Reconciliation in Christ المصالحة في المسيح

Water from the Rock

2009-09-23T22:00:00.002-06:00

Exciting news broke today that data from the Indian spacecraft Chandrayaan-1, along with data from Deep Impact and Cassini, have all confirmed that water exists pervasively on the surface of the moon, if extremely diffusely. The results are "unequivocal," according to scientists who've seen the data and analysis.

I got excited reading this news, since it means lunar exploration, either robotic or human, could utilize this water for life support systems, rocket fuel, or other needs. The most popular theory at the moment is that extremely fast protons in the solar wind (H+ ions) slam into the Moon's surface, knock off oxygen from oxidized compounds in the lunar soil like aluminum oxide, and then the hydrogen and oxygen bond together. Much of this then evaporates and escapes the Moon's low gravity, but the solar wind continually replenishes the surface with a very, very disperse "coating" of water molecules.

After reading about this, I picked up my Bible to read before going to bed, and the very first words my eyes saw were these, in Numbers 20:

"Speak to that rock before their eyes and it will pour out its water. You will bring water out of the rock for the community so they and their livestock can drink."

Wow. Will God one day "pour out" water from the Moon's rocks for humans to drink, just as He did for the Israelites in the desert? Perhaps. If so, I pray the humans will give glory to God and thank Him for what's He's given them. But one thing is for sure: Jesus is the Rock that pours forth living water, and the true satisfaction for our souls' thirsts. As Paul says of the Israelites in 1 Corinthians 10:4, "they drank from the spiritual rock that accompanied them, and that rock was Christ."

Many scientists and space enthusiasts will be excited when they read this news about water on the Moon. I doubt very many of them will be as excited about the living water that Jesus gives us. May God help them, and all of us, to recognize the meaning of the water that pours forth from the Rock, and provides for us in this dry and weary land. As the Psalmist aptly said, "The heavens declare the glory of God." (Psalm 19:1)

Hope Triumphant

2007-11-25T14:23:00.000-07:00

I just wrote this to a friend, and thought it might encourage other people too. :)

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It's really encouraging when I think about how God fulfilled his promises in Christ, and what that means for my life. The Jews in exile in Babylon must have felt so abandoned, lied to—didn't God promise David, after all, that "Your house and your kingdom will endure forever before me; your throne will be established forever" (2 Sam 7:16)? So why is the king, the son of David, now cut off and humiliated before the power of Babylon? Why is the temple destroyed? Why has God abandoned us, and abandoned His promises to us? When you read Psalm 89 in this context, it's so heartbreaking—in verses 19-37 the writer (Ethan the Ezrahite) talks about the promise God made to David:

"Once for all, I have sworn by my holiness—
and I will not lie to David—
that his line will continue forever...

"But you have rejected, you have spurned,
you have been very angry with your anointed one.

"You have renounced the covenant with your servant
and have defiled his crown in the dust."

What is going on? the psalmist wonders. How can God break His own promise, which he swore to David He would uphold forever?

And yet, the reality of God's promise to David was so much bigger than simply having a descendant of his to always reign as king over the political state of Judah. God's promise was fulfilled in Jesus, in a way that was so much bigger and greater than anything Ethan and the other exiles could have imagined—something that took the people of Israel's sinful desire for a king and turned it into a glorious expression of God's faithfulness.

The same thing can be shown with the crucifixion and the resurrection. What must the disciples have felt when they saw Jesus rejected, crushed, humiliated, and killed at the hands of the Romans and the Jewish leaders? What kind of teacher were they following? They must have felt so let down, disappointed, maybe even deceived in a way. No wonder Thomas didn't want to believe. Behind his doubts was his broken heart, his broken hopes. "I don't want to hope again until I know without a doubt—it would hurt too much to be disappointed again." Jesus understood and was merciful to him—he came and showed him the reality of God's promise fulfilled. The cross was not a failure, but the most incredible and shocking triumph of God in history. And God was shown to be faithful—even if the way He fulfilled His promises was not always what the people were expecting, it was much better than they could have imagined.

Praise God! When I think of how He's done this in the past, it encourages me to believe that God can and will fulfill His promises to me, even in times when I can't see how that could happen. It makes me want to never lose hope, to always believe and trust in God even when I fear my hopes being broken and my dreams being shattered, because even if God does end up breaking some of my hopes, the reality of what He replaces it with will always be better than I could have hoped for, as in the end we will all clearly see.

Read the entirety of Psalm 89 here.

O Magnum Mysterium

2007-10-15T13:24:00.000-06:00

We're singing Morten Lauridsen's "O Magnum Mysterium" in choir this semester. I think it might be the most beautiful choral piece I've ever sung. Thinking about all the glory of God in a helpless infant, lowly and rejected by His society, born "out of wedlock"...the amazing love of God, that He would come to us not in power and terror but in humility and poverty.

The Hebrew word for "to bring good news," or to bring the gospel, is yevaser, from the root basar or flesh. So the power, beauty and glory of the gospel is that God, infinite in glory and majesty, became flesh--human, weak, ordinary--to show us what real love is, and to give us real life. This is a truth of incomparable beauty, and I can't think of a more beautiful song to express it.

Here are the words (in Latin, then English):

O magnum mysterium,
et admirabile sacramentum
ut animalia viderent Dominum
natum, jacentem in praesepio!
Beata Virgo, cujus viscera
meruerunt portare
Dominum Christum.

O great mystery,
and wonderful sacrament,
that animals should see the new-
born Lord, lying in their manger!
Blessed is the Virgin whose womb
was worthy to bear the
Lord Jesus Christ.

(Video of the song can be seen here.)

Europa Rising

2007-05-10T11:52:00.000-06:00

Wow!! Gorgeous!!

Run For the World 5k

2007-05-07T10:03:00.000-06:00

Hey everybody--

I'm helping to organize another Run For the World 5k this year, to raise money for building an orphanage in Zambia. Here's the basic info:

Saturday, May 19th @ 8:00 am
$15 registration ($17 the day of)
At Coot Lake, northeast side of Boulder Reservoir
All proceeds go to our friends at World Orphan Relief to help build an orphanage in Silembe, Zambia

How can you be involved?

1) Run!! (or walk, or crawl, or hobble on crutches...) Register online

2) Volunteer! Contact me if you want to help on race day or the night before to help set up, take down, time runners, etc. We'll need at least 15-20 people to help out.

3) Sponsor other runners (like myself)!! Go to the registration page for details.

4) Tell others! Get people at your church, work, etc. involved. Not only will it be a great time in a great location (I had an absolute blast last year), we'll be helping to build a home for orphans in a country where more than 10% of the population are orphans.

Hope to see you there!

Seth

(PS The registration page is zambiansoap.com/run.html)

Run For the World 5k Race
Sponsored by Sambah Naturals and World Orphan Relief

Loving is Healing

2007-04-09T11:31:00.000-06:00

I was reading through something I wrote to a friend recently and realized it was good stuff, so I wanted to put it here (with a few slight edits). For background, a good friend of mine, Laurie Mansdorfer, recently died of cancer. This was written right after I went to her memorial service.

Just got back from Laurie's memorial service; I was really glad I got to go. Wish you guys could have been here too. They're such a sweet family; it was great seeing Jacob running around, Hannah being her beautiful shy self. It's gonna be hard for Mike...but I know God will bring them through, just like He sustained Laurie to the end in faith and love. They'll be in Indiana the next week or two; we're gonna do everything we can (and everything we'd be needed with, of course) to help them along in the coming months.

Going to the service, thinking about Laurie and life and death, made me think we were wrong in the way we were talking the other day. Not that death isn't a release from pain and suffering and sin--that's what makes Laurie's death bearable and not quite so tragic--but the implication that life is merely to be endured. I think that attitude's been dominant in me for quite a while. But the wonderful thing I saw with Laurie, from the stories people told and the lives she impacted, is that even when she was suffering she was still reaching out to others, giving to others, spreading God's love to others. Now I'm sure she wasn't doing that perfectly, but she wasn't letting her suffering ultimately prevent her from fulfilling the purpose God had for her life.

And I guess that's what really hit me tonight. "What is the purpose of my life?" Is it just to get through without screwing too much up? Is it to make lots of money on airships? Is it to sell lots of soap and lip balm and build schools and orphanages in Zambia? Well, maybe on the last couple in a way...

But the ultimate purpose of my life, I realized, is to love. To love God, and to love others as myself. A life full of God's love, pouring out to Him and others, is what we were made for. Anything beyond that is meaningless, ephemeral.

I feel like I've been so focused on myself recently--ironically stemming from my desire to be a more godly person, yet debilitated by the sadness and frustration I feel at failing so utterly in that--that I haven't had hardly anything to give in love to others. The solution to my problems, the solution to my pain, is simple: Love. If I let myself be hungry for God, trusting that He will satisfy me, if I give myself in love to others, care about them in the same way I want others to care about me, then I will in that very act of love be healing myself. In other words, I've felt that what I needed was for others to love me. But that was completely wrong. What I needed was to let myself really love.

Oh Lord, help me to live this way, to trust in you that giving is more blessed than receiving, that when I give of myself I will end up having more of myself to give.

Fall

2007-01-25T06:50:00.000-07:00

I just woke up from a dream I had, where I showed up to a big gathering at Horizons (dressed in a toga, actually), having forgotten that I was supposed to give a talk to the audience. I literally hadn't prepared a word. So I quickly got up front, my mind blank, saw the rather large crowd on the bleachers stretching out before me, saw the beautiful fall day around me, and started (like any good speaker) by talking about the weather. This, more or less, is what followed.

A lot of people say fall is their favorite season. I know it's mine. The crisp air, the beautiful leaves in all their glorious assortment of color--it's like nature's reminding us of what it's capable of. I love to go up in the mountains as the aspen trees are changing color, and see the beautiful sea of delicate, quivering leaves, splashing their color onto the canvas of the mountainside.

One might consider these beautiful colors as the last words of dying leaves--the last glorious shout before their end comes. One might even be tempted to think of it as a desperate cry for attention before their inevitable death overtakes them: "Look at me!! I'm valuable! I'm beautiful! Love me!!"

But most of us don't think this way. We seldom see the leaves falling as something truly tragic. Why? Because we know that after the winter has passed, spring will come, the leaves will grow again, and their beauty and life will be restored to us anew. We don't see the fall as a tragedy because we know the spring will come. We don't see the leaves' death as a tragedy because we are sure of the coming rebirth.

Sometimes, though, winter comes early. I remember a few seasons in Colorado where an early snowstorm would hit in September or October, before the trees had let their leaves die. What happens? If there's enough snow, the weight of the snow collects on the leaves and eventually breaks the branch. I remember taking a chain saw to these huge branches literally covering my backyard after one particularly heavy early snow. These branches looked strong and powerful, but they were swiftly felled by the unexpected winter.

I believe most people live their lives like these mighty branches, believing that what matters most is to make themselves strong and beautiful, decorating their lives with glorious leaves that glimmer in the summer sun. We strive for success, we strive for others to love and value us, to see us as beautiful and strong and important. "If I can show the world how beautiful my leaves are, then I will be happy." They might even think, "Come November, I'll have created my beautiful life and will be ready to leave in style."

But those unexpected storms have a nasty habit of showing up. And unlike in Nature, where snow might come in September, but surely never in July, we never know how short our lives might be. As the Psalmist said, "Teach us to number our days aright, that we may gain a heart of wisdom" (90:12). We simply have no guarantee for the future of our lives, no matter how strong and beautiful our branches may be.

Jesus said in the gospel of John that "Unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds" (12:24). You see, there is a death that is not tragic, but beautiful. The kind of death that leads to rebirth, like the leaves falling in autumn, is beautiful and glorious. It is the leaves submitting to God's way, allowing His hand to bring them down because they know He will lift them up. Only if the leaves refuse to die, insisting they remain strong and beautiful and "alive," will the snow be able to destroy them. Only that death is truly tragic.

The beautiful colors of the falling leaves are not tragic because of the rebirth to come. Jesus' death on the cross, though terrible and sad, was not ultimately tragic, because, as Peter preached in Acts, "God raised him from the dead, freeing him from the agony of death, because it was impossible for death to keep its hold on him" (2:24). There was so much life, love, and beauty in Christ that death simply could not contain him. Even better, unlike the spring which eventually turns to summer and then fall again, Jesus' death for us destroyed the very power of death itself. "For we know that since Christ was raised from the dead, he cannot die again; death no longer has mastery over him. The death he died, he died to sin once for all; but the life he lives, he lives to God." (Romans 6:9-10)

As we identify with Christ and submit to the loving hand of the Father, He will bring us down so that He may lift us up--beautiful, umblemished and eternally new, free forever from death and sin. If we die to ourselves to live in Christ, if we allow God to kill our selfishness and pride and envy and all the other things that we fear giving up--that we we fear we will not be strong enough or beautiful enough without--then this death will be like the falling of the leaves, radiant in their beauty, even in their death full of life.

Beauty Is Truth, Truth Beauty

2007-01-17T09:31:00.000-07:00

Here are the lyrics to two songs we're singing in choir, one hymn and one Shakespeare sonnet. What's really struck me is how songs that are "secular" can still often have such beauty and depth as to bring the soul closer to God, sometimes just as much as "sacred" music. It helps that the sonnet, a love poem, can be interpreted as directed to God, wherein it gains a meaning much deeper than perhaps the original intent.

Wondrous Love

What wondrous love is this, O my soul, O my soul!
What wondrous love is this, O my soul!
What wondrous love is this that caused the Lord of bliss
To bear the dreadful curse for my soul, for my soul,
To bear the dreadful curse for my soul.

When I was sinking down, sinking down, sinking down,
When I was sinking down, sinking down,
When I was sinking down beneath God’s righteous frown,
Christ laid aside His crown for my soul, for my soul,
Christ laid aside His crown for my soul.

To God and to the Lamb, I will sing, I will sing;
To God and to the Lamb, I will sing.
To God and to the Lamb Who is the great “I Am”;
While millions join the theme, I will sing, I will sing;
While millions join the theme, I will sing.

And when from death I’m free, I’ll sing on, I’ll sing on;
And when from death I’m free, I’ll sing on.
And when from death I’m free, I’ll sing and joyful be;
And through eternity, I’ll sing on, I’ll sing on;
And through eternity, I’ll sing on.

Sonnet 29

When in disgrace with fortune and men's eyes
I all alone beweep my outcast state
And trouble deaf heaven with my bootless* cries
And look upon myself and curse my fate

Wishing me like to one more rich in hope
Featured like him, like him with friends possessed
Desiring this man's art or that man's scope
With what I most enjoy, contented least

Yet in these thoughts, myself almost despising,
Haply† I think on thee--And then my state,
Like to the lark at break of day arising
From sullen earth, sings hymns at heaven's gate

For thy sweet love remembered such wealth brings
That then I scorn to change my state with kings.

*useless, futile †by chance

Lord Jesus, may thy sweet and wondrous love remembered
such wealth bring,
That I would scorn to change my state with kings.

The Enemy is Disarmed

2007-01-10T22:27:00.001-07:00

Some good words from John Piper.

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And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross. (Colossians 2:13-14)

Those last words are the most crucial. This—this record of debt that stood against us—God set aside, nailing it to the cross. When did that happen? Two thousand years ago. It did not happen in you, and it did not happen with any help from you. God did that for you and outside of you.

Make sure you see this most glorious of all truths: God took the record of all your sins...that made you a debtor to wrath, and instead of holding them up in front of your face and using them as the warrant to send you to hell, he put them in the palm of his Son’s hand and nailed them to the cross...

Have you ever wondered what the next verse in Colossians 2:15 means? Right after saying that God nailed the record of our debt to the cross, Paul says, “[God] disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him.” This is a reference to the devil and all his demonic hosts. How are they disarmed? How are they defeated? Don’t they prowl around like a roaring lion today (1 Peter 5:8)?

The answer is: They have many weapons. They can do much damage. But they are disarmed of the one weapon that can damn us. The weapon of unforgiven sin. Be sure you see the connection between Colossians 2:14 and 15. In 2:14, it says God nailed the record of our debt to the cross. It’s punished. It’s finished. And in the next breath he says that God disarmed the rulers and authorities. He triumphed over them. Sure, they can beat us up. They can make us see weird things on the walls of our rooms. They can shake your house and cause lying signs and wonders. They accuse you and call you a loser, but they cannot damn you. That weapon is out of their hands. Only unforgiven sin damns. And that was nailed to the cross for everyone of you who despairs of saving yourself and trusts in Jesus.

For Unto Us a Child Is Born

2006-12-24T22:00:00.000-07:00

The people walking in darkness
   have seen a great light;
   on those living in the land of the shadow of death
   a light has dawned.

You have enlarged the nation
   and increased their joy;
   they rejoice before you
   as people rejoice at the harvest,
   as men rejoice
   when dividing the plunder.

For as in the day of Midian's defeat,
   you have shattered
   the yoke that burdens them,
   the bar across their shoulders,
   the rod of their oppressor.

Every warrior's boot used in battle
   and every garment rolled in blood
   will be destined for burning,
   will be fuel for the fire.

For to us a child is born,
   to us a son is given,
   and the government will be on his shoulders.
   And he will be called
   Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
   Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

Of the increase of his government and peace
   there will be no end.
   He will reign on David's throne
   and over his kingdom,
   establishing and upholding it
   with justice and righteousness
   from that time on and forever.
   The zeal of the LORD Almighty
   will accomplish this.

-- Isaiah 9:2-7

Maybe They're Born With It...Maybe It's Zambeezi

2006-12-21T17:38:00.000-07:00

The Zambeezi lip balm models at a local Boulder restaurant. ;)

Zambeezi--The only fair trade organic beeswax lip balm on the market.

Christmas Groaning

2006-12-21T13:36:00.000-07:00

My friend Jason Stryd, who lives and ministers in Kovoso, wrote this beautiful letter. (I knew the man he speaks of, Faik, from my visits to Prishtina.)

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For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now. And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. For in this hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.
(Rom 8:22-25)

In this time of Christmas busyness, activity and fellowship are you groaning inwardly?

Could it be that this time of year which offers so many reasons for contentment and satisfaction like family, vacation, food, rest and fun is actually a time when we experience the groaning of our souls more than ever?

It is for me. What do I mean by groaning? I mean a longing, a hunger, a cry of the heart that remains in a person even after experiencing some of the best things that this earth can offer. It is a cry that says I am still broken, still subjected to the futility and bondage of decay and sinfulness. It is the cry of a heart that still aches and longs for something, more, something that might quench the soul.

The time that I have longed for weeks has come and is going. I have been blessed by great time with family and friends, better time and fellowship than I ever could have asked for the last few weeks. I have enjoyed celebrating and preparing for Christmas. I have been lavished abundantly with love and care by many. And yet at times my inward groaning has been abundantly clear. It has humbled me and surprised me.

In reality, all the blessings that this world offers in fellowship, family, worship, and time celebrating still leaves us longing for more. We still wait. We wait for the redemption of our souls and our bodies. We wait for the revealing of the kingdom of God. We wait and long for the face of God to be unveiled and to see him in all his glory with all our sickness, worries, fears and pains being burned away in the light of his presence. Our groaning is an expression of hope. It is an expression of our soul that anticipates and seeks the one thing that will fill it, God himself.

Make no mistake, we get glimpses of this in this season and they are good. We fellowship and experience pictures of intimacy in the body that we will know in fullness in heaven. We are marveled by the truth of God, truth that we will see with wide open eyes in heaven. And we experience tastes of God revealed to us in Jesus Christ, a revelation to be fully unveiled in heaven. Yet they all point to God and heaven. They point to something more.

And this is the glory of Christmas. It is the glory of the coming of Immanuel into history, an event that forever has set history in course to its ultimate climax, life with God. We celebrate hope and waiting this Christmas because we celebrate that in the incomprehensible love of the Father, he has sent his glorious Son humbled all the way from stable to the cross for our redemption. And that redemption is guaranteed, mission accomplished. Christmas is a time of hope. It is a present hope that God has invaded our present suffering to suffer with us and our chaotic times to give us peace. But it is also an expectant hope that he has done more than that. He has secured for us eternal life with himself in all its mysterious glory, wonder and promise. And it is living with this hope that frees us to live for today taking every moment captive and frees us to look ahead to the coming of that day for which he came to purchase.

As I was getting ready to send this email today, I received some shocking news. My very good friend Faik in Kosova passed away yesterday from a heart attack. You may remember him as I have spoken often of him. He was 54 years old, a father of 4, and had been sick with Muscular Dystrophy, high blood pressure and headaches. Faik was a joyful man, had recently finished reading the bible for the 4th time in 2 years and was stepping into new areas of understanding and vision for his family and neighborhood. From the beginning of my time in Kosova I have visited him and his family 2 times a week. He was one of the most regular attendee of meetings at church, anything from services, to bible studies, to prayer meetings, to social outings. He always came hobbling down the side of the street with his cane to the church. By the time he arrived he would be tired, but full of a smiling joyful face.

Faik groaned inwardly a lot. Physically he was weak, unable to work and deteriating in his ability to get out of the house. He suffered from headaches and pain. Spiritually and emotionally he groaned from the worry for his family and his inability to provide for them. He groaned with longing for his family and neighbors to know Christ and the hope that he had found. Recently there were times that Faik was just sad for no reason, aching in his heart for these things. One time we talked about the above passage, agreeing that he was groaning for redemption.

I remember a many things about Faik and my time with him. There have been numerous times where I have been over and he has felt very sick and tired. During some of these times we had begun to talk about heaven. He spoke of going first and waiting for me when it was my turn. He joked about hanging out up there with Bill Clinton and the others who were involved in saving the Albanians from the Serbs as he saw them in a funny way as instruments of God for Kosova. As he spoke of these things his face would light up in true joy and expectation, a beautiful thing. It was a confidence and assurance radically different from the normal fateful submission in Islam to a god devoid of love or promise of salvation. Faik was ready.

Why did God take Faik now? I don't know. I wish I was there right now. I wish I had known before I left to say goodbye to my good friend. I can't imagine going back and with him gone.

How will God provide for Faik's family, his children and his home? I don't know, but I am sure that we as a church have a great role in this.

How will his death affect the faith of his family, his children and his neighbors? I hope and believe that it will be like Christ said about the grain of wheat which when it dies bears a great crop. So may the death of Faik testify to many and reap a harvest among those he prayed for and groaned for.

Today Faik groans no more. He loved God and his suffering is ended. He has obtained the reward of his faith, eternal life with God. And this is true because of the reality of Christmas…not lights, trees, food or vacation. But because of Jesus Christ, the Redeemer, who came into our world, shed his blood and purchased for us eternity. An eternity that today Faik is experiencing.

So this week when you find yourself groaning inwardly in the midst of fun, family and activity. When you in a moment of quiet find your heart longing for something more, know that there is something more. And this is the hope and promise of Christmas. Our groaning is not in vain, Jesus the Christ has come and though we experience it in part we shall know it in full some day.

Merry Christmas!

Jason

Jesus Christ the Apple Tree

2006-12-15T19:52:00.000-07:00

I've been recently enthralled with the song "Jesus Christ the Apple Tree," which we're singing in my choir (the Boulder Chorale Chamber Chorus). I feel like God was speaking to me through it ever since we started practicing it, but recently it's really started to mean even more to me. Part of the importance to me is that three years ago I wrote a song called the "Tree of Life" which brings out the imagery and symbolism in the Bible on trees and vines, especially the tree of life and the cross. The idea of Jesus as an apple tree comes from Song of Solomon 2:3:

Like an apple tree among the trees of the forest
is my lover among the young men.
I delight to sit in his shade,
and his fruit is sweet to my taste.

