The Bible - The Christian's Instruction Book

Last week I bought a new computer. My old computer is almost 5 years old and it began to have some problems with the hard drive. Try as I might I could not fix this problem and realized that a new computer was the best solution. So, I spent some time checking out what was available, found a computer I liked and bought it. After I ordered my computer I found the manufactures user guide for this model on the Internet and started to familiarize myself with what my new computer could do and what features were available.

My excitement over having a new computer tempted me to fall into the trap that many people do when they get a new computer or something else new. I was so happy to have this wonderful new computer that I wanted to just start using it without reading the user guide. But I realized that if I did not read the user guide then there would be many things involved with using my new computer that I would not make the best use of, if I even knew to use them at all. The user manual for my computer is 192 pages long and I just wanted to skip around to read about the parts I thought were most interesting to me but I put that off too and made my way through the document. Now, while I am still learning how everything in my new computer works, because I read through the instruction book I believe that I am having a much better overall experience with my computer than I would have had otherwise.

For Christians, the Bible is our instruction book. If we want to have the best "Christian experience" we should read the user guide given by the manufacturer. So many people are excited about God and being a Christian but they fail to take advantage of all of the great things that God has provided for them and sometimes Christians fail to use what has been given to them in the right way because they have never read the entire instruction book. There are parts of the Bible that people may want to spend more time focusing on than others but to get the best results we need to read and know everything that our instruction manual, the Bible, has to say.

As I talk with people it is surprising and sad to see how many Christians really do not know very much about the Bible at all. While I would never claim to know everything in the Bible I do know from all of my years as a Christian and a minister that most people really do not know what the Bible has to say and they live below what God intended them to have as a result. The best thing we can do as Christians is to make it a habit to read the Bible often, and not just the parts we think are interesting, and learn everything we can about what God has provided for us through Jesus. It's all in our instruction book, we just have to read it and make the proper use of it.

Christian Confidence

This coming Sunday is Easter Sunday, or Resurrection Sunday as many Christians call it. This is a day that Christians celebrate the fact that Jesus has risen and is alive today. What most Christians fail to realize is exactly what that means for their lives today. Of course we understand that because Jesus is risen our sins are forgiven and through accepting the work of Jesus in His death and resurrection Christians will one day go to heaven. The really good news is that we don't have to wait until we get to heaven to experience all of the benefits and blessings that Jesus has provided for us.

A person could actually write quite a lot about all of the good things that God has provided for us through Jesus Christ but I just want to write a bit about our Christian identity. The Bible tells us in 2 Corinthians 5:21 that Jesus took our sin and we became the righteousness of God in Christ. This is a wonderful statement that, at least in my opinion, most Christians do not fully understand. Rather than think of ourselves in light of the redemptive work of Jesus most Christians view themselves through their feelings, their good or bad deeds, and even their natural background (such as national or ethnic origin, etc).

To have an effective life as a Christian we need to do as it says in Colossians 3:2 and "exercise our mind" on things above because our real life, who we really are, is hidden in Christ. When facing difficult circumstances too many Christians wilt because they have no real Christian confidence (based on who they are in Christ), they only have their own self confidence (based on who they are from a natural standpoint). Instead of boldly facing any challenge of life that comes to them they shrink feeling inadequate to do what is necessary to succeed. If we focus on who we are in Christ we can have a true Christian confidence knowing that God is on our side (Romans 8:31), God will help us (Hebrews 13:6), and He will lead us triumphantly at all times (2 Corinthians 2:14)! In ourselves we really don't amount to much but with God on our side and Jesus as our Savior we can have great Christian confidence.

Another Part Of Missionary Life

When people think about someone who is a missionary they normally think about what that person does in the country they live in, which is usually not their country of origin. However, one necessary part of missionary life takes place away from where the missionary normally works. This is the part of missionary life that has to do with connecting with ministry partners and raising financial support.

