[Devotional] I am the Lord's Servant

I recently subscribed to an e-mail newsletter from Bible Gateway that focuses on the Advent season.  Here is one I particularly enjoyed.

I am the Lord's Servant
by Nancy Guthrie

It's hard to imagine how frightening it must have been for teenage Mary to see an angel and hear him speaking to her. The Bible says that "Gabriel appeared to her and said, 'Greetings, favored women! The Lord is with you!' Confused and disturbed, Mary tried to think what the angel could mean. 'Don't be afraid, Mary,' the angel told her, 'for you have found favor with God!'" (Luke 1:28-30). We can't help but wonder what the angel looked like and what he sounded like.

As frightening as it must have been to see and hear an angel speaking to her, it must have been even more frightening for Mary to process what the angel was telling her--that she was going to become pregnant, even though she had never been intimate with a man. This would be a scandal in her village. Everyone would whisper about her. She would be shunned and perhaps sent away by her fiance, Joseph, because he would think she had been unfaithful to him. And yet, even though she probably had a million questions and concerns, Mary responded to the angel by welcoming whatever God wanted to do. She said, "I am the Lord's servant. May everything you have said about me come true" (Luke 1:38). In a sense she said to God, "I'm yours. You can do anything you want with me," even though she must have known that this situation would be very hard for her, for Joseph, and for her whole family.

It's easy to label what we consider "good things" in our lives as gifts from God and to welcome them with gratitude. But when difficult things happen, we don't look at them as part of God's good plan for us. Mary's example shows us we can also welcome those things we would not necessarily label "good," confident that God's gifts sometimes come in perplexing and even painful packages. When we belong to God, we know he will use whatever he allows into our lives for good. Somehow, in God's hands, these things also become gifts of his grace toward us.

It takes faith--faith to rest in who God is and his love for us; faith to be confident that he is doing something good in and through our difficult circumstances--to see the hard things in our lives as gifts of God's grace.

Prayer

God, give us faith to surrender ourselves to you even in the hard places of life. We want to be your servants. We believe that anything you ask of us will be good and right because you love us. Fill us with faith to trust you with whatever you ask of us.

Take it Easy

Courtesy rushtheiceberg.com

Sometimes the harder we try, the less we get done.

I decided recently that I wanted to get back to posting regularly on this blog.  I started writing, but kept getting stuck.  I got frustrated because I would start writing, but was getting nothing but unfinished drafts.  Then I figured out a solution to my problem.

I was reading a post on one of the blogs that I follow, and was struck by its sheer simplicity.  I realized that I was trying so hard to get things just right that I wasn't getting anything accomplished.  To use a baseball analogy, I was trying too hard to hit a home run, and kept striking out.

This principle can be applied to many things in life.  In our striving for excellence, we often think that excellence equals perfection which causes us undue stress.  That stress gets in the way of us accomplishing anything (esp. if its a task that involves creative thinking), and nothing gets done.  So while its good  to swing for fences, sometimes we need to relax and focus on simply hitting the ball.

[Featured Post] Marriage and Scooby-Doo (and the Freedom of Mystery)

This featured post comes from the blog Untangled: A Psychologist's Reflections on Therapy and Life

Marriage and Scooby-Doo (and the Freedom of Mystery)

 
They’ve messed up Scooby-Doo. 

When I was young, you could always count on “the gang” to solve the mystery. The monster always turned out to be some rich-white-male capitalist trying to rip off somebody. I liked Scooby-Doo, because there was a mystery, followed quickly by solutions. In the newer episodes for a new generation, the monsters turn out to be…monsters. The mystery never really gets solved. The point of the show is to experience the mystery, rather than to solve it. 

But my kids love it. They prefer mystery to solutions.

Maybe I need to learn how to love mystery again. Maybe we all do. Our marriages and our world may even depend upon it…

I’m not alone in my quest for solutions.

Just last night, I sat in my living with a group of friends—our children playing outdoors in the June twilight, echoes of laughter drifting on the breeze through open windows—and we talked about the ways we try solve even the most uncertain and mysterious of human experiences. Does a particular feeling mean we made the best job decision? Does our children’s happiness confirm we moved into the right neighborhood? Does a sense of accomplishment mean I have used my time wisely?

Uncertainty everywhere. Mystery everywhere. And all of us on the endless hunt for solutions, for answers to the timeless, unanswerable questions.

While our kids played.

Why do we yearn to solve the mystery? I think we search for solutions because they bring the illusion of certainty, and certainty brings a sense of safety. And we will go to incredible lengths to feel safe. In fact, we have been encouraged to do so from the womb.

Before we were born, most of our parents were purchasing the safest, most disaster-proof crib on the market. They were installing plugs in the light sockets and putting mouth-sized things in cupboards out of reach.

