Kenyan Devotion

I know it has been way too long since my last post. I guess I'm still looking for my motivation. The following devotion is something I prepared to go into a booklet about the Tumiani Orphan Care Program based in Kibwezi, Kenya. It's on a verse I've already written about, but I think this looks at the verse in a different way - placing emphasis on hope this time, rather than solely love. Maybe it can help you see things differently too. Enjoy!

We don’t yet see things clearly. We’re squinting in a fog, peering through a mist. But it won’t be long before the weather clears and the sun shines bright! We’ll see it all then, see it all as clearly as God sees us, knowing him directly just as he knows us!
But for right now, until that completeness, we have three things to do to lead us toward that consummation: Trust steadily in God, hope unswervingly, love extravagantly. And the best of the three is love.
-1 Corinthians 13:12-13 (The Message)

The stars. All of you would love the stars there. The night sky is nothing short of glorious. The air just feels thinner, for lack of a better word, when you’re laying down on the ground on a cool Kenyan evening. The space that separates the heart-wrenching, poverty-ridden, mistake-filled earth we inhabit from God’s heart-lifting, poverty-free, love-filled heaven starts to fade away. Ironically, those nights after the sun went down were when God became most visible for me. It was energizing and calming at the same time. Those were the moments when God granted me a much needed chance to hope and pray for what the next day might bring.

For me, finding that same feeling of hope during the day was more difficult. It is hardly impossible however – you just have to know where to look. The light of day is pervasive and unforgiving in the dry, dusty, drought-stricken town where most of the trees are all but dead. Daytime reveals the poverty and struggle which the stars at night so gracefully hide. But remember, hope is not lost. I manage to find it again in the hearts of the children whom the rising sun would usher onto campus. While watching those kids you get the feeling that every problem in the world can be solved (at least for a little while) by just tossing a soccer ball into the middle of a field. I think that most of us have forgotten that feeling (if we ever knew it at all). For a few minutes these kids smile like they don’t have a care in the world. They smile like they somehow know God will take care of them. They smile like they have hope despite all of the forces working against them. The fact that these kids could continue to hope unswervingly in an environment of such adversity gave me the hope I was looking for.

You would be hard pressed to find better adherents to what Paul commands in 1 Corinthians 13:13. The Kenyan students taught me more than I ever could have hoped to teach them. First, I learned that you have to give everything in your life up to God, and have faith that he will take it and use it for the good of the Kingdom. Next, you strive for an unswerving hope that God will take care of you in return. Lastly, the Kenyans teach us that loving one another extravagantly requires little more than a smile and a soccer ball.

Awesome God, grant me the faith to trust in you, the hope that you will take care of me, and love to share with the world.

Christianity 101 (Colossians 3:12-17)

Read this passage in the Message translation

I'm linking today to a sermon I gave a few weeks ago, and I think that all of us could benefit from reading it. I pray that you not only enjoy what you read but more importantly get something out of it which you can apply to your own life.

Read "Christianity 101"

Just Do It. (1 Corinthians 13)

Read this passage in the Message translation
If ever there was a self-explanatory chapter in the Bible this would be the one. However, that doesn't make what we are being asked to do any easier. In this chapter, Paul writes about the gift of love and describes how we would be lost and useless without it. Perhaps this reason explains why verses 4-7 are extremely popular liturgy for weddings (Love is patient; love is kind; love is not envious...). Interestingly enough these verses were not originally written with weddings in mind. One of the main goals of Paul's first letter to the Corinthians was actually to stop the fighting that was occurring amongst the members of the church. Regardless of the original intent, the overarching goal is simple unity; whether it be between two squabbling Corinthians or two puppy-eyed lovers.

Paul's examples in the beginning of the chapter are explicit and powerful. He describes doing some amazing things and then tells us that without love, we are still nothing:

And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give away all my possessions, and if I hand over my body so that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing. (I Cor 13:2-3)

Normally people worry that we can't do those amazing things. The thought of giving away  all of our possessions is terrifying (at least it is for me). It seems that none of us today has the minuscule, mustard-seed-sized faith which Jesus said was all that we needed to move mountains. Thankfully, Paul explains here that being part of the church isn't about all of those miraculous feats. In this chapter Paul is drilling into our heads that it is all about love.