Currently I am nearing the end of a three week trip in the USA where I have been doing a bit of traveling to speak in churches, visit with supporters, friends, and family, and I also attended some meetings at RHEMA USA in Tulsa, OK. My time in the USA is always enjoyable and I try to make the most of it. It is important to connect with and thank the people who support me in the work that I do in Germany and Europe and it is also good to look for opportunities to talk with other people who may be interested in what I am doing.

One thing I find over and over again is that people are excited about what God is doing around the world. It is good for everyone to have a vision for reaching the world and when I can tell others about how God is changing people's lives through the work I am involved in it can help in this process. For the people who currently support me it is great to have the chance to share with them about what they are helping me to do.

While I am in the USA there is a lot of traveling and visiting with people to talk about what I do, but this is just another part of life as a missionary. I certainly look forward to my returning to Germany next week but having the opportunity to let people know about all of the good things that God is doing around the world is also very enjoyable for me.

Our Standard Of Measurement

When I was growing up in the USA everything was measured in inches, feet, and yards. I have learned that this system of measurement is called the English System of Measurement. Today I live in Germany where everything is measured in centimeters, millimeters, and meters, this is known as the Metric System of Measurement.

In a similar way before I was a Christian things were measured by my thoughts, emotions, and circumstances. But today, as a Christian, I have just one standard for measurement: the Bible. Today everything I think, feel, or experience needs to be checked against my new standard system of measurement.

Over the years I have had different conversations with people about what they believe, how life works, and what is right and wrong. When I would ask people to give me their basis for what they believe I would get all kinds of answers. What I have found over and over again is that everyone has some standard system of measurement, whether they realize it or not. Most of the time people just wanted to do what they thought was right but that kind of reasoning leads to anarchy because what one person believes is right is wrong in the view of another person, there has to be some standard system of measurement that everyone can go by.

People have so many ways to measure and judge things but the Bible is the only safe standard that we can use to measure things by. If more people would follow the guidelines God gave us in the Bible the world would be a much better place. By that I am not just talking about people who do not know God but I am including Christians too. Even Christians base things in their life on all kinds of things outside of the Bible, like their feelings, what someone else has said or done, and even on how everyone else does things. None of these standards are a safe guide for us. My goal is to base what I do on what the Bible says and to measure everything that I think, feel, or experience by the Bible, how about you?

How To Have A Happy New Year

Today as I have been out running some errands people have been wishing me a "Happy New Year". No one has wished me a "Bad New Year" or even an "Average New Year". All of this got me thinking about what it would take to actually have a Happy New Year and to make 2010 better than 2009.

Normally people will make resolutions as a New Year approaches about what they want to change and areas they want to make improvements in. Often the initial commitment does not last and this can lead to an Average New Year or even a Bad New Year because of the disappointment and lack of change or improvement that actually happens compared to what the desired result was. One suggestion I have for a Happy New Year is to make realistic commitments to things that really matter and stick with it. Making a commitment to things like growing and developing spiritually, getting more involved in your local church, being sure you are an asset and not a liability to the place you work, and even working on relationships with family and friends to do what you can to make those relationships better; all of these would be good things to make commitments about and to stay with in 2010.

Another thing that really hinders people from having a Happy New Year is that people go into the New Year while looking back at problems and failures that they might have had in the last year. We can never really move forward when we are always looking backward. If some things did not work the way you wanted them to or you made some mistakes last year then plan on doing better in 2010 and make any necessary adjustments to make sure you don't run into the same problem again. Don't hang on to the problems of the past, let them go and look forward to something better.

Finally, another thing we can do to make it a Happy New Year is to take action for yourself and not just wait for everything to happen to you. What I mean is that so many people are waiting for something to happen in their life without them doing anything about it themselves. We need to do what we can, when we can, to make the difference in our own life and not just expect someone or something else to do everything for us as we just passively sit back and wait. Too many people miss an opportunity because they fail to act when they have the ability and possibility to do so.

