race

Posted on October 15, 2015 by Dana

“For I am already being poured out like a drink offering, and the time has come for my departure. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day – and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for His appearing.” (II Timothy 4:6-8)

Since being saved by Jesus on the Damascus road, Paul’s life to the point of his last known letter from a Roman prison looked like an amazing race. He had been given a plan, he had a focus, and he aimed to finish. “God has chosen me to take His Good News to the Gentiles and to share His great love with anyone who will listen.” What a plan the Lord had for Paul! And God knew in advance it would not be easy. “This man is My chosen instrument to carry My name before the Gentiles and their kings and before the people of Israel. I will show him how much he must suffer for My name.” (Acts 9:15-16)

Paul’s focus was Jesus, his Savior and King. Jesus is what the race is all about; He is the goal. “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….” (Hebrews 12:1-2)

The finish is in God’s hands. Paul must have known he was near death as he wrote to Timothy. Many times he had come close to death, but the Lord rescued him. Now, as he sensed his earthly race was ending, there did not seem to be sadness or regret. Instead, there was anticipation of what was to come. “To live is Christ and to die is gain.” (Philippians 1:21)

After taking the twenty-first pill of a three-week chemo cycle, I told Susan last week I felt like I had just run a marathon. In fifteen years, this is the ninth major treatment we’ve embraced to combat the blood cancer, multiple myeloma. God has enabled doctors to discover new and different plans of attack, and though there is still no cure, we are thankful for all the progress made. My last treatment was a trial drug that gave me two cancer-free years. I had to get an infusion once a month, which impacted me only a couple of days. I loved that schedule, but as always, the disease figured out a way to resist and the cancer gained the upper hand.

This new regimen is going to take some getting used to, as it calls for cycles of three weeks on the meds with one week off. I have to focus on the One who endured the cross. The Holy Spirit helps us; I know this full well. He speaks to me through the sleepless nights and reminds me that ‘I can do all things through Christ.’ Jesus also uses members of His Body to encourage and help and strengthen. I don’t think we can run the race alone.

A dear friend, who endures much more difficulty than me, lives out the practical methods of perseverance. He shows one can truly ‘count it all joy’ in the midst of the trial, knowing that God accomplishes things we cannot see. He not only fixes his eyes on Christ, but he invites surrounding men and women and boys and girls to know that Jesus is real. My friend shows me you can laugh at the pain. This is not being flippant; his pain is real and few I know could endure it, but just as Jesus scorned the shame of the cross for the joy set before Him, so we can remember the promises ahead. Eternal life is to come. “Think about the future! What are we going to be doing two hundred years from now, Dana?” he recently asked. “We can’t imagine what the Father has planned!”

Let’s run well.

“Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.” (James 1:2-4)

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ministry

Posted on October 8, 2015 by Dana

“In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead, and in view of His appearing and His kingdom, I give you this charge: Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage with great patience and careful instruction. For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths. But you, keep your head in all situations, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, discharge all the duties of your ministry.” (II Timothy 4:1-5)

photoBy birth, Prabhu Das was a dalit, which literally means broken or oppressed. Indian society labels these millions the untouchables, as they are in the caste lower than any other. Growing up poor, Prabhu did not realize anything was wrong until he went to school and found that no one would play with him, sit with him, or talk to him. “Why?” he asked his parents. Then he learned of his unfortunate position in life – a position with no hope or future.

Rather than just accept his lot, when Prabhu was a teenager, he left home and connected to a criminal organization. As he successfully fulfilled his assigned crimes of theft and violence, he built quite a reputation for himself as one to be feared.

Then he encountered Jesus. A bold believer planted the truth of the Gospel; then the Good Shepherd made Himself so evident that Prabhu repented of his sins, gave his life to Christ, and turned himself into authorities asking for mercy for his crimes.

Prabhu found mercy… from God and from man. Now married with two children, he lives in Hydrabad and is a regional director for Mission India. Prabhu has been saved and has been given a ministry to reach the lost. His passion now is to bring the Muslims of his nation to Christ. Prabhu works relentlessly with the ‘joy of the Lord’ as his strength.

One of Mission India’s effective works involves daily Bible Clubs that help children with their schoolwork while also teaching them about Jesus. Hundreds of thousands of parents have found Christ because their children have come home from Bible Clubs talking about the One who gave His life for us. When parents see positive change in their children, and then learn that Jesus is the reason, they often want to know more. This past year, Mission India has counted over 4000 churches that have been planted because of people coming to Christ through Bible Clubs.

