Last supper

I was going to begin writing a series of posts regarding why we need Comprehensive Immigration Reform, but being as it is the beginning of the Resurrection weekend, and because this fits in with what I will say in the future, I thought I would jot down a few thoughts that God has impressed upon me today and get to the other topic later on. At the end of the gospels, we see Jesus eating his last supper with his disciples. During this supper, he institutes the bread and wine. A perfect picture foretelling his own sacrifice on behalf of all unworthy sinners. His death was the ultimate act of selflessness... dying on behalf of someone else. Some of us would possibly die for the sake of a close family member, or a spouse, but how many of us would die for our enemies? And just before Jesus breaks the bread and pours out the wine, he demonstrates another very tangible way of being selfless... of being a servant - by washing the disciples feet. Jesus did for others what they should have been doing for him. Two pictures of humility, service, love, and grace. And yet, I often skim right over these two pictures and end up right where the disciples were a few minutes later - thinking and arguing about "who would be the greatest". They totally missed the point, and I often miss the point too. In fact, often my heart is so deceitful, I can serve someone and, upon reflection, find that my motive was to make me "the greatest"... just like the disciples were arguing about. Jesus didn't concern himself with being the greatest. He simply knew that he was the Son of the Greatest in the Kingdom, and that was enough. That should be enough for me. Then Jesus says, "A new command I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another." What does this love look like? Just like Jesus' love - a love so great, that he died for his enemies. A love so great that he suffered in the place of those who rejected (and continue to reject) him. A love so great that he served the very ones that he created to serve himself. When I think about this - I have to admit that I have so far to go. My love is childish, selfish, and pitiful. This world is dying to experience a love like this, and they are looking for it in all the wrong places. Jesus said, "By this all people will know that you are MY disciples, IF you have love for one another." The only way that the world is going to see Jesus, is if we demonstrate his love... by dying for our enemies, by suffering for those who rejected us, and by serving the ones who should be serving us.

Flee To God

What is the Christian response??  I read a doomsday article the other day, written by a Christian.  The longer I read, the more my heart raced, and the more I became fearful. In the end of reading the article, I began to panic and think, “I need to take care of myself and my family. I need to move out of the city and into the country. I need to purchase tons of guns and ammunition. I need to buy gold and silver. I need to be self-sustaining. I, I, I.”  After awhile, I settled down and pondered the Scriptures.  This is what struck me:  first of all, I should not live in fear, and I should not make decisions out of fear - that is not a Christian's response.  Secondly, aside from the fear, there was really nothing sinful with those thoughts… they were wise/prepratory thoughts.  But I would argue that this train of thought originates in this worldly kingdom and not of the Kingdom of God.  These thoughts, taken to the extreme, take God and his great commission out of the picture. God did not say, “If you have a prospering economy, freedom of speech, and the right to bear arms, then go and make disciples of all nations.” No, he says, “Go (in whatever context you find yourself in – freedom, communism, socialism, dictatorship, Muslim, prison) and make disciples of all nations.” For me, as I read the Bible, God always sends his people to where the lost people are in order to see a harvest. God never tells us as Christians to flee, hide, or disassociate from the masses. In fact, his own incarnation is an example of what we as true Christians are to do: we are to boldly go where the lost are, we are to dwell among them, and we are to demonstrate through words and actions what is the Way, the Truth, and the Life.
Another example is Jeremiah; he was sent by the Lord to Jerusalem… a city which was about to go into siege, battle, famine, and complete economic and physical destruction.. talk about doomsday.  I am sure wisdom would have told him to flee.  But as he obeys God, the Lord says to him, “Behold, I make you this day a fortified city, an iron pillar, and bronze walls against the whole land, against the kings of Judah, its officials, its priests, and the people of the land. They will fight against you, but they shall not prevail against you, for I am with you, declares the Lord, to deliver you.” Wow, what words of commission; powerful words, empowering words, bold words, specific words just for him! And yet… isn’t this what the Lord Jesus said to us before he ascended into heaven? After he has told his disciples just what kind of world he was sending them into and that people would hate, mock, reject, and kill them for his sake, he says to them, “Go…” Go into the unsafe contexts, go to where the people are; go to the sinners, the lost, the forgotten, the marginalized, the victimized, and the victimizers, go to where your enemies are, go to where the poverty is, go where there is trouble, go to the sick, the diseased, the dying, go to the sinners and drunkards, go to the refugees, the orphans, the hungry. “Go and make disciples of all nations… teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” As citizens of his Kingdom, God has placed a call upon all of us in all times… and it should compel us to do the opposite of what the world would do… to go to and dwell in the city, to immerse into the culture, to cultivate the tough issues; to be all things to all people so as to win some. We are as medics; we are to boldly run into danger to care for those that need salvation while at the same time everyone else is fleeing the battle.  If we flee and protect ourselves, then what chance do the lost have? We are to give and receive nothing in return. We are to love when hated. We are to bless when cursed.
The kingdoms of this world are founded on security, physical prosperity, and pleasure, and the wisdom of this world is based on fear of the future. Jesus’ Kingdom is founded on the intangibles of trust, love, mercy, and joy, and its wisdom is based on hope in a secure future.  Joy is far different from pleasure. Love and mercy are not prosperity. And trust is not our insurance-based security. Let us flee to God! He is our King, our Savior, our Provider, our Protector, our Ruler, our Healer, and our Confidence! And in fleeing to him, we may find ourselves in the most hostile environment on the planet. 

