a Poem

It is not by chance we came this far
We bear together every scar
For easy is the wound to heal
When boar by brothers through every ordeal
We are four and each a portion bear
The pain the joy even despair
Pressed hard on every side
Christ as our mortar
We will not divide

-written one difficult day. Warrab, South Sudan

Praise the Father of Lights

Spirit of Power

I am burdened to see so many of my generation that think that living like Jesus means being nice and going to church. This is a lie. Jesus was about spiritual freedom and relieving oppression from sin and Satan.

The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed…

                                                                                                                        -Luke 4:18

If Jesus is our model, how then shall we live? The problem is compounded by a culture that pushes us to ignore the Spirit all together. At best many of us fall into a weird dualism, which relegates the spiritual world to a part-time position. It is no wonder that we have lost our fortitude. However, Jesus said:    

           

            But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will            be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”

                                                          -Acts1:8

Is it not amazing these words “you will receive power”? The sad fact is so many of us have no concept of our true power. The dissidence comes when we are faced with some difficult situation and we choose to use our puny human power instead of God’s mighty and terrible strength.

The point of life is not doing but being.

When I first arrived in Africa, I brought with me a lesson from an older brother in Christ, Elbert Smith. Elbert taught me that my most important task is not doing but being.  

      And he appointed twelve, that they might be with him, and that he                 might send them forth to preach, -Mark 3:14 

As 2012 began, I thought that I had this scripture figured out (complete with life application), however, I am discovering that I still have a long way to go. As I wrote about what God was teaching me in a previous post, I was learning that my greatest daily need was to be with Him. I needed to be with God daily. However, ten months into this journey, I find that my mind is flooded with thoughts of doing, not so much on being. Where does this come from? Why am I so obsessed with doing things? As I take an objective look at my culture, I see that Americans come from a performance driven society. I remember my days as a forklift driver just north of Memphis. Third shift was not my forte, however, I did like working with less traffic in the warehouse. Yet, my performance grade, as calculated by the big computer, was not the best. As a man, I struggle with finding my value in life in what I do. If I do a good job, people like me, and think well of me. If my work is sloppy and poor, then people think less of me, even my self-perception is too often defined by my performance. But the truth of the faith that I affirm is not inline with my cultural beliefs. I am loved by God not because of the work that I do for Him, but because I am His son. 

Honestly, I like doing more than being. Doing makes me feel important. There are days in Kaabong when God says to me, "Robert, today I want you to just focus on being with me," my response; "Is that all?" What a poor view I have of my own sonship! 

Holding on for Dear Life...

           The past few months have been a whirlwind. Our team has experienced our greatest highs and lowest lows. The first six months in Africa were difficult to say the least. We came here with the vision to be salt and light but most days we felt like we were only surviving. Life in the bush takes a tremendous amount of effort. At the end of each day our team was spent. Not that good old tired feeling, but the one that makes you sick and desperate. I knew that we could not last long in that state. But, for a season, a servant of The Most High can take a lot and not be crushed, so we pressed on with little rest. My mind began to wonder; What is our purpose here? Are we to burn out for HIM and make way for others, are we to plant, harvest, or water? (I ask too many questions.)

Then something happened

The Spirit moved.

            In one week, we saw a handful of young, well respected men turn away from their previous life and follow Jesus. The second day of their discipleship, more people came to the meeting saying, “We want to be baptized.” We (the missionaries), said, “before you can be baptized you have to repent, believe and follow.” I am sure they were confused at what we were saying, because the response from our two-day old Christian was, “We know, we told them all of this and they are ready.”

            The first generation of KJ believers had immediately called others to repent and follow HIM. For more stories, check out the Echelon Blog. 

Language File IX: Goal Setting

swiftmessenger-languagefiles.blogspot.com

Launching of Language Learning Blog

       In the beginning I did not know I would be posting so much on language learning. I see now that the subject needs its own blog. For this reason, I have made a new blog, not to replace Swift Messenger, but to have a separate blog dedicated solely to the art of language learning. http://swiftmessenger-languagefiles.blogspot.com/