Susan and I watched a video of a young man eagerly sharing of his ‘privilege’ to serve the Lord by teaching and loving children. After finishing work at 5:30, he drives over an hour through city congestion to reach the Bible Club’s 50-60 waiting children. For an hour and a half, he works with the children, encourages them in their education, sings Christian songs, plays games, and tells everyone about Jesus. He then drives an hour to his apartment and gets the rest he needs for an early rise for the next day’s work. The amazing part of this young man’s ministry is that he gladly follows this schedule five days a week, fifty-two weeks of the year.

Currently Mission India has over 105,000 Christians waiting to be trained to be a Bible Club Leader in their own village or community. It is as if a new believer says: “I have found true life in Jesus! There are 1.2 billion people in my country, most of whom have never heard the Gospel. Everyone needs to know the truth! Here I am, Lord; send me!!”

“Since we know what it is to fear the Lord, we try to persuade others… 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 is gone, the new has come! All this is from God, who reconciled us to Himself in Christ, not holding men’s sins against them. And He has committed to us the ministry 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. As God’s fellow workers we urge you not to receive God’s grace in vain. For He says, ‘In the time of my favor I heard you, in the day of salvation I helped you.’ I tell you, now is the time of God’s favor, now is the day of salvation.” (II Corinthians 5:11, 5:16-6:2)

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resistance

Posted on October 1, 2015 by Dana

But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God – having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with such people.

You, however, know all about my teaching, my way of life, my purpose, faith, patience, love, endurance, persecutions, sufferings – what kind of things happened to me in Antioch, Iconium and Lystra, the persecutions I endured. Yet the Lord rescued me from all of them. In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted, while evildoers and impostors will go from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived.

But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of, because you know those from whom you learned it, and how from infancy you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Jesus Christ. All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work. (II Timothy 3:1-5, 10-17)

As we read the description of the world today and as we are reminded of the power and value of God’s written Word, we are also instructed about suffering and persecution. In the conflict between the kingdom of God and Satan’s kingdom, there should be no surprise that servants of Jesus are bound to face resistance.

photoSusan and I spent this past weekend at The Billy Graham Training Center in Asheville, North Carolina with our friends from Mission India. Indian nationals Chirie, Kamala, Sam, Prabhu, and John joined almost two hundred American believers to hear of God’s work in India and the enemy’s resistance.

We heard the story of a pastor who had two of his children kidnapped by radical Hindus almost three years ago. He and his wife have had little help from local authorities, and they still have no news about their children.

Saturday morning, Prabhu received a tragic e-mail reporting that another of his fellow pastors in India was attacked and killed. Faithfully, they continue to proclaim Christ and show His love and kindness to their fellow man.

I spoke with Pastor John, our main speaker throughout the weekend, on two different occasions. He was giving encouraging messages from II Corinthians 4 & 5. Being curious about a story he told of a young boy being possessed by a demon in one of the rural villages, I asked him about Satan’s demonic activity. “I have witnessed this hundreds of times in the 350 tribal villages in which we work. Out of fear and superstition, parents invite the spirits into their homes without realizing the evil intent of the devil.” “How do you pray?” I asked. “We pray as teams. Several of us join in prayer until the demon obeys Jesus and leaves. The families then know the power of God.”

Pastor John continued, “It is very important that we follow up quickly with teaching from the Word of God; otherwise they will just want to add Jesus to the long list of Hindu gods. God’s Word is powerful and the Holy Spirit grants understanding. There are many, many people who had never heard of Jesus just a few years ago who are now becoming mature believers. God is gaining momentum in my country.”

Despite persecution, God is building His Church. Light expels darkness and we are told to “let our light shine.” Our brothers and sisters in other parts of the world encourage us to never give up… “Keep telling people about Jesus, keep demonstrating His kindness and character, keep teaching the Word, keep depending on His grace, keep loving the lost, keep praying, keep persevering… keep the faith.”

“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, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith. For the joy set before Him, He endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Remember Him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and give up.” Hebrews 12:1-3

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advice

Posted on September 24, 2015 by Dana

Keep reminding God’s people of these things. Warn them before God against quarreling about words; it is of no value and only ruins those who listen. Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a workman who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth. Avoid godless chatter, because those who indulge in it will become more and more ungodly. Their teaching will spread like gangrene. Among them are Hymenaeus and Philetus, who have departed from the truth. They say that the resurrection has already taken place, and they destroy the faith of some. Nevertheless, God’s solid foundation stands firm, sealed with this inscription: “The Lord knows those who are His,” and “Everyone who confesses the name of the Lord must turn away from wickedness.”

