What are You Doing for Halloween?

That's a very good question someone is bound to ask from time to time.  Here is an answer:

Well, a while back some Ugandan church leaders came to visit a friend of mine.  They came to visit right near the time of Halloween.  And one of the Ugandans, as he was visiting in and around town, asked my friend Tony in a rather somber voice, "Tony, you don't celebrate Halloween, do you?"

And my friend Tony replied, "No.  No, I don't."

The Ugandan was keenly aware that there is an unseen, yet very real, spiritual world.  And even though it may be lighthearted, it is not a good idea to be dabbling in things pertaining to witchcraft, the demonic, or vampires and such things.

So, for that reason, my wife and I don't like to support Halloween either, even if we were only dressing our kids in ninja or princess costumes.  Now, having said that, we do have a hard time passing up an occasion where entire neighborhoods of strangers freely come to your house and/or freely welcome you to theirs.  With that in mind, if the occasion can be used in a harmless* way for the proclamation of the Good News, then we tend to be more amenable to it.  If it's possible to dress up as a ninja and pass out a biography on someone who experienced God mightily... then hand me my mask and plastic saber.

* - Harmless meaning "not wearing costumes trivializing the reality of satanic power" 

A Forgotten People

Here is a video that my wife will appreciate. Enjoy. And defer to your introverted friends.

The Majesty and the Joy

Christmas is over, I know. Actually, not quite. This is only Day 6 of the Twelve Days of Christmas, and Epiphany is still to come. In light of that, here are two things worth celebrating this Christmas. The first is a very short soundbyte on the wonder of Christmas.

World and Everything - Dec. 24, 11

The second is a story about an awesome new development in Jamaica. I love these kinds of stories and you can really see the genuine delight in the faces of the people in this short video clip from the BBC.

I love how the Gospel according to Luke is titled, Jiizas: di Buk We Luuk Rait bout Im, which you can plainly see is phonetically, "Jesus: the Book That Luke Write about Him." How cool is that? The look on people's faces whenever Jesus becomes real to them in their own heart language, and is not seen as some Western god, has yet to grow old for me. This is what life truly is all about. May you have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

On Klosterman on Tebow

I recently read a remarkable and humorous take on the whole Tim Tebow fascination sweeping the pop culture landscape. What makes the piece so unique is that it comes at the "Tebow Thing" from a non-Christian, but very honest, frank perspective. The columnist is Chuck Klosterman who is a regular contributor to a rather funny, but also rather coarse, sports journal website co-hosted by ESPN, Grantland. The piece can be found by clicking this link.


I found the whole article to be refreshing. It's probably safe to say that most American Christians are Tebowphiles and the majority of Tebow-dislikers are probably non-Christians. So when Klosterman approached this article with vulnerability, disclosing his hesitancies towards belief in the whole God-helping-Tim-Tebow thing but all the while being open to the possibility of its existence, it impressed me and I respected Klosterman for it.

In the end, Klosterman rightly realizes that this whole controversy is ultimately about faith. And I think that is exactly where God would want the Tebow Thing to lead. If that is the case, if having the conversation about faith is the goal sought, I believe that's one more grain of sand on the scales indicating that perhaps God is behind the Tebow Thing. Regardless of winning or losing, even if Tebow takes a catastrophic hit to the knees that ends his career this Sunday, the platform has been erected -- the conversation is taking place -- God has gotten the attention and interest of the people He loves for just another brief moment. And that brief conversation will give Christ's Body a chance to show people the character of Him who loves them without fail.

The obvious question that someone is bound to ask, and should, is: Well, if Tebow doesn't play another down, how does God get glory from that or how does that prove there is a God behind all of this?

Answer: Any number of ways, many of which depend on Tebow's own response. For the sake of brevity, I'll make two crucial points. First of all, as stated before on this blog, God loves resurrections. Nothing seems to prove his existence more or bring him greater glory than bringing people back when all was gone, for nothing is impossible with God.

Secondly, I would argue that God thrives more on perceived failure than He does on perceived worldly success. In support of that claim I offer nothing more than the indefatigable Persecuted Church. Throughout history, in every place, the Persecuted Church is dealt death after death, destruction after destruction, and yet it continues to expand and excel and win. Victory through defeat. Hope through suffering (Rom 5:3-5). Life through death. And that is just how God would have it. In the world's eyes this is backward. But God's ways have always been backwards to man's. Or is it the other way around?

This is why Klosterman is quite right. In the end it does all come down to faith. For it certainly takes trust to be led through the bad in order to have the good. And a great deal of trust at that when trusting Someone unseen. Which, getting back to Klosterman, is where much of the "cognitive dissonance" comes in. Indeed, how can we trust when our eyes and minds seem to tell us differently? That is a great deal to overcome. But if we are to make it in this life, "overcome" we must. And that is why the Bible so vehemently exhorts us to do so, particularly in its final pages (1 Jn 5:4-5, Rev 2-3, 21:7) .

One more final point in response to Klosterman. He and many other skeptics who think the Tebow Thing not so unfathomable, believe that there are, in fact, valid reasons and statistics for Tebow's and the Broncos' not-so-unfathomable success. They would point to things such as: Coach John Fox's brilliance; the Denver defense growing more cohesive and effective; Tebow's natural physical assets of speed and size, ideally suited for running; among other things.

Well, apparently the whole Tebow Thing may not be solely statistical or even isolated to Tebow or the Denver side of the football. In a Yahoo Sports column, Doug Farrar commented on the admission by Miami Dolphins linebacker Karlos Dansby that the Tebow Thing not only has God written all over it but actually brought some of the Dolphins themselves closer to God.

