My Mission Statement

Posted on May 28, 2008 by Jody Neufeld

Note:  I apologize for posting two devotions today and none yesterday, but traveling has disorganized my schedule, such as it was!  — HN

“For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost.”        Luke 19:10 (NIV)

Do you think this was Jesus’ mission statement?  Seems a little simple and straightforward, doesn’t it? Mission statements usually have multi-syllable words and several commas and semi-colons to connect descriptive phrases.  This translation shows only single-syllable words!  I’ll have to ask Henry if it is as simple in the Greek and Aramaic.  (LOL)

What is my mission statement?  Yes, there is the Great Commission:

“…go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you…”    Matthew 28:19-20 (NIV)

And the Greatest Commandments:

R20;R17;Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’…’Love your neighbor as yourself.’  All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”                                      Matthew 22:37, 39-40 (NIV, my emphasis)

But God has given each of us who has made the decision to be a disciple a mission.  He gave us gifts and talents for the mission.  He gives us one-on-one time to teach and equip every day if we will only make that our priority.  He gives us leaders and partners to work together on missions…I believe each fellowship has a mission and it is for me as an individual to connect with that fellowship where I can be used and where I can learn and grow.

God’s mission for me will “hang on” to the Great Commission and Greatest Commandments.  It will be about His kingdom and give Him glory.   James said it will be about works AND faith. (James 2) Peter says I shouldn’t be surprised if it involves suffering. (1 Peter 4)  Paul reminds me that I will produce fruit with God’s mission because God’s mission will not be about me. (Galatians 5)

So I look at the gifts and talents God has given.  I look at what stirs my heart when I do it in obedience to God.  I look at what has produced good fruit.  The mission may never produce a Medal of Honor (or any other kind of recognition) in this world but if I am quiet before my Lord, if I “walk humbly with my God”, I will hear God’s sweet words meant just for me and I will feel His strengthening hand upon me – and I’ll keep going.

Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.            Philippians 3:13-14 (NIV)

What is your mission?

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Weeping Patriot

Posted on May 28, 2008 by Jody Neufeld

Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea.  I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband.  And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them.  They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God.  He will wipe every tear from their eyes.  There will be n o more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.”                                  Revelation 21:1-4 (NI

I am a weeping patriot.  I love to see our flag flying in the breeze at the ball park.  I can get a lump in my throat during the National Anthem…no matter how bad the singer!  I do not apologize for these emotions.  I don’t want to forget the cost of freedom.  I don’t want to forget to thank our Father that He has inspired young men and women to stand ready to defend His great love for us through this country called America.

Too much is said today about the horrors of war and the conclusion is drawn that we should avoid war at almost any cost.  As a Christian I look at God’s word and it says that:

1) This world is satan’s domain.  I am the alien here.  The evil one has been given this world as his playground until Jesus comes back in the Final Victory.

2) War has been going on since Cain killed Abel; Ishmael split from Isaac, and Jesus opened up His saving grace for Gentiles as well as Jews.  Lines have been drawn in the sand and we need to make a decision where we stand and with Whom.

3) Peace will come with the New Jerusalem and is found, now, only by the power of God’s Spirit inside of ourselves.

For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does.  The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world.  On the contrary they have divine powers to demolish strongholds.  We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.                                                                  2 Corinthians 10:3-5  (NIV)

Jesus is coming back and until then I am in His boot camp to be trained and prepared for the battles ahead.  I want to be found ready when He comes.  I don’t want to find the trail too tiring or too confusing.  I am reading my service manual, cover to cover, I am going to every ‘pep rally’ and I am going to listen to my coaches.

I am also going to be an Encourager.  There were many, many military personnel at the baseball games I attended this weekend.  I made it part of my day to shake hands with as many as I could, look them in the eye, and thank them for what they are doing.  Some were older and had rough hands.  They seemed surprised by my gesture.  Guess I need to do the handshake and “thank you” more often!  Some were soooooo young!!!  They seemed a bit shy and embarrassed by my handshake and “thank you”.  Maybe they thought since they haven’t seen combat…yet….that they didn’t deserve my thanks.  I would have told them that they have made a commitment and that time will catch them soon enough!