So as we enter into another New Year my wish would be for everyone to have a really Happy New Year and to make 2010 a far better year than 2009. I have some high expectations for the coming year and I look forward to some great things happening in 2010!

Christmas With Family And Friends

First of all I want to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas! This is always a great time of year as we celebrate the birth of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. There are many people and things that try to take away from the significance of what Christmas is all about but we should not let anything change our own point of view. No matter what others may say Jesus was born and He came to restore the lost relationship between God and man. I for one am so glad that He died on the cross for my sin!

One thing about being a missionary is that this normally means you move away from family and friends. When holidays like Christmas come around those exact things of family and friends are what can make the holiday so special. Today I was thinking about just this when I had another thought about all of the people that God has brought into my life, the people who are a part of my spiritual family.

We all have a natural family that we are born into and when we become a Christian we are "born again" into another family. Currently I live in Germany and while I have a wonderful natural family back in the USA that I love God has also connected me with so many people here that form a sort of second family. This will be a unique Christmas for me as I will be with my spiritual family tomorrow for our church service and afterward I will leave to fly to the USA where I will spend some time with my natural family.

The people that I work with at RHEMA Germany are like family to me, as are the people in our church and in our Bible schools. There are so many wonderful connections and relationships that God has blessed me with over the years that I now have friends all over the world who are a part of my spiritual family. I am grateful for my natural family and I certainly look forward to spending some time with them during the holidays. But, I am also very thankful for all of the people that God has connected me with that make up my spiritual family.

Improvements In Missionary Life

In October I celebrated 11 years of being a missionary in Germany. I truly enjoy what I am doing here and feel privileged to be able to share the truth of God's Word with people in our Bible schools, church, home groups, and in various other settings. Recently I was thinking about how much things have changed for me in these 11 years and beyond that how much things have improved for missionaries over the years.

One thing that I like to do is read. I have read about other great missionaries like George Muller and Hudson Taylor. There is another missionary I read about who I think has the best name for a missionary, "Jonathan Goforth". With a name like that I guess you just have to leave home and go somewhere else. All three of these men, and their families, left everything and everyone that they knew to go to another country and proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ. As I have read about these people and others like them I think that those of us who follow God's direction to go to another country today have it pretty easy by comparison.

Muller, Taylor, and Goforth all lived during the 1800s. They did not have the luxury of flying on an airplane to their destination; they all had to sail on ships and some of their trips lasted for months! None of these people had email, Facebook, Twitter, or even the Internet to keep in contact with others or to find resources to help them in their work. I can use the telephone or Skype to talk with family and friends without any difficulties and these early missionaries spent months and often years without having any contact with family or friends. Just this past week, I have had contact through the Internet or by phone with people on every continent, except Antarctica, and that was not possible for these early missionaries. Besides that, I am using a computer to write this blog and I use it for much of my work also; when I first came to Germany I did not even have a computer and I know that computers were not available in the 1800s!

No matter what anyone does to follow God's plan for their life there will be challenges and some sacrifices to be made. There is always a price to pay for serving God but the rewards always make it worth it! When I look at the improvements that have come for people who serve as missionaries I am very thankful for living in the day and age that I do. I know that no matter what circumstances we face that God will always make a way for us to succeed. But I am glad that there are many natural obstacles that I do not have to face today as many of my predecessors did and I am grateful for their hard work and sacrifice that paved the way for missionaries like me.

The Importance Of Our Words

In September I was back in the USA and towards the end of my trip and then when I got back to Germany I was having some trouble with a cold. The second day back in Germany I almost completely lost my voice and had a hard time talking. Because of that I limited how much I talked so that I would not put any unnecessary strain on my voice. Some people would probably say that my not speaking as much would be a good thing, and you might know someone who should talk less. But, all kidding aside, it is not how much we say that matters as much as what we say.

