Matthew 22:37-39, “Jesus said to him, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.”
I was coming home from the hospital and I was watching different construction sites. One was road construction and there was a line of people carrying cement down to the construction site on their heads using these very large metal saucers. Another was a house construction and as I sat in traffic I was able to watch for a longer period of time. There were people filling up bags of sand, and then there were these other two guys standing there watching leaning on this log. Once the sand was filled into the bags then the two men leaning on the log picked it up turned it long ways and began to carry it away. The log was connected to a pulley system that carried the sand bags up to the third floor of the house that they were working on at the time.
Being the typical Westerner, I start thinking of the much easier, more efficient and effective ways the work could be completed. They could have easily created a trough going down to the location of the road and just let the cement flow into its place via gravity. And the house could have easily used an electric wench system that would move much faster and not need any breaks. This would have saved them money and time, so why not?
This is where I think India’s worldview demonstrates a more neighborly attitude then we do. It also would help eliminate the welfare state that we are quickly heading towards. They know they could use other systems to build, but how would that help the community? They know using people instead of machines will allow families to eat and though machines do not need rest; they do break down. People can take over for each other and keep working. Instead of using machines they give people the opportunity to earn a living for themselves, as India does not have a welfare system, but a neighborly system. A business man employs the community, giving them a sense of pride and accomplishment that they are able to provide for their families.
How would this look in the United States? Instead of the welfare system, we give people the opportunity to work and earn for their families. If they decide not to work by their own choosing then they do not eat. This would save millions, if not billions in taxes. Again, India does this because they think communally and not individually, but we can use our individual thinking and utilize their concept for the betterment of our country. This would ultimately give people a sense of pride and community because instead of attaining everything on the backs of others, they will have to work for it themselves.
Proverbs 10:4-5, “Poor is he who works with a negligent hand, But the hand of the diligent makes rich. He who gathers in summer is a son who acts wisely, But he who sleeps in harvest is a son who acts shamefully.”
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
Thursday, October 23, 2008
Possible New Changes-- Not Good Changes
By Tim Wildmon Posted: 10/22/2008
If the polls are to be believed, Americans are about to make history on November 4. And I am not talking about Sen. Barak Obama being the first African-American to be elected President of the United States. The history I am talking about is the fact that Americans have never been willing to elect a hard-core liberal to be their Commander in Chief. But it appears, they – we – are ready to embrace this worldview.
If Obama is elected President, it will represent some significant fundamental changes in our American way of life. Sweeping changes that may say a lot about our attitudes towards the traditional values that have long been taken for granted by many people.
Obama’s ideas for where he wants to take our country are on the extreme left of the political spectrum and were considered radical by a vast majority of Americans not too many years ago. Here are a couple of predictions about Obama and his potential presidency that will have a major impact on our country
* He will appoint American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) lawyers (or their ilk) to the federal bench including the Supreme Court. Liberals, like Obama, believe it is the court’s job to perform social engineering that legislative bodies will not do. Remember, these judges are lifetime appointments.
* Obama and the Democrats will move quickly to give amnesty or an easy “pathway to citizenship” to the 15 to 20 million illegal aliens currently living in our country. If this happens it will place the GOP into permanent minority status, and may lead ultimately to the death of the Republican party.
As my mama used to say, you are known by the company you keep. Jeremiah Wright was Obama’s pastor for nearly 20 years. We are all aware of the many wacky, bizarre, anti-American statements he has made, including his belief that the AIDS virus was maliciously injected into the black population by the federal government. Obama said he never knew his minister held these views. Does anyone really believe that? Only when it became politically expedient to disassociate himself from Wright did he do so.
Also, William Ayers, the unrepentant domestic terrorist, who lives in Chicago helped launch Obama’s political career in his – Ayers’ – living room. They served on boards together. Obama wrote a commendation for Ayers’ book. The point is, Obama has felt comfortable around Ayers and Wright for all these years because they are ideologically kindred spirits. As someone pointed out to me, Obama would not be eligible to get a job with the FBI because of these associations. But these facts don’t even give most Americans pause.