A video of the Cambridge King's College Choir singing this song can be found here.

You can also listen to the song I wrote here.

Here are the lyrics to "Jesus Christ the Apple Tree":

The tree of life my soul hath seen
Laden with fruit and always green
The tree of life my soul hath seen
Laden with fruit and always green
The trees of nature fruitless be
Compared with Christ the apple tree

His beauty doth all things excel
By faith I know but ne'er can tell
His beauty doth all things excel
By faith I know but ne'er can tell
The glory which I now can see
In Jesus Christ the apple tree

For happiness I long have sought
And pleasure dearly I have bought
For happiness I long have sought
And pleasure dearly I have bought
I missed of all but now I see
'Tis found in Christ the apple tree

I'm weary with my former toil
Here I will sit and rest a while
I'm weary with my former toil
Here I will sit and rest a while
Under the shadow I will be
Of Jesus Christ the apple tree

This fruit does make my soul to thrive
It keeps my dying faith alive
This fruit does make my soul to thrive
It keeps my dying faith alive
Which makes my soul in haste to be
With Jesus Christ the apple tree

Home For Disabled Children in Jenin

2006-12-10T08:32:00.000-07:00

Hello friends,

My friend Yousef (a student at Bethlehem Bible College) has written me about his idea to build a home for disabled children in Jenin, similar to one they have in Beit Jala (Bethlehem area) that he works at. Jenin is an almost completely Muslim town, and is suffering a great deal economically from the political situation. There's currently nothing like this in Jenin, and for the Christian community to be able to give this to the town would be a great blessing and a witness of God's love for them.

It takes some cash to make something like this happen, so I want to ask if anyone either a) happens to be wealthy and interested in helping, or (more likely) b) is connected to a church or ministry that might be able to help support this project. I really believe it would be a beautiful outreach to the people in Jenin, and pray that God would bring this about for His kingdom.

E-mail me if you're interested in learning more (seth@zambiansoap.com).

Seth

School Fundraiser Idea

2006-09-15T13:01:00.000-06:00

I'm super excited about the school fundraiser project we have with the Zambian Soap Co. If you're a teacher or know teachers, check out this page. You can help build a school in Zambia while raising money for programs at your school, and at the same time teach your kids about Africa.

I'm probably going to Zambia next week--don't have a ticket yet, but that's the plan. Should be fun! I've never been to Africa before.

Seth

Why Do the Nations Rage?

2006-08-08T16:54:00.000-06:00

I try hard not to voice political opinions too strongly on this blog, but when it's a matter of God's glory being defamed, I have a hard time keeping silent. This is a letter I wrote to Colorado Senator Wayne Allard, in response to his "response" to my e-mail (which was, of course, simply a position paper that addressed nothing I'd said). I pray that the political and religious leadership of the United States would have the humility to forgo worldly empire in return for the peace and humility of the Kingdom of Heaven.

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Dear Senator Allard,

I doubt you'll actually read this, since nothing you said actually addressed what I wrote, but I feel it my moral duty to at least say something in response to your letter.

You say that Israel has the right to defend itself. Does Lebanon not also have the right to defend itself against Israel's brutal aggression? Nearly a thousand Lebanese civilians have died, even though it was Hezbollah, not the Lebanese government or public, that attacked Israel. Yet Lebanon has not taken this right. Why? Because they do not receive billions of dollars of military aid from the world's only superpower. They are helpless against Israel's immense US-provided firepower. We are funding a massacre.

Are Israeli lives more valuable than Lebanese? Are Jewish lives more valuable than Muslim or Christian? Then why do we aid and even support Israel's killing of hundreds of Lebanese, creating hundreds of thousands of refugees and destroying the Lebanese economy, while we deplore as "terrorism" Hezbollah's attack on Israeli military targets? When Hezbollah rains down rockets on Israeli civilians, this is terrorism. But when Israel does the same against Lebanese villages, why do we not have the courage and moral fortitude to deplore it in similar terms?

I strongly condemn Hezbollah's aggression, especially against civilian targets. I have friends in northern Israel who are under attack, and whose safety I'm praying for. I have lived in Israel, I speak Hebrew, and I love the Jewish people. But I am ashamed of my president, and ashamed of my senator, for supporting the massacre of civilians in Lebanon that have little or nothing to do with Hezbollah. What is the difference between a "terrorist" bomb and an Israeli (or US) bomb? Both kill human beings created in God's image.

Whoever is actually reading this e-mail, I want to plead with you to not let Israel destroy itself by ignoring its moral foundations, the standards of democracy and human rights and the Judaic spiritual tradition. As we Americans should heed ourselves, we also should exhort our friends in Israel to heed the teachings of a Palestinian Jew of long ago:

"Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good."

This is my plea and my prayer.

Sincerely,

Seth Wilson

Personal Account From Beirut

2006-08-01T17:35:00.000-06:00

A friend of mine wrote this letter from Beirut, in the first week of the crisis in the Middle East. I took his name off since I haven't asked him if I can post this. (I think he got cut off at the end.) Please pray.
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Hi there dear friends,

This is the sixth day of the attack on Lebanon. Some of you might not know this but I am in Beirut at the moment, in the East at relatively safe distance from the bombing. It's getting harder for people here. Grocery prices are going up, fuel is going to run out at some point. One cell-phone company has closed, their lines are still working but phone cards are getting more expensive everyday (making communication harder). who knows where it will go from here.

Getting out of the country by means of a cabride to Syria costs 400$, a ride that 7 days ago was still the normal price of 10$. People are sitting by their television sets waiting to see what happens next. Some of my friends have fled from the bombed places. One of them lost his family house in the city, luckily they still have their country home. People don't know what to do, don't know what will happen next and don't know if and when foreign intervention will actually come.

This is not a political call for action. I am not asking that you get angry, or take sides. Our fight is not against flesh and blood. It is against the powers of darkness (Ef. 6:10-20, for exact quote). Will you please pray for the people here. That they will find out what the real war is that is going on "behind their backs". Will you pray that they come to know the true Savior, who can offer real "resistance" to darkness.Also pray for the believers that they don't lose sight of their Savior and that they know that love conquers all. Those of you who know people here and their personal situation, keep them in mind. Bless them from where you are.

And for me personally, I don't know what to do: I feel God is with me and I am encouraging people around me, praying, helping out. On the other hand, my family in Holland is worried about me and I don't want to put a strain on them. There are others like me, who don't know if they should stay and be a help or leave and wait for things to calm down. I don't want to be selfish and leave, but I also don't want
to make a wrong decision.

Others in Lebanon are in a much more difficult position than me, so I feel selfish in asking prayer for my situation. Pray

Much love,

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Great Stuff

2006-06-06T20:40:00.000-06:00

I was just reading through an old e-mail I sent back in 2001, right after I came to know Jesus. I'm going to put parts of it here, since it's great exciting stuff. It's also amazing to me to see the kinds of e-mails I was writing right before that, and then the sudden and drastic changes. :) (The name of the recipient has been removed.)

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I can't begin to describe to you the happenings of the last couple weeks. So I won't try to in detail, but I do want you to know a few things at least. I'm not sure how much you'll understand, but I want to make an effort at least, to give you a chance.

Jesus has finally caught up to me, _____. I've been running from Him so long, trying so hard to avoid the reality that I felt, trying to find other ways to explain things. I finally surrendered, and oh, what a wonderful peace. What pure joy! How can I describe to you...

I've told you how I finally came to accept the existence of God, and what an amazing experience that was--the intense Spirit that I felt, the knowledge that this was more real than anything else I'd ever experienced before in my life.

Well, at that time I still didn't want to say that God and Jesus were equivalent, mainly because I had a hard time understanding how Jesus dying on a cross could possibly have anything to do with my imperfections. Also, more recently, I've been turned off by the notion that one religion has more truth than another, because it seems to lead to more conflict and tension, and what do I really know? So why don't we all just have our personal preferences, acknowledging that in the end it doesn't mean any more than whether you prefer strawberry, chocolate or vanilla. "God is real, Jesus is an opinion."

But the problem with this was that I never really stuck to God. I'd say "Yeah, God is real, God is wonderful," and when I was in a good mood I'd believe it, but when I felt the depth of my imperfections, my complete inability to really transform myself into the person that I wanted to be, there was nowhere to turn. By saying "religion is a language that's trying to express the more profound truths of the universe," I was able to ignore those profound truths as "just a language, not the reality." And because I was always aware of my imperfections, my flawed nature compared to the perfection of God (and the perfection I wanted for myself), there was no reason to draw closer to God--He wouldn't want me anyway; what could He do with me anymore than I could do myself just by trying to be a "good person"?

Last week, I finally realized that if I was going to be of any use to God--if all the plans and ideas I had to work with refugees, serve people, make a positive difference (all ideas I felt were conforming to what God wanted me to do with my life), I was going to have to really, truly give myself completely to Him. I had to believe that Jesus was real, and could change me, could free me from my imperfection. "Therefore, if any one is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has passed away, behold, the new has come." (2 Cor. 5:17).

I've learned so many times in the last year that I'm only truly happy when I'm in the presence of God, but I always felt that my sin would always keep me from truly living in His presence. Since I couldn't possibly change myself, I resigned to failure. But now, now that I've accepted the sacrifice Jesus made for me--without understanding how it works, why He did it, anything really--just by letting Jesus take on those burdens, He frees me, creates in me a heart that can do His work. "Come now, let us reason together, says the LORD: though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool." (Isaiah 1:18). Only by fully giving myself to Him--imperfections and all--am I able to live with Him, do His work, and fulfill the purpose of my existence.

Oh, _____, I don't know if this makes any sense to you, but it's so real!! ¡Qué capísimo es el Señor!! I looked and I searched and I thought and thought, but I couldn't do anything until I stopped and let Jesus take hold. It's so beautiful! I have so much to learn, but already I can see that God has amazing things prepared for me if I just let Him take me there. "Jehováh es mi pastor, nada me faltará." ...

Oh _____, I'm afraid that you'll think I've gone off the deep end, that you're afraid you won't be able to understand me anymore. But I'm still Seth, just better now! Just more open to God's love, more able to share His joy, serve others in compassion (once I start letting Him breaking down all the walls of fear that are in my heart), love everyone the way God loves them. I want to empty myself and let God fill me up. Oh, it's so real, so beautiful! I do want you to understand that, but more than that, I want to be sensitive to the way you feel, which is probably odd right now, confused at what the heck is wrong with me. But I promise, there's nothing wrong--I'm feeling wonderful. =)

Run For Jesus

2006-05-20T23:08:00.000-06:00

"Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter* of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart." (Hebrews 12:1-3)

*The Greek words for "author and perfecter" can also be translated "starter and finisher" (as in a race).

Run For the World 5k

2006-05-05T23:04:00.000-06:00

Hi guys,

Guess what? We're doing another Run For the World this year! May 20th at 8:00 am, at Coot Lake (next to Boulder Reservoir). Registration is $15 ($17 after May 18th). The race is 5 kilometers (you can run or walk) and the money goes toward Horizons projects in Zambia and Kosovo. Sign up--it'll be super fun!

Also, for both the Run For the World and the Bolder Boulder this year, I'm running to raise money for school in Iraq through Servant Group International (the organization my friend Josh Stacey worked with while he was there). So if you're interested in sponsoring me for Iraqi kids, let me know! (you can e-mail me at sethwilson1@yahoo.com if you don't already have my e-mail).

Hope to see all of you who are in the Boulder area on the 20th at Coot Lake!

Work As Worship

2006-04-29T01:04:00.000-06:00

My friend Nathan (Nathanael) wrote an article a year or two ago with this same title, and I've been thinking about the idea recently. I'll borrow the title, but go in a slightly different direction than my dear friend, mainly because I'm a different person. :)

The very first thing we read about in the Bible is the story of God working. "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth." For the first six days He worked--pretty hard, if He created the entire universe. Then on the seventh day God rested from His work, after He had seen that it was "very good."

In the Garden, humans had work to do. We were to be fruitful and subdue the earth, and God put Adam in the garden "to work it and take care of it" (Gen. 2:15). So work is not simply a product of the fall--it was there in the beginning, as God worked to create, and it was there for us, as those made in God's image.

Work becomes tainted by the fall not in its existence, but in its difficulty, travail and sometimes futility. "By the sweat of your brow shall you eat bread" doesn't mean that working the land is a punishment from God--He gave us this very work in the Garden. But work after the fall involves uncertainty, struggle and a sense of meaningless.

So if this is true, then it fits well with what Paul says in Colossians 3:23-24: "Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving." Work, then, is redeemed in Christ to be a form of worship. This is true whatever the nature of your work (although of course you can't be actively sinning by engaging in your work--you can't worship God as you work in prostitution or drug dealing or money laundering). We should look at our work, then, not only as an opportunity given by God to work to care for our needs and others, but as a direct form of worship. (This applies, by the way, regardless of whether our work is "secular" or in ministry--the scripture says "whatever you do." There is no truly secular work for the Christian.) By working sincerely and diligently in our vocations, we are offering up our time and our energies to the Lord, who gave Himself for us. He worked to create us and to redeem us, so we in turn give Him thanks by offering the fruit of our hands and minds to Him.

What a beautiful and glorious truth this is! What if we worked every day with this in mind? Would the work we do have more meaning, more joy and satisfaction? To know that by writing a program to calculate the cost of shipping soap internationally, or counting the bars of (very yummy-smelling) spearmint we have in stock, I am offering up worship to the living God! And the same thing goes for those of us working in construction, at McDonald's, at a bank or hospital or school or farm or church or insurance firm.

Let us rejoice in the opportunity we have to spend six days a week serving the Lord by working (whether at our jobs or at home, etc.), and let us rest in remembrance of God's finished work on the cross. Let us work to worship God, and to honor Him by serving in a way that blesses others. And let us not make work an idol by failing to rest as God rested, so that we acknowledge Him as the source of our providence and of our redemption, and give glory to Him through our work and our rest. "And whatever you do," whether work or rest, "do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him" (Col. 3:17).

Guilty Campaign

2006-04-17T22:46:00.000-06:00

I wanted to bring to your attention the work of a couple friends of mine, the Guilty Campaign (or, I Am What's Wrong With the World). Things are still being developed, but the central philosophy is that the problems of the world are all simply an outpouring of the problem of the human heart--that education, health and wealth, while good in themselves, won't turn sinners into saints. Only Jesus can change people's hearts, so the ultimate solution to the problems of the world is the gospel. Pray for this message to go out to the campus here in Boulder, and to everyone whose heart is the source of the greed, violence, pride, hatred and injustice in this world. (That is, everybody.)

Pensamientos y oraciones

2006-04-08T00:04:00.000-06:00

Buenas,

No sé por qué exactamente, pero estoy en un humor de pensar en español, y decidí que quería escribir aquí. Aún no sé quien leería esto que entiende el español; la mayoría de mis amigos hispanohablantes no leen este blog porque está escrito en inglés (y árabe o hebreo de vez en cuando). :)

Creo que mi humor tiene que ver con el hecho de que conocí al Señor en Argentina, y por eso el español para mí tiene un lugar muy importante espiritualmente en mi vida. Es como tener más español en mi cerebro sinifica que estoy más cerca de Dios o algo. Me acuerdo que las primeras semanas después de que Dios me salvó, aún no sabía bien como orar o adorar al Señor en inglés--fue casi como si el inglés fuera el idioma de mi "pasado pecadoso," y el español de la vida nueva que tenía en Cristo. (Es posible que esa es una razón porque siempre me interesan más las chicas latinas--las buenas asociaciones espirituales que tengo con el español, la cultura latina y todo.) Claro que Dios habla inglés tanto como habla español, pero en mi mente sigue habiendo un lugar más alto espiritualmente para el español. También creo que el hecho de que la mayoría de mis amigos acá no hablan el español quiere decir que es más especial, más misterioso o algo--no es el idioma de mi vida cotidiana, y por eso tiene más importancia y poder espiritualmente. Cuando digo "Te amo, Señor," quiere decir algo diferente que "I love you, Lord." Los dos son importantes--quiero que Cristo sea el rey de mi vida cotidiana tanto como mi vida esotérica y transcendente. Pero sin embargo no son los mismos en mi corazón. (A veces quiero comunicar con Dios en árabe o hebreo u otro idioma también, pero la verdad es que el español es el único idioma extranjero en que realmente me siento cómodo expresarme--no siempre digo las cosas perfectamente, pero siempre puedo expresarme.)

Señor, quiero decirte que te amo. Me alegro tanto de que me hayas dado el dón de poder decirte en varios idiomas que te quiero, que te agradezco por lo que hiciste en mi vida, lo que seguís haciendo. Me has derramado tu gracia y tu amor, y nunca quiero dejar de agradecerte por esta misericordia. Quiero estar contento en ti, satisfecho por el pan que me das, físicamente y espiritualmente. Sólo tú tienes palabras de vida eterna--ayúdame a buscar mi vida y mi gozo en ti, y no en ningún otro lugar. Lo siento que trato de correr de ti tantas veces. Ayúdame a ser fiel a ti, mi Dios fiel. Te amo--me has comprado por tu sangre, y soy tuyo para siempre.

Volunteer to help the Zambian Soap Company

2006-03-31T16:17:00.000-07:00

Hey all,

Anyone who's interested in helping to sell soap from the Zambian Soap Company, check out http://www.zambiansoap.com/advocate.html. All the profits go to fund the ministry of Zambian Christians, including caring for AIDS orphans and widows and bringing the gospel to others in Africa, the Middle East and beyond. Besides, it's great, all-natural soap, which I must say feels very nice!

Seth

PS I know everything I've posted recently has been soap stuff; that's mostly because it's the most exciting stuff going on in my life! But I'll try to write a few things non-soap related soon.

Zambian Soap update

2006-03-16T18:04:00.000-07:00

More news from the Zambian Soap Company! CLICK to enlarge.

Persecution in India

2006-02-21T08:44:00.000-07:00

I want to encourage all of you to read this article by Dr. K.P. Yohannan, president of Gospel For Asia, on persecution of the church in India and its spiritual, economic and political sources. Let's all pray for the church there, and for the hundreds of millions of Dalits and other downtrodden, many of whom are finding freedom in Christ.

http://www.gfa.org/gfa/newsupdate022106?motiv=WA62-G3LP

Zambian Soap newsletter

2006-02-01T09:47:00.000-07:00

Most of you who read this probably already got a copy of this, but just in case you didn't, here's a newsletter about the Zambian Soap Company that I put out a week or so ago (CLICK to enlarge).

Silly Tonguetwisters

2006-01-06T11:06:00.000-07:00

Many of you who know me have heard these, but I just wanted to immortalize these silly tonguetwisters in foreign languages that I created or helped create.

The first is, in Spanish:

"(Si tomo mate), toma mi tomate y te mato! Te bato con mi pato, vato!"

Which means:

"(If I drink mate), take my tomato and I'll kill you! I'll beat you with my duck, punk!"

The other one is thusly, in Arabic:

"Hal mishmish mish mishmishi." "Mish mishkili inu ilmishmish mish mishmishik, kili!"

Which means, "This apricot is not my apricot." "No problem that the apricot is not your apricot, eat!"

Of course, since they're tonguetwisters, it works better if you say it out loud fast.

Love is Patient

2006-01-05T23:04:00.000-07:00

I was thinking about one of the scriptures in the last post, 1 Corinthians 13, where it says, "Love is patient." I never noticed before that patience is the first quality of love mentioned. It made me think of Psalm 130, where we are called to wait for the Lord:

I wait for the LORD, my soul waits,
and in his word I put my hope.
My soul waits for the Lord
more than watchmen wait for the morning,
more than watchmen wait for the morning.

O Israel, put your hope in the LORD,
for with the LORD is unfailing love
and with him is full redemption.
He himself will redeem Israel
from all their sins.

If I am called to love God, then I am called to wait for Him, in faith and expectation. If I get tired of waiting for God to move--in my family, in people I love who are running away from God, in my own heart and my own life--if I'm impatient with God, I'm not loving God. Love is patient. Love trusts in God, waits on God, hopes in God. Perhaps this is why Paul links faith, hope and love--to love God is to trust God; to love God is to hope in God.

Lord Jesus, please give me patience to wait for your redemption to come in this broken world. Help me to hope in you, to trust in you, to wait on you. Help me to love you. And may my love for you overflow to every relationship in my life.

The Centrality of Love

2005-12-22T22:15:00.000-07:00

I've been thinking recently about the centrality of love to the Christian message, and what that implies for us. So, rather than expound with my own words, I wanted simply to present the following scriptures from the New Testament. May the Word of God speak to your hearts, and open your eyes to see more fully God's great love for us, and lead us to greater love for Him and for others.

God’s Love

“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” John 3:16

Having loved his own who were in the world, [Jesus] now showed them the full extent of his love…[H]e got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist. After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him. John 13:1, 4-5

“May [believers in Jesus] be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me…I have made you known to them, and will continue to make you known in order that the love you have for me may be in them and that I myself may be in them.” John 17:23, 26

And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.

You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Romans 5:5-8

He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?... For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 8:32, 38-39

The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. Galatians 2:20

As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you used to live…But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. Ephesians 2:1-2, 4-5

And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord's people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. Ephesians 3:17-19

How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! 1 John 3:1

This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. 1 John 3:16

God’s Love Leads Us to Love

“You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.” Matthew 5:43-45

“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” John 13:34-35

“As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father’s commands and remain in his love…My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one's life for one's friends…This is my command: Love each other.” John 15:9-10, 12-13, 17

If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose. Philippians 2:1-2

Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity. Colossians 3:12-14

Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us…

God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them. In this way, love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgment, because in this world we are like him. There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.

We love because he first loved us. If anyone says, “I love God,” yet hates their neighbor, they are a liar. For anyone who does not love another person, whom they have seen, cannot love God, whom they have not seen. And he has given us this command: Whoever loves God must also love other people. 1 John 4:7-12, 16-21

Love God and Love Others as Yourself

“‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” Matthew 22:37-40

“To love him with all your heart, with all your understanding and with all your strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself is more important than all burnt offerings and sacrifices.” Mark 12:33

Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. Be devoted to one another in love…

Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn. Live in harmony with one another…

Do not repay anyone evil for evil…Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. Romans 12:9-10, 14-17, 21

Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for whoever loves others has fulfilled the law. The commandments, “Do not commit adultery,” “Do not murder,” “Do not steal,” “Do not covet,” and whatever other commandment there may be, are summed up in this one rule: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” Love does no harm to its neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law. Romans 13:8-10

Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up. 1 Corinthians 8:1

If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing.

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away…And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love. 1 Corinthians 13:1-8, 13

Follow the way of love and eagerly desire spiritual gifts. 1 Corinthians 14:1

Do everything in love. 1 Corinthians 16:14

But just as you excel in everything—in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in complete earnestness and in your love for us—see that you also excel in this grace of giving.

