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Dr Bobby Clinton’s leadership emergence observes the progression of development in the lives of those who embark on a journey of Christian service (more here). A aeronautics mathmatician turned theologian, Dr Clinton and his students made thousands of case studies on Christian leaders to discover patterns in how God forms their lives.

One of the most interesting paradigms in Dr Clinton’s work is the significance of boundary periods in our lives. These transitions can take years and are often the most intense times of learning in our lives. The majority of leaders studied experienced lives of drastic change over and over, which was part of what made them so productive and resilient.

When we ourselves set out to follow God’s calling on our lives, maybe we imagined that if we followed His prophetic leading and worked hard enough our lives would be an upward straight line from calling to destiny. But if you’re like me you might look back after decades of ministry and feel like the twisting road is less of a victory march than a puzzling sojourn.

Is it possible that part of our discourgement looking back at the seasons of our lives – the places, projects and people we invested in – is the expectations we brought with us?

Kati and I are finishing a season of three years in the U.S. between our time in Brazil and our new project in Portugal. The gospel teaches us to seek to be Christlike (Rm. 8:29) more that do impressive works. But part of being created in God image is to desire to express our creativity in productive ways. We all love to accomplish significant milestones and look back in satisfaction. So what have Kati and I accomplished in these past three years? There are certainly a list of things I thought would happen that didn’t and surprising fruit that came unexpectedly. And what about our kids? Maybe the purposes of this season had more to do with them than with Kati and I.

Any life worth living according to the vision of Scripture is one of community. At moments all of us pout about projects left on the backburner and time seemingly invested and wasted. Lately when I’m tempted to feel this way I feel the Holy Spirit telling me, “David, it’s not all about you”. My choices as a husband and father have a huge impact on my wife and kids, who ultimately belong to God. And the Lord has a plan for my wife and children’s lives as well, for which often dad needs to get out of the way.

I thank the Lord for the mysterious and beautiful story He weaves through our lives as an expression of His Kingdom. Who are we to say what should have been accomplished? How can the pot say to the potter, what have you done (Is. 29:16)?

Teach us Lord to submit ourselves under Your might hand and celebrate the fruit that comes naturally from abiding in the vine… today.

Deus não está do seu lado

É jogar baixo usar Deus para apoiar seu lado de um argumento com alguém.  Eu vejo isso sempre.  Duas pessoas estão brigando sobre algo e uma delas diz, “Bom, eu estava orando sobre isso e senti o Sebhor dizer que você precisa ser mais aberto”, ou, “Mais paciente”, ao algo do tipo.  Bom, se Deus disse que você está com a razão quem pode discutir com isso?  Legal você hein, aproveitando a oportunidade para me dar uma palavra do Senhor!

Não digo isso num tom áspero, nós cristãos devemos poder rir de nós mesmos e reconhecer nossa tendência manipuladora.  A maioria de nós provavelmente já fez isso uma vez.  Há situações em que somos genuinamente movidos pelo Espírito Santo a corrigir e exortar alguém.  Mas é preciso ter discernimento de quando Deus nos daria uma palavra para nosso irmão e quando não. 

Isso também não funciona no casamento.  Se você dizer, “Querida, Deus me mostrou que eu estou sendo espiritual e você está sendo carnal”, tenha certeza de ser Deus mesmo.  Se for seu cônjuge ou um amigo, eles vão perceber seu joguinho.  “Pois em parte conhecemos e em parte profetizamos… Agora, pois, vemos apenas um reflexo obscuro, como em espelho; mas, então veremos face a face.  Agora conheço em parte; então, conhecerei plenamente, da mesma forma como sou plenamente conhecido” (I Co. 13.9,12).  

The Oxford Dictionary defines revelation in its religious sense as the divine or supernatural disclosure to humans of something relating to human existence or the world. Last Wednesday I went to my grandmother Joy Dawson’s house to have lunch and catch up. I had an idea of asking her to share for a few minutes on some spiritual topic so I could post it on my vlog. I got to grandma’s house, we had lunch, and then I asked her if she could share something for a few minutes. I explained that it could be any recent meditation or insight she’d received from the Lord, something like that.

