Aslan

Posted on September 13, 2012 by Dana

While we were in Europe this summer, we decided to hop over to pre-Olympic London for a couple of days. We found an affordable hotel just across from Kensington Palace where it just so happened that the ThreeSixty Theatre Group was performing The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, a play based on the classic book by C. S. Lewis. On a cool evening under a circus tent in Kate and William’s neighborhood, we watched the wonderful story of Jesus translated to the land of Narnia.

In the 1940s, as four children from war-torn London entered a magical world, they found talking animals and a kingdom poisoned by the White Witch. Tragically one of the children, Edmund, is quickly deceived — blinded by the evil witch. Where was hope?

Matilda Battersby, a writer for Britain’s The Independent, did not seem too impressed with the first part of the play (though eight-year-old John and the rest of us were mesmerized). But when the Lion came on the scene, even a hard-to-please critic was impressed: “Things picked up in the second half with the arrival of Aslan… He stole the show.” (May 30, 2012)

Is that not the world’s greatest truth? When Aslan comes… everything changes. When Jesus truly enters the picture… people are impacted. Some hear His Name and resist His love and His will; others hear His voice and are awakened to eternity.

C. S. Lewis put it this way in his book:

Here the Beaver’s voice sank into silence and it gave one or two very mysterious nods. Then signaling to the children to stand close around it as they possibly could, so their faces were actually tickled by its whiskers, it added in a low whisper — “They say Aslan is on the move — perhaps has already landed.”

None of the children knew who Aslan was any more than you do; but the moment the Beaver had spoken these words everyone felt quite different. Perhaps it has sometimes happened to you in a dream that someone says something which you don’t understand but in the dream it feels as if it had some enormous meaning — either a terrifying one which turns the whole dream into a nightmare or else a lovely meaning too lovely to put into words, which makes the dream so beautiful that you remember it all your life and are always wishing you could get into that dream again.

It was like that now. At the name of Aslan each one of the children felt something jump in it’s inside. Edmund felt a sensation of mysterious horror. Peter felt suddenly brave and adventurous. Susan felt as if some delicious smell or some delightful strain of music had just floated by her. And Lucy got the feeling you have when you wake up in the morning and realize that it is the beginning of the holidays or the beginning of summer.

(From The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by C. S. Lewis; copyright 1950 by C. S. Lewis Pte. Ltd.; p 74)

As Jesus continues to be the hope of the world, may we be among those who carefully proclaim His Name.

“And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of Christ, who is the image of God. For we do not preach ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord…” II Corinthians 4:3-5

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relationships

Posted on September 6, 2012 by Dana

I heard eight-year-old John talking in the back seat of the car last week on the way home from school. Looking in the rear view mirror,  I saw him pretending to talk on a cell phone and his side of the conversation went like this: “Hey Sanna. How have you been doing? We are doing fine here. I sure hope things are going well in Sweden. Take care! Bye.”

I laughed to myself and marveled at the meaning of this imaginary phone call. John went with us to Sweden this past summer. It was his first time on an airplane and he was quick to strike up a conversation with any stranger he happened to meet. On one leg of the journey he sat next to a business man from South Korea who spoke little English. But the language barrier does not deter a child. Soon John and his new friend were playing a card game and having a great time… at least John was :) .

Of all the people we met at the Youth With A Mission base in Sweden, Sanna became John’s best friend. Sanna lives in a nearby village and has to ride a bus a couple of hours to reach the base. She is probably in her thirties and has experienced some difficult trials in her life. She volunteers with YWAM, and the missionaries pour out God’s love on her. She in turn poured out God’s love on John. She treated him as an honored guest and played with him with great energy. I could tell when we departed that the adult and the child would truly miss each other. But I guess I didn’t know that ‘conversations’ would still be taking place almost three months later.

Our team got to help the missionaries with some practical things. We accomplished several work projects and each person, including John, pitched in and did his or her share. Often God allows relationships to be the highlight of mission trips. God loves to build relationships! His first priority is to develop a deep relationship with each of his children. He treasures this far above any knowledge or skills we may possess. He knows each of us intimately and He wants us to know him in like manner. “Come spend time with me. Sit at my feet and learn of me and you will see I am gentle and humble in spirit. Don’t just know me as a distant God who has all power and wisdom; know me as Father God who created you and who cares for you with unfathomable love.”

