Passions of the Soul

Hope

Have you ever noticed how often sports figures use the word hopefully, before a game begins? The interviewer asks a question about the athlete's expectations for the game, and the athlete typically says, "Well, hopefully, we're going to yada, yada, yada."

Tomorrow is midterm election day, in our nation. Everyone who pays much attention to what's happening in Congress, in our States and in our culture--not to mention the rest of the world--has hopes for the outcome of this election. Some people are confident in their hope, others not so confident, but no matter what side we're on, on any issue or with regard to any candidate, we all hope things are going to get better, somehow. 

One of the NIV study notes in I Peter 1 says that, "In the Bible, hope is not wishful thinking, but a firm conviction." In what, or in whom, are we to put our hope? Anyone who has spent much time in church and/or in the Bible can answer that, as if it were a question in the catechism: Our hope is in Jesus Christ; our hope is in God.

Under a sectional sub-heading, "Be Holy," Peter wrote in 1:13:

Therefore, prepare your minds for action; be self-controlled; set your hope fully on the grace to be given you when Jesus Christ is revealed.

I'm not a preacher, and I'm not trying to preach any of the several sermons I think could be based on this one verse. I'm just sharing the way this struck me, as I read it, this morning.

    "Set your hope" - It is my choice and within my power to choose to hope, and to choose the source or basis of my hope.

    "Set your hope fully on the grace...." - I dare not forget the grace that God has shown and continues to show me. His grace covers all my sin.

    "Set your hope fully on the grace to be given you when Jesus Christ is revealed." - Here, and here only, is the foundation and the source of my hope for today, tomorrow, and for the future. I dare not, and I do not, place my hope in our elected leaders, even if all of my candidates of choice win, tomorrow. They are as broken as I. My hope is in Jesus, because He holds today and all the tomorrows in His hands.

My hope is built on nothing less
Than Jesus' blood and righteousness.
I dare not trust the sweetest frame,
But wholly lean on Jesus' Name.

On Christ the solid rock I stand,
All other ground is sinking sand."

 

Trusting God with Reality

Bruce began his own land survey business 10 years and three weeks ago, and it took off like a dog that's been trembling, eyes on the bunny rabbit, waiting obediently for the "Okay!" It never did actually level off, either; it just kept growing, each year's gross receipts significantly greater than the year before, right through 2007. After the first six months, Bruce told me I could quit teaching, anytime I wanted to. I taught one more semester, and that was it. At that point, his business became our business, and we have worked together, ever since.

The incredible success of our business paid off in several ways:
    - We got out of debt. Entirely. We paid off our house four or five years ago.
    - We began sponsoring children through Compassion International, which blesses us at least as much as it does the children.
    - We also enjoyed vacations in places we love to visit--tho' not "across the pond," as we often talked about.

The idea is simply that we were enjoying life, not in an extravagant way, but in ways that gave us the relaxation that Bruce desperately needed, because he worked so very hard; it also gave us the inner satisfaction of knowing we were contributing in some important areas.

In 2008 our gross receipts drop by 45%, but it was still a good year; nerve-wracking, but a year we would have died for, ten years earlier. And then we endured 2009. In my end-of-year tax-planning session with our accountant, last fall, after feeding in numbers, he said he'd "try to bring [us] up to minimum wage." It was a bad year, business-wise, because of the severity of the recession and continuing instability of the economy.

This year has been worse. The really bad part has been the anxiety I've had. I've prayed, often, acknowledging that God knows exactly what our needs are--which, if we were really talking about just our own needs, are really minimal. But I've faithfully "advised" Him of the state of affairs.  But we're still cutting more and more. This is not a bad thing.

Faith-based Charities

When former President G.W. Bush opened the door to faith-based charities and churches to received government funding, it sounded like a good thing. But it wasn't long before the Boy Scouts of America found itself in court because, the ACLU argued, BSA's policy prohibiting openly-homosexual persons from being leaders could not continue, as long as BSA accepted government funding. BSA prevailed in the High Court.

World Vision, long identified as a Christian-based humanitarian relief organization, is now on the ropes for accepting government funds. Again, the argument is that they cannot accept federal funding and continue to enforce their policy of employing only Christians, as WV (and many of us) define "Christians." Sued by three former employees who had presented themselves as devout Christians, but were ultimately fired because they deny the deity of Jesus Christ, WV will soon be making its case to the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals--a bastion of liberal thought and decision.

Any reader of this blog (all two or three of you) knows that I represent Compassion International as a volunteer child advocate. From a secular point of view, Compassion and World Vision would be considered "competitors," because both organizations offer opportunities for individuals, families, groups and churches to sponsor children and/or contribute in other ways. The two organizations differ in philosophy and practice, in the field, but neither has nor makes an exclusive claim to being the most godly. I volunteer for Compassion because their philosophy and approach make sense to me; I have friends who sponsor children through World Vision for the same reason.

