when he says ”a crooked and perverse generation.” It’s a reference to the Israelites who made complaining and grumbling their full time occupation. On the heels of the greatest redemption to date, with the Red Sea splitting and all, the Israelites were masters at complaining. No meat, no water, etc. They were so focused on what they didn’t have, that they didn’t see what they did have – a great God who rescued them in a great way. The Egyptians couldn’t keep them enslaved, the Anakites couldn’t demolish them, but grumbling and complaining killed the nation of Israel.

At the core of complaining and arguing are these two basic sentiments: I’m not getting what I need and I’m not getting what I deserve. This kind of whiny attitude reduces God to an impotent deity who does not know what we need nor has the power to help us. Furthermore, we’ve bought into this American dream that says life is supposed to be good and there is something wrong when things don’t go our way. We need to redefine our need and deserve.

Need. We confuse our need with our want. What we want is comfort, ease, material success, etc. But Jesus knows our greatest need is HIM.

Deserve. No matter what we think we deserve or feel entitled to, the Bible says the only thing we deserve is hell. But, Jesus died for us and gave us heaven!

Be distinctly different! Where it’s natural to complain, shine by giving thanks! The child of God is to be radically different from the world in our outlook! If we grumble and complain, we not only lose our shine but become part of the darkness.

ENGAGINGLY RELEVANT | LOVE

I like the way the ESV states v. 15, “that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world” Note the words “in the midst” and “among”. There is an undeniable fact – stars shine at night. There has to be loving and wise engagement with the world.

But what is this world we are to engage? What is its nature? Look again at v. 15, a “crooked and depraved generation”. “Crooked” denotes a warp in every human heart without Christ. Like a water-logged wooden floor, the bulge of the human heart wants what it wants and will not stay even with the rest of the floor. “Depraved” is literally corruption. In this darkness, the question begs us…

What difference can I make?

Remember the light of Jesus. God said, “Let there be light” in Genesis 1 and it was so. Darkness was no more. In this vein, God repeatedly called his people to shine as well. However, the sad reality was that the flickering light of Israel failed repeatedly, often times preferring the darkness around them. In fact, at a point in Israel’s history, it seemed like the light had truly been snuffed out. The idolatries and lack of justice among Gods people made them indistinguishable from the darkness of the surrounding nations. The antithesis between the light and darkness had been erased.  God’s judgement was to simply announce the darkness among them. Its almost as if God gave them over to the darkenss that they seemed to prefer. To make it official, the Assyrians from the north destroyed the Northern kingdom of Israel and humiliated the southern kingdom of Judah to captivity.

It was not over though. The everlasting, never-failing Light of the World was preparing the a greater more awesome light to come into the very nation of Assyria and Israel. Isaiah 9:2 says, “The people who walk in darkness will see a great light.” This is THE light that shines in the darkness (John 1:5). The Light of Jesus is not satisfied until it has invaded the whole world. How? Through the stars of Jesus who depend on Christ.

Any star, no matter how little, can still penetrate the darkness!

Here’s a great illustration of someone who shone the light of Jesus by showing both distinct differentness but also loving relevance. It’s from the classic book, Out of the Saltshaker and Into the World by Rebecca Pippert:

I frequently hear that the call to be holy and the call to demonstrate love to sinners are mutually exclusive. (As if love is the antithesis to holiness!) Jesus welcomed and loved sinners; he did not drive them away by too much affectation of righteousness. He showed genuine compassion for people, but he was also direct and uncompromising in denouncing sin. Jesus had compassion, but there was also toughness in his love. He won them without sacrificing the purity of this life.

The paradox of agape love is that we accept our neighbor unconditionally and with open arms and at the same time desire moral purity for their lives. If Jesus is our Lord, our compassion will be shaped by his moral absolutes. Christ both was merciful and made judgments. Some things, he said, were immoral and destructive, but he never ceased to love. Indeed, it was his love that prompted his judgment. The enemy of our age is our desire to be tolerant and open-minded. But the problem with being too open-minded is that our brains fall out.