Even though this is the day after Memorial Day – do not let a day go by to obediently encourage and lift up members of Christ’s Body and encourage one another.  Do not let a day go by to obediently encourage and lift up members of our Armed Forces AND their families.  Encouragement may be THE gift most needed inside and outside Christ’s Church in these End Times.

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Boasting!

Posted on May 22, 2008 by Henry Neufeld

9Let the humble brothers and sisters boast that they have been raised up, 10but let the rich boast in their humility, because like the flower in the field, those with riches will pass away. 11Because the sun rises with its blazing heat, and dries of the field of grass. Its flower falls and its surface beauty is destroyed. In the same way will the rich wither away as they go about their business. — James 1: 9-11 (TFBV)

James is hard on rich people. One of the reasons for this is that people who are rich and well off tend to trust in what they have accomplished for themselves, or even in their current state when it is none of their own doing. That’s one reason why we have the stereotype of the useless heir, one who inherits wealth and then squanders it on a lifetime of irresponsible living.

At the same time, James points us to a different distinction in these same verses—what is going on inside as opposed to what appears on the surface. This goes back to an old Biblical issue over God’s blessing. People often assumed that surely God was blessing the people who were rich, but that his curse was on those who didn’t have as much.

James is pointing out here that if you have God working inside you, if God is raising you up, then you have something that will last through the heat of the sun. If you simply have your possessions, the things outside of you, they can be taken away in an instant. The stock market can crash, the economy can fizzle, and a person who thought he was extremely well off will find himself with nothing.

There is no earthly security that makes us totally safe. If something here on earth is our ultimate security we are always in the position of the grass—ready to be scorched, to wither, and to die. But with God active inside, we have something to boast about, something that not even death can destroy.

What is your boast today?

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Ask!

Posted on May 21, 2008 by Henry Neufeld

2Count it all joy, my brothers and sisters, when you encounter various types of tests, 3knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. 4Now let patience have its complete work, so that you might be perfect and complete, lacking nothing. 5But if anyone lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives liberally to everyone and does not reproach, and it will be given to him. 6But let him ask with faithfulness without doubting. For the one who doubts is like a wind blowing over the sea, blown and tossed about. 7Such a man should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. 8He is divided in mind, unstable in all his ways. — James 1:2-8 (TFBV) [Emphasis mine]

We don’t do that much reading in the book of James, which is unfortunate, because it has a great deal of good advice. Often that advice is pretty hard. Sometimes the simplest things are the hardest to implement.

The admonition of this text is one of those things. How simple can it get? You need wisdom? Ask God. Just do it.

But putting that into practice gets very complicated. You see, there are a few snags in the process of getting wisdom. For one thing, James starts the passage out by giving us one of God’s primary ways of going about giving us wisdom. He does so by allowing us to be tested, and helping us through by his grace.

Of course, we don’t quote that part nearly as much. We’d much prefer the notion that if I kneel down and pray, asking God for more wisdom, my wisdom will magically increase. One of the primary reasons I personally would like wisdom is so that I could avoid some of those trials.

We need to add in the last part of the passage as well. When we read just James 1:5-6 we think first of God giving everyone wisdom liberally and that “magical” increase in wisdom, then in verse 6 we get the idea that we have to get through our prayer for wisdom without doubting that God can get us there.

But as with many things in the Bible there’s another twist to this one. We’re going to need that faith and faithfulness—the Greek word here implies both—to get through the testing. In fact, one of the key things God is going to do is to make sure that we make it through the test and grow in wisdom as a result. God is going to change our own perspective. If we’re going to let that happen we’re going to have to keep our eyes fixed on Jesus, “author and perfecter of our faith” (Hebrews 12:2), else the trial will just be a trial.

