• Our hope-filled future is bound up in sharing the story of Jesus, in discipling others, in bringing those disciples together into communities of believers, and in developing and releasing those believers to create other communities... till Jesus the King comes again!

The Gospel Responds to ALL our needs

Posted on June 10, 2020 by wtdavid

Day by day, as we listen to the news reports coming from around the world, we are further struck by the injustice, intolerance, hatred and anger that fills the hearts of people today.  Like the psalmist, we cry out: “Why, O Lord, do you stand far away?  Why do you hide yourself in times of trouble?”  (10:1)

The damages caused by pandemic crises, inequality, racism, and a disregard for the lives of others made in the image of God make it hard to know where to begin to respond in the midst of this mess we call our world today.

Our “hope is built on nothing less than Jesus and His righteousness”.  It is the Gospel that responds to ALL our needs.  For we who trust in Jesus, it is self-evident that the only hope for this world is the Gospel of Christ.

Here’s the rub.  First, I misquoted the hymn above by Edward Mote (19th century).  It should read: our “hope is built on nothing less than Jesus’ blood and righteousness”.  Jesus gave Himself up as a sacrifice for us: His blood was shed for us. He experienced discrimination, prejudice, evil intent, and even an unjust death in order to free us from the power of sin & evil to rule our lives.  Second, for the Gospel to be the answer to ALL the needs of this world, it needs to be the answer to ALL our needs as well.  As a friend once said to me: “If the Gospel is not good news for us each day, it will not be good news for others.” 

That same injustice, intolerance, hatred and anger that we deplore in our world today lurks (lies in wait) in each of our hearts.  The Gospel needs to search our hearts (Psalm 139.23-24) and put its searchlight of truth on those ways where we need repentance and faith.

We are no better than others, but we have a God who is capable of dismantling those ‘hurtful ways’ within us, and a God who continually builds into us the fruit of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience ….

I leave us with this prayer:  “We weep. We lament. We mourn. But not as those who have no hope.  May gospel beauty rise from these smoldering, literal ashes. May truth triumph over lies and grace conquer lawlessness. May your people be one as you, O Father, and your Son are one. May the church—the body of Christ, the bride of Christ—rise up as an example of love and with a message of salvation for a weary and war-torn world. Give us grace to serve you, O God, and, if necessary, grace to suffer for what is right. Give us the peace and health and safety we do not deserve. Give us the reformation and revival we need.  Lord have mercy.”

Filed under: Gospel, Repentance & faith, Sacrifice, Sin | Leave a comment »

No one is an island

Posted on March 11, 2016 by wtdavid

That expression, in part, comes from John Donne’s (1572-1631) well known poem which begins in this way: “No man is an island, entire of itself, every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main.” Each one of us is ‘connected’ to others. To talk about life from a singular viewpoint denies the very nature of what is means to be human.  In other words, as God’s creation, we are relational beings.desert-island

That all may sound heady and somewhat theological, but the practical implications of this truth are far reaching.

For one, it means I should resist talking about ‘my’ ministry. If no one of us is an ‘island’, then all ministry is done in the context of community.  It’s ‘our’ ministry, or better yet, it’s the ministry God has given to us.  As a result, I (we) will find ways to find out more about what is happening elsewhere in my community and how I can support it by my prayers, resources and presence.  I (we) will seek to know more of what is happening in Suriname as well as in East Asia.  There’s time investment involved.

For another, it means I could consider moving laterally within the agency to help another part of the community. If we believe this is a community ministry, then we will be open to God’s leading to move from one ministry location to another (maybe even outside of our current geographical location) to come alongside and help another part of our larger team.

Finally, it means that when I enter a people group or culture, I will recognize God’s hand already at work in that people group or culture. This is His ministry and working from that truth, I will more easily share ministry with others within that culture; I will see myself more as a facilitator of those on that ‘continent’ with me.

No one of us is an island. We truly do need each other.  So, how do I reach out and offer the ‘hand of fellowship’ to other members of our community?

Filed under: Collaboration, Community, Sacrifice | Leave a comment »

The lost art of sacrifice

Posted on November 4, 2014 by wtdavid

“Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.””  (Matthew 16.24)living-sacrifice1

A fellow pastor named Jack used to say that Jesus’ message here was not one that would resonate with many. Basically, He was declaring, “If you want to follow Me, come and die.”  The message of the Gospel is the message of the cross, the message of sacrifice.

Oftentimes when this subject comes up, the lost art of sacrifice, two thoughts are most on people’s minds. First, it’s a generational issue.  Second, sacrifice is mostly about material possessions.

I’m afraid the first thought misses wide the mark of what Jesus was talking about in this text. Sacrifice is an inter-generational issue.  It’s something with which everyone struggles.  True, the younger generation may be more connected to technology than the older crowd.  However, the older crowd may have settled in comfortably to their cross cultural worker lifestyle and believe there is no more ‘sacrifice’ to be made.

The second thought clearly demonstrates our superficial understanding of the deeper work of the Spirit in our lives. Material possessions are part of the sacrifice Jesus may call us to make, but so is our time, our relationships, our thought life or our work.

Take a minute to consider this thought below and its application of sacrifice to our work today. Replace the word, ‘pastor’ with ‘cross cultural worker’:

“To have power in your life as a pastor, it is supremely important that you make it a first order of business for the rest of your life not to do things to impress people or gain a reputation or protect your reputation. It is very clear from the Gospels that Jesus is calling us to deny some basic things in our personality–things that need to die. Jesus says in Matthew 16:24 to deny yourself; take up your cross and follow me. And I think that means dying to our fleshly love of impressing people in this way for glory for ourselves.”

Filed under: Gospel, Sacrifice | 8 Comments »

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