When I was in this situation of not speaking much it got me thinking about words in general and the things that people say. There is actually an important truth here that we need to learn, our words are powerful and have more impact on our lives than we may think they do. One thing that we must realize is that we need to find out what the Bible says about us, our life, and those around us and then say what the Bible says about each of these. The Bible has quite a bit to say about our words and what our words can do.

Here are a few things that the Bible has to say about words, just from the Book of Proverbs. Our words can bring life or death (Proverbs 18:21); our words can deliver and preserve us (Proverbs 12:6, 13:3), our words can be pleasant (Proverbs 15:26) and promote health (Proverbs 12:18), or our words can destroy others (Proverbs 11:9) and ourselves (Proverbs 13:3). Another good place to read about the value of what we say is in James 3:2-12. Let's make it our goal to be the kind of people who say the right kind of things and have words that bring life and encouragement instead of words that do nothing but bring harm to ourselves and to others.

Quick To Remember, Quick To Forget

October 1998 is when I moved to Germany to begin working with the ministry of RHEMA Germany, which is always a nice thing to remember. There are some other things I remember like when I asked Jesus to come into my life and I became a Christian, my experience of going through Bible school at RHEMA USA, and various things that have happened in the past 11 years I have been in Germany. While we can never live a successful future just based on the accomplishments of the past I still believe it is good to remember the good things that happen in our life and the blessings that God brings to us.

On the other hand, there are a lot of things we need to be quick to forget about: mistakes we have made, wrongs that other people have done to us, and past bad experiences. The problem seems to be that we have it all backwards; we spend a lot of time thinking about all of the negative things and not so much time remembering the good things! We need to take control of our thoughts and be sure that we are quick to remember the right things and quick to forget about and put behind us the wrong things.

There are a couple of good examples of this in the Bible. In Psalm 77 and 105 it talks about remembering the things that God has done and in Philippians 3 Paul says we should forget about the things that are behind us and reach towards the future. The Bible tells us to remember the words of Jesus, the words of the apostles, and that Jesus was raised from the dead. By focusing on and remembering the good things it will be easier for us to forget about and leave behind the wrong things and to live a successful Christian life.

Spiritual Jet Lag

Jet lag is defined by Merriam-Webster's online dictionary as "a condition that is characterized by various psychological and physiological effects (as fatigue and irritability), occurs following long flight through several time zones, and probably results from disruption of circadian rhythms in the human body". Whenever I have flown over the ocean to or from Germany I have noticed this condition and its effects. This past week I returned to Germany from a three week trip in the USA and I thought of a spiritual parallel to this natural condition.

He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love," Colossians 1:13 (NKJV)

When someone becomes a Christian they change kingdoms; we move from the devil's kingdom of darkness into God's kingdom of light. We can experience a sort of spiritual jet lag because we are coming into a place that is spiritually far removed from where we were living previously. We are accustomed to a certain way of thinking and acting and now those things are at odds with our new spiritual location.

When I fly to the USA from Germany or back to Germany from the USA one of the first things I do is change the time on my watch to the time it is at my new location. Then, when I have landed in my new location I keep my thoughts focused on where I am and not on where I was. Spiritually, once we become a Christian we need to change our way of life as soon as possible. We are not Christians because we follow some set of rules but God gave directions on the best way to live and by living a life that is in agreement with God's Word it is easier for us to quickly get acclimated in our new spiritual location.

Now that we have moved into our new spiritual location we need to focus our thoughts on where we are and not where we were. Too many Christian's minds are not renewed with God's Word and it leads them into trouble. By making some adjustments in our way of thinking we can easily make the most of our new life with God and minimize the difficulties we may face in our transition from the devil's kingdom of spiritual darkness into God's kingdom of spiritual light.

Home Is Where The Heart Is

On Wednesday I will fly from Germany back to the USA for a three week trip. While I am in the states I will speak in some churches and visit with family and friends. Usually I fly back to the states at least once or twice a year for a combined time of business and personal activities. Part of the life of a missionary is taking the time to visit with and thank the people who support you and your work, so trips like this are normal for missionaries.

