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On continual re-entry
15 years ago
25 January 2008
Browser for Mac Users...
I'm trying out a new browser for the Macintosh called "Flock." I'm supposed to be able to update my blog from the browser, etc.
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Forgiveness - again!
Today, I read (among other things) this paragraph in Genesis 50:
“Then Joseph returned to Egypt with his brothers and all who had accompanied him to his father’s funeral. 15 But now that their father was dead, Joseph’s brothers became afraid. “Now Joseph will pay us back for all the evil we did to him,” they said. 16 So they sent this message to Joseph: “Before your father died, he instructed us 17 to say to you: ‘Forgive your brothers for the great evil they did to you.’ So we, the servants of the God of your father, beg you to forgive us.” When Joseph received the message, he broke down and wept. 18 Then his brothers came and bowed low before him. “We are your slaves,” they said.
19 But Joseph told them, “Don’t be afraid of me. Am I God, to judge and punish you? 20 As far as I am concerned, God turned into good what you meant for evil. He brought me to the high position I have today so I could save the lives of many people. 21 No, don’t be afraid. Indeed, I myself will take care of you and your families.” And he spoke very kindly to them, reassuring them.”
I have to admit that I’m struck with Joseph’s generous forgiveness. In this land of un-forgiveness, it is refreshing & encouraging to read about a man whose entire life was dramatically & painfully altered by his brothers - of all people - and to see his reaction to them when all human restraints are removed from him.
Here’s what I see:
He wept.
He comforted (repeatedly) - “Don’t be afraid of me.” “No, don’t be afraid.”
He remembered his position - “Am I God, to judge & punish you?”
He recalled God’s purpose - “God turned into good what you meant for evil. He brought me... so I could save the lives of many people.”
He blessed - “I myself will take care of you and your families.”
He comforted again - “He spoke very kindly to them, reassuring them.”
The phrase “He spoke kindly” means “He spoke to their hearts.”
I wonder how I speak to those who have hurt me. I wonder if, after they have asked me for forgiveness, if they feel & experience my forgiveness or if they continue to worry about the possibility of me taking revenge? Does my heart break at the very thought that my offender does not sense my forgiveness? Do I repeatedly assure my offender that he/she does not need to fear me or the possibility of my return attack?
Do I recall the sovereignty of God in the entire situation? Realizing that He has complete knowledge of all that took place and continues from then? Do I recognize my place as His SERVANT even when I am treated as such?
And, finally, do I bless my offender? Do I commit to care for him/her?
Wow. Those are strong words. I only hope that I can live them.
“Then Joseph returned to Egypt with his brothers and all who had accompanied him to his father’s funeral. 15 But now that their father was dead, Joseph’s brothers became afraid. “Now Joseph will pay us back for all the evil we did to him,” they said. 16 So they sent this message to Joseph: “Before your father died, he instructed us 17 to say to you: ‘Forgive your brothers for the great evil they did to you.’ So we, the servants of the God of your father, beg you to forgive us.” When Joseph received the message, he broke down and wept. 18 Then his brothers came and bowed low before him. “We are your slaves,” they said.
19 But Joseph told them, “Don’t be afraid of me. Am I God, to judge and punish you? 20 As far as I am concerned, God turned into good what you meant for evil. He brought me to the high position I have today so I could save the lives of many people. 21 No, don’t be afraid. Indeed, I myself will take care of you and your families.” And he spoke very kindly to them, reassuring them.”
I have to admit that I’m struck with Joseph’s generous forgiveness. In this land of un-forgiveness, it is refreshing & encouraging to read about a man whose entire life was dramatically & painfully altered by his brothers - of all people - and to see his reaction to them when all human restraints are removed from him.
Here’s what I see:
He wept.
He comforted (repeatedly) - “Don’t be afraid of me.” “No, don’t be afraid.”
He remembered his position - “Am I God, to judge & punish you?”
He recalled God’s purpose - “God turned into good what you meant for evil. He brought me... so I could save the lives of many people.”
He blessed - “I myself will take care of you and your families.”
He comforted again - “He spoke very kindly to them, reassuring them.”
The phrase “He spoke kindly” means “He spoke to their hearts.”
I wonder how I speak to those who have hurt me. I wonder if, after they have asked me for forgiveness, if they feel & experience my forgiveness or if they continue to worry about the possibility of me taking revenge? Does my heart break at the very thought that my offender does not sense my forgiveness? Do I repeatedly assure my offender that he/she does not need to fear me or the possibility of my return attack?
Do I recall the sovereignty of God in the entire situation? Realizing that He has complete knowledge of all that took place and continues from then? Do I recognize my place as His SERVANT even when I am treated as such?
And, finally, do I bless my offender? Do I commit to care for him/her?
Wow. Those are strong words. I only hope that I can live them.
22 January 2008
Special request for porkypine
This is a special request for a reader of my blog named porkypine. I really appreciated your comments on the church leadership issue and would like to dialog more with you directly.
