July 27, 2011

Law vs Grace

This little poem, found over at Justin Taylor's blog, made my morning.

Run, John, and work, the law commands,
yet finds me neither feet nor hands,

But sweeter news the gospel brings,
it bids me fly and lends me wings!

Posted by Andrew at 4:07 PM // Comments: 2 // TrackBack: 0 //
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May 23, 2010

Things Are Not As They Seem...

As we hiked around the city of Caririaçu the other day, Nathanael and I happened on what appeared to be a dead end street.

Curious as to why the city government decided to end the street at that location--with a large neighborhood just beyond--we walked toward the fence. When we reached it, we discovered that our eyes had deceived us.

This was the scene that greeted us.

It reminded me of how many times over the last four years I have formed an opinion of somebody, only to realize that there was much more to them than I originally imagined. There was the academically-challenged seminary student who is now an outstanding pastor. Then there was an English student I had, wife of a veterinarian. I never would have dreamed they were spiritually hungry. Now both of them are saved and sitting in my doctrine class, preparing for ministry.

Or what about the stuck-up, self-righteous pastor's kid from Upstate New York who God shook up and sent to be a missionary in Brazil?

Ever tempted to think a person is a "dead end"? Remember that God sees the whole picture--and try to see that person the same way.

Talk back to the missionary: Ever been surprised by what God did in the life of someone you considered a "dead end"? Share with us in the comments section.

Posted by Andrew at 4:36 PM
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January 6, 2010

Teachable Moment

This morning my oldest son did a couple things that earned my displeasure. My reaction was to deprive him of a much-anticipated ice-cream treat.

As I sat in my office after the "incident" I began to reflect on how much I have offended God in my life, and how much grace I was shown when, 2,000 years ago, Christ died on the cross for those offenses. Suddenly Mikey's offenses and the ice-cream reward seemed paltry in comparison. So, I called for Mikey and we set off for the ice-cream parlor.

On the way I decided to make this a teachable moment to explain to Mikey about the grace of God. Our conversation went something like this:

Me: So you see Mikey, just like I am extending grace to you by allowing you to have some ice-cream, God extended grace to you by sending Christ to die on the cross for your sins so you could go to Heaven.

Mikey: (after a short pause) Dad, let me tell you about the cool bird I saw today.

Sigh.

What will this kid be like in Bible college?

Talk back to the missionary: In the comments section share with us some of the more memorable "teachable moments" you have had with your children.

Posted by Andrew at 11:10 PM // Comments: 1 //
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July 10, 2009

Vintage Post: Preparation for Worship

Over the next few weeks we will be revisiting some of the better posts that have appeared in the last six years of blogging here at the Comings Communiqué. This post is from October, 2003, and the subject is "worship".

Much is said and written these days on the subject of worship. There are conflicting opinions on the mode of worship, the music of worship, and the motives for worship. (Like that little alliteration? I just made it up!) The differing perspectives and practices have caused a virtual cacaphony on the worship scene.

Old Testament saints seemed to have no confusion as to what constituted true worship. Take Jacob, for instance. He was no goody-two-shoes, by any stretch of the immagination. Cheating his brother (twice!), lying to his father, deceiving his father-in-law--not the greatest resum� for a worship leader. Yet Jacob had conversed personally with God twice, and wrestled with Him once. This in Genesis 35, when God commands Jacob to go Bethel (House of God) immediately following the sordid Dinah incident, we find him putting his house in order. The command he gives to his family members is very revealing:

Then Jacob said unto his household, and to all that were with him, Put away the strange gods that are among you, and be clean, and change your garments.

It seems that Jacob knew that he was heading for another meeting with God. He had three commands for his household:

Click here to finish reading the article.

Posted by Andrew at 1:32 PM
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May 27, 2009

Pacifist vs. Peaceful

A few days ago one of our missionaries was driving to the church where she works, when she heard two loud explosions close by. At first she thought they were fireworks, but then she noticed that all the pedestrians were quickly clearing the street. A lady on the sidewalk grabbed her baby from its stroller and ducked into the nearest house, leaving the stroller on the curb. Suddenly, our missionary colleague noticed a man running in her direction. She had to swerve to miss him, and as he went by she saw that he was carrying a pistol. Later she found out that what she had witnessed was the robbery of a gas station, during which there was at least one fatality.

In the Grangeiro neighborhood of Crato--our city--the husband of one of the members of our congregation was walking home at night. Without warning a man jumped out of the shadows behind him and hacked at his head with a short sickle, nearly decapitating him.

Every week we hear accounts like the ones above. Things like this make me look askance when Brazilians insist that they are a "pacifist" nation. While this may be true in terms of external policy, it has not translated into Brazil being a peaceful nation.

I have been thinking much about this recently, ever since speaking at a conference where the theme was decidedly military (and, to be fair, the ones who came up with the theme and invested heavily in making it work were the Brazilian young people of the church). There is a decided hesitation on the part of Brazilian believers to use military analogies or speak of Christian warfare.

As I told the young people, you can be pacifist in your politics if you want, but you cannot afford to be pacifist in your spiritual life. Our enemy is not pacifist (I Peter 5:8), and neither is our Commander. The Old Testament--which is for our example and edification--is full of accounts of God's people going to war against His enemies. Christ said that he came to bring not peace but a sword (Matt. 10:34). In these New Testament times we no longer take up the sword against God's earthly foes, but that does not mean the war is over. If anything, it has intensified, because now our fight is against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. (Eph. 6:12), and against our own flesh (I Pet. 2:11). We also know that true peace will only come once Christ has won the final victory over His enemies--peace through superior firepower, if you will.

Mark Driscoll once said "If you are a pacifist, that's ok. Those of us who aren't have got your back." That pretty much sums up my politics. It is interesting to see how a pacifist philosophy has wreaked havoc on Brazilian society. Take, for example, the local supermarket (think Wal Mart) which, upon catching a shoplifter, politely asks them to return the items and then lets them go their merry way. This is because if they were to prosecute they would risk reprisals from the criminal element. So they are reduced to negotiating with the bandidos.

The result of this philosophy is not peace. Rather, it is a population that lives in fear of the criminal element.

I am much more concerned, however, that we as Western Christians (not just Brazilians) have lost our battle-mentality. It is time for us to stand up, suit up (referring to Ephesians 6, not suits and ties), and step up to the front lines. The only peace in this war comes through victory, and there can be no negotiation with the enemy.

Posted by Andrew at 8:51 PM // Comments: 6 // TrackBack: 0 //
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