I have lived in a number of different cities in two different states in the USA. I have lived in Germany for almost 11 years in three different cities. But no matter where I live I am at home. When I prepare to fly to the USA I often say to people that I will fly home on such and such a date. Then when I am returning to Germany I tell people in the states that I will be flying home on a certain date. Because I grew up in the USA it will always have a home feeling for me but I feel as much at home in Germany as I do in the states.

In my opinion, too often we get focused on the natural attachments we have to the people and things around us and without these around us we can get "homesick". They say that home is where the heart is and Jesus said in Matthew 6:21 that where your treasure is that is where your heart will be. When we treasure the plan of God for our lives more than any natural thing or any human relationship that is when we truly find our home.

Don't get me wrong, I am very glad to be taking this upcoming trip and for the opportunity to visit with family and friends. But I am also very glad for the place and the people that God has connected me with here in Germany. If the time should come when God wants me to go back to the USA or somewhere else I plan on being just as happy there as I am here. Home is where the heart is and my heart is set on following God and fulfilling His will for my life!

Focus On God's Word

"Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth." 2 Timothy 2:15 (NKJV)

"All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work." 2 Timothy 3:16-17 (NKJV)



This morning I was reading 2 Timothy and something stood out to me. In his second letter to Timothy Paul encourages Timothy to focus on the Word of God. I especially like 2 Timothy 2:15 and how Paul talks about "the word of truth". What I noticed was that in this letter to Timothy, in addition to what Paul says in 2 Timothy 2:15 and 2 Timothy 3:16-17 about God's Word, there are several other things that Paul mentions to Timothy: striving {arguing} about words (2:14), profane {wicked} and idle babblings {useless discussions} (2:16), and foolish and ignorant disputes (2:23). It seemed to me that Paul was telling Timothy to stay focused on God's Word and keep away from these other things.

Paul does not just say something like, "Hey Timothy, study and stay with God's Word because I said so" but Paul gives some good reasons for what he is saying. Paul calls God's Word the truth in 2 Timothy 2:15 and he then goes on in 2 Timothy 3:16-17 to list the things that God's Word is good for: doctrine, reproof, correction, and instruction in righteousness. He then further says how this will enable the man of God to be complete and ready for every good work.

In contrast to this Paul also mentions the results of focusing on these other things of striving {arguing} about words, profane {wicked} and idle babblings {useless discussions}, and foolish and ignorant disputes. Paul said that these things: will ruin the hearers (2:14), increase to more ungodliness, their message will spread like cancer (2:16-17), and they generate strife (2:23). When you compare these results with the results of focusing on God's Word it is easy to see where we need to spend our time! By staying focused on God's Word and avoiding all of the other things we hear we will be ready for every good work.

One For All, All For One

The past couple of weeks I was following the bicycle race know as the Tour de France. This is probably the worlds most famous bicycle race and it involves over 100 riders racing in stages over 2000 miles for about three weeks. This race is something I have been interested in for several years so every year I follow it a bit. This year as I was watching some of the race coverage I got thinking about a comparison between the teams in the race and Christians.

In the Tour de France the riders are all part of various teams. Each team has nine riders and some have different strengths than others. There are some riders who are better on the mountains and some who are better in short distances. What I thought was interesting was to see was how on the different stages of the race the team would all work together to help one of the riders to win. This all reminded me of the motto of the Three Musketeers of "One For All, All For One" meaning that they would stay loyal to one another and help one another no matter what.

All of this got me thinking about how Christians make up what the Bible calls "The Body of Christ" (1 Corinthians 12:27). All Christians are a part of this Body but we all have different strengths and gifts. Many Christians know this as a fact from the Bible but I am not too sure if they really grasp the concept and the comparison with the human body. Every part of our natural body works together for the good of the whole body. Each individual part does its job and the result is success for all of the parts. What if every Christian realized the same thing was true for the Body of Christ?