Fog

When we were living in the Tobo village in PNG, the only way to travel was by foot. The weather where we lived was tropical, cold, and it would rain… boy, it would rain. One year, we recorded over 3 meters of rain. But these were not just cloudy and rainy thunderstorms that were there and then gone… they were monstrous clouds which sat on our mountain tops causing it to rain down and sideways and sometimes even up. There were times during the year that we would not see the sun for weeks… just endless fog where visibility was less than half a mile. It was maddening.

Often, when I would hike those slippery mountain trails in the dense fog, not able to see more than a few hundred feet ahead of me, completely drenched, water dripping from every leaf and blade of grass, it would seem that the tortuous trail would never end. Up and down, up and down, puddles, ankle deep mud, slippery stones, thorn trees. Those endless hikes did teach me something about life though – I can never see very far ahead of me at any given time, but as long as I stay on the trail, relying on Jesus, be it tortuous or flat and easy, I will eventually arrive at my destination – and the destination is always worth the journey.  

He leads us on by paths we did not know; 
Upward He leads us, though our steps be slow, 
Though oft we faint and falter on the way, 
Though storms and darkness oft obscure the day; 
Yet when the clouds are gone, 
We know He leads us on. 

He leads us on through all the unquiet years; 
Past all our dreamland hopes, and doubts and fears, 
He guides our steps, through all the tangled maze 
Of losses, sorrows, and o’er clouded days; 
We know His will is done; 
And still He leads us on.
- Nicholaus Ludwig Zinzendorf

When we left PNG back 3 years ago, I could not see very far ahead of me… the trail ended in a dense and drenching fog… and the trail went up a steep mountain. Three years later, after arriving at a lookout thousands of feet higher, I have broken through the clouds, there is some sunshine above my head, and the trail I just hiked is slowly becoming visible as the fog is fading. Each turn and curve, log bridge and water crossing, had its purpose.

As I embark upon the first full year of Immigration counseling, and as Kellie continues through this year at the elementary school, I can see God’s hand guiding us all through the journey to this point. We can see the huge need in our city for immigration assistance and Christian teachers with compassion and faith.  We have been met by an even greater spiritual need permeating every nook and cranny of our city, be it among the immigrants or the young children on the streets. God has a very unique way of preparing people for the work he has planned for them, and yet, if we had not lived through those dark months in PNG, I am not sure we would have kept trudging along in the foggy past few years. But what a unique ministry He has put us in!  We are so grateful to be used by God; I have been able to demonstrate Jesus' compassion to over 30 immigrant families and Kellie has been able to demonstrate the love of Jesus to scores of school children.

“…pray also for us, that God may open to us a door for the word, to declare the mystery of Christ… that we may make it clear, which is how we ought to speak."

BIA Recognition and Accreditation

I have come to the understanding that God is never late, he is never early; he is always right on time.

A little over a year ago, I submitted an application to the Board of Immigration Appeals for their recognition of Elmbrook Church’s community center, James Place as an immigration counseling office and for my own accreditation as an immigration representative. The recognition and accreditation are necessary if a non-profit is to counsel people in matters related to immigration law. This was a direction that the leadership of James Place felt we needed to go because we were seeing a great need in the community for competent, legal, and inexpensive immigration counseling.

We were very optimistic and excited to begin this new way of serving some of the most vulnerable in our community. But, unfortunately, our first application was denied. So, I addressed their concerns and sent in another application… only to have that denied as well. Well, I figured we hadn’t struck out three times yet, so with the aid of an experienced Immigration attorney, we filed one last application.

Meanwhile, preparations for the office were in full swing and things were finally where they needed to be by the end of September… we were ready to take clients. A handful of volunteers had spent numerous hours in preparation of the office and procedures, and I thought it would be good to have a time of appreciation. So we got together on our normal Friday morning ready to pray yet again for God to move our application a bit further down the line. Just as we sat down to have some coffee and snacks, my telephone rang. I could not get to it in time, so I listened to the message. The timing could not have been more perfect: It was a call informing us that our application had been approved and that we would receive notification in the mail on Monday! So I set the phone on the table and hit ‘speaker’; you should have heard the excited laughter and exclaims of “How ‘ironic’ that God would choose to give us this news on our celebration day!”

Not only was the whole team together and the office finally fully prepared for clients, it was also the week before Harvest Fest, the mission conference at Elmbrook Church. God had everything planned out from the beginning… too early, and we would not have been ready (we have already been able to help almost 20 clients in the first 3 weeks), too late and we would have missed a great opportunity to present the ministry at Harvest Fest. Instead, it was precisely when God wanted it to happen – October 11th, a year to the exact week from when the original application was filed.

Thanks to all of you who have been praying with us concerning this. This is a great opportunity to demonstrate the love of Christ and it is exciting to be one of the ones God is using to do it.

Jason