Now as for his economic views, Obama is an unapologetic socialist. As he told Joe the Plumber the other day, when he gets to the White House he is going to “spread the wealth around.” I have to hand it to Obama, that is about as straightforward as you can get. That is the language of Karl Marx, the father of Communism. Just 10 years ago, making that statement would have ended the campaign of any U.S. presidential candidate. It would have been a major media controversy. Not in today’s America. America, historically, has always been about capitalism, free markets, free enterprise, using your brain, risk-taking and reward. The idea of working hard and making more money for you and your family has always been a driving incentive in America. Socialism, however, believes that the government should take that money from that person who worked hard and succeeded and – as Obama said – redistribute it to others through welfare and entitlement programs. It’s also a way to buy votes from the masses. Promise people freebies, they will vote for you. And let me tell you, with the Democrats in total control of the House of Representatives, the Senate and the White House, you have never seen the kind of raw, unadulterated, peddle-to-the metal tax and spend socialism like we are about to experience.
Finally, Obama and many other liberal politicians promote an undercurrent of jealously and envy of those who have succeeded because of hard work, personal sacrifice and perseverance through hard times. But did you know that the top 10% of income earners in America already pay 71% of all federal income taxes? And the top 25% pay a whopping 86% of all federal income taxes. How is it “fair” to compel this group of Americans to pay even more? These are the people who are building companies and creating jobs. If we continue to soak them with more and more taxation, eventually, our free enterprise system will implode.
Obama may be this generation’s political Golden Boy, but he is no King Midas. His touch on our government will not turn everything to gold, but will more likely smother the American goose that laid the American Golden Egg.
Distributed by www.ChristianWorldviewNetwork.com
If the polls are to be believed, Americans are about to make history on November 4. And I am not talking about Sen. Barak Obama being the first African-American to be elected President of the United States. The history I am talking about is the fact that Americans have never been willing to elect a hard-core liberal to be their Commander in Chief. But it appears, they – we – are ready to embrace this worldview.
If Obama is elected President, it will represent some significant fundamental changes in our American way of life. Sweeping changes that may say a lot about our attitudes towards the traditional values that have long been taken for granted by many people.
Obama’s ideas for where he wants to take our country are on the extreme left of the political spectrum and were considered radical by a vast majority of Americans not too many years ago. Here are a couple of predictions about Obama and his potential presidency that will have a major impact on our country
* He will appoint American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) lawyers (or their ilk) to the federal bench including the Supreme Court. Liberals, like Obama, believe it is the court’s job to perform social engineering that legislative bodies will not do. Remember, these judges are lifetime appointments.
* Obama and the Democrats will move quickly to give amnesty or an easy “pathway to citizenship” to the 15 to 20 million illegal aliens currently living in our country. If this happens it will place the GOP into permanent minority status, and may lead ultimately to the death of the Republican party.
As my mama used to say, you are known by the company you keep. Jeremiah Wright was Obama’s pastor for nearly 20 years. We are all aware of the many wacky, bizarre, anti-American statements he has made, including his belief that the AIDS virus was maliciously injected into the black population by the federal government. Obama said he never knew his minister held these views. Does anyone really believe that? Only when it became politically expedient to disassociate himself from Wright did he do so.
Also, William Ayers, the unrepentant domestic terrorist, who lives in Chicago helped launch Obama’s political career in his – Ayers’ – living room. They served on boards together. Obama wrote a commendation for Ayers’ book. The point is, Obama has felt comfortable around Ayers and Wright for all these years because they are ideologically kindred spirits. As someone pointed out to me, Obama would not be eligible to get a job with the FBI because of these associations. But these facts don’t even give most Americans pause.
Now as for his economic views, Obama is an unapologetic socialist. As he told Joe the Plumber the other day, when he gets to the White House he is going to “spread the wealth around.” I have to hand it to Obama, that is about as straightforward as you can get. That is the language of Karl Marx, the father of Communism. Just 10 years ago, making that statement would have ended the campaign of any U.S. presidential candidate. It would have been a major media controversy. Not in today’s America. America, historically, has always been about capitalism, free markets, free enterprise, using your brain, risk-taking and reward. The idea of working hard and making more money for you and your family has always been a driving incentive in America. Socialism, however, believes that the government should take that money from that person who worked hard and succeeded and – as Obama said – redistribute it to others through welfare and entitlement programs. It’s also a way to buy votes from the masses. Promise people freebies, they will vote for you. And let me tell you, with the Democrats in total control of the House of Representatives, the Senate and the White House, you have never seen the kind of raw, unadulterated, peddle-to-the metal tax and spend socialism like we are about to experience.