I am not commanding you, but I want to test the sincerity of your love by comparing it with the earnestness of others…Therefore show these men the proof of your love. 2 Corinthians 8:7-8, 24

The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love… [D]o not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature; rather, serve one another in love. The entire law is summed up in a single command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” Galatians 5:6, 13-14

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Galatians 5:22-23

Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. Ephesians 4:2-3

Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ. From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work. Ephesians 4:15-16

And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ—to the glory and praise of God. Philippians 1:9-11

We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, because we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love you have for all the saints—the faith and love that spring from the hope that is stored up for you in heaven and that you have already heard about in the word of truth, the gospel that has come to you. Colossians 1:3-6

My purpose is that they may be encouraged in heart and united in love, so that they may have the full riches of complete understanding, in order that they may know the mystery of God, namely, Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. Colossians 2:2-3

We continually remember before our God and Father your work produced by faith, your labor prompted by love, and your endurance inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ. 1 Thessalonians 1:3

May the Lord make your love increase and overflow for each other and for everyone else, just as ours does for you. 1 Thessalonians 3:12

Now about your love for one another we do not need to write to you, for you yourselves have been taught by God to love each other. And in fact, you do love all the brothers and sisters throughout Macedonia. Yet we urge you, dear friends, to do so more and more. 1 Thessalonians 4:9-10

We ought always to thank God for you, brothers and sisters, and rightly so, because your faith is growing more and more, and the love every one of you has for each other is increasing. 2 Thessalonians 1:3

Therefore, although in Christ I could be bold and order you to do what you ought to do [that is, free a slave], yet I appeal to you on the basis of love. Philemon 1:8-9

And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. Hebrews 10:24

If you really keep the royal law found in Scripture, “Love your neighbor as yourself,” you are doing right. James 2:8

Now that you have purified yourselves by obeying the truth so that you have sincere love for each other, love one another deeply, from the heart. 1 Peter 1:22

Finally, all of you, live in harmony with one another; be sympathetic, love one another, be compassionate and humble. Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult, but with blessing, because to this you were called so that you may inherit a blessing. For, ”Whoever among you would love life and see good days must keep your tongue from evil and your lips from deceitful speech. Turn from evil and do good; seek peace and pursue it.” 1 Peter 3:8-11

Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins. 1 Peter 4:8

For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love. 2 Peter 1:5-7

But if anyone obeys his word, love for God is truly made complete in them. This is how we know we are in him: Whoever claims to live in him must walk as Jesus did…Those who claim to be in the light but hate their neighbor are still in the darkness. Those who love their neighbor live in the light, and there is nothing in them to make them stumble. But those who hate their neighbor are in the darkness and walk around in the darkness; they do not know where they are going, because the darkness has blinded them. 1 John 2:5-6, 9-11

This is how we know who the children of God are and who the children of the devil are: Those who do not do what is right are not God's children; nor are those who do not love their brothers and sisters.

This is the message you heard from the beginning: We should love one another…We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love each other. Anyone who does not love remains in death. Anyone who hates their neighbor is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life in them.

This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for one another. If any one of you has material possessions and sees a brother or sister in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in you? Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth. 1 John 3:10-11, 14-18

And this is his command: to believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and to love one another as he commanded us. 1 John 3:23

Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and everyone who loves the father loves his child as well. This is how we know that we love the children of God: by loving God and carrying out his commands. This is love for God: to obey his commands. 1 John 5:1-3

As you have heard from the beginning, his command is that you walk in love. 2 John 1:6

Big Fat Mormon Wedding

2005-12-21T10:16:00.000-07:00

My brother Joel got married yesterday!! It was loads o' fun. I didn't see the ceremony in the temple of course (only my mom was able to go in from my immediate family), but we had a really nice ring ceremony afterwards where all the siblings and parents (and siblings-in-law) of the bride and groom said some things and gave their blessings to the couple. Then there was a really yummy lunch, and in the evening we had a big fat party for the reception, there was lots of good food although I didn't eat much (I was going to sing, so I didn't want to stuff myself). The song my sister and (older) brother and dad and friend Jon and myself did went quite well I believe, and the dancing and non-drunken revelry aftewards was an absolute smash. :) I haven't had that much fun with my family in a long time, and I have lots of fun with my family. It's also really cool having everybody here--my brother Paul and his wife Shea came in from Salt Lake Monday, and my grandparents and a few aunts and uncles also made it.

So, it was very cool. :) Jeanne (Joel's wife) is such a cutie, a really great girl. I found out last night she has a more-than-full tuition scholarship to BYU; I knew she was a smart cookie. They'll be home Christmas Eve, so we'll get to go caroling all together and do the fun Christmas stuff in the morning. So it shall be another smashing time.

May the Lord richly bless Joel and Jeanne and give them a great love and understanding of Him, and a deep, humble love for each other, in Jesus' name and for His Kingdom.

Seth

Ya me voy

2005-12-15T21:31:00.000-07:00

Hey everybody,

So, I'm DONE! I finished my last final today (man, did my hand hurt from writing!), so now all I have to do tomorrow is pack up my stuff, figure out a place for my bike and other things I'm not bringing along, and voilà! je suis finis! I'm not sure how I did on my final, definitely not as well as the first two midterms in that class (history of the Arab-Israeli conflict), but I think I did well overall in the class. Anyway, I'll be back home Saturday (either afternoon or evening, depending on if I can catch an earlier flight as I hope), then my brother Joel is getting married on Tuesday, Christmas is five days after that--loads o' fun!!! And then I'll get to start working on my Zambian soap stuff, which I'm super excited about. So it shall be a blessed next few weeks I believe. I'm gonna be super happy to see my family and all my friends in Boulder this weekend, plus another somebody a few weeks from now (in an in-between-jungle-lands hiatus). :)

Lots of happy things, although I definitely am sad to say goodbye to all my friends here. I love people in Tucson! I'm going to miss my GCF friends especially, and the cool people in my department here, and other people I've met. God bless you all! I definitely hope to stay in touch with people, and if God brings me back here in a year (or even just for a visit sometime soon) I shall be quite happy. :)

So, another season passes--I haven't spent more than seven months in a single place since I left for Lebanon in September 2003. Maybe this will be a change--I hope to be in Boulder for the next year or so, God willing, perhaps even longer. But wherever God brings me, may I dwell in His house, be fed by His word and His Spirit, and bear fruit for His Kingdom.

Pray for the people in Zambia, for the people in the Holy Land this Christmas, and for everybody who doesn't know the joy of welcoming the sweet newborn King into their hearts this Christmastime.

Love, love, love!

Seth

PS For some good welcoming Christmas reading, I recommend http://peaceofchrist.blogspot.com/2004/12/blog-post.html if you haven't read it, which I wrote last December while I was in Bethlehem. (not that I think I'm the best writer in the world; I just know I like it.) :) By the way, the first line in Arabic says, "Ahlan wa sahlan, yesua," or "Welcome, Jesus."

Kosova & Turkey

2005-12-08T15:34:00.000-07:00

My friend Jason is in Prishtina, Kosova, working with the church there. He and some others are going to Turkey this weekend for an outreach trip; please pray that God would make their time fruitful for His kingdom, and that they would enjoy being with Turkish believers and others.

Also, the main church he's working with there (one I've visited a couple times, with absolutely beautiful people who love the Lord) wrote this letter, about their plans to build a new church. I'm almost always skeptical of the use of church buildings, but in this case I really think it's something that would bring glory to God. So, I just wanted to forward the message by putting it on here.

May God bless you all, and may His love always reign in your hearts.

-------------------------------------
A Big Step of Faith

On October 16, during our celebration of the 11th year anniversary of BUM, it was announced that our church had taken another historic step. We had officially begun the process of purchasing land for a new church building. The last few weeks that process has been completed and we are owners of a beautiful plot of land a little outside of Prishtina, next to the city park. We were blessed to find an owner sympathetic to the cause of the church and beautiful land at a great price. Yet with only half the amount needed to buy the building, it is even more a blessing of God that the owner graciously allowed us to pay half of the 100,000 Euros with the agreement that we would pay the rest in the next year. And thus we have taken a big step of faith, thanking God for the 52,000 Euros that he has provided through offerings and gifts and trusting him for 48,000 more in the next year.

Why is this such an exciting thing for us? Why is a building so important? There are a few reasons for our joy. First of all, in general, our church and the protestant community has been “A man without a house.” This Albanian expression describes a poor and miserable man and points to the importance of ownership and permanent residence in Balkan culture. This applies to churches as well. In a land with mosques lining the streets, Evangelical faith is often unnoticed or seen as a sect or underground faith. In a time when evangelicals are struggling for religious rights and acknowledgement by the government this is an important step. Secondly, and equally as important, our church has declared in faith that by our anniversary in 2007 we will be finally self-financed. For those of who know life in the Balkans and in general in the mission’s world, a self-sufficient church without the need of financial support from the west is a rare thing. Today, the biggest barrier for us as a church is the rent that we pay each month. If we would remove this we would be a small step away from self-sufficiency. This is an investment towards that goal of self-sufficiency and not only that but towards our church moving into position as a sender and helper of others in Kosova and the Muslim world.

Yet we face a challenge. With 48,000 Euros needed to complete the purchase we are looking to our Lord in faith. How will he provide? We wait for the answer in anticipation and hope. We thank God for how he has used you in the history of our church and we ask you to pray and consider if you would be part of God providing for this next step. If you would like to invest with us into this step of faith please contact us at this email or messiahchurch1994@yahoo.com.

Thank you again for your faithful support and prayer.

Bashkesia Ungjilore e Mesise
Prishtina, Kosova

The Trouble in Translating

2005-11-30T12:58:00.000-07:00

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

2005-11-26T12:16:00.000-07:00

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!!

2005-11-22T20:29:00.000-07:00

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

2005-11-09T10:24:00.000-07:00

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

2005-11-01T10:05:00.000-07:00

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.

"God of the Gaps," or God Behind it All?

2005-10-23T23:06:00.000-06:00

I was reading this article in the Boston Globe today (http://www.boston.com/news/globe/ideas/articles/2005/10/23/missing_links/), about evolution and Intelligent Design, and one particular paragraph really struck me. Now, I should say, I frankly don't know tons of biology and I don't know what processes God may have used to create the universe and life on Earth. But listen to this:

"Significantly, Kirschner and Gerhart write, while random genetic mutations in our DNA code cause variations, these mutations do not create random effects (a traditional working assumption of many evolutionists). Instead, all organisms have maintained an essentially intact set of vital mechanisms-metabolism, reproduction of DNA, growth mechanisms, and more-for at least 2 billion years. These elements, along with a long-conserved body plan common to many animals, serve as the platform for subsequent, often more visible variations."

Now, since I'm not a biologist I can't comment on whether what these scientists are saying is true or not. But even if it is true (and the writers seem to think this would be a blow against Intelligent Design), listen to what they're saying! Basically, "These crazy organisms are even more amazing, even more capable of adapting to difficult situations, even more strangely and beautifully made to deal with all the crap this universe could throw at them in order to produce life and life abundantly." To me, the beautiful simplicity of complexity has God's signature all over it! You take a complex, insane, wacky idea like mass and energy being correlated, and you boil it down to the beautiful, elegant and simple E = mc^2 -- how could the universe BE that way unless God made it that way? How could such elegant simplicity be the driving ingredient in this soup of chaos? How could such simplicity as these biologists are describing--the same basic body plan, metabolism, etc. for 2 billion years--nonetheless producing the vast, dizzying array of diversity we see in life on Earth, NOT lead one to stare in awe at the glory of the God who put it all into being, who thought of these beautiful, simple and elegant solutions to such complexities as the development of life on Earth?

Evolutionists (and even Intelligent Design theorists at times perhaps) miss the key argument in the question of God's existence--the very awesomeness of any potential theory to explain the existence of the diversity of life, including intelligent, conscious beings like ourselves, cries out for explanation from a deeper source than just mere mechanisms. We can say, "Well, natural selection and genetic mutation, produced by these crazy modular structures we're discovering in genetic adaptions, is responsible for the evolution of life." But even if that's true, that explanation demands a further explanation--if life is so amazing like you say, how did it get that way?? Why is it here to begin with? Why are we here to begin with? Why is the whole universe here to begin with?? If the universe began at a specific point in time, as the Big Bang theory argues (and as nearly all scientists nowadays accept), then Something must have caused it, Something must have caused us. There's no way around that one, no matter how nifty or how elegantly, complexly simple your evolutionary theory gets. The very complex simplicity of your theory ought to drive you even more strongly into the pursuit of your Creator.

How many are your works, O LORD!
In wisdom you made them all;
the earth is full of your creatures. (Psalm 104:24)

My prayer is for all the scientists who are studying the works of God, that they might see the grand signature of their Creator in the awesome beauty of His creation, and fall into repentant, joyful worship.

Great are the works of the LORD;
they are pondered by all who delight in them.
(Psalm 111:2)

Pray for Dalits in India

2005-10-20T21:02:00.000-06:00

So the last will be first, and the first will be last. (Matthew 20:16)

As a member of the dominant race, dominant class, and dominant gender of a country which is the dominant power of the globe, I'm humbled and grateful to know that God cares just as much about one of the poor and oppressed millions in the world as He does about me--that He knows their suffering and hears their cries. I just received this e-mail from GFA (Gospel For Asia), calling for prayer for the Dalits (the "Untouchables") who still struggle today for civil rights in India. Millions of these extremely marginalized people are coming to Christ, and in doing so they risk making their legal and social position even more precarious. Please pray this would change, and pray that God would continue to reap an abundant harvest among these people who suffer so much. Pray that God's people around the world would reach out to them in love and compassion.

The LORD works righteousness
and justice for all the oppressed. (Psalm 103:6)

-------------------------------------------
Dear Friend in Christ,

With a deep burden from the Lord, I write this letter asking you to please pray.

On October 25 the government of India must respond to the Supreme Court regarding the Dalit Christians' rights under the constitution of the land. It has been that when Dalits become Christians they lose their "reservations" (certain number of placements specifically for Dalits) for education, employment and many other rights that are granted specifically to Dalits under the law.

According to the government census some 20 million Dalits have become Christians. These precious people's rights are violated: Their women and children are raped, they are not allowed to draw water from wells in many communities, and so many more accounts of cruelty. Some of the communities, like the Banjara with 61 million people, live with 90 percent illiteracy and horrible poverty!

And this is the fate of nearly 300 million men, women and children!!

Please fast and pray that the government of India will correct these injustices on October 25 when the Supreme Court rules on this case. We have only a few days now to intercede and pray with a broken heart for the sake of these millions who have suffered so much for the last 3,000 years!

Thank you so much for seriously taking this to the Lord in prayer.

Yours for His name's sake,

K.P. Yohannan
Founder & President
Gospel for Asia
_______________________
P.S. For additional information about this prayer need click the link below. http://www.gfa.org/dalitprayer1?motiv=WA5A-G6LQ

Fasting, Ramadan, and Jesus

2005-10-18T20:28:00.000-06:00

Salami upon you, ;)

Today the Muslim Student Association at the U of Arizona sponsored a "fast-a-thon," where if you fasted from sunup to sundown local businesses would give donations to the Tucson Food Bank. This sounded good to me, so I fasted in the Muslim style, including not drinking water, which I don't usually do (especially in a dry environment like Tucson).

So, during the day today I was noticing how thirsty I would get, especially after riding my bike or walking around. (Luckily it was quite cool today, high of 80.) After a full day of not drinking anything, on my bike ride home right before sunset I was thinking of Psalm 63, where it says:

O God, you are my God,
earnestly I seek you;
my soul thirsts for you,
my body longs for you,
in a dry and weary land
where there is no water.

It really touched me to think of the way Muslims seek, and thirst, both physically and spiritually, during Ramadan, and how Jesus wants to satisfy their thirst with His living water. At the end of the day, they (and we, and everybody else) can drink a glass of water, but there is only One who can truly satisfy the deepeset thirst of the human heart. "Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life" (John 4:13-14). The promises of the Qur'an, the comfort of believing that you are pleasing God with your actions of piety, are like water in a desert that is poured out on the ground--the parched ground may drink it up, but its thirst remains. Only Jesus, the Living Water, is a well deep and pure enough for us to drink from, a well that will never run out, never leave us hopeless or in despair.

Muslims trace their physical or spiritual ancestry through Hagar, Abraham's wife, and her son Ishmael. Two times Hagar was out in the desert with Ishmael, having been exiled by Sarah's jealousy. Both times God met her in the desert, and provided for her and her child. In the moment of her despair, "God opened her eyes and she saw a well of water. So she went and filled the skin with water and gave the boy a drink" (Gen. 21:19).

I pray that the physical and spiritual children of Sarah would not reject Hagar's children, but would reach out to them in love. But even if they do, may "the God who sees" reach out to Hagar in her loneliness and despair, and provide for her a spring that will never run dry, whose water "wells up to eternal life."

Lord, you are the God Who Sees Hagar's suffering. You are the God Who Hears Ishmael's cry. In this month of thirsting, may you satisfy the thirst of Hagar's children with your Living Water, that they may never thirst again.

.يا رب، ﺇرحم

Knocks Over the Head, Part Two

2005-10-07T19:38:00.000-06:00

In the last post I wrote I mentioned the most often cited Messianic prophecies in Zechariah, in chs. 9 and 12, so I wanted to add to what I'd already written by throwing those ones in too, because there's a reason Matthew and John liked them enough to quote them in their gospels. :)

Let's start with chapter 9:

Rejoice greatly, O Daughter of Zion!
Shout, Daughter of Jerusalem!
See, your King comes to you,
righteous and having salvation,
gentle and riding on a donkey,
on a colt, the foal of a donkey.

I will take away the chariots from Ephraim
and the war-horses from Jerusalem,
and the battle bow will be broken.
He will proclaim peace to the nations.
His rule will extend from sea to sea
and from the River to the ends of the earth.

As for you, because of the blood of my covenant with you,
I will free your prisoners from the waterless pit.
Return to your fortress, O prisoners of hope;
even now I announce that I will restore twice as much to you. (9:9-12)

Wow, that's pretty good stuff. :) First off, it says that Jerusalem's King will come on a donkey, a symbol of humility. This is exactly how Jesus entered Jerusalem the week before He was crucified, with the people shouting "Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!" (itself a reference to Psalm 118--"Hosanna" in Hebrew means "Save us!").

The second paragraph states that through this humble King, peace will be brought to Israel and to the nations, which again reflects what we saw last time in Zechariah 2:10-11. The last paragraph is wonderful--"because of the blood of my covenant with you," it says--the blood of the Messiah Jesus which sealed the new covenant God promised to bring about (see Jer. 31:31), we will have freedom, life and hope restored to us. Hallelujah!!

Now let's look at chapter 12, which is also quoted in John's Gospel. This is a truly amazing one, especially when you compare it to Zechariah chapter 2 which we looked at last time.

And I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and supplication. They will look on me, the one they have pierced, and they will mourn for him as one mourns for an only child, and grieve bitterly for him as one grieves for a firstborn son. On that day the weeping in Jerusalem will be great, like the weeping of Hadad Rimmon in the plain of Megiddo. The land will mourn, each clan by itself, with their wives by themselves...On that day a fountain will be opened to the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, to cleanse them from sin and impurity. (12:10-12, 13:1)

It's clear from the context before and after that God is the speaker. He says He will pour out on Jerusalem and the house of David a spirit (or, the Spirit) of "grace and supplication." Now look carefully at the next part:

"They will look on me, the one they have pierced, and they will mourn for him as one mourns for an only child, and grieve bitterly for him as one grieves for a firstborn son."

WOW!!! God says, "they will look on me, the one they have pierced." So the people will have "pierced" God Himself. Not only that, but He then switches persons from first to third and says, "they will mourn for him" as they would mourn for an only child, a firstborn son. This is the same kind of voice-switching that we see in Zechariah 2, where the Son speaks of being "sent" by the Father. But in this case, the idea of the "only child" or "firstborn son" is explicit!! Jesus (God the Son) says "They will look on me, the one they have pierced," and God the Father says "they will mourn for him as one mourns for a firstborn son." Why as a firstborn son, an only child? Because Jesus, the One who was pierced, WAS the one and only Son of the Father (John 1:14). So not only does this passage prophecy the nature of Jesus' death by crucifixion (where God Himself says, "They will look on me, the one they have pierced"), but it also testifies to Jesus' divinity and the relationship between God the Father and God the Son.

But not only that, in 13:1 it goes on to say, "On that day a fountain will be opened to the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, to cleanse them from sin and impurity." Not only does God show us the manner of Jesus' death and testify to His divinity and unique Sonship, but He shows us why that happened--to bring about the fountain that would "cleanse" the people from their sin. And what is that fountain? The very blood of Jesus the Messiah! Which is exactly why John cites this passage in his telling of the crucifixion:

But when they came to Jesus and found that he was already dead, they did not break his legs. Instead, one of the soldiers pierced Jesus' side with a spear, bringing a sudden flow of blood and water. The man who saw it has given testimony, and his testimony is true. He knows that he tells the truth, and he testifies so that you also may believe. These things happened so that the scripture would be fulfilled: "Not one of his bones will be broken," and, as another scripture says, "They will look on the one they have pierced." (John 19:33-37)

John obviously finds this important enough not only to cite Zechariah, but also to make clear that this event is a sign of which he testifies in truth, so that we also may believe. What is that sign? When the soldier pierced Jesus' side (the very event prophecied in Zechariah), out flowed blood and water--a symbol both of Jesus' death and the cleansing fountain that would wash away our sin and impurity, as Zechariah 13:1 says. So we know through this that the very piercing, the death by crucifixion of Jesus the Messiah, is precisely what brings about the fountain for us that cleanses us from sin and impurity. Wow!!! And not only that--the other scripture John quotes is from Exodus 12:46, which speaks of the Passover Lamb's bones not being broken. On the first Passover (the holiday during which Jesus was crucified) the Israelites slaughtered a lamb and painted the doorpost of their houses with its blood, using a hyssop plant. (Right before the quote above, in John 19:29, Jesus drinks the bitter wine vinegar through a "sponge on a stalk of the hyssop plant.") This blood of the lamb spared the Israelites from the angel of death, the bringer of God's wrath, that passed by. So the blood of Jesus, the Lamb that was slain, washes us from our sin and impurity, and His blood on our doorposts spares us from the impending death that we deserve! He drank the bitter cup of death for us, so that we might have life and forgiveness and restoration in Him!!

Oh, Lord, you are so amazing. You have given us such amazing signs in your Word of your greatness, your plan to bring about salvation through your Son Jesus. Lord, even the name of Jesus points us to the salvation He brings--"Yeshua'" means "He saves." Thank you for showing us through your Word, prophecied hundreds of years before Jesus lived on this earth, that He would be the King of Israel, the Son of David, who would come and bring peace to Israel and to the nations, and who brings us freedom and hope through the blood of your covenant with us. Thank you for speaking of His crucifixion, His "piercing," and His blood that cleanses us from our sin and spares us from death. Thank you for showing us that He is the LORD, the Word made flesh, and for pouring out your Spirit of grace and supplication on us, that we might mourn with you for your Only Son. And thank you that in the end, because of your power revealed in His resurrection, through which you overcame sin and death and demonstrated your victory in all things, we have the joy of being restored to you, cleansed from our sins, delivered from death, free from the waterless pit of despair and brought into the very presence of the King of Kings, the Humble Servant, the LORD Almighty.

Hosanna to the Son of David!
Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!
Hosanna in the highest!

God Knocks Us Over the Head with Jesus' Coming

2005-10-02T22:41:00.000-06:00

I think the prophecies and symbolism in Zechariah are some of my very favorite in the Bible. So I want to just write down for myself an explanation here of why they're so great, and why God is so great. :) (Some of you may have already heard this stuff, but perhaps you will be joyfully reminded.) This exposition is by no means complete, but just the main things that I see that get me excited.
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"Shout and be glad, O Daughter of Zion. For I am coming, and I will live among you," declares the LORD. "Many nations will be joined with the LORD in that day and will become my people. I will live among you and you will know that the LORD Almighty has sent me to you." (Zechariah 2:10-11)

Look at the verse above carefully. God is speaking. He says, "I am coming, and I will live among you." That's pretty exciting! But look especially at the last sentence--"I will live among you and you will know that the LORD Almighty has sent me to you." God is still speaking (notice that he repeats "I will live among you" as before, but also that the sentence before he says that many nations will become "my people," ie God's people). But He says that "you will know that the LORD Almighty has sent me to you." In other words, God says "I'm coming to live with you and you will know God has sent me to you."