Looking back I realize that I should have expected what happened next. Joy said she’d be delighted to but she would like to have some time to pray before to ask the Lord for a special word for the occasion. Of course I said that was fine, after all I usually try to leave several hours open when I go to visit my grandma.

So I laid down on the grass in the backyard and slipped into deep relaxation feeling like a kid in such familiar surroundings. I love her cute statues of rabbits and deer and the little bridge over a small stream. The water passes by an old orange tree that produces huge fruit in the San Fernando Valley sun.

When I woke I did’t know how much time had passed but when I found grandma she was sitting in her chair in her bedroom with the Bible open still waiting on the Lord. I asked her how it was going and she said she wasn’t feeling very well. I felt bad for putting a potential burden on her by asking her to share some kind of devotional meditation knowing that she would take the request very seriously. And for my grandma it’s not because she thinks a lot of people see my social media content, which they don’t. Joy would have spent just as much time and energy seeking the Lord if I had asked her to pray about a word for just one person.

I ended up apologizing to my grandma for putting her under pressure and suggested that she lie down and rest, which she did. And shortly after that I got back into my car and made the 1 hour trip home. The point of this post, how so many of us Christians have lost a sense of reverence and wonder for revelation from God. What an amazing thing to actually have access to and hear from the Creator God who sustains the universe with His word (He. 1:3).

Years ago I remember having a lively discussion with both my grandparents in their motorhome (which I now live in with my wife) about divine guidance and hearing the voice of God. I was arguing against the idea that we need such specific direction from the Lord as I had been brought up to believe. Looking back I feel like my perspective was simiular to the post-Enlightenment deistic understanding of God that people like Thomas Jefferson held. This is the supreme clockmaker God that creates the universe and then leaves it mostly to its own devices. I’ll never forget my papa Jim’s response. I can’t remember his exact words, but papa responded something like, “Well David, this is what we have learned, believed, and practiced”. His exact words were different, what I remember most was the look in his eyes and the tone of his voice. His manner was so gentle and yet strong with the authority of experience.

And as I think about the heritage of my family, passed down to me, regarding the practice of seeking God’s voice…. I think of the fruit in the lives of those who believe this is possible and a great privilege to be cherished. In my life, with all my postmodern ambiguity and jaded skepticism regarding God’s goodness and the perfection of His ways, the fruit pales in comparison to my grandparents’ amazing lives. My grandparents became influential leaders in the church but that’s not what I’m talking about. I refer to the joy and peace and personal evangelism and prayer lives they exemplified every time I was with them.

There are so many voices today even within the church that sow doubt in the authority of God’s word and our ability to hear His voice. I pray that I owuld experience a new revival in my belief in these things so I can pass them on to my kids. History has shown that Christian movements that lose their reverence for the doctrine of revelation – God’s supernatural communication – generally degrade into empty humanism and ultimately disappear as communities of faith altogether. Father help us to desire to hear Your voice again, and to believe that this is the urgent answer to all that eats away at the life Your promise in Your word.

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My dad is a Church historian and I picked up his passion for the drama of the unfolding of God’s plan of salvation. I’ve experienced Bible college and seminary and have always preferred the study of Church history to the study of theology. I do love theology as well. My favorite definition of theology is the “so what” of every idea declared in Scripture in it’s application to every imaginable human context and paradigm. Some people get turned off by obscure theological terms but the reason there are so many is because there are so many areas to answer the “so what” of Scripture in this time and space.

That said, I prefer Church history because it is theology done in the context of a drama. It’s easier for me to comprehend and evaluate great foundational Christian ideas in the context of the debate and struggle that swirl around them through history. The ideas of Saint Augustine and Martin Luther are so much more powerful when we know what they were responding to.