Finally, Obama and many other liberal politicians promote an undercurrent of jealously and envy of those who have succeeded because of hard work, personal sacrifice and perseverance through hard times. But did you know that the top 10% of income earners in America already pay 71% of all federal income taxes? And the top 25% pay a whopping 86% of all federal income taxes. How is it “fair” to compel this group of Americans to pay even more? These are the people who are building companies and creating jobs. If we continue to soak them with more and more taxation, eventually, our free enterprise system will implode.
Obama may be this generation’s political Golden Boy, but he is no King Midas. His touch on our government will not turn everything to gold, but will more likely smother the American goose that laid the American Golden Egg.
Distributed by www.ChristianWorldviewNetwork.com
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
Blessed in Suffering
Job 10:18, “Why did you bring me out of the womb?”
These past two weeks I have been teaching Pastoral Counseling, which answers why I have been typically just posting articles from others and some other inquisitive posts regarding the election.
One topic seems to poke its little head out in the counseling circles all the time. This creature, though it lacks no real description, reeks havoc, confusion and all around disgust and discouragement for almost anyone that comes into contact with it. Guaranteed that at some point we will all face this monster, though you will have no way to tell anyone what it is, except by what you are feeling.
You just ‘know’ it is evil because there is no ‘good’ that came truly come out of it. We can only describe the atrocities, but we can not give a clear name to it, but suffering and evil certainly fit. Babies dying, being killed; women being raped or abused; cancer, diabetes, and many other ailments fall into this category, but what lies behind them we cannot give a face to, but only a name.
Job is a great example of someone who seemed to suffer for no apparent reason in life. We know from the beginning of the story as to why Job suffered, but Job didn’t. Think about this for a moment. Within a few short days, maybe a week, you literally lose everything. Your children are killed, your wealth is taken, your body is ravaged, and your wife tells you to curse God and die. If anyone can say that he was having a bad week, it was Job. He never knew this side of Heaven why in the world he went through this. We know and it helps us rationalize the situation, but put yourself in Job’s place for a moment. He does not know and never attains an answer to any of his questions.
Don’t you think at least Job would have deserved an answer? God, Himself, tells Jobs unhelpful friends that he was righteous and spoke to God correctly; while the ‘healthy’ people did not. Yet, God is silent about why! At least in the physical realm, as we know He is not in the Spiritual realm, as there is a battle going on, or at least it appears to Satan that way. God knows what will happen in the end.
Job goes through this and though he does not get an answer he attains something more. If you notice he attains his true blessing before God restores his health and everything else. Job says in 42:2-6, “I know that You can do everything, And no purpose of Yours can be withheld from You. You asked, ‘Who is this who hides counsel without Knowledge?’ Therefore I have uttered what I did not know. Listen, please, and let me speak; You said, ‘I will question you, and you shall answer Me.’ ‘I have heard of You by the hearing of the ear, But now my eyes sees You. Therefore I abhor myself, And repent in dust and ashes.’”
This should literally blow your mind. Wow! Here is Job in complete misery, nothing yet has been healed or restored. He says that he abhors himself, meaning he hates himself, because he now saw God, not in his blessings, but his suffering. Not while he was ‘happy,’ but in his turmoil. The suffering in one important aspect was for Job, because in the end he was able to know God truly.
There are times in our lives where we will suffer, and that will differ for all of us. Some of us will suffer for short periods, while others will suffer for longer periods. Our suffering may be known to us at times, as it is because we chose to partake in fun that ended in a broken bone, or we chose some sin that ends in suffering. Other times we are suffering for no apparent reason, and we wonder why. Maybe we should change that to why not. Why not you or me?
Maybe, just maybe, we should see it as a blessing. We should try to change our mindset in our suffering. God believed in you so much that He allowed, or chose you to demonstrate His love through this time of pain or hurt. He knows that you can show Christ, even in light of what you are going through, even if you never get an answer. If we truly see ourselves in light of God, as Job finally did, we then understand, “see,” that we have no right to ask God why we are going through this turmoil, but we see Him for who He is, and we live our lives accordingly.
We can certainly tell our Father of our pain and work through it with Him, but in reality He owes us no explanation. Job tried, and it did not work. God just turned the tables on him and put him in his place. Can we hurt, cry and pray for a release? Sure, but be prepared to hear no, as Paul heard, and realize that you are His and He is not yours. Be blessed that He chose you to go through what you are suffering, as He knows that if you rely on Him you will make it through, even if that means going home to Heaven.