WOWWWW!!! So, 1) God will come to live among us ("God with us" = Emmanuel - Isaiah 7:14). 2) God will also in a sense "send" the Lord to us. This sounds very suspiciously like what Jesus talks about repeatedly in John, that the Father has "sent" Him. Yet both the one who is "sent" AND the one who is sending is the LORD, Yahweh, Himself. Both are God, yet one sends and one is sent. If this doesn't scream out Father and Son, I don't know what does.

Also, when that happens, he promises that "many nations will be joined with the LORD...and will become my people." Which is exactly what happened--Jesus died on the cross and broke the "dividing wall of hostility" (Ephesians 2:14), so that the "nations" (the Gentiles) would have access to God's mercy through Jesus Christ as well as the Jews--they could then become "my people." As Paul wrote, "Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and aliens, but fellow citizens with God's people and members of God's household" (Eph. 2:19).

That's pretty fabulous, wouldn't you say? But wait--THERE'S MORE!!

"Take the silver and gold and make a crown, and set it on the head of the high priest, Joshua son of Jehozadak. Tell him this is what the LORD Almighty says: 'Here is the man whose name is the Branch, and he will branch out from his place and build the temple of the LORD. It is he who will build the temple of the LORD, and he will be clothed with majesty and will sit and rule on his throne. And he will be a priest on his throne. And there will be harmony between the two.'" (Zechariah 6:11-13)

So, there was a historical figure, a high priest by the name of Joshua (or Jeshua), which in Hebrew is Yeshu'a, in Greek "Jesus". He lived at the time when the exiles were returning from Babylon. God says of him, "Here is the man whose name is the Branch...He will be a priest on his throne. And there will be harmony between the two." But Joshua the high priest never sat on the throne; he was never a king. Yet God tells Zechariah to prophesy about this Joshua, that (in some sense) he is the "Branch," and that he will be a priest and a king together. Now, obviously there are strong parallels between this "Joshua" and the "Yeshu'a/Jesus" that we know of later, whom the New Testament describes both as a "high priest" (eg Hebrews 3:1) and a "king" (eg Matthew 27:11, John 18:37).

But what of this "Branch"? What is God referring to?

In Jeremiah 33, it says:

"The days are coming," declares the LORD, "when I will fulfill the gracious promise I made to the house of Israel and to the house of Judah.

"In those days and at that time
I will make a righteous Branch sprout from David's line;
he will do what is just and right in the land.

In those days Judah will be saved
and Jerusalem will live in safety.
This is the name by which it [or he] will be called:
The LORD Our Righteousness."

For this is what the LORD says: "David will never fail to have a man to sit on the throne of the house of Israel, nor will the priests, who are Levites, ever fail to have a man to stand before me continually to offer burnt offerings, to burn grain offerings and to present sacrifices." (33:14-18)

So we can see from here and elsewhere in the Scriptures that this Branch is very clearly the Messiah (the Anointed, the Christ), the King promised from David's line (see also Jeremiah 23:5-6, Isaiah 11:1-10, esp. 11:1). God's promise of the Messiah's coming in chapter 33 is tied to His promise to David (the king) and the Levites (the priests), that there will always be a King and a Priest to serve before Him. Which ties again to God's promise about Joshua the high priest in Zechariah. SO, when God (figuratively?) calls Joshua the "Branch," He is calling him the Messiah.

Now nobody believes that this dude Joshua back in the 500's BC was the Messiah of Israel. Why not? Well, for one, he never was a king, as stated before, nor did anybody call him a king. So could God have been speaking figuratively when He called Joshua the "Branch," and spoke of the unity of the kingship and priesthood in him?

To find out, let's look at Zechariah 3:8-9:

"Listen, O high priest Joshua and your associates seated before you, who are men symbolic of things to come:

WAIT!!!! What did it say?? Let's look at that again:

"Listen, O high priest Joshua and your associates seated before you, who are men symbolic of things to come:"

God WHOPS us over the head with it!!! If there were any doubt that God is speaking figuratively, symbolically in chapter 6 about this "Joshua/Yeshu'a/Jesus," the Branch, the Messiah, the King and High Priest, He dispels it with this verse. It's one thing for God to put amazing symbolic connections and prophecies in places like Isaiah chs. 7, 9, & 53; in Psalms 16, 22, 110; etc. etc. But God specifically SPELLS IT OUT for us that we should look at this Joshua as a "symbol of things to come."

Let's continue with the rest of the quote:

"Listen, O high priest Joshua and your associates seated before you, who are men symbolic of things to come: I am going to bring my servant, the Branch. See, the stone I have set in front of Joshua! There are seven eyes on that one stone, and I will engrave an inscription on it," says the LORD Almighty, "and I will remove the sin of this land in a single day."

WOW! This one is jam-packed with Jesus. God says that Joshua is a symbol (by the way, Joshua is the "son of Jehozadak," whose name in Hebrew means "the righteous LORD," so "Joshua son of Jehozadak" is equivalent to "Jesus son of the righteous LORD [Yahweh]"). God says He will bring the Branch (the Messiah); then He speaks of a stone with seven eyes, with an inscription engraved on it. Jesus is called "the stone the builders rejected" (Acts 4:11, see Psalm 118:22). In Revelation Jesus is described as "a Lamb, looking as if it had been slain" who "had...seven eyes" (Rev. 5:6). So Jesus is the stone with seven eyes. When you engrave an inscription on a rock, you make the engraved word permanent. So engraved on the stone is the Eternal Word, which is Jesus Himself.

And, of course, the best for last: What does God say will happen when He brings His servant the Branch (the Messiah), symbolized in Joshua the high priest?

"...and I will remove the sin of this land in a single day."

What is that day? The day of Jesus' crucifixion!!! Through the cross of the Messiah Yeshu'a, God will remove the sin of this land (Hebrew "eretz," which can also mean "earth") in a single day. How can this sin be removed in a single day? The writer of Hebrews answers:

Unlike the other high priests, [Jesus] does not need to offer sacrifices day after day, first for his own sins, and then for the sins of the people. He sacrificed for their sins once for all when he offered himself. (7:27)

Because Jesus offered Himself on the cross as a sacrifice for sins, the sin of the land, the earth, is removed immediately and absolutely, to all those who look to Him.

Oh, praise God!! It's so amazing that all of this was written hundreds of years before Jesus (and we have actual manuscripts through the Dead Sea Scrolls dating to before Jesus' birth), and yet these verses so clearly point to Him as the Messiah, the King, the One who will bring redemption and forgiveness of sin! He is the LORD who is coming to live among us, Emmanuel, whom God has sent, who will join the nations with His people. He is God Himself, the promised King, the Son of David, the High Priest who rules on His throne and brings harmony between the two, who fulfills God's promises to David and the Levites.

These Scriptures are so amazing. And what's even more amazing to me is that this is really only HALF of what's written in Zechariah about Jesus--we haven't even mentioned the most commonly cited Messianic prophecies in Zechariah, 9:9-11 and 12:10-13:1, which are quoted in the New Testament (John 12:15 and 19:36). That will have to wait for another entry.

I just pray that everyone who reads this would have their eyes wide open to the glory and majesty of this King and Priest, God with us, the Messiah Jesus, who "for the joy set before Him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God" (Hebrews 12:2). Let us fix our eyes on Him, seeing His glory reflected throughout Scriptures in the way His coming was prophesied.

!!תודה ישוע

Fire

2005-09-25T21:56:00.000-06:00

Now Moses was pasturing the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian; and he led the flock to the west side of the wilderness and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. The angel of the LORD appeared to him in a blazing fire from the midst of a bush; and he looked, and behold, the bush was burning with fire, yet the bush was not consumed. (Exodus 3:1-3)

God revealed Himself to Moses through a bush that was on fire, but was "not consumed." Fire is often used in Scriptures as a sign of God's judgment and wrath, for example in 2 Peter 3:10:

But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything in it will be laid bare.

Or in Isaiah 33:14:

The sinners in Zion are terrified;
trembling grips the godless:
"Who of us can dwell with the consuming fire?
Who of us can dwell with everlasting burning?"

God promises us that all wickedness, all evil in this world will be destroyed, will be burned up and consumed.

As the weeds are pulled up and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of the age. The Son of Man will send out his angels, and they will weed out of his kingdom everything that causes sin and all who do evil. They will throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. (Matthew 13:40-42)

And yet, as gold passes through the fire refined and purer than before, there is something that will remain after this terrible judgment. There is a goodness, a purity, a love that cannot be destroyed by the fiercest fire. And God Himself is this goodness, this love. So when He wanted to reveal Himself to Moses, He came in a burning bush--a bush that was ablaze, but not consumed. The fire could not harm the bush, could not change it, no matter how hot it burned. So it is with God's goodness.

And so it is with us, when we trust in Him. When Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego were thrown into the fire in Babylon for refusing to worship the king, their bodies could not be harmed by the fire, for Jesus was with them (Daniel 3:19-29). As God promised those who trust in Him, "When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze" (Isaiah 43:2).

So, in Christ, we need not fear the fire of God's refining power. We need not be as the "sinners in Zion" who tremble in terror. His fire is terrible, awesome, fierce, consuming. "For the LORD your God is a consuming fire, a jealous God" (Deut. 4:24). And if we cling to idols, if we hold onto those things in our life that will one day be destroyed, we can be sure that this fire will consume us as well. But as we lose our lives and find them in Him, when Jesus comes to baptize us with the fire of the Holy Spirit, we will emerge purer, holier and stronger than before.

Jesus longed to set our hearts ablaze with love for Him, and rid the world of wickedness. "I have come to bring fire on the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled!" (Luke 12:49). He longed with a frightening fury to rid us of that cancer in our lives that prevents us from loving God with all of our heart, soul, mind and strength. He considered no cost too high to buy us this freedom of loving God wholly and completely. If it took losing an eye, gouge it out! If it took losing a hand, cut it off! No sacrifice was too great--even if it took Him losing His own life.

Let us consider the price He paid to buy us this pure and holy love, that though ablaze in passion for God is never consumed. Let us bring down the walls we build to keep God from the inner parts of our lives, and in holy, sweet surrender allow His fire to set us ablaze for Him, with all our hearts and all our selves. Even if it costs us our lives, as it cost Him His, let us embrace this baptism by fire that forges us anew in love with our Creator and Redeemer.

Refine us, Lord. Give us the treasure of loving you fully, no matter the cost.

May our words, our thoughts, our deeds and our lives all reflect the blazing glory of the Son of God, whom the fires of hell could not consume, but who rose again in power and majesty, to be worshiped and loved and enjoyed by His people forever.

Joy & Sorrow

2005-09-23T12:03:00.000-06:00

This BBC article talks about pregnant Palestinian women having their babies while being stopped at checkpoints. It's very sad. I told some of you while I was in Bethlehem last January the story of the lady in Gaza whose friend was driving her and her husband, and the soldiers fired on the car (they said they didn't stop when ordered), killed the friend and wounded the husband. I read the story the same day my friend at the College drove our friend and her husband (all Americans) across the checkpoint into Bethlehem, where she had her baby healthily (on my birthday!). So the juxtaposition of those two stories was very poignant. This article reminds me of those stories, especially since a good friend of mine's sister just had her baby healthily in the US (praise God), while many of these Palestinian women's babies are dying at the checkpoints (and some of the mothers too). It's true that suicide bombers will sometimes use ambulances, and that women are sometimes suicide bombers, but still this is a terrible thing. It's a terrible thing that these women don't have freedom of movement and access to basic health care, and a terrible thing that a few Palestinians have committed atrocities that make Israelis fear them enough to make these restrictions that hurt the average Palestinian so much.

Ya rub, irHamhum. (Lord, have mercy on them.)

I love my friend Zach

2005-09-22T13:11:00.000-06:00

Hey folks,

I was just reading some stuff on my friend Zach Harris' webpage, and I just thought I'd put in a plug for those of you who haven't read some of his stuff (many of you have, I'm sure). Zach has always been a source of personal encouragement and intellectual challenge to me. I wouldn't say he's always right (he himself would say so, and the fact that his ideas change sometimes obviously show it), but he knows the Bible very well and God has gifted him with a lot of clear thinking about important (and often very challenging issues).

Anyway, enough advertisement. I would especially encourage you to read his article on secrecy in missions (http://www.geocities.com/zacharyaustinharris/security.html; there's a longer version of the argument also on the page), on the "marriage incompatibility fallacy" (http://www.geocities.com/zacharyaustinharris/compatibility.html), and on our great need for transformation in order to engage in ministry in Muslim regions (http://www.geocities.com/zacharyaustinharris/secrecy_addendum.html). But by no means feel limited by this particular selection.

One point of my own before I head over to eat lunch prior to my Arab-Israeli Conflict test (y'atini al'aafiye). So much of what it means to follow Christ in the radical way we see pictured in Acts (esp. chs 2-4) involves Christian community. I may want to do crazy things for Jesus, I may want to give up my life and everything I am to serve God, but ultimately, God desires to show us His glory through the whole body of Christ, not just individual crazy hermit-dudes. (Not that I'm really a hermit of any kind.) We need each other; I find myself weaker when I'm on my own. Our American culture is so individualistically oriented, it's crazy to think that we might give up on certain dreams or ideas we have in order to live in community. But I would say that if we want to follow Jesus, and our dreams are focused on Him and the coming of His glorious kingdom on this earth, then we need to keep community as one of our first priorities.

Oh, may the grace of God come down on the Church, that we might open our hearts and homes and lives to each other in service and love and humility! Oh, may my heart be broken for the ways in which I and others fail to love our brothers and sisters in Jesus, fail to think of their needs as of greater importance than my own! May our lives reflect the unity that Jesus desires for His body--the same kind of unity that He has with the Father (so one you can't even explain it!!). Ven, Señor, y danos esta unidad en tí. Transforme nuestros corazones para que podamos amarnos el uno al otro así como nos amaste en la cruz.

For Jesus,

Seth

Poverty in America

2005-09-17T21:28:00.000-06:00

This is a very interesting and challenging article on the gospel's implications for the poor in America, worth reading.

http://www.evangelicaloutpost.com/archives/001589.html

"And all these things shall be added unto you as well"

2005-09-15T00:09:00.000-06:00

Well, I don't know exactly how well I've been "seeking first His kingdom and His righteousness," but God in grace anyway has given me a permanent place to stay, like officially, like I'll be sleeping there tonight!!! (For those who didn't know, I was promised a room at the Catholic student center here, but for the last almost two weeks now it's been delayed and delayed, and my other options have been closed one by one...so it's really nice to know it's actually come through just in the nick of time.)

So, I'm going to go sleep there now, and enjoy the bounteous riches of God's grace. :) Yipee!!

"Their god is their stomach"

2005-09-11T15:41:00.000-06:00

Saludos otra vez,

I've been thinking about some things from the sermon I heard today on Phillipians 3:17-21. In it Paul writes,

For, as I have often told you before and now say again even with tears, many live as enemies of the cross of Christ. Their destiny is destruction, their god is their stomach, and their glory is in their shame. Their mind is on earthly things. But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, who...will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body.

The phrase "their god is their stomach" really struck me in particular. (Now, that may partly be because I happen to be fasting today, but it goes much deeper than that.) We have all these desires--physical desires, emotional desires, dreams and visions and passions. Many of these desires are very legitimate and good in their own right, such as the desire for food, which God gave for our enjoyment and to remind us that He is our provider; or sex, which God again gave for our enjoyment and to reflect the union we have in Him. Others like the desire for friends, for companionship, for people around you who know and love you, are also God-given desires that reflect our desire for intimacy with Him, as well as for community in the body of Christ. (Think about it: God could have just made one person and sent Jesus to die for him/her, but instead He created a whole world of people, with all kinds of gifts and personalities and perspectives.) There are some desires that are never legitimate, such as the desire to hate somebody, or to steal, or to put ourselves above God or other people. But you can see how many of these evil desires in different ways are twisted versions of a good desire (hatred may come from valuing somebody whom this person has hurt, stealing may come from a legitimate desire for food, etc.).

Sometimes, especially when I don't have what I desire, I get frustrated with God and think, "Why did you have to give me this desire in the first place?" Why should my body want food, if there's no food to be had? Why should I desire sex, when God hasn't given me a wife? Why should I desire friendship and companionship, when I'm alone in a new place? Couldn't God somehow just avoid the whole thing?

I think the answer to that question, to that frustration, is that God desires us to desire Him, and He wants to use these other desires He gives us to point us to Him. If we didn't desire food, we might not ever learn what it means that Jesus is the Bread of Life. If we didn't desire sex, we might not understand the kind of intimacy God desires to have with His bride. If we didn't desire companionship, friendship, and people who know and understand us, then we might not realize how great and glorious it is that our God, our Creator, knows us in and out, and desires to be with us every day.

God could have created a sterile world, where we have no desires and therefore need nothing to satisfy those desires. But the want, the lack, the frustration of desires, He wants to use to show us the difference between having our "minds on earthly things" versus recognizing that we belong to heaven, and our citizenship is there. An alien or an immigrant is a foreigner where he is--he doesn't belong. But a citizen belongs in his country. Followers of Jesus don't belong in this world; we belong in heaven. But if we set our minds on earthly things--if we never look past the desire itself to the Creator and Fulfiller of those desires, then we are setting our roots on this earth, and we become corrupt.

For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. (Matthew 6:32-33)

Whoever has will be given more; whoever does not have, even what he thinks he has will be taken from him. (Luke 8:18)

When we have the treasure of knowing Jesus, and we hold onto it at all cost, we will have everything else we need. But if we "don't have"--if we give up this treasure in order to grasp at the ephemeral fulfillment of what our sinful flesh desires, then even what we think we have will be taken from us, and our desires will be left forever unsatisfied. If we live this way, our "destiny is destruction."

God is a good God, and He who did not spare his own Son for us will graciously give us all things. But we have to trust in Him and wait on Him for what we need, or in the end we will have nothing.

I like my church's music

2005-09-11T14:00:00.000-06:00

Saludos,

In Tucson I've been attending a church called "Vineyard Christian Community," a lot of the people in my Graduate Christian Fellowship go there. They have great music!! Today we did a Juan Luis Guerra song (in English translation--"No hay nada imposible para tí"), a cool funky gospel song, a Salvador song, a song I hadn't heard since I was in Argentina (I never heard it in English, though I think it was probably English originally), and another translated song by Marcos Witt (Mexican worship leader). I remember the first time I went there they did "I Could Sing of Your Love Forever" with sort of a cantina southwest-style beat (reminded me of "Wasting Away Again in Margaritaville"), plus a cumbia song (¡¡que siga la CUUUUUMBIAAA!!). They've done other songs that remind me of the Doors' "Riders on the Storm" or U2, or Crosby, Stills & Nash. Overall they have a real southwest feel, the kind of songs you'd expect to hear on the border in the desert, driving at night and flipping through the radio channels. It's so great to have an interesting diversity of music, with good musicians too--the bass player and the drummer are both especially good. I actually talked to the bass player afterwards today, turns out he's the one who usually picks the songs, he grew up in Colombia to missionary parents (I could almost hear a Spanish accent in his English), so that's probably why he's acquainted with all this good Spanish worship music. It really lifts me up not only to be able to worship God and be reminded of His goodness and glory, but also do it in a way that reminds me of the cultural diversity of God's people. One really cool couple I met last week is Native American, there's a grad student from Madras, India, and lots of Hispanics. It's a fun place to be. :) (Though, of course, nothing really compares to being home at Indian Peaks.) :)

Peace be with y'all,

Seth

South Asian slums

2005-09-10T08:40:00.000-06:00

Dear brothers & sisters in Jesus,

I was looking today at pictures from the devastation of Katrina (a friend of mine's cousin is in New Orleans now, has a blog at gulfsails.blogspot.com). Afterwards I was looking at GFA's webpage at pictures from their slum ministry (http://www.gfa.org/gfa/slum_ministry), and I realized that daily life in the slums of South Asia looks considerably more devastated and impoverished than New Orleans even after a hurricane. (Granted, the ground is dry at least, but a lot of houses that would be considered "damaged beyond repair" in New Orleans would be in very good shape relative to the slums.)

I just want to encourage you all to look at some of the pictures of their slum ministry. The beautiful thing is that, despite the tremendous poverty (and the sickness, unemployment, and hopelessness that goes along with it), God is working to bring hope and joy to people there, through GFA's ministry and others. Jesus was a friend to the beggars and the hopeless--may we be so as well, wherever they are.

"Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven."

Seth

PS I have the opportunity to go to Louisiana this coming weekend with this friend I mentioned to deliver supplies and volunteer to watch over kids in the shelters--I'd be gone Friday afternoon to Monday evening, so I'd miss one day of class. Please pray that God's will would be done, and that if He wants me to go He'd give me favor with my Arabic teacher (which is my only real class on Monday), and also watch over us on the journey.

Totally random

2005-09-09T11:11:00.000-06:00

Pierre (I think) took this picture in Lebanon--for those of you who don't read Arabic, the sign says NOTHING at all about birds or girls in Arabic (it says something like "Do not enter, take a different road." My friend here suggested that perhaps they thought, "Well, if we say there's no birds or girls, then all the men will think, 'What's the point of going this way if there are no birds or girls?' So you've pretty much covered everybody."

Dwelling in the House of God

2005-09-04T15:29:00.000-06:00

A few verses from Psalm 84 I've been thinking about:

Blessed are those who dwell in your house;
they are ever praising you.

Blessed are those whose strength is in you,
who have set their hearts on pilgrimage.
...
Better is one day in your courts
than a thousand elsewhere.
(v. 4-5, 10)

As some of you know, I've had an unusual living situation the last few weeks since coming here to Tucson. I decided beforehand that I didn't want a normal "apartment," that I hoped to find a situation where I could live very simply and cheaply, perhaps sleep in a church or something. I have a locker at the rec center, where I can keep my clothes and take showers; a kitchen in my office building; and a TA cubicle with some space for things. I've been sleeping in various places, friends' houses, outside, inside, etc. As of next week, I finally have a stable place to sleep, at the Catholic student center (I'm renting a room there for $100/month).

This experience has caused me to think about some different things in a new light. First, it really struck me that we are blessed when we dwell in the house of the Lord. It doesn't say, "Blessed are they who have really nice apartments" or "Blessed are they who have big houses in Rock Creek" (or some much fancier place). It also doesn't say, "Blessed are those who sleep in homeless shelters and are drunk all the time and leech off society." Rather, dwelling with the Lord, living with Jesus, is what makes us blessed. I do believe that God has blessed my living situation the last few weeks and will continue to do so, in that I'm able to spend less on myself and have greater joy giving to the church ministering to the poor and the lost around the world. But living richly or poorly in itself is nothing--living in the presence of God is what matters.

The other interesting thing is that right after it says, "Blessed are those who dwell in your house," it says, "Blessed are those...who have set their hearts on pilgrimage." The first image is of stability, dwelling in a house. The second is of wandering, a nomadic, pilgrim lifestyle. If we are to dwell in the stability and safety of God's house, it may take us through the desert, up mountains and across valleys. God's house was a tabernacle built for moving, for pilgrimage. So we may settle down for a while in a particular place, but if we want true stability, a true dwelling-place, we will always be ready to pick up everything and go where the Lord takes us--just like Matthew the tax-collector, who, when Jesus called him, "got up, left everything and followed him" (Luke 5:28). And ultimately, we are pilgrims and strangers on this earth, and our true dwelling place is with God in heaven. So we can't get too attached or too concerned with our houses or things we have here--they're tools only, having no value apart from the way God can use them to bless others and ourselves, and reflect the character of Jesus in our lives.