A trial that is just a trial is a tragedy.

But God promises that they can be more. There is one final thing to remember about asking without wavering or doubting. In our daily lives we ask questions and then we look for answers. We are not surprised when it takes tome time to find the answer. With God we want an answer yesterday. Being steady, not doubting or wavering, means that you continue to ask God. Don’t give up.

Asking is simple. Sticking with the plan is a bit more difficult. But it’s the road to wisdom.

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Standing out for God

Posted on May 20, 2008 by Henry Neufeld

9These are the generations of Noah. Noah was a righteous man, who was perfect in his generation. Noah walked with God. 10And Noah fathered three sons: Shem, Ham and Japheth. 11Now the earth became corrupt before God, and it was filled with violence. 12And God saw that the earth was corrupt, because all flesh had corrupted its behavior upon the earth. — Genesis 6:9-12

Yesterday I had a bit to say about unworthiness. We generally wouldn’t think of Noah as unworthy, but besides all of his great accomplishments, we have the story of the downhill slide that started immediately amongst his sons. I can imagine how that slide would feel to a man who “walked with God.”

Jody and I were attending an expo and showing our books. A gentleman approached our booth and handed us his card and some literature on his services. It turned out he was not actually an exhibitor, but was simply going through the displays in order to advertise his own services for publishers. Since there were numerous publishers represented, it was a good networking opportunity for him.

He was unable to stick with salesmanship. As is inevitable when Christians gather, even for business, the discussion turned to theology. It turned out that he had a rather considerable agenda. Though he refrained from going there directly, it became apparent that he was not happy with Jody’s role as an author and teacher. Even more, he wondered if my authors were “in charge of their own households.” He wondered the same thing of me. Were my children active in my business? Were they being groomed to be successors. He boasted of how in his home church anyone whose children were not up to standard were removed from leadership.

Before I managed to get rid of him—and that’s precisely how I felt—he had managed to convince me that I wouldn’t want to be a member of his church, use his business services, nor would I recommend either to anyone else. I’ll take imperfect people building their lives on and with God’s grace any day over the allegedly perfect church led by men with their wives under control and their perfect children.

Yet many of us reflect at least parts of this man’s thinking in reverse. How can I pray for healing when I have loved ones who are ill? How can I lead the church when I am struggling with my own children? How can I be a light in the workplace when I am so far short of perfect?

I’m reminded of the saying that the ideal is often the enemy of the good. Because we are not perfectly equipped for some task at home, in our church, or at our workplace, we refuse, even though the call (and thus the grace!) is there. We don’t know how—we think—to listen and to help someone, so we avoid them and don’t even try. Our love is imperfect, so we’re afraid to show it.

But God has an answer to our inadequacies. Noah walked with God. Noah provided salvation for his world. He may not have been perfect, but he simply followed God. Genesis 6:22 summarizes it: “And Noah did according to all that God commanded him.”

That was how he stood out for God.

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Not Ashamed of the Good News

Posted on May 19, 2008 by Henry Neufeld

16For I am not ashamed of the good news, for it is God’s power for salvation to everyone who believes, Jew first and also Greek. 17For in it God’s rightness is revealed from faith leading to faith, just as it has been written: The one who is made right by faith will live [Hab. 2:4]. — Romans 1:16-17

I love this verse. I love it so much that I used part of it in a book title. But I wonder if we really get the impact of this.

Am I ashamed of the gospel? Am I ever ashamed of the gospel? How would I know? How would you know?

I think most of us frequently show some shame in the gospel. This is natural. The gospel goes against all our pride as human beings. It says essentially that we cannot depend on anything we have done, will do, or can do for our eternal salvation or even for spiritual wholeness in this life. We are dependent on God’s grace. If we’re dependent on God’s grace we are beggars. We can’t go to God and demand anything as wages. We have only what he has given us. Period.

