The Power Source

Wouldn’t it be great to possess superhuman power? There seems to be a fascination with super heroes and shows about people who possess super powers. Spiderman 3 comes out tomorrow and people in Manila will flock to see it; young boys and possibly a few grown men will sport Spiderman t-shirts. I have never seen a super hero, but I have observed the super strange. A few days ago while visiting our local Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf I kept hearing strange sounds. As I looked around, I realized the sounds were coming from a man who was looking at his reflection in the window. He sounded like Dorie in “Finding Nemo” when she was trying to speak whale. Every few minutes he would stand up and start making odd sounds while barely moving his mouth. This reminded me of some of the strange people we encountered in NYC while taking the subways. There was the "green lady" - we often saw a woman who dressed in green from head to toe - green hair, make-up, accessories, etc. Last summer when we were visiting New York, we heard about a man who was mugging people using a chainsaw just one stop away from where we were staying.

As believers, we do have superhuman power. Whether we face concerns about the world around us, situations in our own lives or the future, we have a source of strength if our lives belong to God. The power to live free from worry and anxiety every day while making a difference in the world around us comes from God and not from ourselves. We may not know what the future holds, but we can know the God who holds the future and every aspect of our lives in His care. I have been reminding myself recently of how much I need the grace and strength of God every day. We can walk in His power in the following ways:

1. Power of knowing the greatness of God.
What looms large on the horizon of your life? Is it God or the difficulties you are afraid you might have to face? Think about the greatness, love and nearness of God and you can face whatever will come as you walk with Him, expecting great things.
“I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and his incomparably great power for us who believe. These are in accordance with the working of the strength of his might.” (Ephesians 1:18-19)

2. Power of knowing who He is in our lives.
“You are from God, little children, and have overcome them; because greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world.” (1 John 4:4)

3. Power of prayer.
Just pray, whenever or wherever. It works because God hears and cares.
"Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.” (Mattew 7:7-8)

4. Power of joy.
Joy comes from knowing God and does not depend on circumstances.
“Do not be grieved, for the joy of the Lord is your strength." (Nehemiah 8:10)

5. Power to be a witness.
You can make a difference in the lives of others in a powerful way because of the presence of God in your life.
“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth." (Acts 1:8)

Next post: With great Power comes great Responsibility (Actually, Winston Churchill said something similar before Spiderman.)

Holy Cows and an Elephant-faced God

Have you ever seen someone become aware of something for the first time that you have treasured for most of your life? It is a wonderful experience. I have a friend in Manila who is from India and she is a Hindu. She came to a small group Bible study in our home. We valued her sweet, sensitive disposition, her love for her family and her delicious Indian food. She often shared interesting stories about life in India. On several occasions I asked her to read verses from the Bible.

One of her favorites was a passage about love in I Corinthians 13: “Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails.” I liked hearing her read the words in her beautiful accent as she was taking in the full meaning. We compared that to the different ways people define love and try to find love in different cultures. It often proved to be a lively discussion since four nation were represented in the group.

But my favorite moment was a few weeks later when she read this passage from John 3:16: “For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life.” Then she asked, “I have never heard this before, will you explain it to me?” She had always believed in many impersonal gods who did good or evil and held a view that she would be reincarnated many times. It was strangely new for her to think of a God who would sacrifice in love, the kind of love she had read about weeks before, for her personally and for the whole world to experience forgiveness and eternal life.

There are so many diverse and interesting cutures, but truth is the same in every part of the world. Think about this today. Do you know life-changing truth that is worth telling others? If you do, you probably work, study or interact with people every day who have a desperate cry for answers, no matter what exterior they present to the world around them. Determine in your heart to get to know them better and look for an inroad to reach out to them. You may be the only one who will care enough to do so. It starts with a decision of the heart.

Wanting to Give Up

“Success is waking up in the morning, whoever you are, however old or young, and bounding out of bed because there’s something out there that you love to do, that you believe in, that you’re good at – something that’s bigger than you are, and you can hardly wait to get at it again today.” Whit Hobbs, columnist

That is all well and good, except when it’s not. What about the mornings when you wake up and don’t want to get up at all? What about the mornings when you feel like giving up because of disappointment, adversity or sheer boredom? Maybe this morning was one of those mornings. It is wonderful to be at a place in life where you can make a living doing what you love to do, but encountering adversity and challenges is a given. It is vital to learn how to respond with the right attitude so you don’t give up when difficulties arise.

Quitting
In any endeavor worthy of pursuit, challenges come. But sometimes blow after blow can cause the shock absorbers of your soul to wear out. When that happens, even a small thing can send you over the edge, making you want to give up. Quitting is not a good solution, because life goes on and you still need to get up in the morning, face another day and be there for the people in your life.

