The wisdom of service

"...for you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls. Concerning this salvation, the prophets, who spoke of the grace that was to come to you, searched intently and with the greatest care, trying to find out the time and circumstances to which the Spirit of Christ in them was pointing when he predicted the sufferings of Christ and the glories that would follow. It was revealed to them that they were not serving themselves but you, when they spoke of the things that have now been told you..." (1 Peter 1:9-12)

For anyone who believes in eternity, one of the main goals of life, if not the main goal, is the salvation of one's soul. The above passage sheds so much light on not only the depth of salvation but also the depth of service. Jesus, the Savior of the world, has only been known by mankind as the Messiah (or Christ) for the past 2000 years or so. Prior to that, God's plan of Messianic salvation was a mystery. Yet it was a mystery longed to be understood by all those who sought God, as we read from the scripture in Peter. The writer of Hebrews puts it like this when talking about these ancient men of faith, "These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised. God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect" (Hebrews 11:39-40).

In the younger generation of American society it's easy to feel a sense of entitlement. We, as Americans, are blessed beyond what we understand. We're blessed with riches only the poor can truly appreciate, we're blessed with freedoms that those confined within harsher systems around the world envy, we're blessed with citizenship many others have worked hard to get, and we're blessed with a tremendous opportunity to seek truth while other countries hinder their citizens rights. I use the word "blessed" because these things are unearned by most of us. Yet it's so easy to lord it over those who weren't privileged with the same things. We pass judgment on illegal aliens as if we have the slightest understanding of what kind of lives they're fleeing from. It's too easy to look down upon people we don't understand. Only in Christ is there a true respect for the graces received in life. We ought to praise God that there were men and women over the centuries willing to commit their lives to the work of God, so that we could have a fuller understanding of salvation in Jesus. Praise God that the Godly people of old "were not serving themselves but you". Jesus said it this way, "I sent you to reap what you have not worked for. Others have done the hard work, and you have reaped the benefits of their labor" (John 4:38).

True wisdom is reflected in selfless servitude. Jesus was sure to teach his disciples this counter-cultural truth both in his life and teaching, "You know that those who are regarded as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all. For even the Son of man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many" (Mark 10:42-45).
I distinctly remember a brother in Christ commending me for my strong faith last year, reminding me that I'm blessed because I've had generations of people praying for me to become the Christ-like man that God had made me to be. That was a great reminder for me of how much has been done for me and passed down through generations of good seeds planted. The next time we're tempted to flaunt our freedoms and blessings as if earned, let us remember the number of people that have poured into our lives from years ago. When we come to a genuine gratefulness of that, we will have the wisdom to pour into the lives of future generations by serving others as selflessly as we can in the now.

An update on my schooling and future plans

This past May I finished my first year of schooling at Sunset International Bible Institute. It proved to be a huge blessing for me as  I grew a lot in my knowledge of the Bible and ministry, and was also blessed with the opportunity to be involved in many new ministries. Currently I'm interning with the Sidney Church of Christ until the end of July, as I'll be returning back to classes in Lubbock August 10. Two weeks ago I was blessed to go on a week long mission trip to Nicaragua, through God is Able Ministries, for my third year in a row. Every time I leave the country, my passion for international mission work is renewed, as I look forward to the day that I'll be doing it full time. Following my graduation in May of 2016 from SIBI, I plan to continue an additional semester the school offers for missions. So I'm on track to be finished with school by the end of 2016, with the plan to leave for the international mission field in the first part of 2017.
While we're not allowed to have jobs while attending school, I've been supported financially this past year. Thank you so much to those who have committed to supporting me in that, and thank you to everyone who has been praying for me along this journey. This upcoming year, I'm hoping to raise more support, as I continue participating in short term mission trips throughout the school year. If you're interested in supporting me or a ministry I'm a part of, please give me a call (406-321-2307) or email (ike2307@hotmail.com). Also, there is a simple donation link on the sidebar through paypal. I'm overwhelmed by the constant love and support I've received by friends and family as I continue to follow the path that God has laid out before me.
While raising financial support isn't something I've ever been fond of doing, it's proved to be a blessing for many reasons. Firstly, it's humbling for me and helps me to realize I cannot do what I'm doing on my own. Secondly, I know that not everyone is in a position to be able to travel and serve people in the name of Jesus, as I've been blessed to be able to do, being young and single. It's been a privilege to be an advocate for those who have supported me. Lastly, I've seen many who have invested in me have the opportunity to minister alongside me in the places they'd previously supported. Just this past week, as we travelled to Nicaragua, I got to see my dad, step-mom, aunt, uncle and the McNat family all serve where they had supported me to serve in the past. They'll all tell you, as I've often struggled with myself, that there sometimes aren't words for the experiences you have on the mission field. I'm thankful that God has used myself and others to open a door for more people to see what a privilege it is to serve outside the country, and even simply outside our comfort zone. God has a funny way of working through anyone in any given position as we place ourselves and our resources in his hands. I can't thank him enough for the people he's blessed me with as he leads me on this journey.