One of the many facts about Compassion that I deeply respect is that the leaders wisely decided, some years back, not to apply for any government funds, because they could see that doing so would very possibly, sometime in the future, mean having to change some policies or practices. That is what BSA fought, and that is what World Vision is fighting, now. What makes me happy, in the article linked to above, is the statement that, if WV ultimately loses this fight, they will stop accepting government funds, rather than change their employment policies. If it comes to that, I do believe God will honor and bless them for it. Please keep WV in your prayers...and Compassion, too, as our Enemy has many ways to attack.

And if you would like to sponsor a child, why not search for him or her, now? Your $38 per month will mean not only a better life, now, but a future and a hope for your child. Release a child from poverty in Jesus' name!

"Why can't we all get along?"

I can think of several reasons why we can't all get along, but there are times - many times - when that haunting question comes to mind.

Whatever your opinion about the healthcare reform bill that was just passed, is there really any excuse for the kind of stuff that is apparently going on? Our own Congressional Representative's local office suffered some vandalism, two or three nights ago. Some guy several states away claimed some responsibility (that's something to be proud of?!?), because he has been using his blog to urge those who are unhappy about the bill that has now been signed into law to engage in such acts. Whether he also claims responsibility for death threats and ugly messages stopping short of death threats, I don't know. But is he raising the moral tone, or the civil tone, of our society? Not in my book.

Granted, I can get pretty biting when I'm roused to ire. My tone does not always drip with honey; my words are not always soft and sweet. And I am inclined, on someone else's blog, to make my position clear, even to the point of sarcasm.

But to call someone because I don't like the way he has done his job and express myself in gutter language? No. There might have been a time when I would have, but I hope that, as I get older, I am learning to fall back on more civil language.

At least two things have influenced me in that direction. The first is the memory of a biting message I sent (through a "Contact Us" link) to someone whose website I had just visited, several years ago. Given the nature of the business behind the website, I had some criticisms of what I saw, there, and I made myself clear.

Partly because I like to think of myself as a nice person, I was thoroughly embarrassed and chagrined to receive a very nice e-mail thanking me for my note and even asking me to help with further materials used in the business. Oh, my gosh. A real person read that!! Yes. Real people read letters of complaint and criticism, comments on blogs and media articles, and social networking sites. Most letters of complaint or criticism don't get a response - at least, not messages that are sarcastic, harshly stated, or full of name-calling and gutter language, which often overlap. Usually, when someone does respond to that kind of letter, note or other message, it is to escalate the level of vitriole or, to put it differently, it is to lower still more the level of social discourse.

The other factor in my on-going intent to express myself in civil language and tone (at least when I am addressing the target of my anger, disgust, or whatever) is what I later wrote to the person who thanked me for my not-so-nice note (after I had first apologized and thanked him for his reply): I am a follower of Jesus Christ and supposedly being transformed into His likeness. I don't want my words, which create my tone, to reflect badly on Him or on others who share my faith. And they often have and sometimes still do.

About two years ago, in a weekly Bible study at church, we were studying the letter of James, in the New Testament. I cringed and gulped pretty hard, when we reached this passage:

Oh, Toyota...

I drive a Toyota Camry (2002), so I've been pretty interested in developments as stories have come out. It seems to me that, when we hear that an auto maker--or maker of any other product for consumers--is having to recall products, the usual stance is to assume the company behind the product is the Big Bad Wolf who thought he could get away with producing products on the cheap. Certainly, that has been the case, too many times.

Whether Toyota is in trouble because the makers have knowingly cut corners, I've no idea. But here's what has troubled me, and it's just sort of nibbled away in the background of my mind.

What I don't know about Japanese culture must fill volumes. But one piece that I heard from two different missionaries has stuck with me for decades: the Japanese value the attitude of "saving face" for someone who is in the wrong. I did not understand this to mean that the one in the wrong is allowed to continue, unchecked, but that he must be allowed some way to save face. I would call it extending grace to your opponent or to the one who is wrong.

So when I caught a few minutes of the Congressional hearings, a week or so ago, with one of the honchos from Toyota in the hot seat in front of several esteemed Congressional representatives, I quickly saw and heard a total lack of grace from the U.S.  What I did see and hear was the puffed-up, arrogant grandstanding as the representatives literally and figuratively looked down on the gentlemen from Japan. As I caught a quick look at the face of the man in the hot seat, the thought flashed in neon lights across my brain: No wonder they saw our war with them in the Pacific as racial.

Our national arrogance runs rampant.

Haiti Earthquake Update

Haiti Earthquake Update - Very current, updated just this morning. Actually, anytime you click on the link, you will read the then most current update available.

