This past Wednesday, 13 Cameroonian hostages were released. These 13 men were all government officials by unidentified armed men. These men are believed to be the Bakassi (how the news spells it) Freedom Fighters. The Bakassi Freedom Fighters are a military group that is still fighting over the section of land where the Bakassi tribe lives. Why? This land had belonged to Nigeria, the country that rests south of Cameroon, but they ceded it (gave it over) to Cameroon in 2006. The news says that areas around Bakassi Peninsula (around where we will be, I believe, remain prone to piracy and attacks.
Please pray for the citizens in this area of Cameroon, as there is military heat around them. Pray for protection for these people, and for our team not to fear these military groups when we are in Cameroon.
To view this article, please visit: http://www.heraldtribune.com/article/20110217/API/1102171136
Friday, February 18, 2011
Conformity - Is Nature Irreversible?
In Acts 10-11, Peter is faced with a great challenge. The Holy Spirit tells him to go to some gentiles, who were considered unclean, and to be their guests. He has a choice to stick to his cultural norms, but he goes in obedience and faith. Peter sees that when these people who were once considered “unclean” were saved, they were blessed with the same gifts as he was upon receiving the Holy Spirit. He realizes that these men are not unclean by God's standards, and he takes a stop of faith in reporting this to the church, whom also considered these men to be unclean. Despite his church's criticism, he boldly gave God the glory and proclaimed what God had shown him.
Peter is so confident in God's work through his life, that he almost does not even care about everyone else's criticism. In Psychology, we studied conformity, and how easy it is to change our opinion on something we know is right, simply because everyone else has a different opinion. It's in our nature... it's built into us so much that we don't even notice our conformity... it's pretty much automatic. When it comes to our Christianity, it's so hard to go against the grain and hold a different view in our church or families, let alone be a Christian in our society. Peter's obedience, faith and passion for God made it automatic for him to give God the glory instead of conforming. If we are constantly devoting our life to God, we can turn around our nature of conformity, and put our faith in God's leading, instead of the crowd's.
Syncretism - Too Great of a Challenge?
When sharing the Gospel in other cultures, there are many obstacles that one must be aware of ahead of time. One major issue today in sharing the Gospel in other cultures is syncretism, which is the merging of two opposing beliefs or values into one religion. For example, a Hindu man might accept Jesus Christ as one of his “gods,” but that opposes the Christian principle that Jesus Christ is the one true God. How do we get around syncretism? One way we can avoid syncretism is to constantly back up our sharing of the Gospel with scriptural evidence and truth. If we speak in truth, it will become apparent that there is no other way but through God. For example, in this case with the Hindu man, we could use Isaiah 43:10b – ...Before me no god was formed, nor shall there be any after me. If this Hindu man is going to believe in Jesus/God, he has no choice but to accept that there are no other gods. John 14:6 could also be used that says, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” There are many other ways that Christianity is syncretized into other cultures, but by using God's word as our sword, syncretism can be fought and prevented.
Friday, February 11, 2011
Markers of a Witness of Christ Cont'd (Again)
3. Willingness to GO
In Acts, if you were going to be a witness of Christ, you were going to go where He sent you. This was not an easy task in any way, and I'm sure many of them were reluctant and scared at first, just like we are when God asks us to do something outside of our comfort zone. In the Bible, Paul had not always been a Christian. As a matter of fact, he persecuted Christians; he breathed murderous threats against the disciples(9:1). After he became a Christian, how hard do you think it would have been to work with these very same disciples, and preach to the same people he crucified?! ...and we think that it's scary talking to our friends. People were scared of him - people tried to kill him. However, as shown in Acts 28:28-31, the last verses of the book, Paul was sent,(9:30; 13:51-52), and boldly, without hindrance, preached the kingdom of God and taught about Christ.
All of the apostles in Acts were sent, and they were willing to GO. If they had not been willing, many of the early churches would not have been established, and the kingdom of God would not have been built up without their obedience. Am I willing to go, even to the people that scare me the most, even to the people that I have nothing in common with, even the people that are considered evil, gross, and downcasts of our society?
