The Trouble in Translating

This is a totally random comment, not meant as a political commentary in any way (well, okay, maybe a little bit), but I noticed last week something very interesting about the name of Sharon's new party. In Hebrew it's "Qadima", spelled qof-dalet-yod-mem-hey, meaning "Forward." But if you transliterate that name into Arabic (ie, qof-dal-ya-mim-ha), it means "Old." So Israelis would understand the party to be a step forward into the future, a new direction, while (from the name at least) Arabs would understand it to be the same old thing. ;) I hope the new party is true to its Hebrew name, but I wouldn't be surprised if the meaning in Arabic turns out to be more accurate...

Palestinian family donates organs of killed son

I sent some of you recently an article about a Palestinian family whose son was killed by Israeli soldiers, who chose to donate his organs to patients in Israel waiting for transplants as a sign of peace and reconciliation. It's a really beautiful story--Read it if you haven't.

There's also a petition you can sign to nominate his family for recognition by the UN or other international organizations, which I'd encourage you to sign should you feel so inclined.

www.petitiononline.com/Khatib/petition.html

May God's grace be shown to those who reflect the power of the gospel in their actions, and may it spread from them to everyone in the Holy Land.

It--it was...Soap!!

ahlan ya aSHaabi,

Those whom I've talked to recently already know this I believe, but for others, I justed wanted to officially declare that I'll be returning to Boulder at the end of this semester to work with the Zambian Soap Company, through Horizons. I'm going to apply for a leave of absence from the University here in Arizona, so I can return next year (ie, spring 2007) if I decide to, but in the meantime I'm really excited to do Zambian soap stuff. :) For those who don't know what that is, my friend André Houssney has been working this year on a project in Zambia, where Horizons has some connections to churches. One church there was given a gift of some land from the local king in gratitude for their work in the community, and decided they wanted to use the land to raise money to send people to preach the gospel in other parts of Africa, the Middle East, and elsewhere. They e-mailed André, who looked into it and realized the most profitable use of the land would probably be to make soap and sell it in the US (and elsewhere, if the markets open up). He started experimenting making soap at home, and on his recent trip there with his wife Vanee they helped set up a lot of things, so that now the people in Zambia are already sending shipments of soap to Boulder. We'll be mostly marketing it to stores (especially organic-type stores & "natural," socially conscious-type stores), markets & fairs, churches, etc.

So, there's a lot to do, and I'm excited to do it! I believe I'll be mostly working on coordinating volunteers to market and sell the soap across the country, among other things (like writing a grant to the EU, for instance). So if anybody reading this wants to get involved, let me know! All of the profits will be going to the church in Zambia, who will then use it to train and send preachers. In addition, the production of soap will be (and already is) creating many jobs for the people in Zambia. So it's a very worthwhile and exciting project, bringing people across the world together for the glory of God.

I imagine I'll be working with Zambian soap for at least a while, perhaps a year or even longer. We'll see how God works things out. Anyway, while I'm sad to be leaving the people I love in Tucson (and I might be sad the first few freezing nights in Colorado!), I'm really excited to head back home, be with my parents and close to my sister's family, and working with my dear dear friends at Horizons (which is where the Zambian Soap Co. will work out of, at least until we expand into a large multinational corporation, with its own headquarters in Bermuda). ;) May the Lord bless our work and give us wisdom and love for Him throughout.

For Soap, and For the Future!

Love and Money

I was working on some thoughts about our proper attitude toward money in light of God's kingdom, and thought I'd put them up here. I wish I could keep it in Word format, since it looks nicer, but I can't figure out how to upload files directly on here. (If anybody knows, let me know.) I'm sure I've missed some important points; this is not necessarily complete (I mainly stopped because I reached the nice round number of 10). The scripture references are the main thing; this is just a summary to point you there and help sort it out. So read with your Bible in your hand; otherwise you'll just be getting my watered-down grape juice version of what ought to be vintage wine.