The struggle for contentment

Why is it that peace of mind seems so tough to come by? We long for things we don't have, and if somehow we attain them, we manage to remain discontent. Anxiety stirs deep within us as we dwell upon how much greater life was in a different place, at a different time, with different people. Yet if our minds will let us be honest with ourselves, we found no greater contentment in that place, in that time or with those people than we do in the present. We attempt to glorify what never was, as if to attain some sort of hope for the lack of peace in the here and now. Logically it makes no sense, but emotionally we continue to toy with the thoughts and memories of when the grass was greener. Color blind as we are, we remain blind to the opportunities that lay before us. There can be no peace without contentment. I heard of a man who learned to be content in all circumstances. It seems unbelievable. The secret, he said, is to be thankful in all circumstances. Are gratefulness and anxiety as inversely proportional as this man would suggest? I can't say I've run into any genuinely thankful worriers. I'm not exactly apt to be filled with gratefulness when my heart is burdened with anxious thoughts. Nor am I filled with discontentment when expressing genuine thanks. Can it be that simple? And where does a heart of gratitude come from any way? Many have convinced themselves that people are naturally one way or the other. “I'm a worrier”, one says, while you can't seem to punch a smile off of some people's faces. Certainly we are all gifted differently and we face varying levels and types of internal battles, but one cannot always let who they've been known to be define who they are becoming, or who they are all together.

Perhaps the most often quoted scripture was written in regard to this subject of being content, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” While the general truth remains for someone who is in fact strengthened by Christ, this was written to address peace in the midst of the highs and lows of life. Getting along with humble means and living in prosperity. Whether hungry or well fed. Suffering need or having an abundance. The idea is that there has to be something greater to be thankful for amidst those ups and downs. The object of our gratefulness cannot be something that can quickly be taken from us, or else our gratitude remains inconsistent. The object of gratefulness has to be constant. I know no constant, save Christ Jesus. Therefore, I can remain thankful no matter the circumstances, and say with those whose joy you cannot take, “I can do all things through Christ Jesus who strengthens me.”

Why I write

I used to write as a form of expression. I've always enjoyed writing because it enables a person to encapsulate a mood on any particular day. But ask almost any writer, and they'll tell you that their work is never good enough. I look back at a lot of my old writings, rarely impressed, often embarrassed, about how I thought then in comparison to how I think now. Lately, I've blogged for the purpose of positively influencing the lives of my readers. I don't often write to entertain anymore. I've always been my biggest critic, and as I examine my past writing, I notice a pattern. The first thing I often notice is the immaturity of my past self, in certain tones, thoughts or words. The thing that blows me away is that though I've always been hard on myself (I used to be what they call a "perfectionist"), there are certain aspects of my writing I can look at and wouldn't change to this very day. Those words, the ones I'm proud of, have one thing in common: I can't take credit for them. I wondered today why anyone would ever take the time to read what I've written while the word of God is in print. Everything worthwhile that I've ever written has it's roots in the Bible. Given that some reading my blog may have little respect for the Bible but some respect for me, I feel that it's necessary to make this point.
I write to change lives because I'm grateful that mine has been changed. I write in hopes that those reading will be seeking truth, that which is not relative but has always been absolute. I write to share the joy that I've been freely given; a joy that doesn't stop at me.
I'm confident there is no person on the face of the earth that is more blessed than myself. The Bible promises that Christians are blessed with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realm (Ephesians 1:3), and you can't have more than that. I'm reminded of a C.S. Lewis quote that "he who has God and everything else has no more than he who has God only." As well as C.S. Lewis was able to articulate deep truths, his writings were nothing new either, simply an intellectual's perspective on the truth of the Bible.
I've been reading a lot of material on early christian writings for school this quarter. It's crazy how so many of the deep thinkers of the first few centuries AD had such varying theologies. There was not a lack of education among early church fathers, leaving so many of these men with diverse reputations. It's equally easy for those who study church history to come away with a variety of views in regard to some of the early well known Christians. This got me to thinking how I'll be remembered when I'm dead and gone for centuries (if Jesus doesn't come back first). I don't want to be remembered by the depth of my theological thinking or for how well I could articulate my views on a passage of scripture. I want to be remembered as someone who reflected the love of Jesus Christ his Savior in the way he lived his life. I want to be remembered as someone who sacrificed for the well being of others. I don't desire for people to look back and see Isaac as someone who could win a debate about the existence of God. I want people to remember Isaac as the person who would humble himself to serve anyone for the honor of his Savior. My words only carry weight if they're reinforced by the way I live, and that is precisely why the words of Jesus are more important than the words of any other man to have walked this earth. It's easy to read the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5-7 and speak of how it's a tremendous idealistic moral sermon, but when you understand the life of the man who spoke those words, they become powerful. I don't aspire to be as great of a philosopher as Socrates or Plato. Nor do I desire to be as intellectual as C.S. Lewis or Origen. I long to be as loving, humble, and passionate as Jesus the Christ, the one man who enforced every good word he ever spoke with the way that he lived. I write to honor my Lord Jesus, to share what he's doing in my life, to give others hope of what he can and will do in theirs.