And that brings me to the title of this post. Within the study of Church history the most impacting answers I’ve found respond to the following question: when did Christians start believing that? I’ll give a few examples but let me preface by saying I won’t go into any depth here just bullet points. First off, when did Christians first start saying that the gifts of the spirit had ceased? The most compelling evidence, in my opinion, points to the late second century movement called the Montanists. It was in response to this influenceia, controversial, charismatic movement that we see the first writings by Church leadership proposing that the gifts of the Spirit had ceased (https://enduringword.com/church-history-3-the-early-church-part-3-important-leaders-and-writings-the-montanists/).

Or what about the worship of Mary mother of Jesus? The Christological controversies of the first 4 centuries of the Church were the impetus behind the eventual exaltation of Mary that Protestants object to. Mary began to be called “the God bearer” by those parts of the Church that wanted to emphasize the divinity of Christ. The initial point of affirmubg that Mary gave birth to the Divine Son was not to exalt herself but Jesus.

And of course there is the matter of clerical celibacy? Who came up with that idea and why? Well, it was in the context of corruption in the Church involving the sale of bishoprics and high offices. These positions of leadership held sway over huge material inheritance: land, buildings, the intake of tithes and offerings, and eventually the sale of indulgences. Partitive inheritance is a term which refers to when a ruler has to divide his kingdom between his sons, who generally fight amongst themselves thus weakening and eventually destroying it. When a sole heir is chosen things are much easier to administrate. Church leadership realized that it was a lot easier to avoid nepotism if bishops had no children.

I’m just giving superficial reference to these topis and overgeneralizing them for sure. My point is not to get into theological debates but to share how helpful it is for us to know the context of the emergence of some peculiar aspects of Christian practice and thought.

Quando é que os cristãos começaram a pensar assim?

Meu pai é um historiador da Igreja cristã e eu aprendi a amar este assunto dele – o desenrolar da estória do plano de Deus da salvação.  Eu ja tive a experiência de estudar no seminário e sempre preferi o campo da história da igreja sobre a teologia.  Não me entenda mal, eu amo o estudo da teologia também.  A minha definição favorita da teologia é a aplicação das idéias da Escritura à toda área do universo no qual vivemos.  É por isso que a teologia tem tantos termos esquisitos e que fazem com que muitas pessoas a acham chata.  Mas cada um destes termos se refere a uma área de aplicação da Palavra de Deus ao nosso mundo.  

Mas eu prefiro o estudo da história da igreja porque representa teologia feita no contexto de um drama magnífica.  Para mim, é mais fácil compreender e avaliar as grandes idéias cristãs no contexto dos debates, divisões e tribulações do povo de Deus.  As idéias de São Agostino e Marin Lutero são muito mais poderosos quando compreendemos as situações as quais eles estavam respondendo.  

E com isso eu chego ao tema deste post.  O maior impacto da história da igreja na minha vida é como ela responde à pergunta, “Quando é que os cristãos começaram a crer assim?”  Vou dar alguns breves exemplos.  Quando é que os cristãos começaram a crer que os dons do espírito não existiam mais?  Não sei se você sabe mas existem denominações evangélicas que ensinam essa doutrina.  Nas escritas antigas dos anciãos cristãos, a primeira vez que lemos essa doutrina é em resposta a uma polêmica envolvendo um grupo crente que se chamava os montanistas.  Era um grupo que exercia os dons do espírito de uma forma que muitos achavam errado e gerou polêmica.  E pela primeira vez vemos alguns bispos e presbitérios dizendo que os dons do Espírito Santo tão prevalentes no Novo Testamento haviam cessados na era cristã após Jesus e os apóstolos.  

E quando é que os cristãos começaram a venerar e até adorar à Maria mãe de Jesus?  As controvérsias cristológicas dos primeiros 4 séculos a.C. são o ímpeto por trás da exaltação da Maria que escandalosa tanto os protestantes.  Tudo começou quando a Maria passou a ser chamada teokotos , que significa “Aquela que deu à luz a Deus”.  O importante aqui é saber que aqueles que usavam este termo estavam reagindo àqueles que estavam negando a plena divindade de Jesus Cristo.  O ponto era enfatizar que o menino que Maria deu à luz não era apenas um ser humano mas também possuiu a natureza divina.  

