This One's for the Ladies

Okay, men can read it, too; they just might not be as interested.

I just finished a book last night on the plane home to MD, and ever since I started reading it, I've been thinking about mentioning it on the blog. The book, Lies Women Believe, by Nancy Leigh DeMoss caught my eye months ago in the Christian bookstore. I was searching for some new reading material while I was at home on furlough, and I figured it would be interesting.

The author takes approximately twenty major lies that women believe and responds with Truth from scripture, as well as dozens of anecdotes from women who applied the Truth to their lives and saw minor changes to major miracles. The lies center from the Fall of Man, when the serpent tempted Eve by lying to her. Starting with lies about God, the author then exposes lies about ourselves, marriage and children, emotions, and more daily, practical issues. I found myself very convicted about several of the lies that she mentions. Its easy to see how our culture promotes deceptions that take us further from the Word of God and the way that God would want us to live.

One of the last sections of the book was dealing with the lie that "I'm supposed to be happy." The author suggests that our culture teaches us that spouses are supposed to make us "happy;" or that enough money, good jobs, etc. will make us "happy." It leads to the pursuit of happiness, and none of those things can bring us happiness. The point of our lives is not to be "happy." Unfortunately, even the Church is teaching a seeker-friendly message that God wants us to be happy. Her statement: "God is not interested in my happiness; it is my holiness that concerns Him." Once I am holy, in right relationship with God, living my life to glorify Him rather than to satisfy myself and my own whims of happiness, I will have true joy. That joy transcends the suffering we may go through or even the humdrum of boring life that doesn't seem "happy" but can still be whole.

I thought this book was very intriguing, if not downright painful in its piercing honesty. Just about every woman I know would find at least a chapter or two relevant.

Having a Peach of a Time!

So far, visiting my friends here in GA has been a ton of fun! John and Jenn have three adorable little girls: Emily, Anna, and Abigail. They have been very excited to host me in their house, and I've gotten to see all manner of stuffed animals, baby dolls, and "princess" parephenalia. Last night Emily and Anna were very pleased to ride in "my car" (the rental one) instead of with their parents on the way home from church.

The service I did yesterday morning in Perry, GA was great. The church there is only four years old and they are in a building project, so there was a lot of enthusiasm in the congregation. I enjoyed being a part of their incredible worship, and afterward they took me to a peach packing plant for lunch. That's right! There is a soup and sandwich restaurant in the plant, along with a nice gift shop with all sorts of peach stuff. Yum.

Last night I was a little nervous to speak in John and Jenn's church. I don't know why. I guess having good friends that are on staff there made me really want to wow the church. It was a little more challenging, because the people there are very familiar with the ministry in Palestine. John and Jenn have talked about it a lot; they've had other colleagues in to speak about the ministry, and some of the church members have visited the Jerusalem School before. So I wasn't sharing a lot of new information, but I gave it my own spin. It was another good service (would I say anything else on this blog? ha ha). I got a real treat afterward, too, when they took me to Olive Garden. The chicken marsala? Delicious! But the best part was doing the "remember that time . . . ." with John and Jenn. We have a lot of great memories because we all started the same year. In other words, we made a lot of dumb newbie mistakes.

Today I am hoping to see another colleague and former roommate, Gina Dunlap. She married Richard Dunlap, Jenn's brother and yet another colleague from our old ministry days. This should be interesting.

The Devil Went Down to Georgia

In a few short hours, I'm flying down to Macon, GA (via Atlanta) to speak in two churches tomorrow. John and Jennifer Dougherty, great friends and colleagues from my Jerusalem days, have invited me to stay with them for a quick little visit while I speak at their church and another church not too far away.

It's been YEARS since I've seen my friends; I was trying to remember back, and I think it was 2001 when I saw them last. They've added more children to their family since then, so I'll get to meet new little Doughertys today when I arrive.

I'm very excited about this trip, both personally and professionally. This trip marks the furthest I've ever gone to preach while itinerating. I'm kind of nervous, actually, about how different the churches will be in Georgia, and me being such a Yankee in their eyes!

Thoughts from Galatians, part 1

Within the last week or two, I've begun studying Galatians; years ago, someone I respected mentioned a study he'd done of the Pauline epistles in order of their writing. He said that he focused on the changes in Paul himself based on his writings: how did he view himself? How did he view the gospel? How did he view the world around him? With those questions, my friend started in Galatians and ended in II Timonthy. I've always wanted to do that, and never really did, so with the new year starting, I decided to give it a try.