What you can do instead: Pace yourself, realizing that you need to be refreshed along the way to keep your perspective. When your perspective is right, then you are able to see that God is greater than any difficulty and He is with you mightily if you place your trust in Him. (See post: “How much of Your Life do you spend Waiting?”) Breakthrough can be just ahead. And think about it, what would life be like if Edison had given up before his invention of the lightbulb? He said, “Many of life's failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up.” Someone has to persevere to accomplish anything worth accomplishing. It might as well be you.

Camping
Sometimes people respond to challenges by finding their comfort zone and staying there. At first glance, there is nothing wrong with that response. Everyone likes to be comfortable. But if you stop reaching out to others in need and try to make life revolve around your needs and comfort, stagnation and apathy can set in. Consider what God intends for you to do with your life.

Climbing
Have you ever had an idea that won’t go away? My friend, Nadia, had such an idea about visiting a boy she had helped receive burn treatment who had returned to his village in the Carpathian Mountains in Ukraine. She went there and now has a ministry to the poorest villages in the Carpathians where she has seen many lives changed. She braves icy roads during the winter and opposition from local religious leaders to help the poor families living there because of her love for them.

Step out of your comfort zone and follow through on those ideas. Like Nadia, you will not regret it. Climbing doesn’t always have to look brave or monumental. It is often measured in small, seemingly insignificant decisions to persevere on a daily basis. The ability to move forward, no matter the obstacle, is possible through faith and love. “Faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” (Hebrews 11:1) Faith motivated by love enables you to look adversity and apparent darkness in the face and move forward, knowing that breakthrough and victory is on the other side.

“Brethren, I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet; but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.” (Phil 3:13-14)

Is Your Ladder Leaning Against the Right Building?

I am referring to the proverbial ladder of success that we are all supposed to be climbing. For as long as I can remember, I have heard the analogy of climbing the ladder of success. My thoughts have been stirring in the area of success and purpose today, so I decided to write them down. People often visit my blog who are googling for encouragement, but one day someone was specifically googling for encouraging thoughts on success and failure. Here are a few thoughts, and I hope they are encouraging.

Don’t get me wrong, I love goals and endurance sports. I did a three-hour cycling (spinning) marathon at Fitness First last year and I wanted to keep going. The gym is located on the 35th floor, so there is a nice view of Manila on clear days. I enjoy pushing myself and I think I would enjoy mountain climbing as well, except heights make me nervous. But when it comes to life, I want my goals and dreams to benefit others through love.

When we were living in Lviv, Ukraine, we often visited the home of our friends Robert and Connie Poland. There was always so much joy and love in their home. One day I was telling Robert, a jolly man with a white beard and hair like Santa, that we greatly appreciated the love in their home. This was his response: “People will not remember you for how much you know or how successful you are, but for how much you have loved them.” I took that to heart, realizing that my desire to do everything with excellence would be missing the mark entirely if I did not make a difference in the lives of people.

We all have diverse talents and abilities, opportunities in life and a certain number of days to live. It makes sense to want to do the most with what we are given. If we try to go after a dream only for what we can get out of life for ourselves, then when life takes a turn, what we are building comes crashing down. If we are pursuing our dreams and goals with the purpose of loving and giving value to the lives of others, then no matter what happens in life, we can pursue our purpose. This is what I mean by having our ladder of success leaning against the right building. If we really believe there is a divine purpose in our mundane existence, then there is Someone who sees our hearts and what we do in secret – Someone who sees our motives and choices and is using a different value system for success than the one shouted all around us in society.

I admit, I watch very little television which is why I have time to read so many books, but I do watch “American Idol”, even though I preferred last season. And between the show, advertisements and billboards I realize how much of life is spent trying to follow what is valued in society and be successful at it. When it comes to something like singing, I believe you either have it or you don’t. Yes, talent can be sharpened and it can help to be at the right place at the right time for a big break, but you are born with certain talents and abilities. What if you are a person who feels like you aren’t good at anything? Who are you listening to for your sense of value and success? As Eleanor Roosevelt said, “No one can make you feel inferior without your consent.” God has a different value system from man. He looks at the heart. What lives on and carries weight is what we do that influences the lives of other people for good. Do we love people? Do our actions show it?

I like to read "The New York Times" online, but occasionally I read another news source which has become increasingly sensational with its headlines. There are so many evil, heartless acts committed against people on a daily basis. We have not been born into a neutral world. We need to affect lives for good, and ultimately, for God. If your goal is to be a successful lawyer, businessperson, politician, teacher, athlete, artist or whatever, make it your purpose to serve and help others through loving them. Live for an audience of One.

Next post: Wanting to Give Up

What is a Christian?

CNN is airing an Anderson Cooper special entitled “What is a Christian?”, and since it is the Easter holiday, it is a timely topic for consideration. There can be a great deal of confusion surrounding Jesus Christ and what it means to be a Christian. There is even supposed to be a controversial chocolate sculpture of Jesus on display at a Manhattan gallery on Monday.

