A Beacon of Hope

Thirteen years ago this month, my wife and I began missionary training at Global Frontier Missions. The program provided 20+ hours of classroom training, lots of reading and writing homework, and roughly 15 hours a week working with refugee communities in Clarkston, Georgia. At the end of each week, we would send in our written homework and a log of our ministry hours. Tracking my ministry hours for one year helped me to better steward my time while serving in Mexico, Asia, and the Middle East. For the past three years, much of my work has been done remotely, combined with overseas travel. I continue to carefully steward the fleeting hours of each day. However, several years ago, something changed. It happened while I was sharing a teaching on the division between the sacred and the secular.

Surrendering our will to God’s will moves us toward a greater understanding of our fallen nature, which left unchecked can be a distraction to what God desires for us. By deciding to do the things we know are God’s will for us, our fleshly struggles will begin to rise to the surface. This is an opportunity to recognize and take control of the unhealthy thoughts and desires that come from our own will. The practice of spiritual disciplines can then provide opportunities for the Word and the Spirit to move us more intentionally from surrender to abandonment, from abandonment to contentment, and from contentment towards greater participation in God’s will.

As a child, I remember being told, “you sure do ask a lot of questions.” At the time, it was hard to know if that was a good thing, or not. At age 65, I still find myself asking a lot of questions. Some years ago, I began a more conversational style of prayer. Over time, I learned that God never grows tired of me asking Him things, and that He is always faithful to respond. Ephesians 3:20 says, “Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine.” This led me to believe that God desires for us to ask and imagine more.

In Psalm 67 King David cries out to God for a blessing. His prayer harkens back to God’s instructions to Moses for Aaron and his sons to intercede for the Israelites. Moses tells them to ask for God’s grace and peace for the nation of Israel. Likewise, King David is asking God to intercede, but with a distinctly different purpose. David’s plea is for God to be, “Gracious to us and bless us and make His face shine on us, so that His ways may be known on earth, His salvation among all nations. ” David understood that God’s plan was for all the nations to know Him. But equally important, David understood that God uses His children to be involved in blessing those around us. Thousands of years later, this Biblical truth continues to be a guiding principle for all who follow Jesus Christ. If God is blessing you, He expects you to bless others so that God would be revealed to them.

Almost a year ago, a dear friend of mine told me about one of her spiritual disciplines. Maybe you’re asking yourself, “what are spiritual disciplines”? Simply put, spiritual disciplines are intentional practices that can help our spiritual growth. Prayer, meditation, fasting, solitude, service, and confession or truth telling are some examples of spiritual disciplines. These routines can provide greater opportunity for God’s transformative work in our lives. My friend explained to me that Ignatian Bible contemplation is a spiritual discipline in which you join Bible study and prayer together by placing yourself into the Biblical story.

The Lord said to Abram in Genesis 12, “Go from your country, your people and your father’s household to the land I will show you.” He told Abram that in doing so He would make him into a great nation that would bless every other nation. Did Abram hear God’s voice out loud? Was it a voice in his head that only he could hear? Did he get a feeling, or a sense of knowing deep inside? The Bible doesn’t say.

Singer Annie Lennox sang, “I travel the world and the seven seas. Everybody’s looking for something.” I’ve been to a lot of places, and I tend to agree with Annie. If I had to pick just one word to describe what people are looking for I'd say it's relationships. One of my greatest joys in life is getting to know people. Building relationships is like digging for hidden treasure. If you invest time and effort in getting to know someone, you always discover something special. Sometimes it’s a fascinating learning experience that’s revealed through someone else’s life journey. Sometimes we discover something about ourselves, or our community by spending time with others. If we intentionally build deeper connections with others, there is nearly always a benefit.

Have you ever walked outside on a beautiful sunny day and been surprised by the intensity of the sun's brightness? You quickly lower your head and shade your eyes with one hand while struggling to put on sunglasses with the other. In that moment, the light reveals more than we are able to process, more than we can focus on, and our first response is to look away, or cover our eyes.  John 3:19 says, “The light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil.”  If Jesus is the light of the world, do people turn away, or disregard His message because they prefer darkness?

Christmas is a wonderful time to reflect on all that is good in the world. It’s a special time to celebrate God’s greatest gift to mankind; peace with God through His Son, Jesus Christ. I am beyond words grateful for this incredible greatest gift in my life. C. S. Lewis said, "I believe in Christianity as I believe that the sun has risen, not only because I see it, but because by it I see everything else.” God’s gift at Christmas gives us the opportunity to see the many blessings that flow from that greatest gift. As I consider the many blessings God has showered on me since receiving His greatest gift, I’ve come to appreciate God’s second greatest gift.

In my quiet time this morning, I asked God two questions that I often ask of Him. “God, what do you want me to know, and what do you want me to do?” Then I listened, knowing that He is a God that still speaks if I am willing to listen.

The United States has always been a beacon of hope to the rest of the world. Many would say that as a nation we are blessed by God, so that we can be a blessing to the world. For centuries people from all over came to live in a place that offers tremendous hope. They migrated to America for host of reasons including, economic prosperity, religious freedom, education, and safety from conflict or persecution. However, there might be another reason why individuals are attracted to this continuously expanding melting pot.