E o celibato dos padres na igreja católica romana, de onde surgiu esta idéia?  Bom, houve uma época de grande corrupção na igreja envolvendo a venda das posições de liderança na igreja: bispo, presbítero, etc.  Quem ocupou estas posições tinha grande influência, as vezes controle total, sobre os bens materiais da igreja.  Isso representava uma imensa riqueza de terras, dinheiro, prédios, animais, etc.  Então a igreja observou a prática dos reis de passar o trono para um dos herdeiros em vez de dividir entre vários.  Desta forma o poder podia ser consolidada.  Os bispos sem filhos não promoveriam o nepotismo e eram mais fáceis de manter submissos às autoridades eclesiásticas responsáveis por evitar tal tipo de corrupção.  

Então o meu ponto é que o estudo da história da igreja é maravilhoso porque ele revela de onde vem tantas idéias que vieram a fazer parte do cristianismo.  Estou ciente de que a explicação dada acima é muito superficial e uma visão mais compreensiva seria complexa demais para abordar num post de blog.  Mas espero que posso com este breve testemunho meu alguns de vocês sejam despertados para investigar de onde vieram as doutrinas que muitas vezes nós aceitamos sem nenhum questionamento e com pouco compreensão.    

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My dad has often commented to me that only two chapters of the Bible speak of creation and the whole rest of the book speaks about restoration. And the biblical restoration narrative is not a simple upward trajectory from point A to B. The redemptive story of God’s people Israel in the Old Testament is cyclical. God sends a prophet, his sons make a mess of things… a good king governs well, his son governs poorly. This is how restoration and deterioration repeat themselves over and over in the story of God’s people.

The righteous man falls and then gets up only to fall and get back up again (Pv. 24:16), rinse and repeat. We are taught to confess and receive cleansing of our sins not just once, but over and over (Js. 5:16). Forgiveness too is something we have to do as a daily practice, Forgive us our sins as we forgive others (Lk. 11:4). So the restorative cycle goes on and on in our lives, and in our relationships.

Perhaps every problem in our lives can be interpreted as a relationship problem on some level. Relationships aren’t static but dynamic meaning that we’re either growing in intimacy or alienation at any given moment. This is true of our relationship with God, our spouse, our kids, our parents, our friends, etc.

They cycle of restoration is evident in the process of sactification in the lives of those who have repented and believed in Jesus for salvation. From that moment on we are being conformed into the image of Christ (Rm. 8:29). So the development of spiritual disciplines – habits such as prayer, meditating on Scripture and service to others – is an ever-oscilating process.

Of course this process of restoration is also not just a hopeless cycle like doing laundry that never ends nor are you ever making ultimate progress. The work is never done but real progress definitely can and should be happening in our lives.

The point is that when we find ourselves on the downside of these processes in our friendships, habits, and our relationship with Jesus we shouldn’t lose heart. Because the promise of Scripture is that we will go from glory to glory (II Cor. 3:18), also experiencing intermittent vallies, deserts, falls, mistakes, confessions, forgiveness… and always restoration… constant restoration.

Restauração Constante

Meu pai comenta frequentemente comigo que somente os primeiros dois capítulos da Bíblia falam da criação e todo o resto do livro fala de restauração.  E a narrativa bíblica não é apenas uma trajetória reta e sempre ascendente do ponto A ao B.  A estória de Israel no Velho Testamento é cíclico.  Deus envia um profeta, os filhos dele estragam tudo… um rei bom leva o povo de volta ao Senhor, seguido por um rei que leva o povo à idolatria.  E dessa forma a restauração e deterioração se repetem vez após vez no caminho dos filhos de Deus. 