The depth of God's love

If you have a healthy relationship with God, it's because he's allowed you to suffer. Yes, I do believe suffering is a prerequisite to a close relationship with God. And yes, I understand that those aren't necessarily words that appeal to non-Christians, or even most Christians for that matter. Why would anyone want to commit themselves to a God who promises suffering, right? The conclusion that I've come to is that it has to do with the depth of God's love for those he has created. 

To help make this clear, I want to begin with an illustration. As humans, we have confrontations in 100% of our close relationships at one time or another, and I believe that the heart of the relationship is determined in how each party handles those confrontations. For instance, when a child disobeys their parent, the natural loving response from that parent would be discipline. I think we can all agree that a parent that sees their child doing something they know to be wrong, and allows the child to continue doing it, is displaying a poor example of parental love. I would also say that most people have experienced conflict in friendships and other close relationships. Maybe many of you have experienced the type of conflict that went unresolved and the relationship simply dissolved. But, the friends, spouses, parents, or children that we remain closest to are those in which both parties have expressed the truth about how they feel toward one another. You probably agree with all or most of what I just said in that paragraph, right? Then why is it that there's such a great tendency to throw this aspect of relationship and relational conflict out the door when it comes to God?

The bible says that sin separates us from God (Isaiah 59:1-2). Then, one might ask, why does God allow the possibility for sin? To which I respond, why does a parent allow the possibility for their child to make a mistake or to disobey? Loving parents know that keeping their child on a leash will only inhibit them in any aspect of growth. Likewise, God allows us freedoms in order to allow for growth. Sin is what we do when we are dissatisfied with God. God created us. He made us to be fully satisfied in him. The bible says that every good and perfect gift comes from him, the unchanging Father (James 1:17). So, let's look back at the illustration of relationships from the previous paragraph. We could say that sin causes conflict between us and God, thus requiring a conflict resolution. An unloving God would allow us to keep on sinning, but a loving God allows suffering as a form of discipline. The bible says it this way in Hebrews 12:5-7:

5 "And have you completely forgotten this word of encouragement that addresses you as a father addresses his son? It says,

“My son, do not make light of the Lord’s discipline,
    and do not lose heart when he rebukes you,
6 because the Lord disciplines the one he loves,
    and he chastens everyone he accepts as his son.”[a]

7 Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as his children. For what children are not disciplined by their father?"

Statistics say that 1/3 of this generation of Americans are raised without a father figure in their life. Maybe you're one of those people raised without a father. I have many close friends in that situation, and they've had to endure an unspeakable hardship because of their inherent need for a father (Psalm 68:5). Yet many people choose to deny either God's existence or his love because of his allowance of suffering in this world. From a truthful perspective, God is the only father with a right to desert his children when they make a mistake (sin), because sin is a rejection of God. However, God allows suffering, as a form of discipline, because of his great love for mankind. Maybe you're following me at this point but you're still wondering about the really horrific sufferings such as rape, child molestation, and the like. Notice, I've said God allows suffering; he does not create the suffering. Suffering is a result of sin, which is a result of rejection of God. (In other words, God is so good, that he uses bad to point back to his goodness.) So why doesn't he rid the world of rape, murder, and the rest of the sins that make the top of our unwanted list? I'm only going to touch the tip of the iceberg in my answer, but in short, God would then have to rid the world of lies, cheating, stealing, lusting, fornication, and so on because it's all a rejection of him. In order to do that, he would have to kill everyone on the face of the earth. So, to the one who opts not to believe in God and God's love because of God's allowance of suffering, and stands in judgment on those who've committed truly horrible sins, I ask this: Do you really want justice? Naturally, the wages of sin is death, because sin is a separation from God who gives life. Therefore all people stand condemned to die as sinners. Not believing in God because of suffering is illogical. In reality, the allowance of suffering points to a need for someone to mend brokenness. What is the most loving thing God could do for those who have deliberately rejected him over and over, except to allow them to suffer, in order that they will turn back to Him, the giver of life?