Flee the evil desires of youth and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace along with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart. Don’t have anything to do with foolish and stupid arguments, because you know they produce quarrels. And the Lord’s servant must not be quarrelsome but must be kind to everyone, able to teach, not resentful. Opponents must be gently instructed, in the hope that God will grant them repentance leading them to a knowledge of the truth, and that they will come to their senses and escape from the trap of the devil, who has taken them captive to do his will. (II Timothy 2:14-19, 22-26)

A good friend recently commented regarding thoughts on II Timothy: “Dana, I can just picture you speaking to your kids like that and emphasizing the things you think God wants them to hear from you.” I told my friend that the reason I have been reading II Timothy was that my dad told me this was the message he would write to believers in this day and time. Reading the letter afresh, it is as if I can hear my father’s voice. Perhaps this is what God intends as we read His Word. Through the Holy Spirit, we hear our Heavenly Father’s voice.

Regarding the verses above, I think I would say this to Taylor, Emma, Kinsey, Jordan, Karlyn, and John:

Be ready to talk about Jesus any time and anywhere. But be careful; some people just want to argue. Quarreling about words, arguing about stupid things, and jumping into every debate does more harm than good. God wants us to resist evil and to pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace with a pure heart.

Be a good student of God’s Word. Ask the Holy Spirit to give understanding when you read… He promises to guide us in truth. There is a lot of bad handling of God’s Word in the world today. Some are teaching things in direct in opposition of the truth. In every situation we encounter though, God wants us to speak with kindness and love.

If there is confusion regarding who loves God and who is opposing Him, just remember: “The Lord knows who are His.” God is never confused and He has said that: “Everyone who confesses the name of the Lord must turn away from wickedness.” We are called to walk in the light as Jesus is in the light. He is with us!

I don’t think I can explain how much I love you. And I know we cannot fully fathom how much the Father loves us. With all the Body of Christ, let’s constantly thank God and let’s help each other on the journey.

“The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field. But while everyone was sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and went away. When the wheat sprouted and formed heads, then the weeds also appeared. The owner’s servants came to him and said, ‘Sir, didn’t you sow good seed in your field? Where then did the weeds come from?’ ‘An enemy did this,’ he replied. The servants asked him, ‘Do you want us to go and pull them up?’ ‘No,’ he answered, ‘because while you are pulling the weeds, you may uproot the wheat with them. Let both grow together until the harvest. At that time I will tell the harvesters: First collect the weeds and tie them in bunches to be burned; then gather the wheat and bring it into my barn.’” Matthew 13:24-30

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saying

Posted on September 17, 2015 by Dana

“Remember Jesus Christ, raised from the dead, descended from David. This is my gospel, for which I am suffering even to the point of being chained like a criminal. But God’s word is not chained. Therefore I endure everything for the sake of the elect that they too may obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus, with eternal glory. Here is a trustworthy saying:
If we died with him, we will also live with him;
if we endure, we will also reign with him;
if we disown him, he will also disown us;
if we are faithless, he remains faithful, for he cannot disown himself.”
II Timothy 2:8-13

There are four parts of this trustworthy saying:

1. God wants us to know we are dead… we died when Jesus died (past tense). He took our sin and our ‘old man’ to the cross. And since we died with Him, we live with Him. This is the good news. “For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly also be united with him in a resurrection like his. For we know our old man was crucified with him so that the body ruled by sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin – because anyone who has died has been set free from sin.” (Romans 6:5-7)

2. Now we must endure… and the secret to endurance is ‘fellowship.’ We cannot be saved on our own and we cannot endure on our own. “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me.” (Psalm 23:4) He gives us grace; He gives us His Spirit; He gives us peace. If Jesus is with us, we can endure.

3. We never disown him… I will always remember sitting in Ecuador early one morning this past February waiting on our mission team to come to breakfast. I looked at the news and saw twenty-one Egyptian Christians dressed in orange jumpsuits on their knees with twenty-one ISIS captors holding a sword to their necks. These men were given the opportunity to denounce Christ, accept Islam, and live. Each refused and each was executed as one who would not disown the One who died on the cross. “Whoever acknowledges me before others, I will also acknowledge before my Father in heaven. But whoever disowns me before others, I will disown before my Father in heaven.” (Matthew 10:32-33)

4. He remains faithful regardless of our faithfulness or faithlessness… Judas disowned Jesus; Peter was faithless. Peter was not as strong as he thought he was and Jesus knew it. “I tell you, Peter, before the rooster crows today you will deny three times that you know me.” (Luke 22:34) Though Peter failed in the dark night, the Good Shepherd was faithful to him. Jesus died for him, rose from the dead, and personally restored his chosen ‘rock.’ “He cannot disown himself.”

‘What a Friend we have in Jesus.’

“Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners – of whom I am the worst. But for that very reason I was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display his immense patience as an example for those who would believe in him and receive eternal life. Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory for ever and ever. Amen.” I Timothy 1:15-17

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