O justo é aquele que embora cai se levanta novamente até perder a conta (Pv. 24:16).  A Escritura nos ensina a confessar nossos pecados e receber purificação não só uma única vez mas repetidamente (Tg. 5:16).  O perdão também é algo que nós praticamos diariamente, Perdoa os nossos pecados assim como nós perdoamos aos outros (Lc. 11:4).  E dessa form ao ciclo se repete nas nossas vidas e relacionamentos.  

De fato todos os nossos problemas podem ser interpretados como problemas de relacionamento.  Nossos relacionamentos não são estáticos mas sim dinâmicos, significando que estamos crescendo em intimidade ou alienação a todo momento.  Isso é verdade no nosso relacionamento com Deus, o nosso cônjuge, os filhos, pais, amigos, etc.  

O ciclo de restauração é evidente também no processo de santificação nas vidas daqueles que se arrependeram e creram em Jesus para salvação.  Daquele momento em diante estamos sendo conformados na imagem de Cristo (Rm. 8:29).  Mas graças a Deus este ciclo não é como lavar roupa suja que se repete todo dia sem nenhum fim a ser esperado.  Embora a obra nunca é completamente acabada até a glorificação de nossos corpos carnais (I Cor. 15), podemos e devemos esperar que haja progresso real em nossas vidas.  

O ponto é que quando nos encontramos na descida deste ciclo em nossos relacionamentos, hábitos e vida devocional não devemos perder o ânimo.  Porque a Escritura nos promete que iremos de glória em glória (II Cor. 3:18), embora experimentando também os vales, desertos, quedas, confissões… e mais importante, o perdão.  Mas sobretudo sempre há restoração… restoração constante.  

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It’s been a couple months since Kati and I announced our plan to move to Portugal. In that time the support and encouragement has been overwhelming and we’re so thankful. At the same time, there have been moments when it’s obvious to me the limitations of understanding the missionary life from the outside. I grew up a missionary kid so to me it was just another viable vocational option. Only as time went by did I realize that being a missionary only made sense if it was absolutely a call from God, and even the call would need to be confirmed repeatedly along the way.

The term missionary has meant different things in different Christian traditions through Church history. Perhaps the simplest common denominator of Christian understanding of the term is a sent one. Barnabus and Paul were set apart and sent out by the church in Antioch for a specific work that the church community in that city deemed worthy and legitimate. I love the early teaching by Loren Cunningham “Go Means a Change of Location”, which I think sums up the most foundational aspect of missions: going. Of course there are home missions and foreing middions and urban missions and frontier missions. All are legitimate as long as some community of faith agrees that a work needs to be done and God has called some to do it.

But in this post I do want to focus on the crosscultural missionary. Unless you’ve lived crossculturally/internationally for long-term periods of time it’s very difficult to understand this lifestyle. Take the affects on your children. If your kids are born overseas they might look at their parents as fully adjusted to the context in which they were born. But at some point it dawns on missionary kids that mom, or dad, or both, are very different than them. Where is home? I represent the third generation of missionaries in my family and answering the question “where’s home?” is a tough one.

Point is, when talking to those who aren’t called to the our lifestyle we missionaries need to be a little guarded about some of the things we share and that we receive. I hope this doesn’t sound arrogant, I certainly don’t believe that missionaries are in any way superior to any other disciples of Christ. If you’ve never pastored a church you’re limited in giving advice to pastors, if you’ve never been through a divorce you’re comrehension only goes so far.

Missionaries live a life dangling, we usually don’t know how long we’ll be in a determined context. If you have a crosscultural marriage you can never be certain that life will take root more in your culture or your spouse’s. It’s very hard to explain what this feels like and get good advice unless the person you’re talking to has lived the same experience long-term. Missions paradigms will change over the years but as long as the term refers to sent ones the church will need wisdom and comprehension in pastoring and supporting them effectively. The best approach? Probably listening mostly, and knowing that missionaries will need space for seasons of transition in a more exaggerated sense than those who live their entire lives within their home culture.

Uma vida pendurada

Faz alguns meses que eu e a Kati comunicamos à família e amigos a nossa decisão de nos mudar para Portugal.  Embora temos recebido muito encorajamento, houveram momentos em que percebemos a limitação da compreensão das pessoas em relação à vida missionária. 