God’s second priority is that we develop deep relationships with one another. “Do you really know your brother? Do you really love your sister? Do you really care for your neighbor? Suppose a person wants to honor me by giving a generous offering; I want that person to lay the gift aside until any conflict is resolved with a brother or sister. I want my children to love one another. Strong relationships please me far more than you can imagine.”

When Paul wrote letters to the early Christians, he often called individuals by name whom he had come to love in the course of his journey. “Greet Philogus and Julia, Nereus and his sister, and Olympas, and all the saints who are with them.” (Romans 16:15) We often skip over such parts of the Bible, but God might want us to know that such communication is dear to his heart.

Jesus said to him, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your , with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.” (Matthew 22:37-40)

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freedom

Posted on August 30, 2012 by Dana

“Why do the nations rage and the peoples plot in vain? The kings of the earth take their stand and the rulers gather together against the Lord and against his Anointed One.” (Acts 4:25-26)  The early disciples prayed these words of King David after Peter and John had been released from jail for healing a forty-something-year-old crippled beggar on the temple steps (see Acts 3).

A group of us from America visited our friend Anna in Sweden this past June and joined the prayers of missionaries from at least fourteen different countries. One leader prefaced the time of prayer with the obvious truth that many nations are directly opposing God’s ways. Even governments that used to uphold the principles and standards of Scripture are now openly promoting opposite messages.

We read history recorded in the Bible and see the same thing. Even the nation of Israel, entrusted with the Law of God, purposely disobeyed their Creator. Once the Lord called his people to account for not releasing slaves in the Year of Jubilee. Every seven years, people who had sold themselves into slavery were to be given a fresh start as freedom was proclaimed. The children of God admitted their disobedience and vowed to follow the covenant, but finding their lives inconvenienced, they quickly recanted and brought the ex-slaves back into bondage. They took the liberty to do what would please themselves and God pronounced his judgment.

“Recently you repented and did what is right in my sight: Each of you proclaimed freedom to your countrymen. You even made a covenant before me in the house that bears my Name. But now you have turned around and profaned my name; each of you have taken back the male and female slaves you had set free to go where they wished. You have forced them to become slaves again. Therefore, this is what the Lord says: You have not obeyed me; you have not proclaimed freedom for your fellow countrymen. So I now proclaim ‘freedom’ for you, declares the Lord – ‘freedom’ to fall by the sword, plague and famine. I will make you abhorrent to all the kingdoms of the earth.”(Jeremiah 34:15-17)

God gives nations freedom to do as they please. The ‘kings of the earth’ and other rulers can apply justice and govern with principles of righteousness or they can choose otherwise. What they can’t choose are the consequences of their decisions. God’s children may ask: “Why do the nations rage? Why do leaders oppose the Creator and his Anointed One?” But we should not simply ask troubling questions. The things we witnessed in Sweden among believers from nearly every section of the world point to proper action: Intercede. Love. Challenge. Go. Preach. Disciple. Serve. Pray. Proclaim true freedom. Live boldly in Christ.

“‘Now, Lord, consider their threats and enable your servants to speak your word with great boldness. Stretch out your hand to heal and perform miraculous signs and wonders through the name of your holy servant Jesus.’ After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly.” (Acts 4:29-31)

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wisdom

Posted on August 24, 2012 by Dana

Susan and I dropped Karlyn off at college last week, so now eight-year-old John is the only child at home. He says he is happy to have his own bathroom. We stayed with Kinsey and Jordan in Little Rock where Kinsey is a nurse and Jordan is in his third year of med school. It just so happened that Mike, a friend of mine from Atlanta, received a stem cell transplant at UAMS the day we arrived. Sam Walton, who died of multiple myeloma, helped make Little Rock a national center for dealing with this disease. Kinsey and I visited Mike and hopefully encouraged him during a very difficult time. Please pray for my friend.