When you suffer, represent Christ in it and you will be blessed. You may even get to “see” God. You might not know why you are suffering, as there may be a spiritual battle being waged and God chose you to be part. That is an honor. No battle is without suffering, and the battle between Satan and God is being waged on this earth and we are God’s soldiers. We rest in the fact that God will bring good out of this because we our His and He tell us that even suffering will be used for His purpose, which is always good, even though it might not be for us, but those watching; which in the end is good for you as well, because it is good for God.
See the blessing even in your suffering as Job did.
Romans 8:28, “And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.”
These past two weeks I have been teaching Pastoral Counseling, which answers why I have been typically just posting articles from others and some other inquisitive posts regarding the election.
One topic seems to poke its little head out in the counseling circles all the time. This creature, though it lacks no real description, reeks havoc, confusion and all around disgust and discouragement for almost anyone that comes into contact with it. Guaranteed that at some point we will all face this monster, though you will have no way to tell anyone what it is, except by what you are feeling.
You just ‘know’ it is evil because there is no ‘good’ that came truly come out of it. We can only describe the atrocities, but we can not give a clear name to it, but suffering and evil certainly fit. Babies dying, being killed; women being raped or abused; cancer, diabetes, and many other ailments fall into this category, but what lies behind them we cannot give a face to, but only a name.
Job is a great example of someone who seemed to suffer for no apparent reason in life. We know from the beginning of the story as to why Job suffered, but Job didn’t. Think about this for a moment. Within a few short days, maybe a week, you literally lose everything. Your children are killed, your wealth is taken, your body is ravaged, and your wife tells you to curse God and die. If anyone can say that he was having a bad week, it was Job. He never knew this side of Heaven why in the world he went through this. We know and it helps us rationalize the situation, but put yourself in Job’s place for a moment. He does not know and never attains an answer to any of his questions.
Don’t you think at least Job would have deserved an answer? God, Himself, tells Jobs unhelpful friends that he was righteous and spoke to God correctly; while the ‘healthy’ people did not. Yet, God is silent about why! At least in the physical realm, as we know He is not in the Spiritual realm, as there is a battle going on, or at least it appears to Satan that way. God knows what will happen in the end.
Job goes through this and though he does not get an answer he attains something more. If you notice he attains his true blessing before God restores his health and everything else. Job says in 42:2-6, “I know that You can do everything, And no purpose of Yours can be withheld from You. You asked, ‘Who is this who hides counsel without Knowledge?’ Therefore I have uttered what I did not know. Listen, please, and let me speak; You said, ‘I will question you, and you shall answer Me.’ ‘I have heard of You by the hearing of the ear, But now my eyes sees You. Therefore I abhor myself, And repent in dust and ashes.’”
This should literally blow your mind. Wow! Here is Job in complete misery, nothing yet has been healed or restored. He says that he abhors himself, meaning he hates himself, because he now saw God, not in his blessings, but his suffering. Not while he was ‘happy,’ but in his turmoil. The suffering in one important aspect was for Job, because in the end he was able to know God truly.
There are times in our lives where we will suffer, and that will differ for all of us. Some of us will suffer for short periods, while others will suffer for longer periods. Our suffering may be known to us at times, as it is because we chose to partake in fun that ended in a broken bone, or we chose some sin that ends in suffering. Other times we are suffering for no apparent reason, and we wonder why. Maybe we should change that to why not. Why not you or me?
Maybe, just maybe, we should see it as a blessing. We should try to change our mindset in our suffering. God believed in you so much that He allowed, or chose you to demonstrate His love through this time of pain or hurt. He knows that you can show Christ, even in light of what you are going through, even if you never get an answer. If we truly see ourselves in light of God, as Job finally did, we then understand, “see,” that we have no right to ask God why we are going through this turmoil, but we see Him for who He is, and we live our lives accordingly.
We can certainly tell our Father of our pain and work through it with Him, but in reality He owes us no explanation. Job tried, and it did not work. God just turned the tables on him and put him in his place. Can we hurt, cry and pray for a release? Sure, but be prepared to hear no, as Paul heard, and realize that you are His and He is not yours. Be blessed that He chose you to go through what you are suffering, as He knows that if you rely on Him you will make it through, even if that means going home to Heaven.