And once we could speak, they plied us with questions, searching for answers. Our parents wanted us to explain our every emotion, and they wanted to know what possessed us to do this or that. Our teachers were always looking for a specific answer, because standardized tests don’t measure mystery.

And the world knows we will pay an awful lot to purchase a feeling of safety. From the moment we earned our first paycheck, businesses were selling us the solutions they create. So, we have become convinced that iPhones are the answer to our disconnectedness, or that a particular neighborhood is the answer to our children’s education and future. Or we settle on a particular theology or a particular church, so we won’t have to wonder anymore. Or we eat kale and expensive vitamins and we think we have found the answer for perfect health.

We seek solutions because they make us feel safe. For a while.

But, inevitably, something happens:

An accident.

Or a diagnosis.

Or an affair.

Or maybe nothing happens, and we simply notice the gnawing sense of unease has returned—the questions are back, and we resume our desperate scramble for answers.

You see, as it turns out, solutions do not bring the peace and freedom for which we are so desperately searching.

Last week, I was in the kitchen finishing the dinner dishes, when my eight-year-old son, Aidan, walked in to the room. He was wearing a flannel bathrobe, with eyeglasses slightly askew, and he was holding a book about the 9/11 terrorist attacks. (Parenting fail?)

A little gray hair and a pipe, and he might have been an elderly man enjoying his retirement.

Of course, what came out of his mouth only added to the effect. He said, “Daddy, the thing I love about God is that the more you think about him, the more questions you have. And I love questions and mysteries.”

Out of the mouths of babes.

His words ruptured me—they were truth and art and revelation, and they took my breath away. But even more than the words themselves, I was struck by the sense of peace and freedom with which they were uttered.

Because having solutions does not bring peace and freedom.


Peace and freedom come when we relinquish solutions and revel in the mystery.

When we stand on the threshold of mystery, we will be afraid at first, because it feels chaotic and dangerous. But if we can stay there, if we can dip our toe into the waters of mystery, we may be transformed. 

We may become like children again.

My two-year-old daughter, Caitlin, has just entered the “why stage.” She asks the question, “Why?” with impunity. And in the end, with dimples popping and a glimmer in her eye, she always answers herself in this way: “Because that’s the way it is supposed to be.”

That answer is enough for her. 
 
She’s not asking the question in order to find the answer—she’s asking because her eyes are opening up to a vast, glorious world, and her questions are an expression of wonder in the mystery of it all. Her questions don’t require answers. They only require asking. 

How might we enter into this kind of mystery and revel in it? I think we can begin by dipping our toes into the on-going, unsolvable mystery of the people to whom we’ve committed our lives. I think our marriages could be a training ground for a people learning to revel in the mystery. Because the truth is, we are all walking mysteries, even to ourselves. If we can never fully know our own depths, how can we expect to fully comprehend the depths of another? Our husbands and wives are bottomless mysteries that defy solving, and we are left no choice but to live in their mystery.

What would happen if we became like children again, reveling in the mystery of the people we are married to, rediscovering the joy of asking questions—not in order to nail down answers, but simply as a way to honor the glory in the people next to us and to acknowledge the wonder in the world around us?

I think we might be transformed into a childlike people, trading the safe harbor of feeble, temporary answers for the vulnerability and wonder of endless questions. I think we might live our relationships and our lives soaked in the freedom and peace of a child discovering. We might stare long at a spider web and wonder at its complexity. We might look at a night sky and marvel at the vastness. We might look into the rebellious eyes of our child and melt at the mysterious universe behind them. We might trade in the violence of certainty for the awe-inspiring peace of the mystery, and in doing so we may unleash freedom in our marriages, and in our families, and in our friendships, and in a world captivated by the need for certainty.

So, tonight, fall asleep next to your spouse. But in the morning, allow yourself to awake to a stranger. Awake to the mystery of another wondrous creature, and become like kids again, forsaking the safety of certain-answers and reveling in the multiplication of questions.

Tomorrow, unleash some mystery into the world, and live in the peace and freedom of it.

Stealth Christianity

Courtesy en.wikipedia.org

To some the very thought of an unseen Christian would cause extreme negative emotions.  If you feel that way, calm down, and read the benefits of such a believer.

Interest Leads to Questions

I have been fascinated with flight since I was young.  My second-grade science project was on how the design of airplanes' wings (called "airfoil") caused them to fly.  Naturally, such an interest only intensified at the thought of jet aircraft, especially those of the military variety.