I remember Donald Miller relating a story in his book “Searching For God Knows What” about something that happened when he was teaching a class of Bible college students in the US. He presented the class with a form of the gospel, but left out a key element while telling them in advance that he would do so. He went on to lecture about the sinful state of man without God, the need to change and live a moral life and about what heaven would be like. After he finished his eloquent presentation, not one in the class of 45 students who had studied the Bible and grown up in Christian homes realized that he had presented the gospel without any reference to Jesus Christ.

A Christian is not . . .

Someone who simply follows a moral code.
Christianity is not a list of do’s and don’ts. A person cannot make themselves good enough to please God, who is perfect. Martin Luther tried to please God by his own efforts until he read the Bible for himself and realized that his righteousness was based on faith in the finished work of Jesus Christ. "By one sacrifice he has made perfect forever those who are being made holy." (Hebrews 10:14) When a person recognizes they are only right with God because of His grace, they can extend grace and compassion to others. The Bible states that “the just shall live by faith.” (Romans 1:17)

Someone who chooses a convenient religion.
When a person accepts Jesus Christ, they are not choosing to become a Christian because Christianity is the predominate religion in their culture. They are choosing it because it is the truth. Jesus said, “I am the Way, the Truth and the Life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.” (John 14:6)

A Christian is . . .

I have never thought of Christianity in terms of simply going through religious motions. Once when I was growing up in the South, I was at a church event sitting on a pew. There was nothing wrong with the meeting, but I went out the back door and ran into a nearby field to pour out my heart to God. It wasn’t the only time I did something like that as a young Christian. I sensed that the passion and life found in really knowing and walking with Jesus Christ was something that made my heart want to soar, yet I had so many questions. And He has been gracious enough to answer my pursuit of truth and relationship with Him, leading me on adventures beyond my wildest dreams. The wonder of it all is still unfolding as I walk with Him.

Becoming a Christian means meeting the God of creation and realizing that all history is defined by the redemption of mankind through Jesus Christ, culminating in a pivotal decision to let Him in to bring about a spiritual rebirth - exchanging death, guilt and separation for eternal life, forgiveness and unconditional love. This is the beginning of life as a Christian. A Christian is someone who has a relationship with God through Jesus Christ and follows Him in every area of life.

When you follow Him, you will lead others into a relationship with Him because such a life-changing experience has to be shared. As a missionary in Ukraine and the Philippines, what it means to be a Christian is quite clear and profound, yet simple. It is especially simple in Manila where there is tremendous church growth through small group outreach. People reach out to others, help them come into a relationship with Jesus Christ, become established in their faith and begin reaching out to friends and family all within the context of community. It happens on a daily basis right where people live, work, have coffee or work out.

On Excellence and Kindness

When people want to get away from Manila, one of the favorite places to go is Tagaytay where the Taal volcano is located. The air is fresh, which you greatly appreciate after the thick soup of Manila air. Aaahhhh! Among the many beautiful places and wonderful restaurants in Tagaytay, one of the most refreshing is Sonya’s Garden, a Bed & Breakfast. I had been there once before when we were in a wedding, but yesterday the special quality of the place took on new meaning because of the kindness of Sonya, the owner.

We brought a Ukrainian couple, Valentin and Katya, there to celebrate their fourth wedding anniversary. We planned it as a surprise for Katya, so she forgot to dress for the occasion. When we met Sonya, I asked her to show us a beautiful area in the garden where we could have a simple renewal of vows ceremony for the couple. We were expecting a small group of friends and Katya was suddenly embarrassed because she was dressed very casually. Sonya immediately offered for Katya to borrow her dress and asked us to follow her to her home. She directed us to a room there and brought in two white dresses and some beautiful jewelry. Katya laughed with joy as we transformed her for the special evening and brought her out to meet Valentin. The evening was memorable for all of us.

Before I met Sonya, it was apparent that every detail in the place was meticulously designed with the aim to please the senses and bring enjoyment and tranquility. Everything was arranged and decorated with excellence and the staff was hospitable and accommodating. But after having met the gracious and kind owner, I recognized her special touch in it all.

Everything we do, whether in a corporate or private setting, should be done with excellence and kindness. When someone walks into a place for the first time and everything is excellent, they are more likely to want to come again. But it is going out of the way to show kindness to people that really makes the difference. Excellence by itself can be sterile. But when you add the special touch of serving others in personal ways, it is like adding warmth to a cold room by lighting a fire in the fireplace. Even simple acts of kindness can have a tremendous impact. Sonya, thank you for your beautiful example of excellence and kindness.

On a personal level, I often find that when I make the step to get involved in the lives of others, I am greatly enriched by being a part of their lives. There have been times when I have wanted to give up on a person, but then God would speak something in my heart about how He does not give up on me. Going out of our way to show kindness demonstrates the love of God to people because it is contrary to the way in which the world usually works.

Reaching greater levels of excellence is for the sake of serving others better. Serving others better is for the sake of demonstrating the kindness and love of Jesus Christ.