I just want to pray that God would be giving us all a desire to dwell in His house, to abide with Him, live with Him and rest in Him. May the bed that brings us rest be the Lord Jesus Himself. (That has special meaning to me, as it's been some time since I've slept in a bed.) And may we always be willing, whenever He calls us, to get up, leave everything and follow Him if His house starts moving and bringing us out of our familiar surroundings. May the pillar of fire lead us through the desert and into the promised land, the New Jerusalem, where our inheritance lies, "an inheritance that can never spoil, perish or fade" (1 Pet. 1:4). That's a treasure worth chasing after, staying put for, traveling to the ends of the world for, giving up everything for.

May Jesus be your dwelling place today, and may you have the joy of dwelling in His house forever.

2005-08-29T12:33:00.000-06:00

"Our hearts are restless until they find their rest in Thee."

- St. Augustine

Freedom in Simplicity

2005-08-20T19:28:00.000-06:00

Greetings from Tucson, AZ! I arrived here this Monday, start classes this coming Monday (two days from now). I've had a fabulous time so far.

One of the main reasons I've been enjoying myself is the opportunities presented by my decision not to seek an apartment to live in this year. That may sound strange at first, but the more I've lived out the consequences of that decision, the more I'm convinced that God is having as much fun as I am with it. :) You see, paying $300 a month (which is cheap for the US in general, but pretty average here) for a room that I personally really only use to sleep in (I've always been a social person, hardly ever using my room for much) is an extravagant waste, especially considering the poverty of so many in the world. So even though most people consider having a house or an apartment to be an essential aspect of life, I've found tremendous freedom in choosing not to have one. A couple nights I've slept outside, other nights I've slept in friends' places while I look for a more permanent "patch of ground" I can reliably lay my head down on at night. I'm hoping to find some church basement or somesuch arrangement eventually, God willing.

In the meantime, God has been taking care of me in such beautiful ways!! Choosing to give up this convenience has opened the doors for me to talk to so many people, believers and especially non-believers, about the grace God has had on us in Jesus--that though He had all the riches in heaven, He became poor so that we might become rich; that though He was the King of Kings, He often went around homeless on this earth (Matt. 8:20). And most importantly, that He first loved us on the cross, and that's what motivates me to show love to others in His name, by giving out of the abundance of His giving to me. Oh, there's such great joy in obeying Jesus! May I grow more and more, in all aspects of my life, to follow Him on the way to the cross, no matter what it costs me. (And chances are it'll cost me a lot more than my apartment room.) ;)

There's been some very interesting, beautiful and challenging people I've met this week, that I've been blessed to know a little bit. May those relationships grow, and may God use them to increase my love for Him and the people He's created, and may the glory of Jesus be reflected in me as they see His grace in my life.

Love you all, whoever you are--

Seth

Which is the greatest prison?

2005-05-05T08:41:00.000-06:00

I received word the day before yesterday that my friends Zach and Rick had been releaesed from prison in Malaysia after their hearing--and not only that, they have no problems with their passports and are able to continue to stay in Malaysia. Praise God!! I am amazed by this. The best anyone was expecting was that they would be released but kicked out of the country, but God can exceed our greatest expectations.

I also got this report from a friend in Bethlehem, about the situation there and the desperation people feel:

"This is not a “separation fence” – it’s a solid concrete, 27’ high wall. And it appears as though there will be a gate keeping people in. Already they’re not allowed into Jerusalem – or into most any other city (they’re basically not allowed OUT of Bethlehem)....People aren’t allowed to leave for medical care, to visit sick or dying loved ones, to go to school, to go
anywhere. This is a prison...

"M. said she came home last night through the checkpoint and when she got down by this new section of wall there were 2 young men whom she thought had been turned away at the checkpoint (she’s probably right). She said the one young man walked up to the wall and started beating on it with his fists until they were bleeding and his friend grabbed him and took him away. They’re treated so badly and have exactly zero recourse – and it gets worse daily."

Hearing this story makes my heart break. The injustice of the situation--punishing the guilty and the innocent alike--is a stench before the Lord. And yet, when I think of this "prison," as well as the literal prison that my two friends were in unjustly, I am reminded that there is a greater prison according to the Word of God. The prison of our sin, the slavery to our own selfish desires, is far more terrifying and far more dangerous than any earthly prison could be. I rejoiced to think that my friends in Malaysia, though they were in prison, were far freer than the jailers and officials around them. "If the Son has set you free, you are free indeed." True freedom does not come through favorable hearings or political settlements. True freedom is not granted after a few years "for good behavior." True freedom comes only at the cost of the Blood of the Lamb. The only one who was truly free became a slave, obedient even to death, so that in Him we might gain true freedom. And so, in response, we may gladly call ourselves His slaves, knowing that whatever we give up for Him will be returned to us a thousand-fold. (I have an e-mail address that means "slave of Christ" in Arabic--sometimes I don't take that nearly seriously enough.)

So my prayer is for the prisoners in Malaysia, in Palestine, Israel and everywhere else--that the Messiah would come in their hearts and "proclaim freedom for the captives" (Is. 61:1, Luke 4:18). May these captives claim the promise of God given to those who trust in His redemption, His "yeshu'a", provided to us in the child born in Bethlehem.

For as in the day of Midian's defeat,
you have shattered
the yoke that burdens them,
the bar across their shoulders,
the rod of their oppressor.

Every warrior's boot used in battle
and every garment rolled in blood
will be destined for burning,
will be fuel for the fire.

For to us a child is born,
to us a son is given,
and the government will be on his shoulders.
And he will be called
Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

Of the increase of his government and peace
there will be no end.
He will reign on David's throne
and over his kingdom,
establishing and upholding it
with justice and righteousness
from that time on and forever.
The zeal of the LORD Almighty
will accomplish this.
-- Isaiah 9:4-7

God bless you all, and may you walk in the freedom given you in Christ, no matter what earthly prison you may find yourself in.

Seth

Thoughts on Jewish evangelism

2005-05-03T21:22:00.000-06:00

I was referred by a friend to an article written by a Jewish believer in Jesus on the role of the Gentile in bringing the gospel to the Jewish people. It had a quote I wanted to present:

"A disconcertingly growing number of evangelicals who consider themselves to be friends of Israel have been satisfied with political and social support, often allying themselves with the more extreme elements of Israeli society. We all need to be reminded of the biblical priorities. Israel ensconced over all the Middle East, with the Palestinians at its feet, a temple in Jerusalem, and all the riches of the world available to it is still Israel in its sin, doomed to sin’s just rewards. Only through the gospel will Israel find what it truly needs: forgiveness of sins, a new heart with God’s law written on it and a right spirit."

Praise God! While I believe that it is God's commandment that we show friendship and love to the people of Israel (as well as to all other people on earth), we must not forget that ultimately, neither power nor wealth nor anything else will save us from sin--only the sovereign grace that God provides in Yeshua HaMeshiach. This critical lesson must always be applied to everyone in this conflict, including of course the Palestinians. An independent Palestinian state, with East Jerusalem as its capital, will not save the Palestinians from their sin. Ridding themselves of the occupying Israeli army, gaining the right of return, having their children out of jail--none of these things will save them from their sins. Just as we desire the best of God's blessings on the people of Israel, we must also desire God's blessings on the Palestinians--peace, freedom, prosperity, families living together on the land they call home. And we must do what we can to bless both Israelis and Palestinians in practical ways. But ultimately, we absolutely must not confuse practical, material blessings and support of either people with the spiritual food that is Christ Jesus, the bread of life for all people, whether Jew or Gentile, Israeli or Arab or anyone else.

Take time to read the rest of the article as well; I find it very thought-provoking. May the Lord shower down the riches of His grace upon the people of Israel, and bring them to the joy of repentance at the foot of the Crucified. May they also find the inexpressable joy of dying to oneself and finding new life in Jesus, the Anointed King of Israel.

Seth

PS There has been some trouble in the camps in Bethlehem around the Bible College in recent weeks, according to friends of mine there. Please continue to pray for the residents of the camp, the soldiers, and anyone else involved, that they would be brought to reconciliation, that those who seek peace would be protected from their oppressors, and that violent men would be convicted of their sins and turn to Jesus. And pray that people at the Bible College would speak words of truth and love to residents and soldiers alike.

Prayer for Malaysia

2005-04-25T12:01:00.000-06:00

Dear friends,

A very good friend of mine, Zach Harris, as well as another friend in Malaysia have been arrested for baptizing Muslims who had found faith in Jesus. While remembering the amazing promises in the Bible that say that we are "blessed" (happy!) when we are persecuted for Jesus' sake, I ask you please to pray for these men. Please pray that God would keep them strong in their love for Christ and for the people around them. Pray that they would be able, by the power of the Holy Spirit, to bless those who persecute them, as their Lord commands. Pray that those around them in jail would see their love and their humility. Pray that they would be released soon, and that they would be kept from physical harm. And pray that, through their boldness in sharing the words of life with Malays, others in the church there would be emboldened to count "all things as loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus," as did our ancestors in the faith, who died as martyrs, not taking life as some modern-day "martyrs" do, but giving life and love and forgiveness and healing to all those who desire it. May they follow the example of Jesus, who though "being in very nature God...made himself nothing, becoming obedient to death, even death on a cross!" This is God's glory--His power and His humility. May these brothers reflect His greatness as they struggle to follow Him.

Sorrowful yet always rejoicing,

Seth

Arizona or bust

2005-04-20T16:07:00.000-06:00

Greetings,

So, after visiting Tucson and DC and lots of thinking and talking with people, I decided to go to the University of Arizona for grad school in Near Eastern Studies, with the intention of going to DC afterwards and getting a second degree in IR from SAIS (Johns Hopkins) or some other school. May the Lord guide, and bear fruit in my life wherever I am.

I'm excited to be going to Arizona, even though in certain ways DC would be more fun. Basically, I'll be able to study Arabic and history and other stuff for two years without having to pay for it (they've given me a full ride). That was probably the main reason I decided to go, since I figured I would be learning things I'd want to learn anyway, which would also strengthen my applications when I apply to study International Affairs stuff, and also my resume in finding cool jobs in development or conflict resolution or whatever down the road. So, I think it's the best thing. And I do really like Tucson--it's a very cool (well, hot) desert town, just 45 minutes from Mexico, lots of interesting cultural mix. Espero que pueda encontrar a gente que habla español allá--I already have met a few Arabic speakers there, though most of them think my Lebanese dialect is pretty weird. =)

Still looking for a job; had an interview today that was promising, but unfortunately they're looking for somebody longer term. I hope to find something soon. It was definitely a blessing last summer to have a job just a couple days after I got back from Lebanon.

God bless you all,

Seth

Christians should be "slaves"

2005-04-17T15:09:00.000-06:00

I wrote a response to a letter to the editor in my local paper a copule weeks ago; they didn't publish my response unfortunately. But I thought I'd put it here for you all. I should note that while I don't believe biblical teaching would preclude us from being involved politically in different ways (like Martin Luther King, Jr., or the abolitionists in England for example), we must always have an attitude of service, even "slavery," rather than seeking power for ourselves, which is idolatry.

---------------------------------------------

Dear Editor,

As an evangelical Christian, I've been greatly saddened to see the debate sparked by Mr. Richard Marelli's letter (toward bottom of page) on March 31st. Mr. Marelli seems to take pride in the political strength of the conservative Christian movement. I would advise him to read the words of our Lord who said, "My kingdom is not of this world" (John 18:36). Every time Christians have tried to make a political kingdom instead of a spiritual one, we've brought only oppression, violence and hypocrisy.

I do take issue with the extreme secular idea that any belief that's "religious" in nature should be barred from politics or public debate--why should "atheist" ideas be allowed and "religious" ideas not? Separation of church and state never meant or should mean separation of a religious person's own conscience from his or her politics. However, to brag about Christian political clout in order to intimidate others into submission is oppression, pure and simple. We should well learn from what Jesus warned his disciples before his death at the hands of politicians and religious leaders: “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). If Christians want to make a real difference in this country, we'd better do like Jesus and become "slaves of all."

Seth Wilson

¡Fotos y más!

2005-04-02T19:35:00.000-07:00

Here's a link to lots of pictures I put online, from the Middle East, the Balkans and Germany. I may periodically add more pictures to it.

http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/sethwilson1/my_photos

Schools, jobs, etc. (ie, normal American life)

2005-03-31T02:38:00.000-07:00

Hello all,

I'm back in Colorado again, staying at my family's house in Louisville. I've spent a lot of the last couple weeks working on graduate school stuff, figuring out where I'll be going. My decision is mainly down to either George Washington University in DC or the University of Arizona in Tucson. Arizona is offering me a very good financial deal, and it's a good school; GW is somewhat better for what I want to study (more broadly focused, with more economics, development and practical stuff). If the Lord provides a way for me to pay for GW, I'll go there; otherwise I'd be very happy at Arizona. So, it's a good situation. I'll be visiting both places in April, have to decide two days after I get back from DC.

I haven't started working yet, since I haven't found a job. It doesn't look like People's Clinic will have anything available, so I'm looking in various places. May God make that happen when and how He desires. I hope I can find something relatively nearby.

This Sunday I'll be giving a short presentation on my time in Palestine/Israel; pray that God would speak through me. I'm excited to share some of my stories, pictures, etc. I believe the Lord already has His hand in it, so I'm happy to share about the people in the region, and the struggles they face to deal with each other and their own sin, as well as the ways that God has brought redemption to people's lives.

Keep on praying for the believers in Palestine, Israel, Lebanon and elsewhere, that they would cling to the word of God, never repaying wrong for wrong, and rejoicing in the great blessings that God has given us in Christ.

Love,
Seth

Heaven is Our Home!

2005-03-19T02:53:00.000-07:00

Praise God!

I'm in Boston now, and tonight will be flying back to Colorado to my "home." And without in any way belittling the excitement and joy I have in thinking about seeing my friends and family again, I'm reminded of the beautiful and amazing truth that we who renounce the world for the sake of the Messiah Jesus are simply pilgrims and strangers in this world, sojourners whose citizenship is not with the world, but with our Lord Jesus. Our riches cannot be touched by moth or by thief (a beautiful reality which God graciously gave me first-hand experience of in Istanbul). Our land is not made of mere dust, but of alabaster and gold. The world can have our homes, our land, our citizenship, our rights, our EVERYTHING, and we would still be richer than all of them. Oh, may our eyes be open to this glorious, holy and mind-boggling truth!

I was so encouraged on this theme by my dear brother Georges, who wrote a very good post on this blog. He's writing from Lebanon, and if any place right now would have the temptation to get caught up in nationalistic fervor and revolutionary excitement, this would be it. And certainly, the desire for freedom and self-determination are not entirely evil--they can reflect pure and holy desires for justice, peace and the building up of God's kingdom. But even so, there are great dangers in such times, which is why I am so encouraged to see my brother's awareness of these pitfalls. May the Lord guide His church in Lebanon to be salt and light in the midst of changes and tumult, and may the cross be their ark that carries them through the storm.

Pray for the church in Lebanon, and in Palestine/Israel, Turkey, Kosova, Bosnia and everywhere else. May our eyes be more opened to God's glory, and our hearts more captivated by His grace and beauty in Christ Jesus.

Coming home soon,

Seth

of national zeal and the believer

2005-03-15T11:01:00.000-07:00

There was a time when I was the most passionately zealous lebanese nationalist of all, bar none. There is a violence of emotion, a certain turbulence of spirit that is concomittant with such alienating zeal.
Today, 2 things have changed. The country for which mine heart beats, and the quality of my love. Jesus Christ has given me a peace that the countries and causes of the world cannot offer. I am in love with the King of a country called heaven. His peace is shed over my soul and I am liberated from the enthrallment of worldly ideals, wherein dwells no true nobility, no innocence, no true love, no redeeming fellowship.

I write even as I watch live coverage of the biggest protest in Lebanon's ancient and eventful history. I know the scene well. The pulse is apounding and the blood is aboiling, and the clamours of hundreds of thousands, written into the triumphant music of liberational politics, roar and rip the air. I am today fond of Lebanon the way one would be fond of the country of his sojourn, having dwelt therein for a number of years. Surely mine affections are wired as I wish the land freedom for all, that peace may reign.
But it is only a question of lesser evil. This world system is hopelessly corrupt, and is condemned. Humanists can implode their lungs in denial; until He whose name is Righteousness reigneth in visible glory, the world will have no peace. Kindly revise the history of the Middle East for example. I have empirical data written with the blood of countless human beings felled in the battlefield for the kindgoms and ideologies of this fallen world; data ablaze with the fires of innumerable wars.
I am a realist, but with more of a hope and future in Christ than the most unabated optimist. Beware, believers, that the "prince of this world" (John 14:30), the one unto whom all earthly kingdoms are delivered, which he gives to whomsoever he wills (Luke 4:6) usurp not your allegiance to Christ and the energetic zeal of your youth.
Beware beware beware. Our heavenly allegiance is our only one, not our first one.
This is especially important to grasp given the nature of the coming world order under the anti-christ, which once was under Roman rule. The Romans did not mind that those they ruled had their own national gods. They wisely, (satan is full of wisdom, Ezekiel 28:12) allowed the peoples to worship their divinities, under one condition:
that first allegiance and worship was owed unto Caesar. But that, as many believers understood, compromised the absolute sovereignty of Jesus over their lives. They suffered death.

It is here useful to be reminded that we are nevertheless to be obedient to the authorities, whomever they may be in everything except that which would compromise our Biblical walk with Jesus our God, and to lift them up in prayer for they are set up to punish the evildoers and reward those that do well, never having a bad word or even thought against their person (Ecclesiastes 10:20, Romans 13:1-7, Titus 3:1, 1Timothy 2:1-3, 1Peter 2:13-18, 2Peter 2:10, Jude 8-9) for in this manner, we, as David concerning Saul, express reverence to the authority of God who remains Sovereign King in the affairs of men, despite satan's authority, setting up and bringing down governments as He well pleases (Daniel 4:17)

We remain sojourners, strangers, pilgrims in this world (1Peter 2:11). If we believe that we are not of it, let us live likewise. In Jeremiah 38:17-18, God ordered and blessed those that went out into the hand of the foreign power, cursing those who trusted yet in their land and their own. So if we are sojourners, we are not any closer to those rulers of our earhtly country than to those that rule our neighbour. Though, as previously admitted, bonds of affection are inevitably formed, and good may they well be, in the sense that they teach us what must be felt towards our heavenly abode, that they churn our bowels for the salvation of our countrymen and their peace. We are concerned over which kind of state rules over us in as far as we want free course for the Word of God, and peace.(2Thessalonians 3:1-3)

By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed; and he went out, not knowing whither he went. By faith he sojourned in the land of promise, as in a strange country, dwelling in tabernacles with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise: For he looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth. For they that say such things declare plainly that they seek a country. And truly, if they had been mindful of that country from whence they came out, they might have had opportunity to have returned. But now they desire a better country, that is, an heavenly: wherefore God is not ashamed to be called their God: for he hath prepared for them a city. Hebrews 11:8-10, 13-16

Lastly, beware of the leaven of Herod (Matthew 8:15) which is politics. Divide the Word of Truth, and understand that the power of Christ is not that of the state. Only at His second return as the Lion of the Tribe of Judah, will Jesus rule both as Son of God and Son of Man.

Jesus answered, My kingdom is not of this world: if my kingdom were of this world, then would my servants fight, that I should not be delivered to the Jews: but now is my kingdom not from hence. John 18:36

Note the "now"in the last part. It is not spoken in vain. Any person, organization, institution that abides not by these words, witnesses against its own divine origin. What is not of God is of the devil.

Wilkommen in Bayern

2005-03-12T14:07:00.000-07:00

Hi all,

Just wanted to drop a quick note, say I'm alive and happy. I had a good time visiting in Istabul; unfortunately I got robbed (wallet and passport) on my way out, but that meant I got to spend an extra couple days with my friends there, so it wasn't all bad. I had a really wonderful time in Prishtina and then in Sarajevo, very encouraged by my dear friends there. Now I'm in Munich, with my two brothers and my parents, enjoying Bavarian food, music (ie, drinking songs), art, etc. I also went today to Dachau, the first main Nazi concentration camp. Pretty tough. It made everything more real to me, to see this place in actuality.

God bless you all, look forward to seeing those of you in Boulder.

Seth

Merhaba

2005-02-26T05:26:00.000-07:00

Just a quick update--I'm in Istanbul now, enjoying my time with friends here. I plan on leaving Sunday evening to Kosova, arriving Monday morning and spending about a week there. Jason Stryd will be coming in Tuesday afternoon, I'm excited to see him there!

Istanbul is beautiful, very urban and cosmopolitan; it makes Bethlehem feel very provincial in comparison. But I'm already starting to miss speaking Arabic and Hebrew, and enjoying some of the cool things about living in the Bethlehem/Jerusalem area.

God bless you all.

Lehitra'ot

2005-02-22T05:55:00.000-07:00

Two days from now, I'll be heading toward the airport to fly to Istanbul. I know it'll be hard to leave, but I'm grateful to God for the time He's given me here.

This last weekend I've experienced some very unique and cool things. On Friday night I enjoyed Erev Shabat with Baruch, my dad's friend and colleague, and his wife Ella. We went to the Great Synagogue in Jerusalem and listened to the prayers, which were led by a Yemeni Jew who had a beautiful voice and a very Arab style of singing. (It made me think, "Of course Jews and Arabs can get along! Why, this guy is getting along fine with himself!") I enjoyed a wonderful dinner afterwards with them and with friends from their community.

Saturday I went with a couple friends from the college to Hebron. It was a little bit depressing for me to see the Old City of Hebron, much of which has been closed down because of a couple hundred settlers that have set up shop right downtown, complete with lots of armed soldiers, razorwire, etc. We walked through part of the settler area downtown and saw all the yeshiva students, teenagers, walking proudly through the streets with M-16's slung across their backs. We visited the Christian Peacemaker Team people downtown, and went through Kiryat Arba (a big settlement just outside the Old City), a little less obtrusive and yet still a world away from the Arab parts of Hebron. It was clear to me why Hebron is always described as more tense than Bethlehem, which really has nothing like this kind of aggressive settler activity. One bumper sticker on a settler car at Abraham's tomb read in Hebrew and English, "No Arabs, No Terrorists." (This was in the same place where Dr. Goldstein opened fire some 15 years ago and massacred dozens of worshipers in the mosque.) I wonder if the car's owner would have the guts to say that to the Yemeni who led prayers on Erev Shabat. Or if he would have the guts to say it without his M-16 and the hundreds of IDF soldiers guarding him.

Sunday was easier, went to church and then met with two friends in Jerusalem. One, named Daniel, I hadn't met yet but had a very good and fruitful time talking with him about his experiences and various things. He's grown up in Israel, and has seen a lot of things that I haven't seen, so it was good to hear his stories. Then I met up with another friend of mine from Hebrew classes later on, whom I'll miss.

Finally, last night I went to visit another friend of my dad's (now a friend of mine) named Alik in Tel Aviv--we walked down the beach, ate an extremely yummy dinner, and talked a lot about Israel, the Middle East, culture and life and religion. I'm very glad I met him, and hope to see him again here or in the US.

Tomorrow I'm giving tests to my students (and then grading all afternoon while doing laundry), and tomorrow afternoon I'll go to the airport. It'll be good to see my friends in Istanbul, and in Kosova next week. But I know that I'll miss being in Palestine and Israel.