“Missionário” significa diferentes coisas ao longo da história da Igreja, mas geralmente se refere a alguém que foi enviado para realizar um ministério específico.  Ser enviado na maioria das vezes queria dizer algo transcultural e internacional.  

A não ser que você tem experiência em missões transculturais é muito difícil compreender este estilo de vida.  Quando um casal missionário gera família no exterior seus filhos têm uma ligação àquela nação que os pais dificilmente terão.  Mesmo que eu passar 50 anos em outro país eu sempre serei um norte americano.  As pessoas podem dizer, “Davi você é um de nós”, o que é um grande carinho, porém eu não deixo de ser o que sou.  Nunca me transformarei em outra pessoa culturalmente 100%.

Os missionários vivem uma vida pendurada.  Nós geralmente não sabemos quanto tempo estaremos em determinado local.  Se você casar com estrangeiro isso será mais exagerado ainda.  Nunca vocês dois saberão em qual cultura passarão a maior parte da sua carreira juntos.  Para muitos casais transculturais missionárias um alternativo feliz é uma terceira cultura onde ninguém está “vencendo” por morar em sua cultura nativa.  

Qual é a melhor forma de encorajar uma família missionária?  A melhor abordagem geralmente é ouvir as estórias e experiências deles.  A melhor abordagem é lembrar que os missionários provavelmente passarão por mais fases de transição em suas vidas e que estas transições levarão mais tempo.  Muito tempo de transição mesmo, não uma vida normal, mas como qualquer vocação inspirada pelo Espirito Santo ela vale a pena se for tão somente para a glória e honra de Jesus Cristo.  

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Quarantine has been great for my running, gym is closed and surf is flat. I don’t know what’s going on with my phone but roaming data isn’t working. I went online and checked a bunch of things that it could be but no use, I’m stuck with 1:30 minutes of silence at 5:30 am.

I tend to think of my morning runs as part of my devotional life. I listen to the Bible, or bible teaching, or worship… but it’s a constant inflow of information and sound, not too conducive to talking with God.

Since my phone broke I’ve been talking to and hearing from the Lord a ton. It’s been so cool. I really need this as Kati and I plan and take steps towards our move to Portugal. The destabilization of a big decision like that has an aspect of euphoria and wonder in the beginning. Soon though the excitement is replaced with a low grade anxiety as regular routines lose their meaning in light of pending change. Don’t get me wrong (especially our financial partners), Kati and I have no problem staying busy with work and personal responsibilities every day. Actually one of the things that makes our move easier is that most of our work is currently not too location relevant.

But the silence on the road has offered a great opportunity or me to hear God’s voice like I haven’t done for quite a while.

A Bênção do Silêncio

A quarentena tem sido ótimo para as minhas corridas de manhã, enquanto a academia está fechada e quando não há ondas boas pra surfar.  Eu não sei o que está acontecendo com o meu iPhone mas o roaming data não está funcionando por alguns dias.  Eu fui online pra ver como resolver o problema mas ainda não consegui, e por isso me sobra uma corrida de 1:45 minutos em silêncio.  

Eu geralmente penso nas minhas corridas matinais como parte da minha vida devocional.  Eu escuto a Bíblia, ou pregação ou louvor… mas estou sempre escutando algo, que dificulta ouvir a voz de Deus se Ele quiser falar comigo.  

Desde que tenho esse problema com meu telefone eu tenho ouvido muito mais a voz de Deus nas minhas corridas.  Isso tem sido muito bom.  Eu e a Kati realmente precisamos ouvir ao Senhor neste tempo de planejar nossa mudança para Portugal.  No início quando nós tomamos uma decisão que mudará toda nossa vida é empolgante.  Porém em pouco tempo a euforia da novidade passa e vem uma ansiedade porque perdemos a rotina da vida diária, já que agora tudo vai mudar.  