What's interesting is that sometimes I read my Bible for me and at other times, I read it for other people. What I mean is: I read it looking for answers to questions that other people ask. Most often, those questions come from Muslims. I try to read my Bible in anticipation of how I could use the Scripture to explain Christianity or to make a certain point about faith in Christ.

When I started reading Galatians, I was reading it for me with my notepad next to me, ready to jot down the answers to my friend's three main questions about Paul's writing. However, I didn't make it past the first chapter, before I was struck by something that applied to Muslims.
Galatians 1:6-9 says, "I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you by the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel— which is really no gospel at all. Evidently some people are throwing you into confusion and are trying to pervert the gospel of Christ. But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let him be eternally condemned! As we have already said, so now I say again: If anybody is preaching to you a gospel other than what you accepted, let him be eternally condemned!"

Of course, Paul wasn't talking about Muslims in this chapter; they wouldn't come around until the 7th century. But the principle is the same. Mohammad himself thirsted for knowledge about God. He was confused by varying information he received from Christians and Jews (some of the information was correct and some was was off!). In his resulting confusion, he created a gospel that is no gospel at all. It offers no real "good news" to those in need of a Savior. Mohammad claimed that an angel (Gabriel) appeared to him and began reciting the Koran to him. He only memorized what the angel quoted and that became the holy book for the Muslim people. In following the revelation of the "angel" he distorted the true gospel of Christ and according to this verse, condemned himself eternally.

I'm most concerned with those who turn to Islam today believing it to be truth. I started my next Arabic class today. This time, I'm doing it for credit at the community college, so the class was larger. One of the women is clearly American, but when she introduced herself, she said that she converted to Islam and wants to learn Arabic to be able to read her Koran. It broke my heart to think that this woman, who seems very devout and hungry for God, has chosen bondage to a "gospel that is no gospel at all."

The Power of Prayer

Every Sunday I get the chance to meet new people or have new experiences, as I travel to different churches to preach or present my mission information. I love, love, love it! I like meeting new people and seeing new places.

Last night I learned that Bealeton, Virginia recently added their third stoplight in town, and that kind of arcane information makes me understand that area of central Virginia a little better. When I drive through town, I wonder about the type of people I'll meet at the church, what their style of worship will be, and more.

I was even more interested than usual in Liberty AG in Bealeton, because I had a personal investment in that church. Five years ago, at the district "day of prayer," I was in a small prayer circle with Wes Shortridge. He asked that we pray for his new church plant in Bealeton that was about to open; I asked that he pray for my missionary efforts. Rolling into town last night, I was really curious about this church that I'd prayed for five years ago.

The amazing thing: when I walked in, I greeted Pastor Wes saying, "We've met once before . . ." and he interupted, "Yeah, we prayed together five years ago." He remembered that we'd prayed specifically for his church and my next missionary term. As it turned out, that was part of the reason that he'd invited me to share with the church.

Because of the extreme cold (and the football games on TV), attendance was way down last night. After I spoke, we had a long time of prayer around the altars, and the pastor encouraged the folks to come over to me, as the Spirit led them, to pray over me. About five women prayed over me over the course of about 45 minutes. Their prayer was incredible. I felt that some things they prayed about were prophetic, and I know that I'll see the result of those prayers in Israel/Palestine in time to come.

My relationship with Liberty Assembly started with prayer and so it continues . . . . .

Old Stomping Grounds

I'm sitting in a hotel room in Exton, PA enjoying every last morsel of a turkey "grinder" from Bob's Deli, which is conveniently located across from Valley Forge Christian College. When I was a student there (way too many years ago), a turkey grinder was my favorite treat. Since I am going a missions chapel service at VFCC tomorrow morning, I gave myself permission to get dinner at Bob's Deli.

I'm looking forward to being in chapel tomorrow; it's always a joy to come back to this area. I have so many memories from my college days, and I feel honored to be back on the campus as a guest.

Exciting news: I've picked up a bit of support this past month, and I feel very encouraged about that. I hope this largesse continues!

Down Time

Yesterday I was on the Eastern Shore with two services in Berlin at the Ocean City Worship Center and a service in Pocomoke at Glad Tidings Assembly of God. When I made these bookings, I was pretty happy with my scheduling coup--two Eastern Shore churches right in a row saves me from having to make long trips again on more inconvenient days.

However, that meant I had six hours to kill between the two services. I planned ahead and brought stuff to work on. January weather meant that I wouldn't get to enjoy the beach at all, and most businesses are closed for the winter. But I figured that I could park myself at the Starbucks in West Ocean City with my laptop to work for a while.