But how do we show shame in the gospel? Let me list just a few ways:

  1. By declaring ourselves unworthy of God’s gifts and refusing them.
    Too frequently we refuse to receive from God because we feel unworthy. Well duh! We are unworthy—in ourselves. But Jesus has made us worthy. When we continue to say “no” to God’s gifts because of unworthiness, we are showing shame in the gospel. We’re saying that God’s gift of salvation in Jesus isn’t good enough.
  2. By pretending that we did it anyhow.
    I think we do this quite regularly whenever we show contempt for God’s children who are in some way less well-off physically or spiritually than we are. When we see an addict, if we look down on him we are showing shame in the gospel. Why? Because he gets to God and God’s grace in precisely the same way we do. One beggar can’t claim superiority over another based on what he got for nothing!
  3. By denying the power.
    God gives grace, but the good news is also God’s power (v. 17) to work salvation (spiritual healing as well as eternal life) in us. But if we accept the gift and then refuse to let it work, we show our shame in the gospel. We tell God that we’d rather be what we were before than have him work his will in our lives.

Are you proud of the good news? Have you said it in you life and words today?

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The Building Test

Posted on May 16, 2008 by Henry Neufeld

11Finally, brothers, rejoice. Be perfected, be comforted, be of the same mind, live in peace, and the God of love and peace will be with you. 12Greet one another with a holy kiss. 13All the saints greet you. — 2 Corinthians 13:11-13 (WEB)

What questions should you ask when you’re deciding on a course of action? What is the most important thing?

I want to ask this primarily about our church-related activities, but that is too limiting. As Christians, we’re supposed to be followers of Jesus 24/7, not just while were in the church or engaging in church activities.

In our text, Paul is giving his final admonitions to the Corinthian church. What does he want them to do? Rejoice. Be “made right” or perfected, be comforted, be in unity, and have God living among them.

Let’s think for a minute about the term “be perfected.” We don’t really like the word “perfect” in the modern church. It’s a scary word, one that can turn people away. We have the bumper sticker, “Christians aren’t perfect, just forgiven.” And there are many ways in which this is true. Perfectionism can be destructive, especially pursued out of balance, which it always is.

But there’s a danger on the other side as well, an acceptance of the ordinary, less than the best, mediocre kind of life. That happens when we decide that we can’t be perfect, so why should we bother trying to be good? “I’m not perfect” can then easily become an excuse for not accomplishing much of anything, and an excuse for grievous sins.

We gossip, and we say, “Well, I shouldn’t have done that, but nobody’s perfect.” We criticize, and we say, “The provocation was just too great.” We fail to be a good witness and we say, “People just have to realize that Christians aren’t perfect.”

There’s a continuing idea in the verb that Paul uses that is hard to translate into smooth English. If I didn’t care about how the language sounded, I might translate this as something like “continue in the process of becoming just right.” That is the way that we can avoid the two pitfalls. On the one hand we realize that we have not attained, but at the same time we also realize that it’s worthwhile to keep on trying to do better. God’s grace is there for the times we fail, and his grace gives us the courage to keep on looking at the distant goal and moving in that direction.

So what is the most important question to ask when deciding on a course of action? I would suggest it is simply this: Will this build God’s kingdom? If you can say that something is going to build, it’s good. If it tears down, reconsider.

Let me add one note. Often we don’t think of the many ways in which God’s kingdom is built. If it builds you up and makes you a better person and you are dedicated to the kingdom, then it’s a kingdom building action even if you can’t count the new church members.

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The Overarching Story of Redemption

Posted on May 15, 2008 by Henry Neufeld

13Sing for joy, Heavens! Rejoice Earth!
Break into singing, Mountains!
For YHWH has comforted his people,
He has shown compassion on those who suffer.
14But Zion said, “YHWH has abandoned me!
My Lord has forgotten me.”
15Can a woman forget the child she is nursing,
Can she withhold compassion from a child of her womb?
Even these might forget,
But I will not forget you.
16Look, I have inscribed you on the palms of my hands,
Your walls of protection are always before my eyes. — Isaiah 49:13-16

Have you ever been in a conversation and you told a story, only to have someone else say, “That reminds me of the time . . .”? I know I do it to others quite regularly because their stories do remind me of various things that happened to me or that I have heard of. It’s quite possible for someone to get quite obnoxious with this, because they always have a story that’s “one better” than yours.