The thing is, Haiti's earthquake and horrific devastation are old news, in the mainstream media (MSM). If you gauge the situation in Haiti by the amount of attention given to it by the MSM, you will forget about the people who are left to deal with the rebuilding, or with the losses of parents, children, siblings, co-workers and friends. You will forget about the people who live in tent cities now made far worse, since the rains began. Can you say mud flats?

But work is still going on, groups that have been ministering in Haiti for long years are still there, still serving and still working to come up with the best ways to help those in need...which covers a lot more people, now, than it did two months ago. And two months ago, Haiti was already the poorest nation in the Western hemisphere.

If you've read this blog, before, you know that I am a volunteer advocate for children and the poor through Compassion International. You may know, already, that Compassion has been in Haiti for 40 years. What you may not know is that Compassion is partnering with other ministry groups, there, to help in the rebuilding--not only of structures, but of infrastructure and of faith.

Much has happened, in the past 6 weeks, that has not been widely told, as the MSM are not typically interested in chronic conditions and spiritual movements. In a nation whose leader three years ago led the Haitians in renewing their national commitment to voodoo, the current President has recently led the nation in committing themselves to worshipping the only true God, the Lord Most High, Jesus Christ. Reports have been confirmed of more than 100 now-former voodoo priests having accepted Jesus Christ and destroyed their voodoo implements and supplies.

Compassion and other ministry groups have earned credibility, in their years of service, and they are strategically placed to work, to serve, to encourage, to be the hands, feet, and voices of Jesus Christ. Our financial resources* and our continuing, fervent prayers on their behalf are needed, still, and will be needed for a long time. If you are in a position to give any amount on a monthly basis, that will help them tremendously.

*Other Compassion funds that feed into helping Haiti, but may also be needed elsewhere, include the Where Most Needed, Disaster Relief, and Help Highly Vulnerable Children Funds. If you are personally knowledgeable about other ministry groups serving in Haiti and know them to be good stewards of your money, they could also use your help. I highly recommend Compassion because I know this ministry and the people behind it, and because they have been awarded Charity Navigator's highest rating eight (8) years straight, for their financial integrity, consistency and transparency.

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A greater tragedy

Please read this post, the latest update from Compassion's medical team in Haiti. It just hurts.

Imagine the college or university nearest you. Imagine that your nation is so poor that an earthquake would flatten all of the buildings, killing 90%--that's not a typo--of the students, along with many professors.

Imagine that your country is so poor that it does not have the heavy equipment needed to move the chunks of buildings that trap people in the rubble; so poor that concrete is not reinforced with steel rebar.

Imagine that going to college had been an impossible dream for you or your children, were it not for an organization like Compassion, who made it possible; were it not for people who would help with their financial support, as well as with their love and encouragement through letters. And imagine that that dream appears to have died in the recent disaster.

Now, imagine that you live in a country that is filthy rich, by world standards, and that you have the means to help, even a little. It might take a sacrifice, on your part--putting aside $1.25 a day, buying one less St*bucks a week, putting off buying those DVDs you've been wanting, or whatever small adjustment you could make in order to give something.

Giving to Compassion's Help Haiti fund (see widget, right, or go here) is one way to help. Sponsoring a child in another of the countries where Compassion serves is another way. You may want to sponsor a child in Haiti, but right now, that means letting someone like me know to put your name on a waiting list, for when Compassion knows for sure which children are available...and which ones died.

But please...don't let the fickle news media and the superficiality of our culture cause you to forget the needs of those in desperate poverty in areas where there are no food stamps, no WIC, no government-based resources of any kind for them. Forgetting and moving on, as if everything that could be done, had been done--that is the greater tragedy, and we will all be held accountable for it.

Feminists vs. Tebow ad

Is it possible that anyone in American has not heard about the Super Bowl ad paid for by Focus on the Family? In case you are one who hasn't, the ad features Tim Tebow and his mother Pam, and tells the story of her illness while she was pregnant with Tim. She and Tim's dad already had four children, and she says her doctor in the Philippines advised her to get an abortion; the medications she was receiving, the doctor said, could leave her unborn son with birth defects.

Pam Tebow did not take her doctor's advice. The Tebows were and are Christian missionaries who value life. Tim is understandably happy with her decision.

Reportedly, CBS has seen the script, but not the full ad. No one has, other than Focus. But the women's groups began screaming "Foul!" over this ad they have not seen, as soon as word went out about it. I've read claims by them of anti- everything they hold dear; I've also read the claim of one woman that she "respects" the private opinions of others, as long as they keep them private...uh huh. Is she willing to model that?

We see commercials all the time for all manner of intimate issues--erectile dysfunction, jock itch (or do they not advertise about that, anymore?), PMS and whatever isn't PMS that "Y*z" will treat; we endure commercials for maxi-pads, everyday liners, Tr*jans . . . you name it. But an ad celebrating life? Giving a positive message about one woman's choice?  Perish the thought!