In Acts, if you were going to be a witness of Christ, you were going to go where He sent you. This was not an easy task in any way, and I'm sure many of them were reluctant and scared at first, just like we are when God asks us to do something outside of our comfort zone. In the Bible, Paul had not always been a Christian. As a matter of fact, he persecuted Christians; he breathed murderous threats against the disciples(9:1). After he became a Christian, how hard do you think it would have been to work with these very same disciples, and preach to the same people he crucified?! ...and we think that it's scary talking to our friends. People were scared of him - people tried to kill him. However, as shown in Acts 28:28-31, the last verses of the book, Paul was sent,(9:30; 13:51-52), and boldly, without hindrance, preached the kingdom of God and taught about Christ.
All of the apostles in Acts were sent, and they were willing to GO. If they had not been willing, many of the early churches would not have been established, and the kingdom of God would not have been built up without their obedience. Am I willing to go, even to the people that scare me the most, even to the people that I have nothing in common with, even the people that are considered evil, gross, and downcasts of our society?
Markers of a Witness of Christ Cont'd
2. BOLDNESS
So, I Wikipedia'd(?) "boldness" and a very true and powerful description came up.
Wiki:
A BOLD person may be willing to risk shame or rejection in social situations, and willing to bend rules of etiquette or politeness.
The apostles in Acts WERE willing to risk shame and rejection in social situations, to the point where it seemed as though they did not even consider it a risk - their passion about the message of Jesus Christ overcame any fears of shame and rejection, and they pursued even in the face of jail, punishment, and death.
Let's take a look at Stephen - In Acts 7:54, the people were "furious and gnashed their teeth at him." I don't know about you, but if someone were to "gnash their teeth" at me... I would be pretty scared, and would probably stop what I was doing so that I didn't make them more angry. However, this was not the case for Stephen. In verse 55, "full of the Holy Spirit, [he] looked up to heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God." After seeing this, he immediately proclaims in BOLDNESS to the people what he saw, and they "dragged him out of the city and began to stone him" (Acts 7:58).Would I be willing to painfully die for the cause of Christ?
Peter and John, IMMEDIATELY after being released from jail for proclaiming the good news about Christ, went to th body of Christ and prayed, not for the opposition to back down, not for God to "save them" from their enemy, but that the Lord would "consider their threats and enable your servants to speak your word with great BOLDNESS." Do I try to mold my prayer life to save me from opposition, or do I pray to be kept from embarassment, or do I pray to be BOLD for Christ?
Now boldness can be expressed in many different ways. Boldness does not have to be expressed in front of hundreds of people - it could be expressed through arguing for creationism in science class, not conforming to others, even when it's "normal",it could be teaching Sunday School to 3-year-olds with enthusiasm, it could be putting aside fear in any way for the purpose of giving God glory. Either way, a witness of Christ is BOLD - willing to be rejected or embarassed, willing to bend the rules of politeness, willing to be politically incorrect, willing to be BOLD. Is that me?
So, I Wikipedia'd(?) "boldness" and a very true and powerful description came up.
Wiki:
A BOLD person may be willing to risk shame or rejection in social situations, and willing to bend rules of etiquette or politeness.
The apostles in Acts WERE willing to risk shame and rejection in social situations, to the point where it seemed as though they did not even consider it a risk - their passion about the message of Jesus Christ overcame any fears of shame and rejection, and they pursued even in the face of jail, punishment, and death.
Let's take a look at Stephen - In Acts 7:54, the people were "furious and gnashed their teeth at him." I don't know about you, but if someone were to "gnash their teeth" at me... I would be pretty scared, and would probably stop what I was doing so that I didn't make them more angry. However, this was not the case for Stephen. In verse 55, "full of the Holy Spirit, [he] looked up to heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God." After seeing this, he immediately proclaims in BOLDNESS to the people what he saw, and they "dragged him out of the city and began to stone him" (Acts 7:58).Would I be willing to painfully die for the cause of Christ?