1. “Love your neighbor as yourself.” In other words, treat their needs the same as you would treat your own needs. When you’re hungry, you get food for yourself; when you’re cold, you get yourself a sweater, and you’re right to do so. In the same way we should give to those who are hungry, cold, sick, etc.--naturally, without treating their needs as different from or less important than our own. In fact, when we give to others in this way, Jesus says, we are giving to Him. And by the way, if you want to know who is your “neighbor” (and therefore whom you might exclude from your giving), remember the parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:25-37). No matter how far away, how different from you, how much they might hate you even, we’re called to love everyone as ourselves. (Matthew 22:39, 25:34-36, 20:26-28; James 2:15-17, Luke 3:11, 6:30-31; Mark 10:43-45, 2 Corinthians 8:13, Galatians 6:2, Philippians 2:3-4; 1 John 4:20-21)

2. Our money is not our own; it came from God and belongs to God, and we are merely stewards. Jesus' parable of the shrewd manager (Luke 16:1-12) shows this most clearly. It’s right and good for us to use the resources God has given us to meet our basic needs, but beyond those basic needs (which are often less than we think), God desires us to use His money to give to others to meet their basic needs, and so reflect His character and give glory to His name. (Luke 16:1-12, Mt. 6:11, 1 Sam. 2:7, Ecclesiastes 5:18-19, Luke 12:48, John 13:34-35, Acts 17:25, 2 Cor. 8:13, 9:10-15)

3. God has placed great value on every person, including and perhaps especially the poor, oppressed and suffering. Jesus died for every AIDS orphan in Africa. He died for everyone in Kashmir whose homes were destroyed in the earthquake and are facing a terrible winter. He loves those suffering from malaria, those with no clean water, and all those whose sufferings never make the news headlines. He loves those who have never heard the gospel or known the sweet comfort the name of Jesus brings—He loved them enough to offer Himself up and die on a cross for them. We are all created in God’s image, and have redemption offered to us in Christ. Loving people and meeting their spiritual and physical needs is on God’s heart, and as we love God, it will be on our hearts as well. As we love God, it will be natural for us to place the same great value He has placed on every poor, desperate sinner in this world. (John 3:16, Genesis 1:26-27, 1 John 3:1, 2 Cor. 8:9)

4. Jesus is a priceless treasure, and whatever our worldly wealth or lack thereof, He is to be our desire. He is the focus, and our actions should point others to Him; loving and following and worshiping Him is more important than anything, even giving to the poor. Our giving is not a way to earn the riches of God’s grace, but a joyful and grateful response to God’s free gift. But to receive this gift, we must be willing to give up all things for the sake of Christ—and that may literally mean “all things” at times. (Phil. 3:7-9, Mt. 2:11, 6:24, 13:44-46, 16:24-26, 19:21; Mark 14:3-7, Luke 14:33, John 6:26-27, 35; 1 Cor. 13:3, Hebrews 12:26)

5. Giving freely in Jesus’ name makes us joyful. God doesn’t desire mere sacrifice, but a thankful heart overflowing with love to others. In fact, we will be happier when we give to others. We should not give out of compulsion or guilt, and should not feel guilty if we simply don’t have the resources. Rather, we should rejoice to give everything we can, recognizing that Jesus gave up everything in order to give us the riches of God’s grace. (Mt. 10:8, Mark 12:41-44, Acts 5:4, 20:35; 2 Cor. 8:1-12, 9:6-11; Proverbs 23:6-8)

6. Since Jesus is our ever-present treasure, we can learn to be content in all circumstances. There may be times in our lives (though most middle-class Americans have probably never truly experienced this) where our basic needs are not always met, and many more times when we’re unsure how exactly our basic needs will be met in the future. But because of God’s faithful character, we can “rejoice always,” and trust Him to provide us with what we need as we seek His kingdom first—maybe not what we want, but always what we need. (Phil. 4:11-13, Mt. 6:25-34, Luke 12:22-31, 6:38; 1 Timothy 6:6-8, Hebr. 13:5-6)