One commenter in a thread on Facebook suggested that the feminists were just mad because they can't find a football star who is happy his mother aborted him. They probably are!

Okay. When I stop shaking my head and chortling over the hypocrisy of the Left, and specifically of the women who claim to advocate "choice" (as long as it's the one they want you to make), I realize that every one of them is a woman loved by God; a woman for whom Jesus died, and He doesn't love me a bit more than He loves each of them. I wish every one of them would watch an ultrasound of a fetus and open her heart to the truth: that she's watching a baby, not "a piece of tissue." That the infant is a human being in progress...and aren't we all?

But at this point, the arguments keep coming--and now, Gloria Allred has come out and accused Pam Tebow, Tim, and Focus of lying--she claims that Pam Tebow's story is totally false, and she intends to file a complaint against...someone, I don't remember who--if CBS proceeds with its plan to air the ad. Mind you, she has no evidence, but only a single supposition.

Meanwhile, I'm thinking that, because of all the furor, more people are curious about this ad, more people will watch and listen to it than might have, if the feminists had kept quiet. This is a good thing!

That One Voice

The photo in this article has no doubt been all over the Internet. I saw it on Facebook, and that's also where I saw a link to the article, which was written by the man behind the camera. I'm suggesting that you read the article, first, and take in the photo; then, come back (if you like) and read what the two, together, have triggered for me.

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Okay, you've read the article? Good. It answered the question that popped into my mind the first time I saw the photo: "How could a child who had been buried under rubble for a solid week come out of his temporary entombment with such a smile, and with arms wide?" Anyone who wasn't too near death or too ill would be relieved, surely; but what gave him that look of victory, of conquest, as if he had just made the winning basket in a national championship game? I would have been less surprised to see him come out with perhaps a haunted look, maybe even in tears in his relief at having been found.

Now I know the story, that when a hole was made through which he could be extracted, he initially refused to come out. Then he heard perhaps the one voice that made all the difference in the world: MOM!!

Wow. I keep thinking what a parable that is--or maybe an analogy, or something. I'm thinking about what's next, when I leave this life. Whatever my death will be like, however protracted, however painful, however much of a struggle it may or may not be, I can imagine that moment when I hear that One Voice that I long to hear, and then--oh, JOY!--see the One face I long to see:  Jesus!!

I keep hearing the chorus of a song by Don Wyrtzen that I actually have not heard in more than 20 years. I think I remember the words correctly:

Just think of stepping on shore and finding it heaven
Of touching a hand and finding it God's
Of breathing new air and finding it celestial
Realizing at last, you're finally home!

Amen. Come, Lord Jesus!

Haiti - 10 days later

The 7.0-magnitude (some reports said 7.3) earthquake in Haiti on January 12 is now old news. Sure, there's still some coverage on TV, but there were no rescues to report yesterday. Meanwhile, Scott Brown won in Massachusetts, the President is going after big banks, and life in the U.S. is returning to what passes for normal.  Haiti will soon be a distant land, again, in many people's minds.

Meanwhile in Haiti, people are still sleeping in tents or counting stars, instead of sheep; even those who could find shelter are afraid to sleep in any kind of building. Supplies are flown into Port-Au-Prince and bottlenecked at the airport. In their deep hunger, thirst and fear, some turn to violence to try to get what they need. And the frequent aftershocks do not encourage calm.

I have been privileged to sit in on two listen-only telephone conferences, this week. On these calls, I have been able to hear about the situation in Haiti from people who have been on the ground, there; about the role Compassion International is playing, there; the role of the Church in Haiti, and around the world; and what Compassion's staff and church partners in Haiti need most from us, now. Here's some of what we heard:

From Wess Stafford, President and CEO of Compassion: This is "perfect time for God's people to shine . . . and for the Church to be a beacon of hope in Haiti."  As I heard him say on the phone and have heard him say, before, "The Church is God's Plan A to serve the world; He has no Plan B."  You can listen to his words to us on the call, here.

The Compassion staff in Haiti have been operating from the parking lot outside their office building. The building is still standing, but it is not safe. They, too, have been working tirelessly to help those they could help, despite injuries and deep personal losses. Many lost homes, family members, friends; one, a parent to five children, lost them all. That's just unfathomable, to me. And still, through their grief, they are doing what they can to help to reach all of the church partners that were affected (more than 30 have been reached) and assess their needs, and to locate the children.

Please, please pray for David Hames, who was with Compassion employee Dan Woolley, when the quake hit. You may have seen Dan's rescue on TV, or any of the interviews he has given, since then. But unless David has been found in the past hour, he is still unaccounted for. Truly, only by a miracle could he still be alive.