Due to this interest, I recently watched part of a video touting the prowess of the F-22 Raptor (pictured above).  One of the main advantages of this aircraft comes from its stealth capabilities.  In short, stealth technology enables the pilot to detect the enemy's aircraft without the enemy detecting theirs.  After watching the video, a thought started rolling around in my head, "Is the thought of a 'stealth Christian' an oxymoron?"

An Incomplete Picture

As mentioned earlier, the very thought of a Christian who would purposely avoid detection would cause some people to get very upset.  They would probably quote Bible verses such as Matthew 5:14-15 about being a light and not hiding lamps under baskets, and Romans 1:16 about not being ashamed of the of the gospel.  However, such a view is incorrect because it is based off an incomplete picture of the purpose for being unseen.  Let me explain.

Unseen with a Purpose

People that hold the view that a stealth Christian avoids detection as a result of being afraid neglect Jesus' example.  Many times during His ministry Jesus told people to keep a secret.  One example can be found in Luke 5:13-14 where Jesus heals a man then instructs him not to tell anyone what had happened.  Jesus' reason for secrecy can be found in verse 15.  He didn't want people to crowd Him for physical healing, when they should be coming for spiritual healing as well, as found in the following account of Jesus and the paralyzed man.  Then the question remains how can we use this principle?

The Use of Stealth

The F-22 uses its stealth capabilities to take lives.  They're meant to get past the enemies defenses and killing them.  Stealth Christianity involves getting past a person's defenses and saving them through God's grace.  Stealth Christianity isn't about going around proclaiming your identity, it's about showing it through your life.  By living it people will often come to you.  However, it's not the only approach we can use.

Balanced Approach

Stealth Christianity involves getting entrance into people's lives, a "tip of the spear" to put one way.  Sometimes we need to be open about what we believe, and we must be sensitive to the Holy Spirit telling us when those times arise.  It all comes down to balance, and that only comes from God.


Can you think of other benefits of stealth Christianity?  Let us know in the comments section.

[Featured Post] I have an anger issue: I don’t get angry enough..

This featured post comes from Mark Brown's blog Journey Deeper Into God's Word.  Enjoy.

I have an anger issue: I don’t get angry enough..

Posted on 28 September 2011 by admin

Click the play button below to check out my latest time in the Word. I explore anger, what does it mean to be angry?  If you can’t see the video on email click here:  VIDEO



God bless,
Mark Brown


What kind of things get you angry?  Tell us your story in the comments section.

[Featured Post] Remembering September 11, 2001

This featured post comes from Ted N.C. Wilson, president of the Seventh-day Adventist world church  as posted on his new blog Presidential Perspectives.

Remembering September 11, 2001

 

On September 11, I was in a committee at the General Conference when I received word about the unfolding tragic events in New York City and Washington. I remember having a strange surreal feeling that this was not really happening and then a feeling of sympathy and deep sadness for those affected. We, of course, prayed for the thousands of people affected by this tragedy.

In the 1970s, I spent about seven years serving the church and the people of the metropolitan New York area. While living and working there, I learned to respect and care for the people of that great region and their strong resiliency to challenging problems. When I heard about the attacks, I was reminded that life is very fragile and that it is important that we maintain a close connection with Christ on a daily basis as we share with others our hope for a better world when the great controversy between Christ and Satan is ended at Christ's soon second coming.

I am thankful for the manner in which the Seventh-day Adventist Church was able to assist and minister to so many individuals in New York and Washington D.C. during that difficult time. It is a blessing that this ministry continues in those two important cities and in many other places.

This week marks the 10-year anniversary of that tragedy. Many of us have been forever changed by the pain and suffering we witnessed that day, by the stories we heard and by our own personal loss.

As I look at our church 10 years later, I see a group of dedicated believers who are beacons of peace and justice to the world around them. I see a community of faith alleviating pain and suffering now, but pointing to an earth made new. Together, we long for the day when loss of human life will be a distant memory when Christ puts an end to death, tears and suffering. His second coming and then ultimately the new earth He will create will bring to an end the suffering and sin of this world as the book of Revelation tells us.

On September 11, 2001, we were reminded that our world is a battlefield. Forces of good and evil are at war all around us, and innocent lives are lost. But we know that the hurt will end. Our hope is in our loving God and Savior, who shares our pain and has the solution for the problems we face. What a privilege to read about His plan of salvation in the Bible, the authoritative Word of God.

Whatever the battle -- and don't be discouraged if it appears that evil seems to gain the advantage for the moment -- let us remember that at the end God "will swallow up death for all time, and the Lord God will wipe tears away from all faces" (Isaiah 25:8).

My hope is that we will continue to be a church that unites in showing God's love to friends and neighbors, in times of joy as well as adversity. It's my hope that amid the memory of tragedy, we are sharing a message of hope as we look forward to Christ's soon return.