When you suffer, represent Christ in it and you will be blessed. You may even get to “see” God. You might not know why you are suffering, as there may be a spiritual battle being waged and God chose you to be part. That is an honor. No battle is without suffering, and the battle between Satan and God is being waged on this earth and we are God’s soldiers. We rest in the fact that God will bring good out of this because we our His and He tell us that even suffering will be used for His purpose, which is always good, even though it might not be for us, but those watching; which in the end is good for you as well, because it is good for God.
See the blessing even in your suffering as Job did.
Romans 8:28, “And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.”
Thursday, October 16, 2008
Obama Socialist Plan in His Own Words
Obama states in his own words that he wants to "spread the wealth around." Taking the money from those who worked to earn it and then give it to others. It is a socialist suggestion.
A Plumber from Ohio!
CNSNews.com‘Spread the Wealth Around’ Comment Comes Back to Haunt ObamaWednesday, October 15, 2008By Susan Jones, Senior Editor
Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama campaigns in Holland, Ohio, Sunday, Oct. 12, 2008. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
(CNSNews.com) – Sen. Barack Obama’s recent comments to a plumber named Joe are making some Americans nervous about Obama’s wealth-redistribution tendencies.
“Your tax plan’s going to tax me more,” the plumber named Joe Wurzelbacher told Obama at a rally in Ohio on Sunday.
Wurzelbacher told the Democratic presidential candidate he’s about to buy a company that will put him above the $250,000 income level. Obama has said he will raise taxes on people making a minimum of $250,000 – and that includes small businesses that file taxes as individuals.
“It’s not that I want to punish your success, I just want to make sure that everybody who is behind you, that they’ve got a chance at success too,” Obama told the plumber.
“My attitude is that if the economy’s good for folks from the bottom up, it’s going be good for everybody. If you’ve got a plumbing business, you’re gonna be better off if you’ve got a whole bunch of customers who can afford to hire you, and right now everybody’s so pinched that business is bad for everybody, and I think when you spread the wealth around, it’s good for everybody."
The latter comment about spreading the wealth around has been picked up by the Republican presidential candidate John McCain and other critics, who say Obama sounds like a socialist.
Obama’s discussion with Wurzelbacher went into much more detail. Obama told the plumber that as a small business owner, he’d get a tax cut for his healthcare costs. And he said the plumber’s taxes would stay the same for amounts below $250,000.
“It is true that from 250 up…for that additional amount, you’d go from 36 to 39 percent, which is what it was under Bill Clinton,” Obama said. Obama also said that “95 percent of small businesses make less than 250 ($250,000).” And he told the plumber that over the last 15 years, when Joe wasn’t making $250,000, “you would have been given a tax cut from me, so you’d actually have more money, which means you would have saved more, which means you would have gotten to the point where you could build your small business quicker than under the current tax code.”
It’s like Robin Hood, the Wurzelbacher told Fox News’s Neil Cavuto on Tuesday. Wurzelbacher said he’s the kind of person who lives paycheck to paycheck – and “I just resent the government or Barack Obama’s plan to take more away from me.”
Sen. McCain worked Obama’s “spread the wealth around” phrase into a speech he delivered on Tuesday.
“This weekend, a plumber concerned that Senator Obama was going to raise his taxes asked him directly about his plan,” McCain told a rally in Blue Bell, Pa. “The response was telling. Senator Obama explained to him that he was going to raise his taxes to quote ‘spread the wealth around.’ This explains how Senator Obama can promise an income tax cut for millions who aren't even paying income taxes right now.
“My friends, my plan isn't intended to force small businesses to cut jobs to pay higher taxes so we can ‘spread the wealth around.’ My plan is intended to create jobs and increase the wealth of all Americans,” McCain said.
McCain says he would reduce business tax rates to boost job-creation.
Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama campaigns in Holland, Ohio, Sunday, Oct. 12, 2008. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
(CNSNews.com) – Sen. Barack Obama’s recent comments to a plumber named Joe are making some Americans nervous about Obama’s wealth-redistribution tendencies.
“Your tax plan’s going to tax me more,” the plumber named Joe Wurzelbacher told Obama at a rally in Ohio on Sunday.
Wurzelbacher told the Democratic presidential candidate he’s about to buy a company that will put him above the $250,000 income level. Obama has said he will raise taxes on people making a minimum of $250,000 – and that includes small businesses that file taxes as individuals.
“It’s not that I want to punish your success, I just want to make sure that everybody who is behind you, that they’ve got a chance at success too,” Obama told the plumber.