I know a Christian woman who has cared deeply for a non-Christian woman who has had every variety of sexual experience. One day the non-Christian woman said to the Christian, “It’s funny, my non-Christian friends accept me. They say it doesn’t matter what I do. I’m free. But it’s only with you that I feel loved, that I know I could always come to you. But it’s also only when I’m with you that I feel shame and remorse for what I’m doing.”

That is holiness. It never abandons; it identifies deeply with individual people. But it brings the reality of God’s presence, the purity of his holiness. It is not intimidated by nor does it flee from crisis; neither does it deny the reality of existence.

credit http://www.therebelution.com

If you’ve made it this far, check out this youtube clip of Brittany McComb, avaledictorian at her high school. During her speech at graduation, she started to share about how Christ has made a difference in her life, at which point the school admin cut her off. When that happens, the overwhelming feeling is that the student body likes her. They are cheering for her and booing the school administration. My point is simply this… she had a relationship with her peers. Even though she was uncompromising in her expression of faith, she was also real and relevant. She was the kind of person who rubbed shoulders with others. Sounds like a star to me.

Slide by Judy Lee

Ever feel like life is a battle? Well, that’s because it is. The apostle Paul compares the genuine Christian life to an aggressive fight. He ends his letter to the Ephesian church with the reminder that the war of wars never ends on this side of heaven. This talk of battle seems a bit abrupt at superficial glance (although a careful reading of Ephesians would have tipped off the reader to what’s coming). The tail end of Ephesians 5 speaks of marriage, parenting, forgiveness, the workplace, and communication — common every day living stuff. Then in chapter 6, the shofar is blown and there is an urgent call us to arm ourselves for war. Why? Paul is simply pointing out the fact that what makes each of these dimensions of life difficult is that each one is a spiritual battleground where the Great War between the Spirit and sinful nature takes place. It would do well not to blame other people or circumstances. Wise is the man who understands these verses and sees that all of life-its events and relationships-is hard because the context of life is a violent war.

Christians will wage war against their sinful inclinations (or desires, if you will) that is tempted by the worldly system and the prince of the air. But we need not whimper in the metaphorical corner because of the incredible armor that God has given to us. What Paul goes on to illustrate is nothing short of the courageous “300″ type soldier dressed in complete battle garb (Ephesians 6:11-17). Then in verse 18, he seeks to establish the principle source of strength in which the warfare is to be successfully to be fought.

Charles Hodge’s commentary on the verse is insightful:

It is not the armor or weapon which make the warrior. There must be courage and strength; and even then he often needs help. As the Christian has no resources of strength in himself, and can succeed only as aided from above, the apostle urges the duty of prayer.  

Prayer is absolutely necessary because an armor does not make one a warrior. Shepherd boy David’s young frame could not hold up Saul’s armor, but he was clothed with the presence of God. Saul was not half the warrior David was because he lacked David’s heart. I need to pray so that I can receive the heart of the Divine Warrior who fought for me on the cross and who is fighting for me and through me today.

As I head into the day, numerous battle moments await me. So by the grace of God, I resolve to fight my selfishness in my relationships–to minister and not manipulate people, to help and not complain to my wife, to teach and not yell at my kids, to pray for/counsel and not ignore the difficult people, to respect and treasure those over me. I also resolve to fight my sinful desires to build my kingdom and not God’s Kingdom–to have a pure heart toward God, to invest my time and energy in eternal things, to not envy other’s gifts and talents, to be faithful to my calling. 

One day, when I meet the Warrior-King face to face, how glad I will be if I could hear him say, “Well done. You’ve fought the good fight and finished the race.”

From the mouth of babes… My good deeds should never be an end to themselves and they should never be a means to draw attention to myself. Rather, my good deeds should be an overflow of gratitude to Jesus for His light that shone in my darkened heart so I can see. If I ever see the blind man again. I will be sure to walk with him (if he lets me) and ask him, “Sir, do you know God? Do you know Jesus?” With his permission, I would love to unravel the Story of the Light of the World who came to open sinful humanity’s blind eyes. 

Lord, thank you for reminding me through the blind guy and my little guy what ministry is about.