Let us all be encouraged and comforted in believing what God said in Jeremiah 29:11, "For I know the plans I have for you, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." Let's renew our personal and church efforts to share that hope with others in words and Christian service to God's glory.

[Movie Review] Soul Surfer

Photo courtesy movieposter.com

Every once in a while I discover a movie that is worth my time and money.  Soul Surfer is one of those movies.

To state the obvious, I have decided to add movie reviews to this blog.  I will not have very many of them because I don't watch a lot of movies (anymore), and even fewer of them interest me enough to write about them afterwards.  Therefore, you will find no rating system of any kind (no stars, thumbs, or tomatoes).  I figure why promote bad movies when the good ones often don't get the attention they deserve, but enough of that, on to the review.

I have lived in southern California for a couple of years, and even more recently have moved to within a relatively short distance of the Pacific.  I have become acquainted with a number of people who have surfed at least once, some who surf occasionally, and a couple who surf a lot (they met while surfing, and were married on the beach).  With all this in mind, when I saw Soul Surfer advertised in a catalog and in movie vending machines (I missed it when it came out in theaters) it caught my attention.  Well that, and the fact that the movie involves someone who survived a shark attack.

The movie retells the true story of Bethany Hamilton, a rising amateur surfer who had her left arm radically amputated by a shark while surfing off the coast of Hawaii.  I vaguely remember hearing about Bethany (or at least seeing her picture) in the past but never read her story or her book.  This lack of knowledge may have helped me enjoy the movie more because then everything was fresh (well almost everything).

The movie does a good job of portraying the Christian aspects of the story, not going too far in either direction.  I've seen too many Christian-themed movies where the religious aspect seems tacked on or the Christian characters seem, well, non-human.  Soul Surfer portrays the Hamilton family and those connected with them as real people, not as plastic saints or bumbling buffoons.  They get angry, frustrated, sad, and don't have all the answers, but they move forward in faith knowing that something good can come out of something terrible.  Best of all, this movie does not exist to sell merchandise.  (A couple Christian movies come to mind that fit that category.  More about that in the future.)

The movie does fall into one trap, howbeit a small one.  The people who made the movie apparently go out of their way to contrast Bethany's main surfing rival to Bethany and her friend, Alana.  Bethany and Alana have long blonde hair and cheerfully walk around in bright colors while her rival has short dark hair, wears black, and only smiles for the cameras.  This could have been done differently, but didn't detract from the main theme of the movie.

Overall, this movie has something that could appeal to anyone, especially those who have dealt, or currently deal with, some sort of disability.  This movie may not sweep you off your feet, but after you watch it, you'll most likely will look at your own difficulties in a different light.

Featured Post: What I Learned About Leadership from a Fight with My WIfe

This featured post comes from Intentional Leadership, a blog written by Michael Hyatt, Chairman of Thomas Nelson Publishers.  His goal is to "help people live and lead on purpose".

What I Learned About Leadership from a Fight with My Wife

Gail and I have been married for thirty-three years. She is my lover, my best friend, and my coach. But a few days ago we had a fight. It was a doozy.

Photo courtesy of ©iStockphoto.com/mediaphotos

It’s not important what it was about. It was one of those issues we have stumbled over previously. But I will admit that it was my fault. I ambushed her and let it escalate beyond what the circumstances warranted.

Thankfully, it ended well. Primarily, because Gail was patient, refusing to react to my rant. This was enough to end what Emerson Eggerichs calls, “the crazy cycle.” (If you haven’t read his book, Love and Respect, you must do so. It’s the most practical book on marriage I’ve read.)

Weary—and feeling a little foolish—we asked one another’s forgiveness and restored the relationship.

As I was reflecting on that experience today, I thought to myself, How can we avoid slipping into this same conflict in the future. I wrote down five lessons I want to remember for the future.

1. Clarify our expectations up front. Most conflicts are born out of a misalignment of expectations. In this particular argument, I had a set of unexpressed expectations that Gail failed to meet. If we had discussed them before the day began, we would have likely avoided the problem altogether. But, she didn’t know, because I hadn’t bothered to articulate them.
2. Assume the best about each other. This is especially difficult in the heat of the moment. It is easy to impute motives. But, realistically, your spouse does not get up in the morning intending to make your life miserable. You have to give your spouse the benefit of the doubt, and assume that he or she is well-intentioned.
3. Affirm the priority of the relationship. The most important asset you have as a couple is the health of your relationship. You don’t want to win the battle but lose the war. Near the end of our argument, I finally came to my senses. I said, “Honestly, I don’t know who is right or who is wrong. What I know for sure is that I love you and that trumps everything.” She quickly agreed.
4. De-personalize the problem. When you square off against one another and make it personal, it gets ugly. If you are not careful, you end up cornering your spouse and leaving them no other option than to react or retaliate. Instead, you have to move to their side of the table, and work on the problem together.
5. Listen more than you talk. When you get angry, it is easy to rant—to give expression to your emotion. This is almost never a good idea. Instead, if you want to be understood, you must seek to understand. (Thank you, Dr. Covey.) This means trying to see the other person’s point-of-view. Ask a question, and then ask a follow-up question.

