Thursday, April 23, 2009

A Little Hello

Hello Fellow Blogger and Readers =)

Tomorrow I graduate from Cincel - it doesn't matter if we only attended for one, two or three semesters when we are finished we still get to participate in the graduation. Each one of us that graduates says something in Spanish when we accept the "diploma". I believe that it will be a nice little cermony to celebrate what we have learned and usher us out to our countries of service.

My Dad is flying in and we will be going up north into the Guanacaste area of Costa Rica. We will spend a few days relaxing and getting ready for the summer months ahead. On April 30th I will fly back to Springfield, Missouri.

I hope all is well with you. Keep me in your prayers as I travel and get back into the swing of things at Convoy.

Saturday, April 18, 2009

Thoughts and Musings on John 12-18

I have been reading in John this past month. I have just finished reading those final chapters before Jesus is arrested and crucified. It struck me as I was reading it that these were Jesus's last words before he was arrested. These were the thoughts and ideas he wanted to leave with his disciples. It was what he wanted them to remember when things seemed to turn for the worst. Chapter 12 starts six days before passover. This is the begining of Jesus's last teachings (pre-resurrection) to his disciples. He is arrested in Chapter 18.

I want to share a few verses that stood out, but I encourage you to go back and read these chapters. After reading them I encourage you to think and pray over them and what they mean to your life and the way you live.

1. In the begining of Chapter 13 Jesus washes his disciples feet and when he is finished he leaves this command "Do you understand what I have done to you? You address me as 'Teacher' and 'Master' and rightly so. That is what I am. So if I, the Master and Teacher, washed your feet, you must now wash each other's feet. I've laid down a pattern for you. What I've done, you do. I'm only pointing out the obvious. A servant is not ranked above his master; an employee doesn't give orders to the employer. If you understand what I'm telling you, act like it - and live a blessed life"(John 13:12-17). So, we must serve others as Christ served us.

2. Christ leaves us a command, which I believe goes largely ignored - "Let me give you a new command: Love one another. In the same way I loved you, you love one another. This is how everyone will recongize that you are my disciples - when they see the love you have for each other"(John 13:34). I believe this is a difficult command to follow because there are so many different types of people and personalities in the church, but if everyone of those people and every type of those personalities made the decision to love one another and to serve one another I think that it would be much easier to follow this command. Whether or not someone who call themselves a Christian acts with love towards us, we need to act with love towards them (this is a characteristic hard to master- thankfully we have a God of grace and a God who gives us the strength to do this when we ask for his help).

More importantly, if every Christian followed this command then the world would be able to recongize us. Too often silly arguments about seats, music, church remodeling and moving, and more causes division in a Church. People leave Churches over music, seats and personality issues. Where is this okay in the Bible???? (though I believe there are appropiate times to change churches) As a side note, we need to remember that as Christians was are here to serve the "Church" (a body of fellow believers), the church does not exist to serve us. Each one of us who is not a "pastor" by career title is a lay pastor. We need to practice love, forgiveness and grace and work towards learning what really matters to God. If there is any doubt to what is important to God, John 15:17 says, "But remember the root command: Love one another".

3. Finally, Jesus left the disciples with the hope and power of prayer. John 14:12-14 says "The person who trust me will not only do what I'm doing but even greater things, because I, on my way to the Father, am giving you the same work to do what I've been doing. You can count on it. From now on, whatever you request along the lines of who I am and what I am doing, I'll do it. That's how the Father will be seen for who he is in the Son. I mean it. Whatever you request in this way, I'll do." and then again in John 16:23-24 "This is what I want you to do: Ask the Father for whatever is in keeping with the things I've revealed to you. Ask in my name, according to my will, and he'll most certaintly give it to you. Your joy will be a river overflowing its banks". Then later on in the same passage Jesus tells his disciples that because they have loved and believed in him soon they will be able to talk directly to God. I think the verses say it all, but because of the cross we have to power to be able to communicate through prayer to God. We are able to continue the work of Christ in this day.

Some more pictures from Guatemala:

This is me introducing myself to a group from Teen Challenge - my first time introducing myself and explaining Convoy of Hope in front of adults in Spanish. I was nervous =).
We prayed for the men in the center and then they prayed for us - it was a really good time of prayer.
This is a picture from Antigua - the processiones were very interesting. A very cool cultural experience.
This is an platform (or an image) of Jesus that was carried in a procession
A man carrying a cross in a procession. The smoke is because they use alot of incense.
The volcano Fuego that overlooks Antigua

An alfombra (rug/carpet) made of sawdust. Only the big platform of Jesus and the following platform of Mary are allowed to walk over the alfombra.

Men working on an alfombra - there are many alfombras made during this week. On every street where there is a procession there are alfombras.

Tuesday, April 7, 2009

Guatemala and some Reflections...

I am currently in Guatemala City, Guatemala for Semana Santa. I am here with my friends Krystal and Dawn visiting her parents. I am sipping tea, which is my favorite activity while writing blogs. I believe that blogs and tea or blogs and coffee belong together. Dinner has been made, eaten and cleaned up. I just finished up my after dinner cookie and am still sipping on the tea. Its been a good time just to relax, learn about Guatemala and hang out with my friends. I have also been able to experience bastante (enough) earthquakes and see some lava flowing. It has been eventful to say the least.

Something that I have been thinking about lately is how so many Psalms and other praises of God in the Bible are descriptions of God's character. As I have been reading them I have been thinking "Wow this is what we as Christians should really be striving to live like". As Christ followers we should mimic the characteristics of Jesus Christ. Psalms 146, for instance, "...He always does what he says - he defends the wronged, he feeds the hungry. God frees prisoners - he gives sight to the blind, he lifts up the fallen. God loves good people, protects strangers, takes the side of the orphans and widows, but makes short work of the wicked." The first part of this passage it says, "my soul, praise God!" and that we need to put our life in God's hands. The second part, that I wrote out, explains why and it praises God character. These very characteristics that we worship God for having, we need to reflect in our own lives. As God defends the wronged and he feeds the hungry, so we need to defend the wrong and feed the hungry and so on. The Bible is not just a book to be read and Christianity is not supposed to be lived out on a pew. So, as you praise God and as you read the psalms and other praise passages meditate on God's character and what you as a child of God can do to reflect him.
Krystal, Dawn and I at the top of a Mayan Ruin
Mangos
Maya Indian weaving
Guatemalan children in a market
Krystal, Dawn and I in typical Guatemalan Indian wear