But my plans had an unexpected change.

On Saturday night, the folks who hosted me mentioned that there were Palestinians living in Ocean City, working at Subway restaurant. I was intrigued and made a mental note to get the details about which Subway before I left town. Then, after the first service at OCWC, a young woman approached me to say that her husband was one of the Palestinians running a Subway restaurant on 27th St. Could I stop by and meet him? She was sure he would like to talk to me. I was thrilled to have that opportunity; I could honestly say I had nothing else to do and plenty of time to sit and talk.

I found the Subway on 27th, one of the only places with "Open" on the marquee. Abed and his wife Sarah were alone in the restaurant, so we sat down at a table and talked to two hours. He is from Ramallah, and he was very excited to meet someone who was so familiar with his hometown. He kept saying, "You know where the such-and-such building is? You know where the money changer street is? You know where the road turns toward Bir Zeit University, and the valley goes down toward the right?" Some of the places I wasn't that familiar with, but if I did know, and I said, "Yeah, across from the old airport property? Right down the street from Antonio's Pizza?" He would get so excited.

Some of the things we talked about were clearly points of discussion between him and his young American wife. He would say, "You see, baby, I told you!" to her, and she would look chagrined that his version of life in the Middle East had been verified. We laughed a lot at stories of stupid things I said and did when I lived in the Palestinian culture years ago, and we discussed politics at length with varying degrees of intensity.

The one thing we never discussed is why an 18-yr. old Christian young woman married a 26-yr. old Muslim Palestinian. She never said that I was a missionary, which I appreciated. I gave them a card with my email address on it, and he gave me a promise of a free sub if I was ever in Ocean City again.

I drove away thinking how thankful I was to have those hours to kill in the afternoon.

The Chicken or the Egg

Which came first? The chicken or the egg? This age-old question came to mind today while I was having a deep discussion with a few other missionaries and the Potomac District secretary/treasurer, Ken Burtram.

The question was posed: why are so many missionaries struggling to raise their budgets? We mentioned that it seemed unlikely that churches are out of money, since other church ministries continue to run smoothly. We determined that the idea of world missions is perhaps not as much of a priority as it once was. After all, ours was a fellowship that declared it would "send forth the greatest missionary force that the world has ever known" when it formed in 1914. The whole point of this fledging fellowship was to reach the uttermost parts of the earth. Somewhere, somehow that zeal seems to have cooled. Unfortunately, many churches don't even give 10% of their budget to missions; some don't even spend 10% for evangelism of any kind!*

But as we discussed this lack of missions fervor, someone pointed out that, while the objective of the Assemblies of God was to evangelize the world, their distinctive was their Pentecostal experience. According to Acts 1:8, the primary reason and consequent result of the baptism in the Holy Spirit was to witness, from the local area to the entire world. Perhaps the lack of missions interest follows the lack of Pentecostal teaching or Pentecostal experience in many of our churches. One missionary pointed out that he repeatedly hears this: we need the baptism of the Holy Spirit "to live our lives day to day" in closer fellowship with God. Instead of a selfless (and biblical) focus on evangelism, an experience with the Holy Spirit is being billed as a solution to Christian doldrums. My brothers, this should not be! With more and more of our churches losing Pentecost completely, we cannot afford to ignore that it is meant to empower us to reach the lost!

Discuss amongst yourselves--I'll give you a topic: which is the cause and which is the effect? Have we stopped preaching Pentecost because we're not interested in missions or have we stopped supporting missions because we've lost Pentecost?

*I believe that most churches give to good charities and obvious needs, but sometimes without a specific intention or effort to reach the lost.

Happy New Year!

I hope that all of you were able to enjoy a wonderful holiday season this year. I know that I certainly did! After several years of being away from my family, I was thrilled to watch my nieces open their gifts on Christmas; on New Year's Eve, I got to party with some other young adults from my home church, folks I grew up with years ago. We had a lot of fun playing games and telling funny stories.

But, alas, one cannot party through life, and today was back to work for me! I was somewhat behind on communication, because of the holiday break, so I applied myself to catching up all morning. This afternoon, my sister helped me with a creative project: homemade thank you cards. I didn't really want to go out and buy more boxed sets of cards, which are either too cheap (looking) or too expensive to buy. I figured I had enough scrapbooking tools to make my own, and it gave me a chance to spend quality time with my sister, who lives to do such projects with me!

All in all, a great day.