What does this have to do with leadership? Everything. If you can’t lead yourself, you can’t lead others. And if you can’t learn to manage conflict with those closest to you, how can you manage it with those who have less of a stake in the outcome?

Question: What have you learned from conflict in your own marriage? You can leave a comment by clicking here.

Anatomy of Intensity

Mother Lioness via newtechtips.org

Feeling run down?  Does life seem to pass you by?  Maybe you need to be more INTENSE!  Today we'll look at the subject of intensity.  Can we generate it by force of will, or learn it in a classroom?  What does the word even mean?  This post looks at these questions and more as we dissect this often misunderstood concept.

Being from another part of the country than where I currently reside, I occasionally check the news from my home state.  Recently, I came across a video regarding a local football team.  In the video, two reporters commented on various players.  At one point they stated that player x should be more like player y, meaning one lacked the intensity of the other.  They then hoped that y could "pass along" his intensity to x.  This sparked a thought within me.  Can intensity be learned or must one simply be born with it?  This question got me started on a deeper look into this subject.

First we must ask the question "What does the word intensity mean?"

Dictionary Definitions

The Merriam-Webster Learner's Dictionary (a resource for those learning English) gives the following definition for the word intensity

1 [noncount] : the quality or state of being intense : extreme strength or force
▪ the intensity of the sun's rays ▪ the intensity of the argument

2 : the degree or amount of strength or force that something has [count]
▪ hurricanes of different intensities [noncount] ▪ The noise grew in intensity. [=the noise became louder] ▪ The sun shone with great intensity.

 I chose the Learner's Dictionary definition because of its simplified language as well as its illustrations.  What about other illustrations from nature?

Natural Intensity

An example of natural intensity from my own experience comes to mind.  Some years ago I visited a zoo which had a lioness with young cubs.  Part of the enclosure had transparent walls, and zoo employees had to put additional barriers on the people side because anyone coming too close to the wall would provoke an attack.  I stood well away from the enclosure, but when the lioness' eyes met mine I received the message loud and clear.  If there were no wall between us, my name would no longer be Brent Buttler, my name would be Dead Meat.  The intensity of her look foretold of the violent effort that she would put forth to defend her offspring, but can intensity be displayed in a nonviolent way?

Yes it can.

Nonviolent Intensity

Violent intensity comes to mind first because, let's face it, we live in a violent world, and many examples of violence exist.  However, when we look at the definition of intensity we see that it has to do with the strength of an object or activity rather than its violence.  This strength can also be applied to nonviolent actions and emotions.  An example of nonviolent intensity for me comes from a scene in the film Matthew from The Visual Bible series.  In this scene (starting at 1:38 in the video) Bruce Marchiano, portraying Jesus, looked at Matthew with such intensity that when He told him to "Follow Me" Matthew did so without hesitation.  Now one can argue that Jesus didn't have to learn to be intense, but what about the rest of us?  Can those who exhibit passivity become intense?

Yes,  but not in the way you may think.

Learning Intensity

From my observation and experience I have found that you cannot learn intensity in a classroom or from a book.  You can learn how an intense person acts, but true intensity has to be more than simply going through the motions.  A passive person becomes intense only through a relationship with an intense person.  So if you find yourself feeling run down and you see life passing you by, take the time to develop a relationship with the most intense Person you will ever know, Jesus Christ.

Think I'm on the right track, or do you think I'm way off the mark?  Let me know.  I look forward to your input in this matter.

Book Review: The Jesus I Never Knew

Photo courtesy goodreads.com

Phillip Yancey challenges the reader to take a second, third, and fourth look at Christianity's most talked about, yet most frequently misunderstood, subjects; the life and ministry of Jesus Christ.

Yancey starts off this book with his first encounter with the concept of Jesus.  A scene not too unfamiliar to those who grew up in a Christian environment.  Since I fall into that category, I can identify with it as well.  I used the word "fall" almost unconsciously, but it fits so well.  As children, we don't have much control over where we go, what we do, or what type of home we grow up in.  With our undeveloped skepticism, we believe whatever comes from the mouths of those in authority regardless of its truthfulness.  Sadly, as we grow older, we discover that those in authority have not been completely honest with us.  This was the case with Philip Yancey.