“My attitude is that if the economy’s good for folks from the bottom up, it’s going be good for everybody. If you’ve got a plumbing business, you’re gonna be better off if you’ve got a whole bunch of customers who can afford to hire you, and right now everybody’s so pinched that business is bad for everybody, and I think when you spread the wealth around, it’s good for everybody."
The latter comment about spreading the wealth around has been picked up by the Republican presidential candidate John McCain and other critics, who say Obama sounds like a socialist.
Obama’s discussion with Wurzelbacher went into much more detail. Obama told the plumber that as a small business owner, he’d get a tax cut for his healthcare costs. And he said the plumber’s taxes would stay the same for amounts below $250,000.
“It is true that from 250 up…for that additional amount, you’d go from 36 to 39 percent, which is what it was under Bill Clinton,” Obama said. Obama also said that “95 percent of small businesses make less than 250 ($250,000).” And he told the plumber that over the last 15 years, when Joe wasn’t making $250,000, “you would have been given a tax cut from me, so you’d actually have more money, which means you would have saved more, which means you would have gotten to the point where you could build your small business quicker than under the current tax code.”
It’s like Robin Hood, the Wurzelbacher told Fox News’s Neil Cavuto on Tuesday. Wurzelbacher said he’s the kind of person who lives paycheck to paycheck – and “I just resent the government or Barack Obama’s plan to take more away from me.”
Sen. McCain worked Obama’s “spread the wealth around” phrase into a speech he delivered on Tuesday.
“This weekend, a plumber concerned that Senator Obama was going to raise his taxes asked him directly about his plan,” McCain told a rally in Blue Bell, Pa. “The response was telling. Senator Obama explained to him that he was going to raise his taxes to quote ‘spread the wealth around.’ This explains how Senator Obama can promise an income tax cut for millions who aren't even paying income taxes right now.
“My friends, my plan isn't intended to force small businesses to cut jobs to pay higher taxes so we can ‘spread the wealth around.’ My plan is intended to create jobs and increase the wealth of all Americans,” McCain said.
McCain says he would reduce business tax rates to boost job-creation.
Truly Worth Watching and Considering
Below is a video that is about 10 minutes in length and worth watching. The man who will speak is an attorney from PA, sat on the DNC for PA and ran for govenor on the democratic ticket at one time. I am not into conspiracy, but if this is true it needs to be revealed and dealt with quickly. If Barack is truly not a citizen then he should not be President, but if he is then why not prove it to another Democrat.
McCain had the same allegation brought to him, as he was born in Panama, but he immediately released all his records showing citizenship, but Obama refuses to release anything. What would be the big deal, especially if it was a request from people in your own party?
McCain had the same allegation brought to him, as he was born in Panama, but he immediately released all his records showing citizenship, but Obama refuses to release anything. What would be the big deal, especially if it was a request from people in your own party?
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
Indigenous Missions
Matthew 28:19-20, “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”
When I first made my announcement that my family and I were coming to India, a challenge was made about missions in general. The comment was that there are a lot of needs here in the United States, and there are plenty of missionaries around the world already. We should be focusing more on our own country then always worrying about everyone else’s country.
In my response to the comment, I used the verse above that Jesus tells us to go and teach everyone, and that we are to “go.” I made the statement that it does not say “stay,” but “go.” My thinking in some ways has not changed, but at the same time my friend that made the statement is also correct. How can we both be correct at the same time? Does that not negate the absolute truth? No, as you will see in my try at an explanation.
I believe there is still a great need for missionaries in many parts of the world that are not necessarily from those countries. My main reason is so that they will train and equip indigenous leaders to reach those within their cultures and to actively take over the leadership of the ministry. Right now there is still a heavy lack of strong Christian leadership in many countries that without being trained and equipped could start to teach heresy, which we certainly want to avoid. This is by far I think is the dominant reason why we need missionaries from strong Biblical foundations going for short-term mission trips to other countries, and a few who stay the long term for now.
The more I study and talk to the leaders here in India, the more I am convinced that we are to be only short-timer’s (short-term missions is considered up to 5 years in length). It is just much more fruitful when someone from your own culture presents the Gospel to their own. You understand the family structures, the dialects (language), and all the other intricacies that come within a community. Once we have trained and equipped, we need to turn over the reigns to the indigenous leaders and get out of the way. Our biggest problem is thinking we have to stick around and control the reigns, which in reality is just a type of self-grandiose. Those from their own cultures are best equipped mentally, physically and from a worldview stand-point to reach their own. Much falls into these three points that I cannot go into in a blog of this nature, but it engulfs many issues.