Over the past couple of weeks I’ve received calls from Taylor, Kinsey, and Karlyn dealing with different challenging situations. Each conversation included the admission: “Dad, I don’t know what to do.” Thankfully, in every conversation I knew what I needed to say. Taylor and Kinsey have recently celebrated first-year anniversaries of marriage and Karlyn is away from home for the first time. Life is much different from when they were under the roof of Mom and Dad, but I am glad they feel liberty to ask their parents for input when things are a little confusing. The life experience of the older should be a blessing to the younger.

Taylor called one morning before 7:00 as we were both driving to work. His question dealt with coaching and the input I gave was probably not exactly what he wanted to hear. But I’ve coached a long time and I knew it was the best advice. Taylor had to choose whether to follow the path his father suggested (which he did), but I spoke confidently because I saw angles and long term effects that a younger coach might not consider.

If we cherish such opportunities to bless our children, how does the Heavenly Father feel toward us? If a child of God needs direction and wisdom, will He not give it? And the wisdom of God is so much more perfect than our wisdom! I was sharing this thought with Kinsey and she said, “Of course, Dad, God has all wisdom… but I like hearing your voice over the phone.” Oh to hear God’s voice clearly all the time! But He is there… and He answers… and we can share any struggle… and He’s given us the Counselor… and we can trust him. God is love and his heart toward his children goes far beyond our love for our own children. So let us ask and not doubt.

“If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave in the sea, blown and tossed by the wind.” James 1:5-6

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letter

Posted on August 16, 2012 by Dana

“You show that you are a letter from Christ, the result of our ministry, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts.” II Corinthians 3:3

What if we lived daily remembering that we are letters from Christ? As Jesus is the Logos, the Word of God who lived on earth and showed what the Father is really like, so we are letters reflecting the One who has saved us. And the Author of the letter is none other than the ‘Spirit of the living God.’

What an incredible strategy God has chosen! But I must ask myself: What do people read in me? Do I deny self and give the Holy Spirit complete access to my heart and full liberty to write as He chooses? Having experienced God’s love and forgiveness, will I let the chief messages of my life be mercy, grace, and love?

Richard and Sabina Wurmbrand were born in Romania in the early 1900′s. Both were raised in Orthodox Jewish homes, but after marrying and moving to Budapest, the couple became consumed with the pleasures of the world. But Jesus found Richard and Sabina and revealed Himself as the Messiah and the true meaning of life. The Wurmbrands became ‘letters from Christ’ to all they met. In the 1940′s, Sabina’s family was captured in their small village and taken to a concentration camp where they died under Hitler’s terror. After World War II, a million Russian soldiers entered Romania as Communism invaded Europe. Richard spoke nine languages and tried to share Christ with Russians, Germans, fellow Romanians, and Jews and Gentiles from every nation. The Wurmbrand home became a place of refuge for orphans and brokenhearted people from many backgrounds. Even though friends warned them of the dangers of loving all people, Richard and Sabina knew the will of God. Both husband and wife spent years in jail as a result of being Christians, but even in prison, people came to know Christ through his servants.

Late one night, Richard met a German soldier who confessed his role in the murder of many Jews. In fact, he had worked in the very concentration camp where Sabina’s family was murdered. The rugged man would not accept Richard’s message of a Savior who died so that even Nazi atrocities could be forgiven. “OK, here will be my proof that what I tell you is true. Come to my home at this late hour and I will wake my wife and introduce you as one who had a role in the death of her family. She will welcome you to our home and say you are forgiven. She will then set food on our table and treat you as an honored guest. You will see for yourself the amazing love of God.” The man took Richard up on his offer and when Sabina did just as her husband predicted, the man’s heart melted and he came to know Christ.

Of course not every person the Wurmbrands met accepted God, but the ‘letter’ does not control the reader. Some may not understand, some will ignore or reject the message, and others will adamantly oppose the gospel. We are not to judge or be angry, but rather continue to love and ask the Holy Spirit to mold us into the image of the Son.

“Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his likeness with everlasting glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.” II Corinthians 3:17-18

Recommended reading: The Pastor’s Wife by Sabina Wurmbrand, ©1970 The Voice of the Martyrs, Inc.

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