Yancey grew up believing Jesus to be one who had "no sharp edges at all--a Mister Rogers before the age of children's television."  Those of you who did not grow up in the United States, or simply did not watch "Mister Rogers' Neighborhood" most likely will not be able to fully grasp the power of that illustration.  As one who watched the program extensively growing up, I know exactly what picture Yancey tried to portray.  Mister Rogers was the ultimate nice guy, and his show followed his personality.  In researching for this post I came across the program's opening theme, something I hadn't seen for a very long time, and I couldn't help but feel a warm sense of peace as I watched it.  Young Philip felt that same peace thinking about Jesus, the problem being that was where his concept of Jesus ended.  As Yancey grew up his concept broadened, sometimes exponentially, and this book details what he discovered about this Man Who was God.  What did Yancey discover?

Yancey found out that Jesus is more than we think He is, and when you think you have Him figured out, something else comes along that completely contradicts what you first thought.  Jesus lived a life of apparent contradictions: the Sinless One Who was a Friend of Sinners, powerful men and evil angels would cower in His presence or simply run away, yet little children and outcast women were drawn to Him, and never wanted to leave His side.  A friend of mine described Jesus as a "human magnet", a fitting description indeed for those were seemingly His opposite were drawn to Him, yet those who were seemingly His equal were repulsed.

While other books exist about Jesus' life that I would place in higher esteem (namely one in particular), The Jesus I Never Knew helped to remind me that simply because we have learned something as a child doesn't necessarily make it true, and that we should keep our minds and hearts open to God's leading.  For although we most likely will have to give up long cherished ideas, the new ones that we accept will be much, much better.

Featured Post: Outreach is the Fuel for Revival

This Featured Post comes from Mike Jones of Portland, OR.  Mike is a seminar leader on how to reconnect with missing church members (reconnectnow.org). He is also author of the re-released book "Help, Lord, I Blew It Again" (2010, Pacific Press).
You can find the original post here.

Commentary: Outreach is the fuel for revival

Without ongoing community impact, revival is short-lived and self-absorbed

Calls for revival coming from our denomination's leadership are gratifying, but we must never forget the importance of outreach.

I'll never forget a revival that swept my home church back in 1969 in Worthington, Ohio. I had just left the ranks of cultural Adventism, having made an adult decision for Christ at the age of 30. Adventist businessman-turned-revivalist Emilio Knechtle had become my mentor, and at my suggestion, the church invited him to hold a weekend series of meetings. The result? A revival broke out.

That revival resulted in our launching approximately a dozen small prayer-study groups. Some groups studied various books of the Bible, while others used Christ-centered books such as church co-founder Ellen G. White's Steps to Christ. A new spirit permeated the church and lives were changed for the better. It was wonderful. For a while.

But a year later, our revival had mostly ended.

Why? Because our focus was mostly on us. We wanted to strengthen our walk with Jesus -- a good thing. But, regrettably, we weren't doing the works of Jesus -- not a good thing. You see, outreach is the fuel that keeps revival fires burning, and outreach wasn't happening with us.

There's nothing new about this. White once reported on a revival that happened in Battle Creek, Michigan in 1893, which faded when the students didn't engage in outreach. I will never forget the revival that swept the campus at Andrews University in 1971, my first year as an instructor there. It was powerful, impacting both students and faculty. But it didn't last, either.

Jesus underscores the importance of outreach: "Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers, cast out demons," he says in Matthew 10:8. But those ideas simply weren't on our plate back in 1969. We weren't impacting our community. We were so happy enjoying our sweet little revival and the new closeness many of us had with each other that we didn't do much else except maintain our groups.

Regrettably, it wasn't long before we were back in our Laodicean twilight zone. We liked what had happened and didn't want to lose it.

Jesus warned in Mark 4:18 that "the cares of this world and...the desire for other things" would, if permitted, choke the Word, causing it to be unfruitful. That's what happened to us. Over time, some of us even left the church, including me.

Today I'm back and believe I have revival in my life. But outreach is what's keeping it alive. As I encounter people in my church and community with fractured relationships, some homeless and others mentally ill, among other issues, I come face to face with a huge problem. I'm not up to the task. I'm inadequate.

But that inadequacy is proving to be quite a blessing. Because my sense of inadequacy these days drives me to my knees and to God's Word. Every morning I tell Jesus, "It's your son Mike down here in the war zone of Planet Earth, and I am desperate for your presence in my life." As I pray, I plead for God's power and wisdom and grace (His adequacy) to be manifest in my encounters.

Without a doubt, the one-two punch of prayer and Bible study, when combined with outreach, is what fuels the fires of revival.

"But I'm not good at outreach," you may say. "I wouldn't even know where to begin."

Let me help you.