Ask yourself why that sort of thing would bother you? What’s so important about stories? In fact, it is through stories that we understand and interact with our world. Facts by themselves are of very little interest. Consider these items: “7 innings pitched, 4 runs, 2 earned (4 errors by the infield), 2 strikeouts, 1 walk.” You can quickly tell that I’m talking baseball, and apparently summarizing a game. Is it very interesting? Well, unless you’re guessing—and you’re probably trying to do just that—it’s pretty dull all by itself.

But now I’ll tell you that the pitcher was our son John Webb, and I listened to the game on the internet last night. Each of those errors was painful. John seemed to be placing the ball very well, but the narrative was the errors. Does that make it any more interesting? Does that tell you why I would remember what happened?

Christianity too has a story, in fact, many stories. Each story that we hear or tell within our faith or our spiritual journey, we tend to try to fit in with the overall story. There are many variations. Each congregation, and even each person has their own story.

In the Bible we have a central story. You can either say that it happened over and over or that we tend to tell it and reuse it again and again. It’s the story of redemption.

We start with the big one from Exodus—God redeeming his people from bondage. Then we have the exile, which is in view in our story today. Again, we have a story of redemption. As Christians, we then turn to the cross, and the redemption from sin. But there are many more stories. There’s Abraham called out of Ur, David, taken from herding sheep and made king, Mary, Joseph, and Jesus escaping Herod to Egypt, and then being drawn from there (do you hear the Exodus?) back to their home.

The underlying and overarching theme is this: God redeems. It’s what he does. He may use different methods. He may allow all kinds of troubles, but he redeems. That is the story that explains all stories for us as Christians.

Don’t forget it: God is in the redemption business! Tell the story of redemption. Live the story of redemption!

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Wind of God – Chaos to Order

Posted on May 14, 2008 by Henry Neufeld

1In the beginning God created heaven and earth. 2Now the earth was formless and empty, and there was darkness above primeval ocean, and God’s wind was blowing above the water. — Genesis 1:1-2

I used this text yesterday to talk about thinking. The reason we can reason is that God created order from complete chaos.

I’m using my own translation here, and some may be wondering about “God’s wind” rather than the more traditional “spirit of God” in Genesis 2. I could point to many verses, but I will limit myself to John 3, the story of Nicodemus, and Acts 2, Pentecost. In John 3 Jesus compares the Holy Spirit with the wind. You don’t know where it’s coming from and where it’s going, and so it is of those born of spirit. The Greek word there for “spirit” and “wind” is the same.

Similarly at Pentecost, the Holy Spirit comes with the sound of a rushing wind and there are flames of fire involved. Spirit and wind use the same word, and share many of the same characteristics.

It is fashionable to think of the Holy Spirit bringing disorder. We like to use John 3 to explain how a person who is Spirit-led will be unpredictable and will do things that appear to be stupid. The Holy Spirit coming into action in a church will disrupt the normal functioning of that church, tear away power structures, and present a new freedom. The new freedom is often perceived as chaotic, unmanageable, and frightening.

Hold that thought and lets run it through Genesis 1:1-2. God here starts with something formless and empty, not useful, the infinite chaos. The Spirit moves, and the result is to bring form and fullness out of what was formless and empty. I am aware here that the Old Testament does not teach a full idea of the Holy Spirit, but I’m willing to believe that where God’s wind is active, we are talking about the action of the Holy Spirit.

Here the Spirit brings order, not disorder. Purpose, direction, and structure, not formlessness.