I'm really grateful to God for allowing me to be here this time, for keeping me here long enough to get to know and understand things a little better (though one thing I've learned talking to so many people in the last week is that I really know almost nothing). It's good to leave wanting to come back. And inshallah, be'ezrat haShem, I will be back in two or three years. I'll have to find a way to keep my Arabic and Hebrew up in the meantime.

Sad news in Lebanon; may the Lord bring good things from the tragedy. And may the tragedy of the intifada and the occupation here, the fighting and the hatred and the distrust and pride and everything else, be the bitter seed that brings forth the sweet renewal of the Spirit to this land and to the whole region.

Love you all. Pray for the people of Israel and Palestine. God loves 'em, despite all the mess.

indeed, power and money

2005-02-15T07:39:00.000-07:00

Revelation 3:14 And unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write; These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God;
Rev 3:15 I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot.
Rev 3:16 So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth.
Rev 3:17 Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked:
Rev 3:18 I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see.
Rev 3:19 As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent.

We must also be weary of the tempation of equating the Kingdom of God with the Kingdom of Heaven which leads people to unite "church" and "state". Only one Man can and will do this, and that is Jesus the Christened One, the Lion of the Tribe of Judah. We know the Catholic establishment tried doing this and witnessed against its divine sanction since Jesus said "My Kingdom is not of this world", but beware of being lured by protestant equivalents. The power of the state will never be that of Christ, save when He returns and triumphantly dashes the gentile world power.

Early Christians on Wealth

2005-02-03T07:52:00.000-07:00

These are quotes taken from the same site as the quotes on violence (now defunct). I believe they're very thought-provoking.

I'm coming more and more to believe that the two biggest idols of the American church are power and money. May the Lord free us from the love of both, and may Jesus be the only treasure that we crave.

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We who formerly treasured money and possessions more than anything else now hand over everything we have to a treasury for all and share it with everyone who needs it.
Justin, First Apology 14

That we for the most part must be considered poor is no disgrace to us but an honor. A life of luxury weakens the spirit. Frugality makes it strong. And yet, how can anyone be considered poor who does not feel any want, who does not covet what belongs to others, who is rich in God’s eyes? Much more should he be considered poor who always craves for more while he already has much.

Let me tell you what I think. No one can be as poor as he was at birth. The birds live without any inheritance, and cattle find their fodder each day. Yet these creatures are on the earth for our sake. We possess all of them if we do not covet them. Just as a man traveling on the road is the better off the lighter his bundle, so too, he who makes himself light by poverty, who does not need to pant under the burden of wealth, is happiest on his journey through life. If we regarded wealth as useful we would ask God for it. He surely could give us a share of it, for everything belongs to him, but we would rather despise wealth than have it in our hands.
Minucius Felix, Octavius 36.3–7

Happiness does not consist in ruling over one’s neighbors or in longing to have more than one’s weaker fellowmen. Nor does it consist in being rich and in oppressing those lowlier than oneself. No one can imitate God by doing such things. They are alien to his sublimity. On the contrary, anyone who takes his neighbor’s burden upon himself, who tries to help the weaker one in points where he has an advantage, who gives what he has received from God to those who need it, takes God’s place, as it were, in the eyes of those who receive. He is an imitator of God. In this way, though living on earth, you will know with awe that there is a God who reigns in heaven, and you will begin to proclaim the mysteries of God.
Letter to Diognetus 10

They do not keep for themselves the goods entrusted to them. They do not covet what belongs to others...They do not neglect widows. Orphans they rescue from those who are cruel to them.

Every one of them who has anything gives ungrudgingly to the one who has nothing. If they see a traveling stranger they bring him under their roof. They rejoice over him as over a real brother, for they do not call one another brothers after the flesh, but they know they are brothers in the Spirit and in God. If one of them sees that one of their poor must leave this world, he provides for his burial as well as he can. And if they hear that one of them is imprisoned or oppressed by their opponents for the sake of their Christ’s name, all of them take care of all his needs. If possible they set him free. If anyone among them is poor or comes into want while they themselves have nothing to spare, they fast two or three days for him. In this way they can supply any poor man with the food he needs...
Yet they do not cry out in the ears of the masses the good deeds they do. Rather, they take care that no one should notice them. They hide their giving like someone who conceals a treasure he has found.
Aristides, Apology 15,16; ca. A.D. 137

They are as poor as beggars, and yet they make many rich. They lack everything, and yet they have everything in abundance.
Letter to Diognetus 5, 6 (end of second century)

They [the elders of the church] have attained this honor only through their good name, never through the use of money, for nothing that is of God can be bought for money. Even though we have a kind of cash box, the money does not come from admission fees, as when one buys membership or position in a society. That would be like “buying religion.” Rather, every man contributes something once a month, or whenever he wishes to, and only if he wishes to, and if he can; for no one is forced, but everyone gives his share freewillingly. These contributions might be called the deposit funds of fellowship with God as they are not spent on banquets or drinking parties or on gluttony. Rather they are used to feed and to bury the poor; for boys and girls without means and without parents to help them…for shipwrecked sailors; and for those doing forced labor in the mines, or banished on islands, or in prison, provided they suffer for the sake of God’s fellowship.
Tertullian, Apology 39, 40, A.D. 198

We have been taught not to hit back at people who harass us, not to go to court against those who expel us and rob us...When they take away our coat, we are to give them our overcoat as well.
Athenagoras, A Plea Regarding Christians I.2

Update

2005-02-01T06:00:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone,

I just wanted to give some news on my situation here, to those I haven't told, and praise God for what He's been up to here. A week and a half ago I had an appointment with the Ministry of Interior, and they gave me a month extension on my visa. So that's good news; the mixed part is that they gave it to me on the conditon of my booking a flight out after that. So, I'm going to Istanbul on February 24th God willing. At that point I won't really have the finances to be able to come back and stay on another visa, so I'll spend a few days in Turkey, a week or so in Kosova (Prishtina), maybe a day in Sarajevo and then meet up with my parents and my brother in Germany. My brother will be finishing up his mission with the Mormon church in southern Germany, so my parents are coming out and we will all spend a week together in Germany and Austria before coming back to Colorado. I have a flight from Munich coming back late on the 19th of March (Saturday). So for those at Indians Peaks, come on the 20th and I'll see you all there! For everyone else, if you're in or around Boulder I hope to see you not long after that.

It's nice having things "settled" somewhat, though of course "el hombre propone, y Dios dispone" (ie, we have our plans, but God does as He wills). It's funny, but before I had my visa appointment, I wasn't feeling very excited about staying here much longer. But now that I have an actual set departure date, I'm getting a lot more nostalgic, and wishing I could stay just a little longer. =) Also, some things have gotten a lot better here socially and work-wise in recent times, so that also makes me wish I could stay a little more. But, I will also be happy to be in Kosovo and Germany, and then to be back in Boulder, work hard for a few months before hopefully heading to school next fall.

Last week Dr. Bishara put me in charge of revising the content of the Bible College website, which has proved to be very interesting. He said that he'd wished he'd realized before that I would be good at this kind of stuff (writing, proofreading, typing), he feels bad he didn't give me more work like this before I was about to leave. I'm also teaching the 3rd year English class here, which is challenging and fun (at least it's fun for me, I hope it's fun for the students too). =) Meanwhile, there are lots of contacts that I've either made recently or have been sitting on, but now that I'm leaving I have a lot of people to visit. I hope to make it up to Galilee before I leave, amidst other places. Sunday we went to Jericho, which was really nice, and the day before I went with Bishara to Herzliye, a town on the beach just north of Tel Aviv, where he spoke at an international church. That's one nice thing about being the driver--though of course I wish that Palestinians could drive without so many restrictions, it does mean I get to go places I might not otherwise. =)

So, it'll be a busy next three and a half weeks. But I'm really happy that God has brought some good stuff to my life here the last few weeks, so that I feel like I'm leaving on a positive note. I know I'll miss a lot of things here--hearing Arabic pop music, Hebrew country rock, Arab disco, and all the other crazy musical mixtures on the radio here--not to mention eating hummus and falafel, walking through the refugee camps, worshiping God in Arabic and Hebrew, seeing Palestinian and Israeli kids playing around (not usually together, unfortunately). I'll miss my Hebrew classes, the people I met there and the exposure to Israeli language and culture. I'll miss reading or watching international news and realizing they're talking about places I walk by every day (though sometimes I wish the news weren't happening). By the time I leave, I might even decide that I'll miss walking by and saying "Shalom," "Todah, erev tov" to the Israeli soldiers at the checkpoint!

May the Lord bear fruit in the midst of my running around these last few weeks, and may He continue to plant seeds for future involvement in the region as He wills.

God bless you all,

Seth

peekaboo

2005-01-11T12:42:00.000-07:00

Seth!

I miss you my brother in Christ. this is just a hello, and a reminder to myself to keep you in prayer.
May the peace of Christ be with you alway.

Joh 14:27 Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you

Election Day

2005-01-09T05:47:00.000-07:00

I've wanted for the most part to stay away from politics on this webpage (except as it directly relates to God's heart for people here), but today are the elections for a new President of the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank and Gaza, so I thought I would just remark on a few things I've observed that you might find interesting.

One, the elections here are nothing like elections in the United States, where TV and newspaper coverage continues for months and various issues are hashed out over and over again before the election finally occurs. I have seen very little public debate going on over these elections, though certainly some has occurred. The extent of the campaigning, other than a few speeches here and there, has been limited mainly to campaign posters of Abu Mazen (Mahmoud Abbas) standing proudly next to Arafat, or with the Dome of the Rock in the background; Mustafa Barghouthi getting shoved by an Israeli soldier with a gun pointed at his chest; and pictures and slogans of other candidates. (There are some pictures of posters and other things I put up on my picture web site; write me if you don't have the info for that and I'll give it to you.) There is not a lot of local media infrastructure here; most Palestinians get a lot of their news by watching Arab news channels like Al Jazeera and Al Arabiya.

One other difference is the length of the campaign season. Campaigning started the day after Christmas, so the total campaign has been only a couple weeks. And since everyone expects Abu Mazen to win, there hasn't been a whole lot of activity to try to change people's opinions or inform voters of other possibilities.

The campaign posters also seem to have been subject to frequent vandalism. Most of the campaign posters in Bethlehem, especially those of opposition candidate Mustafa Barghouthi, had the face or eyes ripped off, with some completely torn down. Some group seems to have systematically destroyed the posters--whether people sent by Fatah (Abu Mazen's party) or simply partisan kids acting on their own, who knows.

Another difficulty of the whole election, of course, is that restrictions on movement in place by Israel have the effect of fragmenting Palestinian society and keeping communication and commerce between areas to a minimum. Candidates for the most part, according to the news, have been able to travel through the West Bank, though a few candidates from Gaza weren't able to campaign in the West Bank at all. East Jerusalem with its large Palestinian population presents a problem of its own, as it is on the Palestinian side of the Green Line (ie, it is an occupied area according to international law), but it has been annexed by the Israelis as Israeli territory. The picture of the Israeli soldier with a gun to Barghouthi's chest I believe come from his arrest while trying to campaign there. I've heard there have been problems at the polling places there; I'm going there in the next couple hours on my way to class to see, and to ask people what kinds of problems there have been.

All in all, I am glad the elections are taking place, and I think they have the potential to really change the situation here, but I am cautious about claiming some kind of revolutionary effect. Simply having a day where people vote for different candidates does not mean a functioning democracy exists. The civil society upon which democracy thrives doesn't exist in the Palestinian territories, partly because of Israeli restrictions on movement and partly because of the history of corruption and centralization of power by Arafat and the PLO. This election helps, but it's only the beginning of a long process.

May God have mercy and allow Palestinians to live freely and in peace, and may all the people here know the peace and freedom that Jesus brings.

Israeli Chocolate Strikes Again

2005-01-06T04:44:00.000-07:00

Merry Christmas!!

What? Aren't you a little late? hehe Nope, it's Christmas today for the Orthodox church, so in Bethlehem there are more celebrations. =) Pretty fun.

One cool thing that this second Christmas brought was an unexpected gift. I was coming in to Bethlehem from Jerusalem, and at the checkpoint there was a lady representing the Israeli government handing out candy. The note she gave along with the candy said basically, "We welcome you to the Holy Land, we want to encourage tourists to come here; please give this gift to a Palestinian friend as a bridge for peace and a good will gesture." I thought it was pretty cool. I gave it to the president of the college here, who was shocked! He couldn't believe the Israeli government would want to give him chocolate for Christmas. =) It reminded me of the previous story I posted about the Israeli soldier giving the Palestinian prisoner (both believers) quality chocolate (see "Precious as Chocolate"). So maybe there's something to this "chocolate for peace" thing. Next time I come to the land, I'll have to bring some chocolate with me. Better yet, I should tell the UN to pick up on this idea. Forget the road map, what they need is some Rocky Road!

Early Christians On Violence

2005-01-04T06:36:00.000-07:00

Dear friends,

A couple days ago I was in a Messianic Jewish bookstore in the Old City of Jerusalem and saw a book by a guy named Eberhard Arnold, a German Christian who founded the Bruderhof community after WWI, which one of my friends at the College is from. I found some of his writings online, and thought I'd share a few quotes.

These are taken, I believe, from his collection on Early Christians: In Their Own Words, a collection of early Christian writings and their perspective on various issues. What struck me particularly, among other things, was the almost unanimous voice of various early Christian theologians--Origen, Justin, Tertullian, and others--against violence of any kind, and indeed against Christian involvement in the state. This was, according to them, one of the main reasons the Roman government felt so threatened by them. In fact, in quote it says that anyone who joined the army would be excommunicated, and anyone already in the army who refused to promise not to engage in any violence, would be rejected as a candidate for baptism. Pretty strong stances.

Anyway, I'm not sure what I think, but whatever your take on their positions, I think it's a very interesting and challenging historical fact that this is what they believed in the 2nd century AD.
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We, more than all other men, are your helpers and allies for peace.
Justin, First Apology 12

“If everyone were to act the same as you [Christians], the national government would soon be left utterly deserted and without any help, and affairs on earth would soon pass into the hands of the most savage and wretched barbarians.”

Celsus next exhorts us to help the Emperor and be his fellow soldiers. To this we reply, “You cannot demand military service of Christians any more than you can of priests.” We do not go forth as soldiers with the Emperor even if he demands this, but we do fight for him by forming our own army, an army of faith through our prayers to God.
Origen, Against Celsus, Celsus against the Christians, VIII. 68, 73

We ourselves were well conversant with war, murder, and everything evil, but all of us throughout the whole wide earth have traded in our weapons of war. We have exchanged our swords for plowshares, our spears for farm tools. Now we cultivate the fear of God, justice, kindness to men, faith, and the expectation of the future given to us by the Father himself through the crucified one…
Justin, Dialogue with Trypho 110.3, 4

I do not wish to be a ruler. I do not strive for wealth. I refuse offices connected with military command. Fornication I detest. No insatiable hunger for gold drives me to go to sea. I do not fight for a victor’s laurels. I am free from the mad thirst for fame. I despise death. I stand above every illness. No grief consumes my soul.
Tatian, Address to the Greeks 11.2

We must then offer no resistance. He never wanted us to imitate the wicked. Rather, he challenged us to lead everyone away from shamefulness and pleasure in evil by patience and kindness. We can in fact show that many who were once among you have been transformed in this way. They gave up their violent and domineering ways. Either they were conquered by the sight of their neighbors’ patient life, or they were convinced by noticing the extraordinary kindness and patience of some defrauded traveling companions, or they were overcome by encountering and testing this attitude in people with whom they had business dealings. Anyone who is not found living in accordance with his teachings should not be regarded as a Christian even if he confesses to Christ’s teaching with his lips. For he said that only those shall be saved who do not just talk, but who also do the corresponding works.
Justin, First Apology 16

We who formerly hated and murdered one another and did not even share our hearth with those of a different tribe because of their customs, now, after Christ’s appearance, live together and share the same table. Now we pray for our enemies and try to win those who hate us unjustly so that they too may live in accordance with Christ’s wonderful teachings, that they too may enter into the expectation, that they too may receive the same good things that we will receive from God, the ruler of the universe.
Justin, First Apology 14

They speak gently to those who oppress them, and in this way they make them their friends. It has become their passion to do good to their enemies.
Aristides, Apology 15,16; ca. A.D. 137

A military constable [who wants to be baptized] must be forbidden to kill. If he is commanded to kill in the course of his duty, he must not take this upon himself, neither may he swear [to Caesar or to pagan gods]; if he is not willing to follow these instructions, he must be rejected. A proconsul or a civic magistrate who wears the purple and governs by the sword, shall give it up or be rejected.

Anyone taking part in baptismal instruction, or anyone already baptized who wants to become a soldier shall be sent away, for he has despised God.
Hippolytus, Church Order in The Apostolic Tradition 16; ca. A.D. 218

We form a permanent society and come together for communal gatherings as if forming an army around God and besieging him with our prayers. This is the kind of force in which God rejoices. We pray also for the Emperor and for all those who hold responsible offices and positions of authority.
Tertullian, Apology 39, 40, A.D. 198

To be just alone is not enough because to be just means to repay like for like, but we have been commanded to go far beyond this, to be kind and patient.

How could anyone in his right mind accuse us of murder when we hold to such principles...We cannot bear to see a man or woman put to death, even justly! How then can anyone accuse us of murder...? How can we possibly kill anyone when we cannot even look on lest we are polluted with the guilt of murder and sacrilege! How can we possibly kill anyone, we who call those women murderers who take drugs to induce an abortion, we who say they will have to give an account before God one day!
Athenagoras, A Plea Regarding Christians 32–35

We have been taught not to hit back at people who harass us, not to go to court against those who expel us and rob us. Rather are we enjoined to offer the other side of the face for more blows when they ignominiously smite us on the one side.
Athenagoras, A Plea Regarding Christians I.2

اهلاً و سهلاً, يسوع

2004-12-27T06:55:00.000-07:00

Wilkommen!

I hope you all had a very enjoyable Christmastime. =) This Thursday I went to a concert of Bach music; the choir and the orchestra were really tremendous. One of the lines that stuck in my mind the most was from the chorus of a bass solo which started with a resounding "Wilkommen!", welcoming baby Jesus into this world. Another of the sections spoke of little Jesus making his bed in our hearts:

Ach, mein herzliebes Jesulein,
Mach dir ein rein, sanft Bettelein,
Zu ruhen in meines Herzens Schrein,
Das ich nimmer vergeße dein!

When the bass sang, "Wilkommen!", I immediately thought, "Ahlan wa sahlan!" (the same phrase in Arabic). "Ahlan wa sahlan" is a phrase very loaded with cultural meaning--it evokes the tremendous importance of hospitality in traditional Middle Eastern culture, the importance of making a place for visitors and guests, of honoring and valuing them. I imagine that such cultural values were also held by the people here of Jesus' time.

So it really struck me when I realized that Jesus was in fact not welcomed nor honored, neither in birth, life nor death. He was born in a manger--"because there was no room for them in the inn." Not only did the innkeepers not find a way to make room for the King of Kings, but Joseph and Mary must have had relatives in Bethlehem--even if they or their families hadn't lived there for a few generations, traditional cultures place a far greater emphasis on extended families than modern Western culture. So even a second- or third-cousin would normally take in a pregnant, poor couple of relatives. But such was the disgrace of Mary's seemingly illegitimate pregnancy that even her relatives would not take her in, let alone an innkeeper. Jesus was "despised and rejected" (Is 53:3), as a baby and most thoroughly on the cross. But though we did not welcome Him in, still He says to us, "Come, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest" (Matt. 11:28).

It also made me think of Palm Sunday, when Jesus came into Jerusalem amidst shouts of "Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord!" Yet only a week later, the same city stood by--even actively took part--as He was nailed to a cross.

This week Bethlehem had a lot of celebrations welcoming the birth of Jesus. Some of these "ahlan wa sahlan"-s were heartfelt and sincere, while others seemed to be more political or cultural in nature than anything else. In fact, the biggest event at the Nativity Church for most people seemed not to be welcoming in the birth of the Anointed King of Kings, but the appearance of the not-yet-coronated King of Palestine, Abu Mazen. Many people had "sightings" of this famous figure; I did not see him, though he probably could see me through the tinted windows, as I stood only a few feet away from his motorcade. But I wasn't disappointed--that night there was a much greater King to welcome into the world, and into my heart once more.

My prayer for all of us is that we may welcome in this baby, despised and rejected all His life but beckoning with open arms nonetheless. May our welcomes not be so short-lived as those of Palm Sunday, but may they last even through our own crosses. And when we face Him in judgment, may this humble King say to us, "Ahlan wa sahlan, my good and faithful servants!"

Veni, Veni, Emmanuel

2004-12-18T06:17:00.000-07:00

Greetings,

Guess what? I got tickets to go to the midnight mass at the Nativity Church in Bethlehem! So on Christmas Eve I'll be going to two services now, first a 7:00 service at a Syrian Catholic church, which is in Aramaic, Jesus' first language; and then the midnight mass at the Nativity Church. I'm very curious what it will be like; I don't want to expect too much of a "spiritual" experience, but I think certainly as a cultural experience it will be fabulous. =) (In past years, I heard that the main attraction people would come for is to see Yasser Arafat--"Come celebrate the birth of Jesus, AND see Yasser Arafat!!" -- but obviously this year things are a little different.)

This Sunday we were singing some Christmas hymns, and I realized that every time I sing about Bethlehem or the birth of Jesus, it really touches me, knowing the place and loving the people here. We sang "Oh Little Town of Bethlehem," and there's a line that says "Above thy deep and dreamless sleep the silent stars go by." It made me think of just the night before when I was walking home from the checkpoint, looking up at the beautiful stars, on this cold, silent, beautiful winter night. (Who knows if Jesus was born in winter--he probably wasn't--but the imagery of God coming to us into the darkness and cold, first with the light of a little star, then growing to become a blazing sun of resurrection glory, is very apt.) I also particularly appreciated the words of "O Come, O Come, Emmanuel":

O come, O come, Emmanuel
And ransom captive Israel
Who mourns in lonely exile here
Until the Son of God appear
Rejoice, rejoice!
Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel
...
O come, Desire of nations, bind
In one the hearts of all mankind
Bid Thou our sad divisions cease
And be Thyself our Prince of Peace

I'm growing to love the people of Israel more as I spend time here. So it really tugged on me to hear the first verse talking about the captivity of Israel--her sin--and the glorious news of Jesus' coming to save and set free. Oh, may it be known here!

I was talking to a guy I met in Jerusalem from Brazil and then the US who's going to be in the Israeli army in just a couple weeks. (He said, "It'll be the greatest job in the world! Just think about it--fighting in God's Army!") It was hard for me in certain ways to talk to him knowing the pain many of my friends have suffered under the Israeli army, but we had an interesting conversation nonetheless. At the end, he said, "Well, you and I probably agree on one thing--this mess isn't going to be sorted out until the Messiah comes. When he comes, he'll make things right." And I thought, "Oh, may the Messiah come in your heart, my dear, lost boy! You're not going to shoot your way to heaven; it's by the wounds of this very Messiah that we are healed."

I know that the hearts of people in this land will not be bound together by anything but the love of Jesus. But it's so hard for people to see that when "The Church" has failed in such monstrous ways to show and exhibit that love. So, as always, my only hope is that God would reveal Himself through the Holy Spirit, and Himself be our Prince of Peace.