You can begin by asking people questions, even ones you don't know. Perhaps it will be the bank teller. Or the cashier at the super market. Or the guy at the car wash. Or someone in the pew in front of you.

"How are you doing? How's everything going in your life?" you ask. Then you simply listen. More than a few will tell you about some pain in their life. You'll hear, "My mother died last week," "I'm recovering from a stroke," or "Our house is in foreclosure."

You'll think, Yikes, what can I say? And all you may be able to say is, "I'm so sorry. I'll be praying for you." And so you will, keeping in mind you'll try to connect with them again.

Even if you're not preaching an evangelism series in a far-away country, I assure you these kinds of seemingly small encounters -- listening to someone's pain -- will drive you to your knees, where revival takes place. It's also evangelism of the highest kind.

The great theologian Francis Schaeffer said it well in replying to his teenage son, Frankie, who had asked him his secret for turning so many people's lives around. "It isn't what you say to someone that matters so much. Knowing how to listen to people is what helps them."

If listening to people in pain is a key to keeping revival alive, then let's start today.

What do you say?

Book Review: Emotional Intelligence

The subject of this book review is Daniel Goleman's Emotional Intelligence, a good book despite its flaws when looked at from a Christian perspective.

My wife introduced me to this book.  She had read it a number of years ago (it was first published in 1995), and one day as she was perusing a collection of second-hand books she found a copy and gave it to me because 1) she knows that I like to read and 2) she loves me.  I found it quite interesting although I had to read it through a filter of sorts, but more on that later.

The basic premise of the book is the our concept of human intelligence is flawed, or at least incomplete. Goleman stressed that we put too much emphasis on the type of intelligence that can be measured with an IQ test.  He places more of an emphasis on what he likes to call emotional intelligence which incorporates certain aspects such as self-discipline and compassion.  The two types of intelligence must go together in order to have a complete picture of the individual.

This book introduced me to some new concepts, or at least gave me a name for them and told me how they happen.  The one that I remember the most is the concept of a "emotional hijacking".  An emotional hijacking is when the emotional centers of the brain override the rational/cognitive centers.  You, no doubt, have experienced this in one way or another, such as when you got so angry/sad/excited that you ended up doing and/or saying things that you know cognitively that you should not do and/or say.  A very simple way to put it is that it's like being drunk without the liver damage.

There are a lot of positive aspects to this book, but its main downfall for me is that it comes from a very humanistic approach.  Evolutionary concepts are found throughout the book, mainly connected to how the human brain formed and why it functions the way it does.  He also heavily espouses the idea that people can be changed if given the correct education.

I, obviously, do not have the same world view as Goleman does, but that did not prevent me from learning a lot on how people, myself included, function in regards to our emotions.  So if you are interested in a good read and are able to tolerate the author's perspective, search around and pick up this book.  You'll feel more intelligent when you're done.

The Final Countdown

The countdown to my wedding is now measured in days.  It amazing how much effort is put into a couple hours of my life.  I remember recently someone reminding me that the wedding is such a small point in time that I shouldn't let the details cause me too much stress.  A few others chimed in to give their version of that sentiment. My favorite version came when someone said that if something goes wrong then the wedding will be more memorable.  Immediately I recalled scenes from home video TV shows of people tripping, passing out, etc.  I hope that something like that doesn't happen in this wedding, but if it does, I hope somebody records it.

Change of Status

First off, it was a pleasant surprise that this event has gotten as much buzz. It's nice to know that I am liked or at least am a source of curiosity. There have been a few requests from friends for more details, and I was thinking about emailing all of you and giving you said details. Then this morning when Nadya asked me for the rest of the story, I thought that there must be a way to tell multiple people at the same time. Then I remembered that I have this blog, and decided to put it to use to accomplish this goal.

As always, the best place to begin is, well, the beginning. Not too long ago I got a friend request on Facebook from someone I didn't recognize. Not a totally unusual occurrence, and as my general policy about such things is, I accepted (I figure that if someone wants to be my friend, I'll let them because I like making new friends). I noticed that this woman went to the same school I went to for my undergraduate degree, Southwestern Adventist University (SWAU), so that meant that at least she had good decision-making skills when it came to choosing schools. However, I didn't give her too much thought after that.

Some time later, I noticed that she said that she was going to drive from Southwestern to Loma Linda, CA. I'm not a big fan of moving or driving long distances, so I wrote her that I wished that I could be of some assistance. I didn't do this as a means of gaining favor. I just wanted to be helpful. She then responded, stating her appreciation for the thought. We corresponded a little bit, then I did something that I don't usually do, I wrote back and said that once she gets settled in Loma Linda, if it would be OK to call her. She said it was OK, gave me her contact info., and I waited. I wasn't anxious as though I was expecting something great to happen. I simply felt good that I was making a new friend.