7. Christian community is essential to honoring God with our money. The Spirit-filled early church was known for its communal living, where “no one claimed that any of his possessions was his own, but they shared everything they had,” and “there were no needy persons among them.” Ideally, we would give our money to church leaders (“lay at the apostles’ feet”), and they would distribute it to the needy. In reality, church leaders often misuse or misallocate resources to themselves or to the material comfort of the church, rather than God’s purposes in the world. However, we should strive not just to live as individuals honoring God with our individual resources, but to build a community where we share all that we have with each other, and generously give everything we can to those outside the community who are in need. (Acts 4:32-35, Acts 2:44-45, Gal. 6:2)

8. Jesus loved feasts and fellowship, but our fellowship needs to reach out to those in need. Perhaps one of the most difficult aspects of trying to live in godly stewardship of the money God has given us and remembering God’s heart for the poor and suffering is knowing how to balance the godly desire to enjoy oneself in company with believers and others and the desire not to spend God’s resources carelessly. While Jesus clearly enjoyed having good meals and celebrations with His disciples and followers (sometimes His Dad even footed the bill!—Matt. 14:15-21, 15:32-38), He clearly did not encourage gluttony and wasteful extravagance. For instance, even after He showed us the Father’s unlimited bounty in feeding the 5,000, Jesus was frugal enough to make sure the leftovers were picked up so that “nothing be wasted” (John 6:12). Our celebrations should be free and unbounded, but because they are celebrations of Christ, they will nevertheless maintain an awareness of and love for those in need. Moreover and perhaps most importantly, Jesus wanted our feasts of fellowship to be open to, perhaps even directed toward, the poor. Our fellowship should not simply be a social club of well-off folks like ourselves; we should invite “the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind” to our feasts. (Luke 14:12-14)

9. Having money can hinder us from being close to God. It is by no means always true, but very often, having all the normal worldly pleasures of modern life will dull and numb us spiritually to the needs, both spiritual and physical, of those around us and around the world who are suffering. More importantly, we risk making our treasure on earth, rather than having our treasure in heaven, in God. Jesus warned clearly of the dangers of wealth to our spiritual wellbeing—so giving our wealth away can not only help others, but also prevent this wealth from negatively affecting our walk with God. It will also instill a greater trust in God as our provider, and thankfulness for the riches He has abundantly provided us in Christ. (Mt. 6:19-21, 24; 13:22, 19:21-24; Eccl. 5:10, Luke 6:24-25, 12:15, 33-34; 1 Tim. 6:9-11, Hebr. 13:5, James 5:1-5, Revelation 3:17-19)

10. Wealth, like this world, is ephemeral and cannot be trusted in. Though we may have bank accounts, retirement accounts, and food in the pantry, we should never think that our wealth has any real permanence. “Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked I will depart,” said Job—who, though rich, was an upright, generous and “blameless” man who feared God, and showed it by his reaction to the loss of his wealth. If our attitude is like Job’s, we will praise God when He gives and when He takes away. (Job 1:21, Psalm 39:5, 11; 49:16-20; Prov. 23:4-5, Eccl. 5:10-11, 15; 1 Tim. 6:7)

One final comment: The core of the matter, and all matters of life, is Love God with all your heart, might, mind and strength; and love your neighbor as yourself. Anything that flows from this love is pleasing to God, and whatever does not, no matter how "good" in appearance, is of no value.

If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing. (1 Corinthians 13:3)

May this love of Christ be the treasure we seek and the treasure we give.

The Heavens Declare the Glory of God

Look at this picture of the Milky Way from our vantage point inside the galaxy. The center of the galaxy is clearly visible, along with the vast amounts of dust that cover huge regions from our view. What's really amazing to me about this picture is that I don't remember ever seeing a picture of the Milky Way that really looked like a galaxy, since we're inside it obviously so it's harder to get a good view of it. There's so much dust, since we're inside (it's like looking through the leaves of trees in a forest)--but you can just imagine us sitting here in our position in one of the spiral arms, looking toward the center of the galaxy thousands of light years away.

It reminds me of a song I sang in my mountain singing camp in Colorado:

The glories of my maker God my joyful voice shall sing

And call the nations to adore their Former and their King

The brightness of our Maker's name the wide creation fills;

And his unbounded grandeur flies beyond the heavenly hills.