Anybody who's reading this, I just have one request: If you know any Arab or Jewish people, please love them. There's already enough pain and struggle for both people groups for us to add onto it with our own stupid prejudices. The more I look at this conflict, the more I think that a huge part of its roots lies in the terrible mistreatment of both Jews and Arabs by the "Christian West," of which I and most of you are a part. So we have a crucial (literally) role to play. May the joyous, self-giving love of the cross be the only thing we give to them, and to everyone else in our midst. Veni, Emmanuel, et dona nobis caritatem tuam.

Pax in Christo,

Seth

Precious As Chocolate

2004-12-06T08:59:00.000-07:00

Peace in the Lord,

I've had some very good and challenging experiences in the last few days which I wanted to share with those who read this. I have a friend from my Hebrew classes in Jerusalem who invited me to his 30th birthday party/Shabbat dinner last night, so of course I was very happy to come. He's an American, and all except one of the guests were Americans as well. (I was the only non-Jewish person in the room; that's the first time I've encountered that social situation.)

All of the people I met there were interesting and thoughtful people, and we had some very good conversation (as well as very yummy food, I might add). It was good to simply hear the perspectives that they, as Israeli citizens or American Jews, had on the conflict and various issues of daily life here. Afterwards, one of the guests took me back to the checkpoint, and as we were driving I talked with her about my desire to love people on both sides of the conflict. She agreed, but said that it's difficult to get to a point where you can really have an empathy, a gut reaction to the suffering of both sides. She has studied the issues in the conflict, spent time with Palestinians, and yet when it comes down to her emotions, she reacts more strongly to stories of her own people suffering than to Palestinian suffering. I confessed that I have a gut reaction to Palestinian suffering, but not so much the other way, and that I wanted very much to develop that same empathy for Israelis.

It made me think about spending time in Israeli areas this year. I definitely have wanted to know Israelis in a daily life situation, especially Israeli believers in Jesus, but I haven't seen an easy way to do that during this visit. I could always just wait until after my school is done, but this friend challenged me that having that experience would help me even in my studies. Which I know is true. So I pray that if this is something God wants for me, He would open up the doors for me to spend a couple months in Israeli areas, volunteering somewhere (at a kibbutz?) where I could know Israelis as people, and hear their stories and their perspectives on the conflict. I believe that having such experience would not detract from my love for Palestinians, but in fact would refine and strengthen it, making it more of God's heart for both peoples, and not just blindly accepting the prejudices of one or the other side.

Tonight I had another very good conversation with various volunteers and guests at the college. We started talking about responses to injustice, and how an unjust response to injustice simply furthers the cycle. A friend here from South Africa (Afrikaaner) told us of what she saw during the breakup of apartheid in her country, and how God broke down so many walls between blacks and whites there, especially in the churches--how the main police chief there became born again through the proceedings of the Truth and Reconciliation commission, and publicly repented of his involvement in violence and oppression towards blacks. She said everybody was predicting a bloodbath if apartheid was torn down, but what really happened was so encouraging, and that was because of the actions of key black leaders (and some white as well), who applied Christian teaching to the issues.

One guest from Britain told us a story which I wanted to share with you all. He said that a Palestinian believer here was visiting at Bishara's house (the president of the college) with his mom, and the Israeli soldiers stormed in and said he was under arrest. They pleaded, but to no avail; this man was taken to a prison in the desert, which was notorious for ill treatment of prisoners. He managed to take a New Testament with him, but the soldiers when they found it mocked him and took it away. In the prison, they beat and tortured him severely.

Meanwhile, there was an Israeli believer, a young man, who was called up into the reserves. He was assigned to a notorious prison in the desert, and he told his dad he would refuse to go there. But his dad said, "Look, if you don't go, they will send someone else who will have less concern for the prisoners than you. So go, and let the Lord use you as a light in this dark place." He went, and soon found out about this prisoner. He went to visit him one day, told him he was a believer, but the prisoner didn't know if they were just trying to trick him. The soldier gave him a Bible, which he snuck away (even though he knew it might get him into trouble again), and then the soldier offered him a sandwich. "How do I know it's not poisoned?' he thought. The soldier noticed his hesitance, so he took a bite first and said, "Here." He offered him water; same thing--the soldier took a drink, and then gave it to the prisoner. After soldier had left, the prisoner prayed to himself, "Lord, if this man really is my brother in the Lord, next time may he bring me some 'Elite' chocolate [a popular Israeli brand]." (Just like Gideon with the fleece!)

Lo and behold, the next time this Israeli soldier had the opportunity to sneak in a visit, he brought with him Elite chocolate! The Palestinian brother took the chocolate and kept the wrapper as a testimony. What a beautiful and moving example of the twenty-third Psalm:

You prepare a table before me
In the presence of my enemies.

After some time, this prisoner was finally released, but because of the torture he continued to have serious health problems, internal bleeding and urinary-digestive tract problems.

Some time later, while this man was at seminary in Cairo, Israeli soldiers once again came into his mother's house. "We're looking for _____!" (his older brother.) His mother, knowing what her other son had suffered in prison, and being a very excitable person in general, was severely tempted to hate the soldiers and lose it completely. But when her son had returned, he had told her the story of this Israeli brother who had helped him. He had kept the chocolate wrapper in his Bible as a bookmark, and on the opposite page was written, "Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who persecute you." She said about that, "My son taught me what I should have taught him."

So when these soldiers came into her house , she panicked, but prayed that God would give her love for these soldiers. "Good morning!" she bellowed.

"Good morning?" they said. "What are you talking about? Nobody says 'good morning' to us in Beit Jala." Then they said, "There are rocks out on the street. Your son put them there, and we are arresting him."

"What rocks? My son didn't put them there, but if you would like he can remove them for you."

"No, we are arresting him! Where is he??"

Suddenly without thinking, she stretched out her hands and blurted out, "Blessings on you!! Blessings in the name of the Lord!!" At this, the shocked and bewildered soldiers ran out, went back to the jeep and took off! (I guess God decided that they would be most blessed by being out of her house!)

Meanwhile, while the intifada was still going pretty strong, this Palestinian family invited this Israeli brother to their house in Bethlehem (which I think may have technically been illegal--I'm not sure). In any case, it was certainly extremely abnormal for a Palestinian family in the West Bank to actually invite an Israeli soldier into their home (most often they would come quite uninvited). But even more, when the mother met this soldier for the first time in her house, she looked at him, embraced him and said, "You are my son." Imagine, the mother of a tortured Palestinian prisoner, embracing an Israeli soldier as her own son!

Oh, God is so good. Our sin is so great, so blinding, so deeply entrenched in our thinking and our behavior. But God does wonders in those who entrust themselves to Him. And He's shown us how to love our enemies by loving us in Christ. "But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us." (Romans 5:8).

May this love of God in Christ be precious to you today, like Elite chocolate to a tortured prisoner, like a table set before you in the presence of your enemies. And may you all be reconciled to God, just as this soldier was to the Palestinian mother, who embraced her former enemy, saying, "You are my son."

Seth

PS Please pray for me, that God would be refining my heart, giving me a gut love for Israelis and Palestinians, and if He so desires, opening a door for me to live with Israelis for a time this year.

PPS I've had Elite chocolate now, and it's really yummy. =)

Crazy love

2004-12-06T08:45:00.000-07:00

Peace be with you,

I'm reading a tremendous book right now by Brother Andrew, author of "God's Smuggler" (which by the way is also a tremendous book, about Brother Andrew's work behind the Iron Curtain smuggling in Bibles to Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union). It's called "Light Force," about the Christians in the Middle East and their struggle in the conflict. It's a very challenging and encouraging book. One paragraph especially challenged me:

[Someone asked Brother Andrew what he's learned in his years in the Middle East--] What had I learned? Well, there were a few important lessons. I verbalized one of them: "There are no terrorists--only people who need Jesus."

Johan had heard me say things like this many times, but that was a shock to my American friend. "I'm serious," I said. "If I see them as enemies, how can I reach them? I've often said, if you see a terrorist with a gun, get close to him, put your arm around him, and then he can't shoot you. As long as we see any person - Muslim, Communist, terrorist - as an enemy, then the love of God cannot flow through us to reach him. Each of us has a choice. I can go to terrorists and love them into the Kingdom. And the moment I love them, they are no longer my enemy. You don't hate a friend."

Did God love David? He was a murderer and an adulterer. Did God love Paul? He was a murderer too, a persecutor of the Church. What about the people of Nineveh in Jonah's days, whose wickedness had "come up before" God like a stench. If God loved them, then who are we to say we should not love them as well? 1 John 4:20-21 says, "If anyone says, 'I love God,' yet hates his brother, he is a liar. For anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen. And He has given us this command: Whoever loves God must also love his brother."

At this moment, we are so tempted to ask as the expert in the law did to Jesus, "And why is my neighbor?" Who is our brother? Even Muslims? Even Arabs? Even "terrorists"? Does 1 John mean we just have to love Christians, or just our family, or just Americans? Jesus' response to the expert in the law was the story of the Samaritan who had mercy while the religious leaders passed by on the other side. He expanded the man's vision of who he was called to love and show mercy to. Are we willing to do the same?

The more I see the conflict in the Holy Land, the more I see the power of Jesus' teachings in this context. I learned a song based on the words above in 1 John that a dear African-American sister in the Lord taught me in Lebanon, which usually made my eyes tear up when I sang it. We as humans are so divided, so torn up by sin and all the conflict it's produced ever since Cain and Abel--so separated from God by this sin. But God came to reconcile us to Himself on the cross, and to reconcile us to each other (2 Cor. 5). What good does it do to call ourselves Christians if we do not love the people right in our midst?

I was talking to a friend of mine here, a Palestinian who's lived in the US a lot. He was telling me how one day an Israeli missile dropped through his apartment, in a spot where he'd been standing just moments before. (Praise God, he was all right.) And he thought, "You know, I've talked to American Christians, my brothers and sisters in the Lord, who give money to Israel to defend itself, so they go and buy these bombs. So this bomb that almost killed me could have been paid for by my brother in the Lord." Do people realize where all the bombs they drop go? Do people know where the bullets hit? How will people feel on Judgment Day, when they have to make an account of all the bombs and bullets they sent to destroy homes and lives? We rain down judgment on others, on "terrorists" and people who "hate freedom," but what will we say if God measures us with the same measurement? "Do not judge, or you too will be judged."

Oh, but how can I say these things, challenge the Church with the words of Her Bridegroom, without falling into the same trap myself? Am I too not guilty of judging Christian Zionists, judging American evangelical militaristic nationalists? Do I not make the exact same mistakes as them? The only place I have to turn is the cross, where my sins were paid for in love. What is the verse right before the one I quoted in 1 John? It says, "We love because He first loved us."

If loving people, especially loving people who have hurt us or those close to us, were easy, more people would be doing it. It's because it's so hard that Jesus says "By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another" (John 13:35). It's the very difficulty of loving that becomes the witness for Jesus' love. If loving people were easy, then it wouldn't be a remarkable thing when it happens. But when people come together in love because of the love God has given them in Christ, then the world wakes up and says, "Wow, where did this love come from?" And they will know that it's because of Jesus, that He's the source of this love.

This book of Brother Andrew had a remarkable quote in it. A leader of a well-known Islamic organization in Lebanon said to Brother Andrew:

"Brother Andrew, you Christians have a problem," he told me. Well, I
know Christians have many problems, but I was curious what this Muslim
leader would tell me. "What do you think our problem is?" I asked. He answered: "You Christians are not following the life of Jesus Christ anymore." That was an interesting observation from a fundamentalist leader. It really hit me hard, so I asked him, "What do you think we should do about that?" He said, "You must go back to the Book."

When we go back to the Book--in deeds and heart, not just words--we will find that Jesus is calling us to a lifestyle that is as radical in our times as it was in His. We are called to follow the life of Jesus Christ, a man who died at the age of 33, publicly humiliated and executed by the established powers. And He said, "No servant is greater than his Master. If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also" (John 15:1-20).

I got an interesting e-mail from a friend of mine in Colorado, who said she admired me because "everybody is talking about doing these things, but you're actually out there doing it." Though her words encouraged me, I also felt acutely that I'm not there yet. Just hopping on a plane halfway around the world doesn't do it--we need to be real witnesses of the risen Lord in our lives to people, walking by the grace of God. There's still so much that needs to be broken down in me, so much that needs to be pruned before I will bear fruit to the glory of God. But praise God that He's the gardener, and He's able and willing to prune away at me even if it hurts. Mary mistook Jesus for a gardener when He rose from the dead--maybe she wasn't so wrong after all.

This is a pretty long message, and honestly I don't know who reads this webpage. But anybody who's gotten this far, I just have one request: Pray that God would make me into a servant. I've seen in the last month just how much I rebel against being a servant, and yet I also see in God's Word that I am to be "slave of all" (Mark 10:44), as I emulate the King who became a slave to set His people free. And I'm not even a King! (Well, the Bible does call us a "royal priesthood," but of course God made flesh, serving in humility, is worlds away from me serving somebody.) To be honest, I don't feel like I'm very good at a lot of the things the Bible College wants me to do (some yes, but a lot no), and I get frustrated and feel kind of worthless when I know that most people could do a better job at the kind of practical things they need. But for one, I don't want to give up on God teaching me how to be a practical servant, and two, I want my attitude to be right with God, whatever the circumstances. I don't believe I'll be packing boxes and cleaning toilets forever, but if that's all I ever do, if I serve as unto the Lord, it's a fragrant offering to Him. "I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of the wicked" (Psalm 84:10). God is the source of eternal joy! So of course I would rather serve in His presence than be a king away from Him. But pray that God would give me patience and strength, and would allow me to actually be a blessing in practical ways to people here, as well as allowing me to be a blessing spiritually.

One other word, and I'm done. I want to encourage you all to remain in Christ, throughout every single day, in every single circumstance. He is the one that bears fruit in us to the Father's glory, and He is the "author and perfector of our faith," the "starter and finisher" of the race that we can only run as we fix our eyes on Him. As Brother Andrew's book says, if we focus on the darkness (and to be honest, in this place that's pretty easy to do), we won't be able to see. Only as we look to the light that shines in the darkness will our own lives be filled with light.

By the way, I got a chance to meet Brother Andrew in person last week; he's a very gracious and enthusiastic person. I think he's in his eighties, but he moves like a gazelle. "Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall [that's me]. But those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint." Oh, Lord, let me rest in You as you start and finish my race, that I may run in the strength that you give me.

Love you all with an undying love in the name of Jesus,

Seth

Jesus in the Balkans

2004-11-30T07:50:00.001-07:00

Hey guys--
My friend Mary, who was with our group in Kosovo and Turkey, wrote a newsletter which I really enjoyed, and I wanted to put part of it here. (Thanks, Mary.)

-------------------------------------------------
[about her trip to Kosovo...] I really didn't know anything about Kosovo when I got on the plane to go there (which was a first for me), and I was totally shocked and amazed as I listened to people tell stories about their experience as Kosovar Albanians. These people have been through so much: war, ethnic persecution, oppression, economic hardship, occupation....and more. I heard stories from people my own age who had lived through such terrible atrocities; it was an extremely humbling experience that brought so much clarity and perspective for me to the issue of suffering and pain.

Why? Because as I spoke with these Albanian Christians I saw in them the most beautiful and amazing thing I've ever witnessed in my entire life, and probably the most beautiful thing I'll ever see on earth: Jesus. I know that sounds so cliche-pop-Christian-culture (you know that "veggie tale" language, that "hi-de-le ho neighbor" Ned Flanders-esque Christianese that exists in America, but I really mean it in the most profound sense). Truly what I witnessed was Jesus as He REALLY IS-- POWERFUL, BEAUTIFUL, SIGNIFICANT, PRACTICAL, LOVING, PEACEFUL, ALIVE, ACTIVE, CARING, AND AWARE--at work in them from their most shallow/mundane actions (visiting with friends, cooking dinner for guests, riding on busses) to their very profound actions (embracing serbians and turks) .

These Albanian Christians told me their stories. One girl told me how she used to have nightmares every night, she had tremors, and she had total and complete hatred for the Serbs. As she began to learn about Jesus and then ultimately decided to accept His life and His death for hers, she was freed from the nightmares and was able to sleep through the night again. She had peace and was able to speak and hear the Serbian language without cringing in hatred, and even now she is able to say with honesty that she LOVES the serbs! If you could only understand the depth of the evil that has transpired between these two ethnicities you would understand what a miracle this really is. And to be frank, this is just like Jesus: showing His power not in His sheer force to squelch or beat down, but in his power to bring LOVE and PEACE to a heart embittered with hatred. It's easy to hate; it is ONLY divine to love.

But the love that I saw in Kosovo didn't stop with just seeing how God was working among the Church to plant the seed of reconciliation. The church in Kosovo also went on its first mission trip this year and sent a team to Turkey. I had the privilege of attending this historic event, and saw the Holy Spirit do amazing things in the hearts of the Kosovar Albanians. Each one began to confess and realize during their time in Turkey that they had hatred in their hearts for the Turks as well. The Turks were the ones who brought Islam to the Balkans during the Ottoman empire, and did many horrific things to the people in this region during this empire as well. One Kosovar Albanian girl shared with us how she was struggling with hating the Turks as soon as she got there b/c of how modern and easy Turkish life was compared to how they left her country. She then shared with us a few days later how, sitting on a hammock overlooking the city of Istanbul, she felt God lift her eyes to see all the twinkling lights of Istanbul. And, she says, she heard that gentle, quiet whisper of God's voice telling her that each light represented at least one person, and He knew each light, and He loved each person. That encounter with God blew her away. God had already done so much in her to give her forgiveness and a love for the Serbs (who were committing genocide against her people), and now God was showing her that He wasn't finished: He wanted her to love the Turks as well.

You see, God wants us to be like Him, and He IS LOVE (I John 1-4). I'm so encouraged to tell you today that I KNOW my God is love and that He IS involved in our lives in very, very practical ways. It was getting the chance to witness how God is at work across the Globe that helped me to KNOW that Christianity is not a western thing; it's not an American thing; it's not a Republican thing (I'm a democrat!); it's a KNOWING JESUS thing.

And while we were in Turkey, we went to a Turkish church, with Albanian Kosovars. That sentence right there should blow your mind: ALBANIAN BELIEVERS GOING TO A TURKISH CHURCH!!!! It was so cool. The Kosovars shared their testimony and then the Turkish followers of Jesus got together and prayed for the Albanians. One man then stepped forward (he was a turk), and asked for forgiveness on behalf of all of his forefathers and his country; there was not a dry eye in the entire place at that point! Later the Albanians shared with us how that moment right there was SO important in their hearts to be able to forgive and heal from the past hurts. Now, the Turkish church is excited about inviting the Kosovars to come and work in Turkey with them, and also about sending Turks to Kosovo! A bridge was made for more peace making work to happen, reconciling men to each other and men to God. PRAISE GOD!

I was so disillusioned with the American church and our culture, to be quite frank. I am so glad I went on this trip and was reminded by all I saw how BLESSED I am to be an American (even with all the valid criticisms I have), and how GRATEFUL I am for suffering, because it can accomplish something in us (James 4): the perfection of our character, and CHRIST-LIKENESS! I've learned from the Albanian Christians that Christianity is about inviting Jesus into every aspect of your life. It's about crying out to Him from a sincere place in your heart with every whim of your heart in any of its directions. It's simply about Knowing Christ, not knowing about Christ. Do you know the difference? That's my one and only challenge to you as your family/friend.

Thanksgiving in the Middle East

2004-11-25T10:00:00.000-07:00

Hello everybody,

It's Thanksgiving! And to my surprise, that actually means something for me here! Last year when I was in Lebanon, I figured Thanksgiving would pass by just like any other day, since Lebanese of course don't celebrate it. But to my delight, we were invited to a nice big dinner at some American friends' house, had a wonderful party. But, I thought, two years in a row being surprised by Thanksgiving dinners in the Middle East would be too much.

I was wrong! I found out last Friday that the House of Hope (a house for disabled and blind children) was hosting a Thanksgiving dinner for its volunteers as well as others in the area, so I get to go have a Thanksgiving dinner in about a half an hour! Praise Jesus! MOREOVER, the church I've been attending in Jerusalem is having ANOTHER Thanksgiving dinner after church on Sunday here in Bethlehem, so I'll get not one, but TWO Thanksgiving celebrations in the middle of the West Bank!! Who would have thought? Pumpkin pie will never taste so good!

And another reason to be thankful--I realized that I have a three month visa in my passport, rather than the month that I was under the impression I'd been given. Which means I don't need to spend $200 to go to Jordan and back for a day, which really would have been silly. And it means I'll be here for Christmas, and get to enjoy all the fun that brings. =) (On top of that, somebody said it might even snow here tomorrow! Now that would be something--snowy white Bethlehem, right around Christmastime.)

Okay, I hope everybody wherever they are enjoys this Thanksgiving day, and every day gives thanks to God for all the super duper things He gives us. =)

Seth

Hope amidst challenges

2004-11-09T11:29:00.000-07:00

Hello,

God bless you all! I've been very busy here, but enjoying myself for the most part. I feel like I still have so much to learn about the place here. It's very complicated sometimes.

I started taking Hebrew classes this Sunday, which is great, it'll be two times a week until February. I already missed three classes (that's nine hours worth), so even for me it's challenging. =) But God willing I'll catch up in not too long. It's fun for sure, I'd like to meet more of the people in the class. Another cool thing recently is on Saturday I picked olives all day at a church in Jerusalem, we got so dirty! I didn't realize olive picking entails so much dirt. There were two ladies from Papua New Guinea helping out, along with a Nigerian girl and some other interesting people.

There's a big group of people from Europe and America visiting the college right now (which is the main reason I've been so busy--cleaning and cooking for them), they're with some kind of Christian reconciliation group. I wish I could attend the classes they're getting--it sounds like some really cool stuff. One thing I overheard which I wanted to share was a family who lives about halfway between here and Hebron. They have some property that they've owned for a long, long time, with deeds registered the Palestinian Authority, the Israelis, the Jordanians, the British and even the Ottomans. Yet still they've had challenge after challenge from settlers to prove that the land is really theirs, and not have it taken away. Who knows how much they've had to pay in legal fees just to keep the land that has been theirs for centuries. And yet, what was really tremendous to me was what they want to do with the land--they are planning on building a summer camp center where Israeli and Palestinian kids can get together and build relationships that can lead to peace. Wow! Imagine having to fight so hard just to keep your land from being stolen, and then turning and saying, "We want you to be our guests to help build peace in this land." That's a tremendous testimony. May God bless them.

There's definitely a lot of stuff going on under the surface here, far more than I know. But what gives me real hope is to see people who have been transformed by God's love for them in Jesus, and who can then turn to others and "forgive, as the Lord forgave you."

Love you all, whomever you might be. Pray that God would keep my heart loving Him and loving every single person I come into contact here.

In Jesus,

Seth

Twice in Royal David's City

2004-10-30T02:03:00.000-06:00

Salaam/Shalom,

Well, here I am in Bethlehem, for the second time in my life and hopefully not the last. I'm really enjoying it so far, the people at the Bible College are very interesting and open. The first night I got here I spent hanging out with the guys in the dorm outside cooking fish, talking and singing (probably 80% in Arabic, which definitely challenges me, especially with the differences between Palestinian and Lebanese), it was great. Yesterday I went to a funeral in Jerusalem, which of course was kind of sad (a Lutheran bishop had died), but also interesting from a cultural perspective. The church served a meal after the funeral, where they gave us Arabic coffee without sugar (symbolic of course). It tasted basically like spiffed-up dirt, which reminded me of "Ashes to ashes, and dust to dust." A good tangible lesson.