Another reason for short-term mission trips is for our youth to be given an opportunity to be challenged outside their comfort zones. Many times in the West there is a sheltering of sorts, because even most of the poor in inner-cities are richer then many of the people in other nations. It helps to energize a love for others and to understand the world does not revolve around the United States. Not to say that they should not love their country, because we all should, as this is where God has us. I love America and have come to love it even after just being here a short time.
I completely agree with my friend that we should be focusing our long term vision and a lot of our energies within our own culture and country. We can take what we learn from our short stints in other countries and utilize them in our community. Learning from our brothers and sisters around the globe and letting them impact our Christianity, as we are impacting theirs.
In the best case, where we are all effectively, indigenously, witnessing in our own community, we should still make sure to get out of our comfort zones once in a while and go to visit and give some support to our brothers and sisters around the world. I for one will continue to return to Bangalore, India for a couple weeks a year to teach a course and visit my new friends in Christ. They have already impacted me by their faith, probably more then I have impacted them from my teaching. But in the end as Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz has said, “There is no place like home.”
“We need to be humble in our judgments, but we must judge after we have tried to understand deeply other peoples and their cultures. . . . We must, therefore, test our understandings of Scripture with those of Christians from other cultures to correct our cultural biases, because others often see our biases more clearly than we do ourselves.” – Dr. Paul Hiebert.
When I first made my announcement that my family and I were coming to India, a challenge was made about missions in general. The comment was that there are a lot of needs here in the United States, and there are plenty of missionaries around the world already. We should be focusing more on our own country then always worrying about everyone else’s country.
In my response to the comment, I used the verse above that Jesus tells us to go and teach everyone, and that we are to “go.” I made the statement that it does not say “stay,” but “go.” My thinking in some ways has not changed, but at the same time my friend that made the statement is also correct. How can we both be correct at the same time? Does that not negate the absolute truth? No, as you will see in my try at an explanation.
I believe there is still a great need for missionaries in many parts of the world that are not necessarily from those countries. My main reason is so that they will train and equip indigenous leaders to reach those within their cultures and to actively take over the leadership of the ministry. Right now there is still a heavy lack of strong Christian leadership in many countries that without being trained and equipped could start to teach heresy, which we certainly want to avoid. This is by far I think is the dominant reason why we need missionaries from strong Biblical foundations going for short-term mission trips to other countries, and a few who stay the long term for now.
The more I study and talk to the leaders here in India, the more I am convinced that we are to be only short-timer’s (short-term missions is considered up to 5 years in length). It is just much more fruitful when someone from your own culture presents the Gospel to their own. You understand the family structures, the dialects (language), and all the other intricacies that come within a community. Once we have trained and equipped, we need to turn over the reigns to the indigenous leaders and get out of the way. Our biggest problem is thinking we have to stick around and control the reigns, which in reality is just a type of self-grandiose. Those from their own cultures are best equipped mentally, physically and from a worldview stand-point to reach their own. Much falls into these three points that I cannot go into in a blog of this nature, but it engulfs many issues.
Another reason for short-term mission trips is for our youth to be given an opportunity to be challenged outside their comfort zones. Many times in the West there is a sheltering of sorts, because even most of the poor in inner-cities are richer then many of the people in other nations. It helps to energize a love for others and to understand the world does not revolve around the United States. Not to say that they should not love their country, because we all should, as this is where God has us. I love America and have come to love it even after just being here a short time.
I completely agree with my friend that we should be focusing our long term vision and a lot of our energies within our own culture and country. We can take what we learn from our short stints in other countries and utilize them in our community. Learning from our brothers and sisters around the globe and letting them impact our Christianity, as we are impacting theirs.
In the best case, where we are all effectively, indigenously, witnessing in our own community, we should still make sure to get out of our comfort zones once in a while and go to visit and give some support to our brothers and sisters around the world. I for one will continue to return to Bangalore, India for a couple weeks a year to teach a course and visit my new friends in Christ. They have already impacted me by their faith, probably more then I have impacted them from my teaching. But in the end as Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz has said, “There is no place like home.”