Então em meio à toda essa turbulência eu estou feliz que meu iPhone parou de funcionar (pelo menos por enquanto). Porque está me forcando a passar mais tempo no silêncio com Deus.  

“17 So Isaac moved away from there and encamped in the Valley of Gerar, where he settled. 18 Isaac reopened the wells that had been dug in the time of his father Abraham,… 22 He moved on from there and dug another well, and no one quarreled over it. He named it Rehoboth,[e] saying, “Now the Lord has given us room and we will flourish in the land.” (Gen. 26)

Sometimes I wonder why I’m not more in tune with the prophetic. I was raised in a Christian community that emphasized the desire of God to lead our lives daily. My grandmother Joy used to use the example of Jesus saying that we live by the daily word of God to us just as we need bread for food. So true.

But we all experience how circumstances are also an undeniable part of the revelation of God’s will for our individual lives. This is true in every Christian’s life, but perhaps more for some than others, maybe we can call these the hard-headed ones.

Some of us just seem to have so much drive in us that we choose a direction in life, run after it like crazy, and turn a deaf ear to the voice of God. Many of us do this inadvertently, but it happens. Then it remains to God to remove His Grace and wait for us to run out of steam. God’s grace comes in so many forms – provision, opportunity, inexplainable joy, anointing, etc – and when it’s gone we know. You just get yourself into a situation that you can’t handle anymore. You’re in too deep and now you can’t even be what you need to be to those who depend on you.

Our sense of self-sufficiency is such an illusion. I think that missionaries have the privilege of experiencing this cross-culturally. It’s no exaggeration to say that the past year and a half that I’ve been back in the U.S. is just as hard of a transition as when I moved to Brazil in 2003. Kati and I were talking about how it feels to transition like this – new neighborhood, new church, new work, new weather, food, etc. I tried to put how it felt to me saying, “It feels cold”. We take for granted the warmth of the familiar – how it makes us feel significant, in control, and comfortable.

This is what God has to remove so His more strong willed children can be squeezed into the fulfillment of His promises lives. At these times we can cry out and say God make it quick, I want the transition to be over… please. But many of these turbulent souls are those the Father has chosen to lead others. The storm that rages within them can be an evergreen source of energy to inspire others towards the building of God’s kingdom.

So if you are like me, join me in praying that the Lord will continue to bless us in times of transition and teach us all we need to learn. Instead of praying that the transition be over sooner, let’s pray that we don’t miss anything the Father wants to teach us in the interim.

When God called Gideon In Judges 6 the future hero was hiding from those who were bullying Israel.  Gideon’s immediate response to God’s call was to ask, “How will I know you’re really with me on this Lord?”  If you were raised in church you’ll remember the Sunday school favorite of Gideon and the fleeces.

The simple point I want to emphasize here is that only when Gideon was challenged by God did he even care whether God was with him.

Like the loafer above, we all have moments when the presence of God with us is not even really on our minds.  When we’re in our comfort zones it doesn’t really seem to matter.

Speaking for myself, it seems like God has to keep me on a pretty short leash, dependence wise.  The minute I’m physically strong with extra money in the bank and plenty of work to keep me feeling productive I drift away from the question, “Is God with me?”

For 20+ years my vocation was pretty clear as a church planter and cross-cultural missionary.  But my new role as an assistant to my dad’s global ministry, and beginning to reach out to our local community has me nearer to God’s “apron strings” than I’ve been in a long time.

Is God with us?  Well He promised to be with us till the end of the age (Mat. 28), so really the question is whether we want to be with Him.  How much of His involvement do we want in our daily decision making?

Just now as I’ve been writing I received a text message with an invitation that I had to quickly bring before the Lord and decide on.  I quickly prayed and sensed God’s peace that this week I just simply couldn’t add anything to my plate.

That’s how I want God’s presence in my life to be, a constant gentle staff to guide me to the left or right, coaxing me forward or having me lie down in green pastures by still waters.