A few days passed, and I notice that she posted something regarding her being in Loma Linda, and shortly thereafter, I called her. Turns out that she thought I was somebody else when she put in the friend request. There was another Brent that went to Brazil (where she's from) on a recruiting trip for SWAU. She didn't remember exactly what he looked liked, and thought I was that guy. I guess that sometimes our "mistakes" are in fact, God's leading.

We had a good rapport on the phone, and bemoaned the fact that we lived so far apart because we thought it would be nice to hang out sometime. The phone calls continued, and the friendship deepened. Then we discovered that we both had Windows Messenger and webcams, so we thought that it would be fun to actually see each other while we talked on the phone. This was helpful because now there wasn't just a disembodied voice on the phone, there was an image on the screen that corresponded to said voice.

Things progressed nicely because we found out that we have a lot of things in common, not just interests, but also personalities. We understand each other, where we're coming from, where we want to go. I was more reluctant than her to publicly declare our relationship. I'm not exactly sure why, but most likely because I had been burned in the past (not something I want to get into). However, the other night I came to the conclusion that I was just fooling myself, and soon afterward I told her that I was totally committed to making the relationship work. Without skipping a beat, she asked if we should change our status. It was late, so I said that we should do it in the morning, and that was on the top of my list of things to do that day. I must say that I feel better now that it is changed. It's not an ecstatic feeling, just the feeling you get when you do the right thing.

So, I'm asking, and I'm sure she would ask the same, that you keep us in your prayers. We want to do things according to God's will and we want things to work out so that we can be together for an extended period of time, as in, forever.

An Emotional Christian is Not an Oxymoron

During the Bible study at church this morning, one of the things we talked about is the role of emotions in people who are called by God. The subject of emotions is something that has been on my mind for quite a while.

I've done a sermon series of sorts on the subject, mainly focusing on negative ones (anxiety, fear, and anger). I focused on these not because I like being negative, but because the negative ones are the cause of a lot of confusion, esp. in Christian circles. I think that many of us have the convoluted idea that it is bad for a Christian to have strong emotions; that somehow we are to rise above them to the point where we are unaffected. Sadly, such concepts are not found in the Scriptures.

The Bible is full of emotional people, and often God does not chastise them for being that way. A prime example of this is Elijah. During the whole Mount Carmel experience, he was riding pretty high. Shortly afterward, he was pretty low, but did God tell him to get a hold of himself because he had things to do? No, He let him sleep, gave him some food, and let him sleep some more, so that his emotions could recover. Emotions, in and of themselves, are not a bad thing. They are not some sort of design flaw; a glitch in the system. God gave us emotions because He Himself is emotional.

There are many examples of God expressing emotions, even supposedly negative ones. In the Ten Commandments God depicts Himself as "a jealous God", and there are other accounts of Him being angry, sad, vengeful, etc. Many people think that such things are confined to the Old Testament portion of the Bible, that when you get to the New Testament it's all "Gentle Jesus, Meek and Mild". However, a further reading shows that this is far from the truth.

In the New Testament you read about Jesus overturning tables, brandishing a whip, confronting hypocritical leaders, and casting out demons. (I have an active imagination, but even I have difficulty picturing Jesus doing such things with an even tone, and an expressionless face.) You even have Jesus expressing such things as loneliness in the Garden of Gethsemane. Someone once told me that I shouldn't be lonely because I have God with me, but then how does one explain why Jesus wished His disciples would have prayed with Him even for a little while. He had His Father, but He still wanted His friends there as well.

So now you may be thinking, "O.K. I get it. Emotions are not bad, but how do I deal with all these conflicting feelings that I have?"

1. Acknowledge your feelings: Don't think as though you can just dismiss them as though they do not exist. You are just fooling yourself if you think that'll work. It just causes more problems.

2. Try and think as to why you feel this way: This is not always easy because there is often a lot of overlap (your emotions from one thing go into another unrelated thing), but with some practice you can do it. For example, yesterday I was frustrated with myself because I forgot to do something. Then someone asked me to do something small, and I felt angry at them. I wasn't angry with them, I was still feeling the emotions from the previous incident.

3. Be in control: This overlaps a bit with the previous two. Remember that you don't have to do what your emotions tell you to do. Their advice is not always correct.

4. Be under His control: The most important rule. Many times we get emotional when our selfish desires are thwarted. The only way to overcome this is through the power of God. God will help you if you simply let Him.

All this may be an oversimplification of the matter, but it helps me get a handle on this topic. Don't think this is the final word on the matter. Feel free to share where you agree and/or disagree, and what can be changed. Don't worry, you won't hurt my feelings.