Peter and John, IMMEDIATELY after being released from jail for proclaiming the good news about Christ, went to th body of Christ and prayed, not for the opposition to back down, not for God to "save them" from their enemy, but that the Lord would "consider their threats and enable your servants to speak your word with great BOLDNESS." Do I try to mold my prayer life to save me from opposition, or do I pray to be kept from embarassment, or do I pray to be BOLD for Christ?
Now boldness can be expressed in many different ways. Boldness does not have to be expressed in front of hundreds of people - it could be expressed through arguing for creationism in science class, not conforming to others, even when it's "normal",it could be teaching Sunday School to 3-year-olds with enthusiasm, it could be putting aside fear in any way for the purpose of giving God glory. Either way, a witness of Christ is BOLD - willing to be rejected or embarassed, willing to bend the rules of politeness, willing to be politically incorrect, willing to be BOLD. Is that me?
Markers of a Witness of Christ
Goodmorning friends! (:
So I've been reading through Acts this past week & I've noticed some markers of an evangelical/witness of Christ. (: Sometimes we don't stop to think about what a Christian witness looked like in the Bible, but I've found it very helpful for application to my own life.
1. The Holy Spirit
"But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth." Acts 1:8
In this verse it is evident that those who will be Jesus' witnesses will be His witnesses in result of the Holy Spirit coming on them. If the Holy Spirit were not to be in people who are witnesses of Christ, then they would be speaking only from human wisdom - not God's wisdom. "For the foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than human strength." 1 Corinthians 1:25 Do I wait to be lead by the Holy Spirit, or do I depend on my human "wisdom" to figure out how to reach people?
But how do you tell if the Holy Spirit is with someone?
"[Barnabas] was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and faith, and a great number of people were brought to the Lord." Acts 12:24
Barnabas worked diligently for the Lord and His kingdom. This passage says he was "full of the Holy Spirit" - if the Holy Spirit had not had a hand in Barnabas' work, these people who were brought to the Lord would not have been, because the Holy Spirit would not have been working in their hearts. Am I saying that someone who does not lead people to Christ does not have the Holy Spirit in them? No. However, if someone is using their spiritual gifts, like Barnabas did, it is evident that the Holy Spirit is in them. Think about it. The Holy Spirit is the One who manifests spiritual gifts, and if someone is evidently using spiritual gifts to further God's kingdom in any type of ministry inside or outside of the Church, do they not have the Spirit in them?
So I've been reading through Acts this past week & I've noticed some markers of an evangelical/witness of Christ. (: Sometimes we don't stop to think about what a Christian witness looked like in the Bible, but I've found it very helpful for application to my own life.
1. The Holy Spirit
"But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth." Acts 1:8
In this verse it is evident that those who will be Jesus' witnesses will be His witnesses in result of the Holy Spirit coming on them. If the Holy Spirit were not to be in people who are witnesses of Christ, then they would be speaking only from human wisdom - not God's wisdom. "For the foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than human strength." 1 Corinthians 1:25 Do I wait to be lead by the Holy Spirit, or do I depend on my human "wisdom" to figure out how to reach people?
But how do you tell if the Holy Spirit is with someone?
"[Barnabas] was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and faith, and a great number of people were brought to the Lord." Acts 12:24
Barnabas worked diligently for the Lord and His kingdom. This passage says he was "full of the Holy Spirit" - if the Holy Spirit had not had a hand in Barnabas' work, these people who were brought to the Lord would not have been, because the Holy Spirit would not have been working in their hearts. Am I saying that someone who does not lead people to Christ does not have the Holy Spirit in them? No. However, if someone is using their spiritual gifts, like Barnabas did, it is evident that the Holy Spirit is in them. Think about it. The Holy Spirit is the One who manifests spiritual gifts, and if someone is evidently using spiritual gifts to further God's kingdom in any type of ministry inside or outside of the Church, do they not have the Spirit in them?
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