There’s nothing wrong with resting, even “loafing” on the couch at times.  But I thank the Lord for keeping me in a place of needing to know He’s with me… where I truly depend on His intervention… something I can count on as long as I simple desire Him and invite Him into my daily walk.

Psalm 119:147 “I rise before dawn and cry for help; I wait for Your words”

Our family’s recent relocation to the U.S. has been a euphoric whirlwind.  But after the initial excitement of change the harsh reality of life’s pressures – no matter where you are – are starting to get tough.

When I share with Americans about my 16 years in Brazil I would always sense their aversion to the economic and social chaos that exists Latin America.  Above all, the political corruption that trickles down to the streets in cities like São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro are things that most Americans look at and think, “Why would you want to live there, if you had a choice?”

But being back in America has made me aware of the very real pressures and challenges that we face here.  Oxnard, California where I live has miles of beautiful beaches, but most people I know here hardly ever get to enjoy them.  Most everyone is so busy frantically trying to survive, especially the parents.  Even if you decide to be an ascetic hippy your kids will probably be sucked into the consumer machine… and it seems like many American parents have to keep worrying about their kids needs into their 30s and 40s.

While I’m occupied with work and family responsibilities I generally deal pretty well with the anxiety seething in my subconscious.  Most nights however there is a moment that I wake up and really ponder the worst outcomes of my current challenges and the fact that I really can’t deal with that.  In other words, if the worst happens I’m not going to be OK.  These are my thoughts most nights at 2:00 am.

Thankfully most nights I can can just sat a quick prayer and pass out again, or maybe listen to a boring How Stuff Works podcast to put me to sleep.  But once or twice a week the anxiety is too much and the only thing I can do is begin praying.

Sometimes I pray for half and hour, sometimes an hour.  Sometimes I drift in and out of sleep and prayer in a seamless journey through the night.  But inevitably the promise of Philipians 4:6,7 proves true: “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. 7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus“.

Sometimes it takes half an hour, rare times maybe 2 hours, but the peace of God always comes.  I believe in the importance of a disciplined prayer and devotional life, waking up early, etc.  But the impromptu prayer times of the wee hours of the night can also be times when we experience the Father’s embrace in a wonderful way.  And I’m so thankful He’s there because tomorrow I’m going to need a lot of energy… sufficient to each day are the evils thereof.

This week I was on my daily run, just kidding, I wish it was daily, and I saw something that made me sympathize with homosexual perceptions.  A young couple – two women, apparently lesbians – was walking hand-in-hand through a park.  Since I’m such a fast runner I left them far behind in a moment.  But no sooner had I passed them that I saw two young men doing a photo shoot.  The scene consisted of two girls in bikinis, won’t describe it further than that, just to say that it was not in “good taste”.  In other words, the nature of the photo op was one that any passer by would feel like they’d walked in on a scene that was very inappropriate in those surroundings.

No sooner had I passed the photographers and muses by that I thought of the young lesbian couple who would come across the same scene in a few seconds.  They would see an example of the base objectification of women that characterizes men’s attitudes towards women the world over.  My thought was that the two young women would see the scene and look at each other with a knowing, “And that’s why we’ve opted for the sexual orientation we have”.

A few days later I was listening to an audio narration of the book of Romans.  Several places Paul references homosexuality in the context of the consequences of sin, i.e. man’s perversion as a result of rejecting God.  I was thinking that a Christian can only reconcile homosexuality with the historic Christian faith without problem if they are not regularly exposed to Scripture.  My point here is not to go into the specifics of my own convictions regarding homosexuality, only to say that the Bible is not silent on the subject and its commentary is generally negative.

My point is that my heart went out to the young lesbian couple – their perception of the salacious scene and its impact on them.  And I felt ashamed as a man, identifying myself with the behavior of the male photographers.

Surely a man’s thought life and what he sets his eyes on are things only known to himself and God.  Every man knows temptation, and God’s desire is that every man enjoy the gift of sexuality, unless they are graced to live without.  That day I was running in the park I was inspired – as the father of two girls – to be an example of what God intends that men’s attitudes towards women be.