All of that, of course, by no means proves that God exists. But it is one more grain of sand. And it all comes down, not to proof, but to faith.

Wrath, Love, Japan, and a Guy Named Zach Motts

Sometimes people talk about sin as if the only reason it is wrong is because God does not like it. Since God is good, that is a logical approach I suppose, but it makes God look like some kind of arbitrary rule maker. Then they talk about God being angry about sin and His wrath sounds bit pompous and unreasonably judgmental. But I do not think God is arbitrary or pompous. What if we shift the starting point a little? What if we look at God as a lover in relation to the subject of sin and wrath?

There is an organization called Mothers Against Drunk Driving (M.A.D.D.). Why would these mothers form an organization against drunk driving and give it an acronym of anger? Is there anger arbitrary? No. They formed this organization because they are women who love their children or loved children that were killed by drunk driving. They stand against something that caused pain, injury, or death to their loved ones. Their position against drunk driving is in relation to their beloved.

A lover can quite easily become angry at anything that would harm the beloved. A lover would do anything possible to protect the beloved from pain and injury. If anything makes a person ready to leap to someone’s defense, it is love. If God is a lover, then anything that would harm us would be something that He hates. God would want to destroy whatever would cause us torment, destruction, or death. That is what sin does to us. Sin destroys us, so God hates it. God’s wrath toward sin is the most righteous and loving wrath that is possible, because He is angry because He
loves us so much. He loves us too much to pass over anything that is eating away
at us and killing us. A lover would not ignore a fault that is destroying his beloved. That would not be possible. God hates sin because He loves us. God is angry about sin because He cannot stand anything that would destroy us. God is a lover.

This came from a post called "Wrath and Love," by a missionary to Japan and fellow colleague of mine from Asbury College, Zach Motts. His post comes to my mind from time to time. I was only going to quote bits and pieces, but I just had to share the whole thing it's so good. His thoughts are right on and so different from most anything I or others think about sin and God. Since reading this post three years ago, whenever I read of some forbiddance in the Bible that I don't quite understand, instead of thinking, "Oh, God must not like that," I now try to think, "Hmm, what might God be protecting me from by saying this?" It's a rather life-altering paradigm shift really. But I find it true and awe-inspiring and so much more comforting to follow God with a perspective like this. I know I had heard this perspective before, but it hit home with Zach's post.

If you liked this post, check out more of Zach's work on his blog, Peregrine. He writes rather distinctly and always with profundity--and sometimes he's funny. If you find yourself enjoying more of his work, perhaps you'll be moved to follow and support Zach in other ways. He and his Japanese wife, Esther, and their daughter, Zoe, could use help in returning to Japan as full-time missionaries. Financially, they are still looking for $3,000 more in monthly support. That's 100 new partners at $30/month or 60 new partners at $50/month. To help them follow the link to their World Gospel Mission page. Even if you cannot financially give, prayer is free of charge and it's always much better as any hard-core missionary will tell you. So in your prayers remember the work of Jesus in Japan and three of his servants spreading the good news there of a God who truly loves.

A Letter to PETA (or any Animal-Lover)

Dear PETA (or any Animal-Lover):

This is an invitation to just ponder the wonderful magnanimity of a God who loves all of his creations, not just the humans, even down to the littlest of creatures. Yes, it is true. Humans are unique, different. That should go without saying. And it is true that, yes, God did grant humans the permission to eat of any "moving thing that lives" (Genesis 9:3).

But does that mean that He despises animals or has no affection for them in his heart? Far from it! Consider Proverbs 12:10 where God's word says that "a righteous man regards the life of his animal." God cares that animals are treated properly.

In an even more heartwarming passage, consider the words of God to the prophet Jonah:

"And should I not pity Nineveh, that great city, in which are more than one
hundred and twenty thousand persons who cannot discern between their right hand
and their left -- and much livestock?" (Jonah 4:11)

What tenderness is found in this verse. It is literally the last verse and testament of the book of Jonah, making it all the more poignant. Notice the dash before the mention of livestock; it makes it a parenthetical. It is almost as if God could have left it out. Surely asking that Jonah consider the demise of 120,000 people would be enough to make Jonah pity Nineveh's possible destruction. But, no, God feels it necessary that Jonah reflect on all the livestock that might also be lost.

And then there are the classic lines from Jesus himself, declaring that the Father takes care to feed even the birds of the air (Matthew 6:26). And we all know the hymn proclaiming that even the sparrow -- sold for 1/32 of a denarius in ancient Judea -- is under His watchful eye. When humans throw barely a coin to purchase two, God still looks out for just a single one (Matthew 10:29).

Every sparrow is his precious creation. Think how much you love just one of your poems that you write. Or your all-vegan, spaghetti and tofu-meatballs dinner you prepared last night. Or your child. Or any other thing that you created. God feels much the same way. But only infinitely more so.

Just because you eat it does not mean you don't care for it. Observe the Sioux's humble reliance and appreciation for the bison. He eats it to live, but he by no means disregards it. To him the bison is a gift for the continuation and health of his life and those he loves.

So, yes, God does allow for eating the animal. But He also cares for the animal. A paradox? Perhaps. But trust him. Perhaps He knows what he is best.

On a Mission for Hope

Your letter-writing or phone calls, and intercession are again needed. This time for a little girl in need of a visa so she can come to the United States with her family. Without your help, it could be another two years before Hope can be united with all her family.

Here is the cool story in 3 minutes or less:




The YouTube page also has easy links for writing your representative and/or senator.

Helping out is easy. And senators and representatives are specifically there to help with getting visas. So write to them! After all, if you're an American citizen, you are their boss and they work for you.