Would you please contact me? I am very interested in discussing the issue of house churches.
Thank you.
Would you please contact me? I am very interested in discussing the issue of house churches.
Thank you.
More from Directors' Conference 2008
We’re in Berlin for the Greater Europe Mission Directors’ Conference. These are people who have some level of responsibility that goes beyond a local ministry.
I have been invited because I am the team leader for GEM-YM (youth ministry) and, for now, am “default” field director for Slovakia (seeing as how Linda & I are the only long-term GEM missionaries on the field - at least until Michelle Akavuti gets here and until we can convince Emily Olles to commit to career status!).
It’s an exciting time. We have a new president who is really shaking things up and calling us back to the basics of ministry, life and the Kingdom.
But, as always, there is time for fun and here’s a shot of us at a mall restaurant watching the New England Patriots defeat the San Diego Chargers in the last play-off game.
I have been invited because I am the team leader for GEM-YM (youth ministry) and, for now, am “default” field director for Slovakia (seeing as how Linda & I are the only long-term GEM missionaries on the field - at least until Michelle Akavuti gets here and until we can convince Emily Olles to commit to career status!).
It’s an exciting time. We have a new president who is really shaking things up and calling us back to the basics of ministry, life and the Kingdom.
But, as always, there is time for fun and here’s a shot of us at a mall restaurant watching the New England Patriots defeat the San Diego Chargers in the last play-off game.
I’m the guy with the ice cream in hand at the middle bottom of this pic!
Some are happy, some are not - typical American football game!
You know we’re desperate to see this game when you see the size of these televisions!
Peppo, Curtis Sergeant and Henry Deneen cheer on the Chargers.
The best part is that Henry picked up the bill!
The Organic Church
I’m on the road home from Greater Europe Mission’s Directors’ Conference and my head is swimming - not to mention my heart!
Henry Deneen, our new president, has challenged us to fresh & passionate approaches to reaching Europe for Christ.
I call him the Vince Lombardi of GEM. He has called us back to the basics of the life of the believer - prayer, the Word, fellowship and communicating the love of Christ to/for the lost.
It’s like a breath of fresh air. My heart & soul have been refreshed & renewed in living & walking like Jesus would were He in my body.
Frankly, it’s a terrifying experience. What does Jesus want from me with regards to His calling for me in Europe? Is it to plant dead, non-reproducing, stiff, lifeless churches or youth ministries?
Absolutely not!
I’m plowing through a new book (“Organic Church” by Neil Cole). It’s as refreshing as this past week was. Here are a few thoughts/comments from the book:
“I am convinced that most of us are too familiar with it (the church) to see how strange our customs really are.” (p. xxv)
“Several years ago, in his book “The Crisis in the University,” Sir Walter Moberly identified the failure of evangelicals to penetrate university campuses with the Gospel. To those who claimed to follow Christ, his indicting statement still has teeth, “If one-tenth of what you believe is true, you ought to be ten times as excited as you are.” (p. xxviii)
“We are not deity, but Deity dwells in us, and I propose that this truth is such a dramatically life-altering reality that all should notice.” (p.xxviii)
“When church is...complicated, its function is taken out of the hands of the common Christian and placed in the hands of a few talented professionals. This results in a passive church whose members come and act more like spectators than empowered agents of God’s Kingdom.” (p. 27)
It seems to be a book worth reading if you really want to make an impact in your neighborhood, city, church - the world!
Henry Deneen, our new president, has challenged us to fresh & passionate approaches to reaching Europe for Christ.
I call him the Vince Lombardi of GEM. He has called us back to the basics of the life of the believer - prayer, the Word, fellowship and communicating the love of Christ to/for the lost.
It’s like a breath of fresh air. My heart & soul have been refreshed & renewed in living & walking like Jesus would were He in my body.
Frankly, it’s a terrifying experience. What does Jesus want from me with regards to His calling for me in Europe? Is it to plant dead, non-reproducing, stiff, lifeless churches or youth ministries?
Absolutely not!
I’m plowing through a new book (“Organic Church” by Neil Cole). It’s as refreshing as this past week was. Here are a few thoughts/comments from the book:
“I am convinced that most of us are too familiar with it (the church) to see how strange our customs really are.” (p. xxv)
“Several years ago, in his book “The Crisis in the University,” Sir Walter Moberly identified the failure of evangelicals to penetrate university campuses with the Gospel. To those who claimed to follow Christ, his indicting statement still has teeth, “If one-tenth of what you believe is true, you ought to be ten times as excited as you are.” (p. xxviii)
“We are not deity, but Deity dwells in us, and I propose that this truth is such a dramatically life-altering reality that all should notice.” (p.xxviii)
“When church is...complicated, its function is taken out of the hands of the common Christian and placed in the hands of a few talented professionals. This results in a passive church whose members come and act more like spectators than empowered agents of God’s Kingdom.” (p. 27)
It seems to be a book worth reading if you really want to make an impact in your neighborhood, city, church - the world!
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