Because suffering is such an important topic for those in a relationship with God and those who don't have a relationship with him, the bible has a ton to say about it. I cannot possibly begin to express all of my thoughts towards suffering in this small post, and my thoughts don't even compare with those in the bible. Hopefully this small writing has stirred your thoughts, which you are welcome to contact me about. For now, this is to be continued... 

Love always trusts

1 Corinthians 13 gives the best definition of love that literature could hope to give. There are a few defining words I have always struggle to understand though. That's probably for good reason because love is often beyond understanding. The line that always gets me is the one that reads, "love always trusts". The more literal translation reads "love believes all things" but that doesn't make it much clearer to me. I believe the picture that this quote is portraying is that of walking by faith. Maybe another way to say it would be to say that "love doesn't need proof". One of my favorite movies is A River Runs Through it, something of a family biography written by one of two brothers the story centers around. The movie does a good job of portraying the words written in the book by including the philosophy and depth intended. There were two things that united the family together throughout the story, God and fly fishing. Near the end of the film, one of the brothers, Paul, is beaten to death in a bar over an outstanding debt he owed. Needless to say, there is great hurt and confusion within the family. The father asks his living son, Norman, what he really knew of Paul. Norman responds by saying that maybe all he really knew about him was that he was a great fisherman. Yet his father insisted he knew more than that. So the movie ends with the father giving one of his final sermons of his life reflecting on the family's difficult situation regarding Paul's death. Indirectly describing his son Paul's need for help and refusal to allow it, he ends by making the statement, "We can love completely without complete understanding." It's a beautiful line. I believe it says the same thing that the apostle Paul penned a couple millenniums ago that I just wrote of.
Both the passage and the quote from the movie mean so much to me for this reason; since I was little I've had a great desire to understand everything I involve myself with. To be quite honest, it's caused much heart ache, because there is much that I cannot understand. As a Christian, there are many circumstances in life that make no sense to me. You've heard it complained, "If God is a loving god, then why..." You can fill in the blank, and it's probably been pondered before. There has to be a point in life when we realize that God is the loving God, and the "why" of life and death is his to know.
Could it be that the option of faith that God gives us is necessary to shield us from much greater pain? The wise king Solomon wrote in the book of Ecclesiastes, "In much wisdom there is much grief, and increasing knowledge results in increasing pain." Could it be that God is keeping the majority of the pain to himself so that we might have joy in faith? There has only been one man to walk the earth who was capable of knowing all things, and his life was one of great sorrow and pain. But praise be to God for the life that Jesus lived, because without it our faith would be in vain.

Love doesn't always make sense. In fact, love doesn't often make sense. Mother Theresa put it this way:

"People are often unreasonable, illogical and self centered;
Forgive them anyway.

If you are kind, people may accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives;
Be kind anyway.

If you are successful, you will win some false friends and some true enemies;
Succeed anyway.

If you are honest and frank, people may cheat you;
Be honest and frank anyway.

What you spend years building, someone could destroy overnight;
Build anyway.

If you find serenity and happiness, they may be jealous;
Be happy anyway.

The good you do today, people will often forget tomorrow;
Do good anyway.

Give the world the best you have, and it may never be enough;
Give the world the best you’ve got anyway.

You see, in the final analysis, it is between you and God;
It was never between you and them anyway."

There are many things we know we ought to do, but do not end up doing because we can't make sense of it. It's that way with our lifestyle and careers. We settle, for lack of faith and for knowledge of pain. Faith is not stupid, but it is risky. For those of you who are like me and struggle with not knowing what you'd like to, let's rest easy knowing God knows what we do not. Let's continue to love when it makes no sense. Let's continue to be selfless when there is no apparent reward. Let's trust God when there seems to be no good reason. The book of Hebrews says, "Without faith it is impossible to please God, for he who comes to God must believe that he exists and that he is a rewarder of those who seek him." 

"Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen"(Hebrews 11:1). I don't know about you, but I am assured of the eternal life I hope for and I'm convicted that the God I do not see will provide. Because of this, I can always trust. I can always believe, even without understanding.