Now let me refer to 1 Corinthians 12:12-13. Paul tells the Corinthians that they have been brought by one Spirit into one body, no matter how different they were before. The Holy Spirit came and brought form and order to the church. The church became a body because God’s wind was in it.

So does the Holy Spirit bring order or disorder? Good question! Yes! Or to be more precise, the Spirit brings God’s order. Let me illustrate. If my spiritual life is stalled, and I am getting nowhere, it will still have order. Perhaps I go to church weekly, participate in a small group, but the life is gone. Yet there is order. But order doesn’t necessarily mean function. If the Holy Spirit comes in, he is probably going to create disorder in my orderly life. Why? Because my life is heading for destruction. It’s doing so in good order, but it’s heading there nonetheless. It needs to be shaken up, changed, re-ordered.

Similarly with a church. If your church is stable, orderly, but going nowhere, not helping the poor, not building the community, and not providing a good witness for the Kingdom of God, then the work of the Spirit will break up that order. At the same time it will breathe a new order, one directed by the needs of God’s kingdom.

As in Genesis 1, you have to follow the process all the way through. The full creation is only proclaimed at the end of the 6th day. The separation of the land and water (Genesis 1:9-10) presents a pretty chaotic picture, but the chaos was necessary before plants could grow.

You may experience some apparent chaos when the Holy Spirit works on you. Stick with it. Eventually the Spirit brings order—God’s order.

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A Foundation for Thinking

Posted on May 13, 2008 by Henry Neufeld

1In the beginning God created heaven and earth. 2Now the earth was formless and empty, and there was darkness above primeval ocean, and God’s wind was blowing above the water. — Genesis 1:1-2

Thinking isn’t always a popular topic in Christian circles. Sometimes thinking gets blamed for people losing their faith, for their becoming disenchanted with the church, for creating divisions and dissension, or for them becoming rebellious. Occasionally you’ll hear someone say, “He thinks too much,” or “if she would just stop thinking!”

It is quite possible to over-think a problem. When you do so you often make it too complicated, or discourage everyone by thinking of every possible problem. You can also spend all of your time thinking and none of it acting. When I think of the number of things I have thought about but never written down or done anything about, I would like to get some of that time back and replace some of the thinking time with writing and action.

The problem is two-fold. First, acting without thinking is dangerous. Second, we really don’t ever do anything without thinking. We may do so out of habit without thinking it through properly, or we may do it with such brief thinking that we don’t realize we thought, but something goes on in your brain whenever you act. The real question is whether you will think or not.

Now you’re probably thinking (!) right now that I’m getting too complicated today. You may even be thinking that I’m thinking way too much!

But I have a fairly simple point. Please hold on for it. For a Christian, thinking starts with God. Some people may not like me to say that. What about thinking of a grocery list? How does that start with God? Others may be wondering if I mean that they have to start with theological speculation.

No, you don’t have to do any of those things, but if you are really a Christian, your thinking starts with God in any case. That’s because God is the creator. Before he got involved there was not only nothing to think with, there was nothing to think about. “Formless and empty” we’re told in Genesis. Nowhere to go with your mind but an infinite chaos.

To that chaos God brought order and purpose. Without order and purpose your mind would be useless. Even if you’re planning a menu, you’re dependent on God. The purpose of your life, the way in which food nourishes your body, the physics of transportation, everything that’s involved can exist only because God came in and imposed order on complete chaos.

That’s infinite chaos brought to order. That’s a lot of chaos, and a lot of order.

Now think of your own life. Does it consist of order? Are things under control? Then thank God who is the maker of purpose.

Is your life a chaos? Do you feel hopeless? Go to God. No matter how chaotic your life, it is in better order than the universe was when God got started on it. No matter how large your problems, they’re smaller than the problems God solved in a simple move in Genesis 1:1-2.

(Note: Tomorrow I’m going to talk about the same verses, and connect the “wind” and “spirit” of Genesis 1:2.)

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