Jesus said that people would know we were His disciples if we had love for one another (John 13:35) and the Bible also tells us that love does not insist on its own rights or its own way because it is not self seeking (1 Corinthians 13:5). We are further encouraged by Paul in 1 Corinthians 10:24 (Amplified) "Let no one then seek his own good and advantage and profit, but [rather] each one of the other [let him seek the welfare of his neighbor". If we just took these few verses to heart and started living that way, think of what we could do as the Body of Christ. If each Christian was more interested in the good of the whole than their own individual part we would be able to have greater success as a group and also as individuals. It works pretty well in the Tour de France and it would work even better for Christians since team work was originally God's idea anyway!

Six Degrees Of ?

A few years ago there was this trivia type thing going around about the actor Kevin Bacon. Kevin Bacon made a comment that he had worked with everyone in Hollywood or someone who had worked with them. Some people then had the idea that you could link anyone in Hollywood to Kevin Bacon in six steps or less. This whole idea is actually based on something called six degrees of separation or the human web that has as its main idea that each person on earth is only separated from any other person on the earth by six steps or degrees.

Well, the whole point of my blog is not to write about Kevin Bacon, statistics, or who I might know or be connected to. This idea came to me recently as I have been preparing to teach a class on the end times. I have been studying and working on my notes for a few weeks now to get myself ready for the class. What I have noticed is that in the Bible study I lead, in some conversions I have with people, and when I am watching TV over and over again I make connections back to the subject of the end times! I realized that because I have been focusing on that subject so much that it has begun to have an influence on how I view things around me.

Each person has some thing or idea that a lot of what they do and talk about can be connected to. For example, some people may be overly focused on money and everything to them somehow relates to money. Some people who have been rejected by others in the past see rejection in many of the contacts they have with people. Still other people are sports fans of some team and everyone around them knows that in a conversation eventually this person's favorite team will come up.

The things we spend our time with will have an influence on us and these things can begin to have an influence everything we do or think. By that I do not mean whether or not you are a Christian or if you love your family or something like that. But what I am talking about is how some topic or thing can have such a place in you that you see it in everything around you. Because I have been studying about the end times I have a tendency to relate everything around me back to that subject. Right now I am sure that I could connect almost anything to the end times within six steps! My question is if you look at your life, what is it that everything around you connects to in six steps or less?

Culture Shock

Depending on what information you look at, the term culture shock was introduced in the 1940s or 1950s to describe the sense a person has when they enter into a different culture and environment than what they are used to. There is also a term "reverse culture shock" that is used to describe what can happen to someone who has lived for some time in a new place. Then when that person returns to their original culture and environment they once again must make an adjustment because they have gotten used to the new culture.

Culture shock is something that I believe every missionary deals with at one point or another to one degree or another. Personally I would say that culture shock has not been such a big issue for me but from other missionaries I know personally and that I know about it can be a big problem.

There are different symptoms of culture shock such as feeling sad and lonely, insecurity, irritability, and resentment, as well as idolizing the culture and environment you came from as opposed to where you live now. Reverse culture shock can be harder to deal with because people often have an unrealistic recollection of where they came from and once they return their image and reality clash dramatically. There are different stages of culture shock ranging from the initial excitement of being in a new place to the final adjustment of learning to live and thrive in the new environment.

Is there a "cure" for culture shock? While I am certain no one would consider me an expert on culture shock I have lived outside of my home country for over 10 years. I realize that no place is perfect and there will always be some things that I would rather see done differently; that goes for Germany and the USA. Many people spend their time thinking and talking about how great it is somewhere else and why their current location is not as good. That and always longing for some type of food or dwelling on how little they may be able to see some family and friends is, in my opinion, a recipe for disaster. Every place and every people group have their positives and their negatives. Culture shock may be something that has to be dealt with but I believe that being flexible and keeping the right attitude are keys to not allowing culture shock to become a personal crisis.