Obedient Suffering

"…He learned obedience by the things which He suffered."*

My eyes turn an unfocused gaze to the opposite wall.
Little shafts of light dance bokeh-style.
My mind is far away.

Is this what makes men invincible?

To suffer and yet trust. To sorrow and yet sing.
To not understand and yet obey.

Is this? Is this the secret?

I think so. Because it says He was "made perfect." Entirely.

But oh, how hard it is to always accept the gift with outstretched hands, especially when it hurts.
Yet this obedience in the midst of suffering creates a beauty, a strength, a trust unlike any other.
And when we come forth, we are called sons and daughters, children of eternity.

"…He learned obedience [was perfected] by the things which He suffered."

May I never resist the fire.

* Hebrews 5:8

Learn Again [The Making of Heroes Part I]

It's astounding to me how easily we glide over the important details.

We see successes. We see providences. We see affluence. We see attainment.
Yet we glibly pass over the grit of life that makes men and women strong.

We read the stories of great Bible characters as if they were another strain of humanity, holding unattainable standards for our degenerate race.

Since when has a teenager become the counselor of a world power king? Since when has a young woman been willing to surrender her life for her nation? Since when has a young man become the king's best friend and saved a foreign country from extermination by famine?

Sometimes I wonder who we think we are. Or more specifically, who we think God is…

Has His power dwindled with the passing of centuries? I think not.

Rather I think it is us who have succumbed to lowering the bar.
We have allowed our standards to deteriorate over time instead of rising to meet loftier aims.

What is wrong with our generation? I attribute it to two things.
Shallow love. Shallow prayer.

We've lost grip on the Power.

It's time to learn again. Learn to love. Learn to pray.
And most importantly of all, learn to know the heart of Love Himself.

Unpack the Power

Prayer = power.

I've heard it countless times before.

Yet this past weekend as I sat beneath the great white expanse of a makeshift meeting place, something the speaker said suddenly grabbed my attention.

"Unpack the prayer. Unpack the power."

Hand reaches for phone. Fingers type quickly.
Eyes return to the front, yet somehow my mind is slow to follow.

The thought strikes me.

Fail to pray and you forfeit the power.

How often do I really, really pray?
I mean, the kind of prayer that you know has Power behind it?

It's a challenge to me.

Unpack the prayer. Unpack the Power.

It's a Mystery to Me…

Wispy clouds sail past my window as I watch my home of three months fade away. Palm trees wave their gentle farewell while the shimmer of tropical summer reflects the heat along with all its side-affects that has kept me close company recently. Crazy traffic-crowded streets indicate a country where every driver is a law unto his own. Trash-covered roadsides, vibrant green mountains, people who have melted their way into my heart—it is all indelibly engraved upon memory’s hallways, paint still fresh. Shortly my mind is ensconced by cloud trails to match those outside. It's a mystery to me…

I walk at a brisk pace towards the immigration hall lugging my partially incapacitated suitcase behind me while endeavoring to maintain intestinal peace. My eaves dropping capabilities have majorly improved since I first encountered this airport in January. I laugh later as I bump into someone and catch myself automatically responding with perdón or permiso despite the fact I’m now surrounded by English speakers. Other curious habits cause me to smile. Has this language, this culture, really become so much a part of me in so short a time? My mind is still whirling. It's a mystery to me…

It’s my last flight. The flickering lights of city night-life hold me captivated. They always have. Soon the view out my window evolves into complete blackness. I try to see the stars while attempting to avoid the draft coming from the exit row window. I’ve never been known to sleep easily on planes, yet at least I have an empty seat beside me this time. I curl up as comfortably as possible, heavy eyelids descending slowly. True to history, sleep eludes me while once again the inner recesses of my brain step into high gear. It’s a mystery to me…

My eyes cast a bleary gaze around my room. I'm frozen, standing in tired delirium at the doorway despite the fact that it is two o'clock in the morning and I'm incredibly sleep deprived. This room, this house, this country. How could I have become so comfortable as to count them normal? It's a mystery to me…

This enigma, this mystery has fastened its iron-fisted grip upon my heart. And in the silence of quiet morning broken only by occasional flame crackles, I find an answer.

It’s not the poverty, the necessity or even the simplicity of life, it's the contentment. 

These people accept their surroundings and day-to-day realities with a smile. They are satisfied to continue making tortillas and cultivating coffee on the mountainsides like their grandparents. 

If perfect contentment to accept with joy every situation God places in my life can make even a full life simple, that is true living. I can still dream, but I am satisfied that where He has me right now is the absolutely most beautiful place in the world to be.

It is no mystery…

Fun at the river…

Lettuce harvesting day!

Lost… :)

A weekend at the coast…

A friend in the nearby little mountain village of Cero del Torro

Promoting lettuce in San Pedro Sula

Now these are lemons!

Friday is craft day—my turn to teach… :)

The verdant garden

A caving adventure…

Mi amigas en el restaurante! 

A first-time mom, younger than myself, who I was privileged to assist through labor and birth

Misplaced Trust

{Jeremiah 48}

Treasures and trophies. Accomplishments and accolades.

All blow away on the winds of adversity when you’ve placed your trust in the wrong places.

Sanctuary is promised in surrender. Safety is secured in sacrifice. 

Everything else is chaff…

More Victory

{Jeremiah 41}

I struggle to find a lesson within this chapter of bloodshed and warfare. It is rather gruesome.

But then I get to thinking… 

What if I fought the figures of sin in my life as viciously as Ishmael fought the supporters of Gedaliah? 

What if I was not satisfied until every one of my sinful enemies was vanquished and buried beneath the ground? 

What if I didn’t consider defeat as an option?

I don’t know. My Commander has been teaching me battle tactics, but I think I need to step up the intensity. 

More blood. More sweat. More prayer. More tears. 

And all this for more victory.

Defeated by Song

Song is a forceful weapon with the ability to either defeat the enemy or dishonor our Creator. Unfortunately most of the world experiences the negative connotation and only a few the positive. Nearly all are blinded to its massive influence on our lives.

We can have so much more power than we now possess, just through song…

Temptation would hold no sway. Trials would be turned to triumph. Victory would be assured.

The secret?

Christ knew it well and employed it often. In becoming part of humanity He subjected Himself to every temptation to which we are subjected today. And He was frequently tempted. Yet He never succumbed to the enticement of the enemy.

“When in His youth His associates would try to lead Him to do wrong, He [Christ] would begin to sing some sweet melody, and the first thing they knew they were uniting with Him in singing the song. They caught His spirit, and the enemy was defeated.”*

He drove back the enemy, meeting the temptation with a song.
And not only did His companions cease their invitations to evil, they joined with Him in song…

Throughout His life, Christ employed this simple yet effective weapon against temptation. Picture His clear, melodious voice rising above the din of the crowds, in the midst of scoffers, in situations of peril, gloom or fear. I wish I could have been there. Heard it. Seen it. Experienced it.

Yet that same tool can be ours today, with the same results…

“God wants us to use every facility which Heaven has provided for resisting the enemy.”**

By God's grace, I’m determined to more intentionally utilize this weapon against temptations.
To sing until the enemy is defeated…

Will you join me?

* Sermons and Talks, vol. 2, 235
** Evangelism, 498