“We need to be humble in our judgments, but we must judge after we have tried to understand deeply other peoples and their cultures. . . . We must, therefore, test our understandings of Scripture with those of Christians from other cultures to correct our cultural biases, because others often see our biases more clearly than we do ourselves.” – Dr. Paul Hiebert.
Monday, October 06, 2008
Friday, October 03, 2008
At the Beach
Job 31:1, “I have made a covenant with my eyes; Why then should I look upon a young woman?”
Did you ever wonder why Baywatch at one time was the most watched show in the world? Or do you know why? Many men would tune in each week to watch “the action” at the beach. Trust me it was not the acting or the incredible drama they were tuning in for, but the women in bathing suits.
Utilizing women in bathing suits or bikinis has been a ploy of marketers for quite some time now. They use them for selling cars, motorcycles, beer, and just about anything else marketers deem fit for men. If it were not effective then marketers would not be using them anymore, but they continue on.
How many of us have enjoyed a day at the beach? We go with our families or friends and enjoy the sun, sand and water. If not the beach then at the local pool, where you can enjoy the sun and water without the worry of cleaning sand out of every inch of your body for the next week. Have you ever been there with your husband/wife or boyfriend/girlfriend and start wondering if they are looking a little too long at the opposite sex? Did you start to compare yourself to the body of another?
Why bring any of this up? It just hit me the other day when someone had family pictures on the web. The boys had regular swim trunks on and no shirt and the girls wore regular bathing suits, not bikinis. For some reason it made me think that we have made being half-naked acceptable as long as it is by the water.
I am just thinking out loud and wondering why we make a big deal out of mini-skirts, very short shorts, and a variety of other non-conservative clothes, but when it comes to the water, we do not mind showing off those exact body parts that we say need to be covered during our regular daily lives.
Instead, we just say that a regular bathing suit is alright, but a bikini is too much. When in reality in order to wear the typical bathing suit, you are wearing about half as much as you do on a typical day. Bathing suits covered a majority of the body until the mid-1920’s, and even then it was still covering much more then the average bathing suit does today.
What is the answer? All I know is that most bathing suits today, in particularly among women, leave little to the imagination. No one wants to look at a man in a speedo, that is just, well, eeeeeeewwwwwww, but those are the same for men.
How are we helping each other to protect our eyes and thought life?
1 Timothy 2:9, “Also, the women are to dress themselves in modest clothing, with decency and good sense. . .”
Did you ever wonder why Baywatch at one time was the most watched show in the world? Or do you know why? Many men would tune in each week to watch “the action” at the beach. Trust me it was not the acting or the incredible drama they were tuning in for, but the women in bathing suits.
Utilizing women in bathing suits or bikinis has been a ploy of marketers for quite some time now. They use them for selling cars, motorcycles, beer, and just about anything else marketers deem fit for men. If it were not effective then marketers would not be using them anymore, but they continue on.
How many of us have enjoyed a day at the beach? We go with our families or friends and enjoy the sun, sand and water. If not the beach then at the local pool, where you can enjoy the sun and water without the worry of cleaning sand out of every inch of your body for the next week. Have you ever been there with your husband/wife or boyfriend/girlfriend and start wondering if they are looking a little too long at the opposite sex? Did you start to compare yourself to the body of another?
Why bring any of this up? It just hit me the other day when someone had family pictures on the web. The boys had regular swim trunks on and no shirt and the girls wore regular bathing suits, not bikinis. For some reason it made me think that we have made being half-naked acceptable as long as it is by the water.
I am just thinking out loud and wondering why we make a big deal out of mini-skirts, very short shorts, and a variety of other non-conservative clothes, but when it comes to the water, we do not mind showing off those exact body parts that we say need to be covered during our regular daily lives.
Instead, we just say that a regular bathing suit is alright, but a bikini is too much. When in reality in order to wear the typical bathing suit, you are wearing about half as much as you do on a typical day. Bathing suits covered a majority of the body until the mid-1920’s, and even then it was still covering much more then the average bathing suit does today.
What is the answer? All I know is that most bathing suits today, in particularly among women, leave little to the imagination. No one wants to look at a man in a speedo, that is just, well, eeeeeeewwwwwww, but those are the same for men.
How are we helping each other to protect our eyes and thought life?
1 Timothy 2:9, “Also, the women are to dress themselves in modest clothing, with decency and good sense. . .”
Wednesday, October 01, 2008
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