Contrary to the simplicity of this revelation, what God is calling us to do here is extremely complex and difficult. It isn't always easy to love. The simple call to love everyone is one I imagine we all continue to struggle with. It is a conscious choice which you need to keep reminding yourself of every day. It's a choice which requires a lot of support. It is a choice which takes faith. So even if someone is...

• Annoying
• Infuriating
• Distasteful
• Rude
• Jealous
• Powerful
• Intimidating
• Hurtful
• Hurting
• Broken
• Alone

or just different, we are called to love them. So, like the Nike slogan commands, "Just do it." I can guarantee that it won't be easy, but God can guarantee that it will be worth it.

And now faith, hope and love abide, these three; and the greatest of these is love.

Let us pray.

Loving God, you call us to love others in the way that you love us. While we will never be able to be as perfect as you are, we pray for the strength and the faith to at least try. God, because you came to earth as one of us you know how hard it can be to be human, and so we pray that you will grant us the faith we need to follow your call to love all of our brothers and sisters. Whether a person calls you God, or Allah, or Buddha, or Shiva or no name at all we pray that you will help us to love them all the same. Jesus loved both the sinners and the saints, and we know that you call us to do so as well. It's tough God, but we know that you can help us through it. In the name of your loving Son we pray, Amen.

Finding Jesus (Luke 4: 14-30)

Read this passage in The Message translation
In a world brimming with hate, poverty, dissension, fighting, and fear I sometimes find it difficult to find Jesus in my everyday life. It takes a lot of work to constantly be thinking about Jesus and praying that he will find some way to find me each day. However, there are other times when Jesus throws himself out in the open and practically stands right in front of our eyes only to be ignored by those of us surrounding him. In this passage from Luke Jesus essentially goes to the front of the Synagogue and announces that he is the Savoir of us all! But how do the Nazarenes in attendance respond to what should be this powerful and uplifting revelation? They immediately start to think about questioning him with a surprisingly 21st century mindset.

Jesus however interrupts this thought process to answer their questions even before they are asked, continuing to quote scripture. Jesus provides a short, rational argument saying that both Elijah and Elisha before him did great things but they were not able to be so directly and concretely great to everyone around them. While he doesn't say this here, I believe this is a point when Jesus is alluding to the fact that he is undeniably different from the prophets of the past. He is different because he actually can do something great for everyone.

Regardless of what I believe Jesus was implying, the people don't take too kindly to this rational appeal. In fact, they decide that Jesus deserves to be thrown off of a cliff (Luke 4:29), which I admit doesn't seem like the most logical course of action for many of us today. However, I also challenge you to think about how you would react if someone were to make the same declaration today. I know that I would probably feel very similar to the people sitting in that synagogue 2000 years ago. I would want to ask why so many people in His Father's world are allowed to suffer. He might respond with the same two examples, and I don't think that answer would be good enough for me. It sounds like a cop out almost. It sounds at first like Jesus is saying that He might not be healing every single one of us. It would be so frustrating to sit there and here those words come out of the mouth of someone who just declared himself Messiah. I might have gone with that very crowd to throw the confusing and frustrating newly appointed Savior right off the top of the hill the town was built on. I imagine many of you might feel the same way, and I realize that it isn't so surprising when we claim that we can't find Jesus at work in our lives.

So what can we do to starting fixing our problem? Well, we pray. We pray, and we keep reading. We pray, we read, and we have faith that when Jesus is standing right in front of us that we will have the courage to stay, listen, and not throw him off of a cliff. I think we can start off on the right foot with a prayer.

Awesome God,
I admit that it often isn't easy to be Christian today. It gets to be even harder when I tend to have so much trouble finding your Son and your Spirit at work in my life. God, I know that there are times when you try so hard to reveal yourself in all of your glory only to have me push you away. I pray that next time we meet, you will grant me the faith to pay attention. I pray that I would simply be able to find you today.

Amen.