One of the more exciting things for me so far is seeing the connections that many of the students have to Israeli believers and congregations. One guy named Jeris is from Nazareth, and speaks Hebrew as good as Arabic. He's a musician (a very good singer), and gave me a tape he'd recorded of worship music, mostly in Arabic but with one song in Hebrew. His roommate, Ibrahim, was singing to me all these Hebrew worship songs, clamoring from the bottom of his heart. =) It was so beautiful for me to hear Palestinians worshiping God in Hebrew, being willing to bridge those gaps and accept Hebrew culture as legitimate and redeemable. I don't think most people on both sides of the conflict think or feel that way about the other side. I told Jeris I would love to help him with doing music as much as I possibly could. So I really feel like God has brought people into the school that I can have really fruitful and meaningful relationships with.

Things here seem to be pretty sensitive politically, not in terms of feeling like I'm facing danger, but mainly in terms of what kinds of words I use and lots of other little subtleties. So please keep that in mind when you write me, and who's in charge here--as far as I'm concerned, my e-mail is just as public as this website. As far as Jesus goes, proclaim it from the rooftops! Don't worry about shying away from spiritual topics in e-mail. I am volunteering at a Bible College, after all, so it's not like people don't know I'm a Christian.

My suitcase is still AWOL, this morning I'm going to call the airline people and hopefully track it down. They told me they would sent it to Jerusalem yesterday morning, but apparently that didn't happen. Meanwhile, I've been in this situation before (five days in Damascus with no change of clothes), so I'm a veteran by now. ;) And here I actually have friends who will loan me clothes and shampoo and stuff like that, so hamdillah. =)

I always appreciate news, even if I can't always respond personally very quickly. So let me know how y'all are doing.

God bless you all,

Seth

On to Jerusalem

2004-10-26T16:37:00.000-06:00

Got a ticket today to Tel Aviv for tomorrow night (ie, Wednesday night), should be in Bethlehem by Thursday morning or afternoon. I'm excited. =) May God work in the border officials, and may His will be done. I expect to be writing from Bethlehem soon. This last week in Istanbul has been very encouraging, God is working in my life and my heart. Much love to you all.

Istanbul, not Constantinople

2004-10-19T13:03:00.000-06:00

Hey everybody,

Just wanted to let you know, I'm doing well and happily in Istanbul this morning. We took a bus from Skopje, Macedonia yesterday afternoon (left Kosovo in the early afternoon), I'll be here for a week or two roughly. I had a really great, though unfortunately short, time in Prishtina, meeting together with the church there and meeting up with my friends from Boulder (Georges, Jason, Hoyt, Mary, Ashley, Heather, and Corinne). We're now here together with a few of the believers from Kosova, I expect it shall be a really good time. They all speak English very well, and I've picked up a few words of Albanian too (as well as Bulgarian, Macedonian, and now some Turkish). =) Slava na boga! (That means "Praise the Lord!" in Macedonian--in Albanian, it's "Lavdi Zoti!")

I had a good time visiting with my brother Joel in Germany, even though our time was pretty short. May the Lord bless him there in his last few months.

Here goes the call to prayer in Istanbul--most people don't seem to care much. It's definitely a more secular country even than Lebanon. Or rather, both the Muslims and the Christians in Lebanon take their religion relatively seriously (for better and for worse, usually the latter in Lebanon's case), but in Turkey which is almost completely Muslim, most people don't seem to hold onto a Muslim identity very strongly, if at all. Of course that's a generalization. It's even more that way in Kosovo, which was Communist for a long time--it was weird for me to drive through little towns and see all the women unveiled, wearing tight jeans and Italian fashion.

I'll write more hopefully from Istanbul, once we've spent a little more time here. May God bless you all--pray that our time here might be fruitful and meaningful. Soon I want to write more about Kosovo and the Balkans--I've really seen some things I want to be praying for there that I wasn't as keenly aware of before I came here.

Love,

Seth

encouragement

2004-09-28T14:35:00.000-06:00

Blessings from the Father of Lights, and from our King eternal Jesus Christ,

Seth, borther in Christ, my heart goes out with you. May you be an arrow in the hand of the Allmighty. I shall keep you and your trip in my prayers, that you might be emboldened to declare the only Gospel of salvation, the Biblical Gospel. May He also protect you from the subtle and fiery darts of the evil one. O if only it be my God's will that I might see you again. Keep growing in the knowledge of Christ, to whom be all the glory.

Thanks again for the C.D. I also have the package in possession and will deliver it if you would just remind me of name and/or address.

'Till we meet again, whether in this world, or at the pearly gates, may the Judge of all the earth keep you with His mighty right hand.

Home Stretch

2004-09-26T22:21:00.000-06:00

I have two weeks and two days before I'll be in Europe, eventually heading over to Kosova, then Turkey for a week or two. Then Bethlehem, of course. In the next two weeks, I need to finish as much as I possibly can of my grad school applications, along with working and seeing everybody I want to see before I leave. It will be a hectic time, but may the Lord bless it. I will post my travel adventures on this site, and once I reach Bethlehem I'll put prayer requests, stories, thoughts and news here.

A quick thought from 1 Corinthians 15:53-58

For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality. When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: "Death has been swallowed up in victory." "Where, O death, is your victory?
Where, O death, is your sting?"
The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.

May the Lord graciously open our eyes to see the glory of the gospel, the immenseness of the victory and the eternal life that He has bought for us with His own life. He is truly worthy of our worship, of our hearts and our very lives.

Para el reino de Dios y su gran amor,

Seth

Eternal Marriage

2004-09-12T14:39:00.000-06:00

This is an essay I wrote for a primarily Mormon audience, though anyone I think can read and understand it. May Jesus bless Mormons everywhere with a greater knowledge of His truth and His love.

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The Beautiful Promise of Eternal Marriage

By Seth Wilson

Being raised in the LDS church, I was taught that husbands and wives could spend eternity together, loving each other just as they could on Earth. Though I left the Church as a teenager, I always believed that the LDS teaching on marriage reflected a great beauty. Imagine my surprise, then, after surrendering my life to Jesus Christ, when I realized that the Bible teaches a great deal on eternal marriage, though in a way far more beautiful and glorious than I could ever have imagined in my younger days.
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“And again, verily I say unto you, if a man marry a wife by my word, which is my law, and by the new and everlasting covenant…it shall be done unto them in all things whatsoever my servant hath put upon them, in time, and through all eternity; and shall be of full force when thy are out of the world; and they shall pass by the angels, and the gods, which are set there, to their exaltation and glory in all things, as hath been sealed upon their heads, which glory shall be a fullness and a continuation of the seeds forever and ever.” (D&C 132:19)[1]

These words, recorded by Joseph Smith in 1843, set out the doctrine of eternal marriage to the LDS Church. Rather than marrying “’till death do we part,” as orthodox Christians do, Mormons marry with the belief that, if they live worthily, they can spend eternity with their spouses, reigning as celestial beings. This is an astounding idea.

However, even more astounding is the idea of eternal marriage found in the book of Revelation:

And a voice came out of the throne, saying, “Praise our God, all ye his servants, and ye that fear him, both small and great!” And I heard as it were the voice of a great multitude, and as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of mighty thunderings, saying, “Alleluia: for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth! Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready.”
And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints. And he saith unto me, “Write, Blessed are they which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb!” And he saith unto me, “These are the true sayings of God.” (Rev. 19:5-9)[2]

Who is this wife of the Lamb? Who are so blessed as to be “called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb”? Paul describes the profound mystery of this eternal marriage in his epistle to the Ephesians:

Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it; that he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, that he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish…“For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall be joined unto his wife, and they two shall be one flesh.” This is a great mystery: but I speak concerning Christ and the church. (Ephesians 5:25-27, 31-32)

This idea of Christ as the bridegroom and the Church as His bride, being consummated in eternal marriage at the end of time, is reflected in Old Testament teaching as well. The God of the Old Testament continually describes his relationship to Israel as one of marriage, albeit one in which Israel is continuously unfaithful. One of the most poignant uses of the marriage relationship between God and his people is found in Jeremiah chapter 2:

“I remember the devotion of your youth, how as a bride you loved me and followed me through the desert, through a land not sown…
“Long ago you broke off your yoke and tore off your bonds; you said, ‘I will not serve you!’ Indeed, on every high hill and under every spreading tree you lay down as a prostitute. I had planted you like a choice vine of sound and reliable stock. How then did you turn against me into a corrupt, wild vine? Although you wash yourself with soda and use an abundance of soap, the stain of your guilt is still before me,” declares the Sovereign Lord.
“How can you say, ‘I am not defiled; I have not run after the Baals’? See how you behaved in the valley; consider what you have done. You are a swift she-camel running here and there, a wild donkey accustomed to the desert, sniffing the wind in her craving—in her heat who can restrain her? Any males that pursue her need not tire themselves; at mating time they will find her. Do not run until your feet are bare and your throat is dry. But you said, ‘It’s no use! I love foreign gods, and I must go after them.’”
(Jeremiah 2:2, 20-25, NIV)

Israel is a bride who has prostituted herself before idols, loving so many things besides her one true Husband. Money, prestige, sex, ambition, even husbands or wives—things which can be good in and of themselves, yet we desire these created things more than the source of them all, the Creator and Lover of our souls. What a wretched state! Yet in Isaiah, God says to defeated, broken Israel,

“Do not be afraid; you will not suffer shame.
Do not fear disgrace; you will not be humiliated.
You will forget the shame of your youth
And remember no more the reproach of your widowhood.
For your Maker is your husband—the Lord Almighty is his name—the Holy One of Israel is your Redeemer; he is called the God of all the earth. The Lord will call you back as if you were a wife deserted and distressed in spirit— a wife who married young, only to be rejected,” says your God. “For a brief moment I abandoned you, but with deep compassion I will bring you back. In a surge of anger I hid my face from you for a moment, but with everlasting kindness I will have compassion on you,”says the Lord your Redeemer. (Isaiah 54:4-8, NIV)

This everlasting kindness, despite our prostitution and unfaithfulness to our Husband, is demonstrated through Christ’s atoning sacrifice for us, by his death on the cross. As Paul says in Romans,

For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. For scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die. But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him. For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life. And not only so, but we also joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received the atonement. (Romans 5:6-11)

Because of God’s great love and mercy for us, he gave his Son, Jesus Christ, to die for us prostitutes and make us a pure, spotless bride. Remember how Ephesians describes Christ’s love for us:

“[Christ] loved the church, and gave himself for it; that he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, that he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish.”

Brothers and sisters, let us stop and reflect upon what we have read here. What amazing love is this! Though we have rejected Him and considered His love worthless, Jesus continues to pursue us with abandon, even to the point of dying the death we deserved as adulterers! He so desires for us to be his beautiful, spotless, shining bride that he poured out his own precious blood to cleanse our stain-ridden garments.

What can our response to such love be, but to joyfully worship and praise the One who loves us with such a relentless passion! Why prostitute ourselves any longer, when such a glorious marriage awaits us? No, the only reasonable response to such love is to desire our Maker, and Him alone, to enjoy His goodness for eternity. And such is what God has in store for those who love Him and accept the atoning sacrifice He has made: an eternal marriage of joyful worship, consummated on that final wedding day.

And I beheld, and I heard the voice of many angels round about the throne and the beasts and the elders: and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands; Saying with a loud voice,

“Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and blessing!”
And every creature which is in heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, heard I saying,

“Blessing, and honour, and glory, and power, be unto him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb for ever and ever!”
And the four beasts said, Amen. And the four and twenty elders fell down and worshipped him that liveth for ever and ever. (Rev. 5:11-14)

This, then, is the truth that God has revealed to us through the apostles and prophets: We are unfaithful prostitutes, and we stand condemned, but our Lover has purchased us by the blood of the Lamb to be a pure and spotless bride for Him, to love and enjoy and worship Him forever and ever! Nothing, not even eternity with an earthly wife or husband, nor reigning as gods ourselves, can compare to this beautiful gift. Though our relationships to people on earth may give us great joy, let us always remember they are but the shadow of the true Light of the World, the source of all life and joy, our Maker and Husband. Let us also sing, along with the bride in the Song of Solomon:

“Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth,
For thy love is better than wine…
Draw me, we will run after thee:
The king hath brought me into his chambers.” (S.S. 1:2,4a)

Let all those who are willing, enter into the chambers of the living God. Once you sold yourselves as prostitutes, but now the Lamb has bought you with His life, and you belong to your Husband.

The Spirit and the bride say, “Come!” And let him who hears say, “Come!” Whoever is thirsty, let him come; and whoever wishes, let him take the free gift of the water of life. (Rev. 22:17, NIV)

If you have any questions or comments for the author, feel free to contact him at sethwilson1@yahoo.com.

[1] LDS Scripture quotations are from the standard versions. All italics are author’s emphasis.
[2] Unless otherwise specified, all Bible quotations are from the King James Version. http://biblegateway.com

random

2004-09-12T14:26:00.000-06:00

One random thing--if anybody wants a gmail account, I have six invitations to give out. So just post a comment here, and I'll e-mail it to you.

kulshi mniH

2004-09-09T08:09:00.000-06:00

I talked to my parents last night, and it looks like while they have concerns about me going, if I decide to go, they will support me. So Praise God! May He lead me safely to Bethlehem if it's His will to do so.

Assuming all goes according to plan (el hombre propone y Dios dispone), I would be leaving here toward the beginning of October, going to Kosovo and Turkey for a week each with a group from Horizons, then heading down to Tel Aviv. It will be wonderful to spend time with the believers in Kosovo and Turkey, get to know those places a little better.

Anyway, I'm excited! May Jesus be lifted up on my trip and as I prepare to go. There are a lot of things I still need to do before I leave--good thing it's not right away.

Invitation to Bethlehem

2004-09-08T13:24:00.000-06:00

Dear friends,

I received a call from the Bethlehem Bible College today, informing me that I am welcome to come there to volunteer teaching English and otherwise helping out with the school, as soon as I could. I'm very excited about this opportunity, though there are still obstacles to be overcome, most importantly my parents' concerns about safety. So I would appreciate any prayer on the subject--that God would be glorified in what I do, that the eyes of my parents would be open to see the vastness of the glory of God in the face of Christ, and draw their concerns from His heart, not just from worldly viewpoints. I pray that God would use them to challenge and refine me, that He would give me wisdom to follow His will, whether that means staying or going, that I might honor and love my parents in this decision, and most importantly honor Him above all else.

I'll post here when things get figured out, though at this point the fact that the college wants me to come and that I want to come gives me some confidence that God will bring me there soon. May His will be done.

In Yes(h)u'a,

Seth

To Live is Christ

2004-09-04T20:36:00.000-06:00

I wrote an essay for the last college class I took, two years ago, which I wanted to post here. The assignment was to talk about your "mission in life," so here it is. It remains unchanged, because the God I love and serve remains always the same. May God spare me from trial for trials' sake, and may He grant me the great joy of sharing in the fellowship of His sufferings as well as His resurrection.

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I have always been a relatively self-centered person. Most of my life I’ve focused on my own ambitions for success, for prestige and recognition, and for approval from my family and friends. Even my motivation for wanting to “make the world a better place” usually centered on the desire to feel good about myself, and to have others look up to me as noble and exemplary.

But in the last year, the radical, self-sacrificial love of Jesus has seduced me, captivated me, enveloped me, and fundamentally and irreversibly transformed my entire being. The fact that Jesus, “being in very nature God,” willingly sacrificed himself for the sake of all humanity, breaks my heart of all pride and attempts at self-justification and seeking my own glory, and instead frees me to live for the author of life alone, to love others as he loves me, and to give him the life which he first gave me.

“To live is Christ, to die is gain.” These words were penned by the apostle Paul while he was imprisoned for preaching the good news, awaiting a probable execution that he later met. This is a radically positive view of both death and life—that in death we are united with the Lord and Love of our lives, and that in life we live through him, in him and for him. He promised us that “neither death nor life…nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus.” Therefore we are free from our fears, free from our own self-interest, free to live for others as Christ lived for us.

I thank God that he has given me a passion for reconciliation between peoples, for peace and understanding to transform groups that once hated and killed each other. I believe that only the radical love of Jesus—who taught us to love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us, and who showed that love for enemies of God like myself by dying on the cross—only this love can truly heal people, can truly bring forgiveness and reconciliation to situations so oppressed by violence and despair. I believe that God has given me ability to understand people, to learn languages, and to have compassion for suffering, all very necessary for this work. But coming from an upper-middle class American, who has experienced very little suffering in my life, the message that we should forgive those who kill our children or destroy our lives will likely fall on deaf ears apart from God’s power. So my hope is that if God wants to use me in this way, he’ll give me the power to have an impact, even if it requires my own suffering—through imprisonment, hunger, torture, or even death—so that my life and my death will be a vehicle for others to come and know the Love that set me free.

To me, Jesus’ message of good news is one of love conquering fear, of life conquering death. But this was only done through the death of the very One through whom life was created. So if Jesus let himself be put to death and thereby transformed all of creation, I, who am of infinitely lower worth, have no reason to hold back any part of me, no reason to fear giving to him what he already gave me. “Whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it.” I want to lose my life and find new Life in him, “to share in the fellowship of his sufferings,” so that I can be a small part of that beautiful transformation from suffering to joy, from hatred to love, from inescapable death to eternal life.

Persecution, Peacemaking and the Church

2004-08-01T20:35:00.000-06:00

One of the problems that many people who would be engaged in peacemaking through Christ is persecution and possible injury or death. When parties engage in violence against each other, they usually don't like it when somebody tells them to "turn the other cheek." So the person who says that often gets his cheek slapped too, or worse. What does this mean for Christian peacemaking?

Jesus makes it abundantly clear that those who follow Him on His way to the cross will receive far more than anything they could earn for themselves on this earth. "Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you."

Rejoice and be glad, Jesus says!! When you get the snot kicked out of you because of Jesus, because of standing on His Word that tells us to love our enemies, because of His kingdom that is not of this world, should you cry and feel sorry for yourself? Should you decide, "Well, that didn't 'work,' maybe I should be less bold next time?" NO! "Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven!!"

Not only should we not consider it a terrible thing if we suffer for Jesus' sake, the Bible tells us we should expect it. "In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted," Paul says in 2 Timothy 3:12. And this coming from a man who knew what he was talking about--beaten, flogged, imprisoned and eventually executed for his proclamation of the gospel and the resurrection of Jesus. So if we face troubles in this world, remember that our Master faced worse: "If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you. Remember the words I spoke to you: 'No servant is greater than his master.' If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also...in fact, a time is coming when anyone who kills you will think he is offering a service to God" (John 15:18-20; 16:2). Remember that Jesus warned us, "In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world" (16:33).

If you want to be a servant of Christ, you should expect to be hated, you should expect to be persecuted. But you should "consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds" (James 1:2--and this from a man who was eventually beheaded for his faith in Jesus). How can we possibly consider it "pure joy" to be persecuted, mocked, beaten or even killed? For the same reason that Jesus faced the same thing and worse--"Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart" (Hebrews 12:2-3). What was that joy set before Him? To be granted access into the eternal presence of the Father, the source of all joy, pleasure, comfort and love! King David prophesied about Jesus' resurrection with these words:

Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices;
my body also will rest secure,
because you will not abandon me to the grave,
nor will you let your Holy One see decay.
You have made known to me the path of life;
you will fill me with joy in your presence,
with eternal pleasures at your right hand. (Psalm 16:9-11)

This promise was not only for Jesus and for David, but for all of those who trust in Jesus Christ for our salvation, die to ourselves, take up our crosses and follow Him, trusting in His grace to bring us safely home. So if we offer ourselves to His grace to bring us through the trials of persecution--in the case of the Middle East, of hatred from Israelis, hatred from Palestinians, hatred from Americans; hatred from Muslims, from Jews, from Christians; hatred from police, from soldiers, from politicians, from "church leaders" even--if we, for Jesus' sake and by His power, resist the temptation to destroy our enemies but instead reach out to them in love with the same love that the Son of God reached out to us, His enemies, then we can be sure that God will guard us and keep us, and that we will experience the reality as David said of being filled with joy, of eternal pleasures in the very presence of God. "I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete" (John 15:11).

Oh, that God might open our eyes to see the power of these words! Jesus said, "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it. What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul?" (Matthew 16:24-26).

To all those who live in Israel/Palestine, and to all those who find themselves in the midst of conflict wherever they may be, I want to say:

You must repent. You must turn to the God of awesome, terrible love and power revealed to us in Jesus Christ. Awesome love, that He would take our sins upon Himself that we might have life. Terrible power, that He created the world, even our very souls, and He has the power to cut us off from His life-giving presence eternally. We have all sinned and fallen short of the glory of God--we have all failed to love God will all our hearts, minds and strength, and we have all failed to love our neighbors as ourselves-- certainly we have all failed to love our enemies, as the Author of Life has commanded us. We have no hope but the grace of God offered us in Christ. And as we trust in Him and follow Him on the way of self-sacrificial love, losing our lives for His sake (figuratively or literally), we know that eternal and abundant joy await us. We know that the same God who loves us with such an awesome love awaits us, to love us eternally and give us the amazing privilege of worshiping Him forever.

May God give the Church strength to live out the gospel, that the world might know that we are His disciples.

Marana tha!

thumbs up

2004-07-16T11:13:00.000-06:00

Seth, grace be with you,

I'm rewriting this since i somehow managed to lose the initial one. I see you work fast. Great idea on the Bible link. Will set one up also.
Thumbs up on the page, and may the Lord convict souls unto repentance. Theres no way of escaping God's wrath save by hiding in Christ's side, as Moses was hid in the cleft of the rock, says a hymn. Amen!!!
The world doesn't realize that by underestimating sin, it is underestimating God's holyness. I hope you read the post about the room the Lord may be giving us for fellowship. Please keep this in prayer. We will know on Sunday. Warmly salute the Husnis'. I've sent Pierre an email. (Chad too, who's back in the States) Looking forward to your input in posts, and may Jesus abundantly bless you, borther.

Greetings

2004-07-10T23:33:00.000-06:00

Hello friends,

Ahlan wa sahlan! Welcome to this modest blog. Inshallah someday it will be more. My name is Seth Wilson, I'm currently in Colorado, USA but spent the last year in Lebanon, hopefully will be going back to the Middle East shortly.

My prayer for this page is that God may use it for His glory to bring the nations to Himself through Jesus Christ, that they might find reconciliation through His blood shed on the cross. In Paul's second letter to the Corinthians, it says:

For Christ's love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died. And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again.

So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view. Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men's sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. We are therefore Christ's ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ's behalf: Be reconciled to God. God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

In the apostle Paul's letter to the believers in Ephesus (now Turkey), it also says:

Remember that at that time you were separate from Christ...without hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near through the blood of Christ.

For he himself is our peace, who has made the two one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, by abolishing in his flesh the law with its commandments and regulations. His purpose was to create in himself one new man out of the two, thus making peace, and in this one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility. He came and preached peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near. For through him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit.

So God has made reconciliation, forgiveness and healing possible through the death of His Son Jesus Christ on the cross. He offers us reconciliation, and through us He reaches out to others with the same reconciliation. Anyone who has truly found peace in Christ will be a peacemaker, then, an ambassador of Christ, displaying the peace Christ has given us in our relationships.

It is my fervent prayer that God may heal the wounds that exist in the Middle East, between Jew and Arab, Palestinian and Israeli, Christian and Muslim--all the dividing walls of hostility that Jesus died to break down. And I believe the only way that true reconciliation is possible between people is by their receiving the reconciliation God has offered us in Jesus.

May the Lord bless you all richly and abundantly. Jesus said, "I have come that they might have life, and have it abundantly." May this life be yours today, and may the power of its joy and love overcome the death and sorrow that so enstrangles the land where Jesus once lived and died.

Seth Wilson