In 2004, I had the privilege of doing some work in Myanmar. It’s horrible to think this is what people saw in the streets in the aftermath of the cyclone a couple of months ago. This photograph was not taken from a news website, but from a digital camera of a pastor who lives in Yangon. Can you imagine waking up and seeing this out the window? We should also not forget the tragic earthquake in China .

In order to give aid to these two very needy areas, we will be collecting a special offering for the next two Sundays. I know this announcement was made in church, but I wanted to add my voice of encouragement for all of us to reach deep into our hearts and our pockets to help the healing process in these grief stricken areas. Let us be filled with the love of Christ in our hearts and express the love of Christ with our hands.

Some news links to the Myanmar Cyclone and the China earthquake:

New York Times articles on Cyclone Nargis

Cyclone victims face ‘long term’ food shortages

Relief slow for victims in cyclone-hit delta

100,000 may have died in Myanmar Cyclone

Massive quake kills nearly 10,000 in China

BBC articles on the earthquake in China

New York Times articles on the earthquake

Matthew 28:19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” 

Dr. George Murray once explained, “Evangelism is reaching people who don’t believe in Jesus; Missions is reaching people who don’t know there’s a Jesus to believe in. The border to be crossed is not geographical but spiritual. Missions is the equitable distribution of the gospel.”

In order for the gospel to be distributed to the ends of the earth, we’ve had to say many goodbyes at CFC. In the past couple of years, we’ve sent out DSL, PPO, PMC, PPC, and now PJL. This is not to mention the countless CFC alumni doing God’s work all over the world. 

So many memories flood my mind when I think of J–experiencing our first Africa trip together, breaking fast inappropriately after Passion Week , serving as officers and making countless mistakes , seminary and youth pastor years, praying together, late night chats, my all too many Apple questions at the most inconvenient times, double dating with our wives (who’ve known each other for 30 years!) and of course, serving at CFC together. As I look back on our 20 years of friendship as well as my relationship with all my brothers on staff, I think to myself, I am a blessed man. What a great thing it is to go to battle together for the Kingdom!

Having written all that, there is still an undeniable sadness because we are human. No matter how many times we say our good byes, the heart-sorrow of missing them, of not seeing them at the next meeting, of not being able to plop on their couch and just shoot the breeze, of not being able to pray with them face to face… after being able to do so for 20-30 years… is, for a lack of a better word, saddening. Moreover, it’s hard to even begin to grasp the profound pain for the parents and siblings of these ordained missionaries, who to them are just their kids and siblings. It’s amazing how much emotion can be expressed in a simple crease of a parent’s face. I leave the airport, but not without a lump in my throat.

Airports. Luggage. Embraces. Taillights. Tight throats. Final waves.” “Write me!” “Don’t forget to phone.”
   

Question: What kind of God would put people through such agony? What kind of God would give you friends and families and then ask you to leave them?

Answer: A God who knows that the deepest love is not built on passion and romance but on a common mission and sacrifice. A God who knows that we are only pilgrims and that eternity is so close that any “Goodbye is, in reality, ‘See you tomorrow’.” 
A God who had to say goodbye to a Son that He dearly loved. 

~Max Lucado

 

Burundi, Africa 1991

 

“It’s an adventure story about a young hero who came from a far country to win back his lost treasure. It’s a love story about a brave prince who leaves his palace, his throne, everything to rescue the one he loves. It’s like the most wonderful of fairy tales that has come true in real life. “You see, the best thing about this story is—it’s true. “It takes the whole Bible to tell this story. And at the center of the story there is a baby. Every story in the Bible whispers his name. He is like the missing piece in a puzzle— the piece that makes all the other pieces fit together and suddenly you can see a beautiful picture. “And this is no ordinary baby. This is the baby on which everything would depend. This is the baby that would one day—but wait, our story starts where all good stories start. Right at the very beginning …” (excerpt from The Jesus Storybook Bible)

TOKYO, Japan (AP) — A 14-year-old Japanese girl killed herself by mixing laundry detergent with cleanser, releasing fumes that also sickened 90 people in her apartment house, police said Thursday as they grappled with a spate of similar suicides. Read more…