Spring Break - Skillet, TobyMac, and DC

We celebrated Spring Break first with an amazing Skillet and Toby Mac concert. Skillet rocked our faces off while Toby Mac got the whole crowd up on their feet dancing. Way fun, even for this old guy.

We then drove to an old favorite, Washington D.C., and toured the Archives, the Smithsonian, the monuments, Arlington Cemetery, and Mt. Vernon, George Washington's home. We weren't able to get into Ford's theater where Lincoln was shot, but did go to the International Spy Museum just down the street.

It was a lot of fun to read the actual Declaration of Independence, Constitution, and Bill of Rights, see inscriptions on the monuments from our founding fathers and recognize God's hand in all of it. Our country has truly been blessed by the providential hand of God. Where else would the concept of inalienable rights to Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of happiness have come from? Our freedoms and rights are truly grounded in the fact we were created in the image of God. Thankfully so many of our countrymen have bravely defended those rights over the years.

One of the most moving monuments was the one dedicated to FDR. FDR was elected to four terms and served during the Depression and WWII. He was the father of modern liberalism known for his projects to put people to work such as the Civilian Conservation Corps, the Works Progress Administration, and the Tennessee Valley Authority. He reformed our financial system and created Social Security, the FDIC, and the FTC.

The monument is four outdoor granite rooms depicting different scenes and issues from his presidency. One of those rooms dealt with the Depression and had a statue of unemployed men waiting in line and a quote nearby:

"The test of our progress is not whether we add more to the abundance of those who have much; it is whether we provide enough for those who have too little"

As I write this, I eagerly anticipate my small group starting up in just a few minutes, studying Francis Chan's Crazy Love. This weeks chapter is about lukewarm Christianity in all of it's various forms. Should be interesting and challenging discussion.

Anyway, Thank God for spring break, a great country, and presidents and authors who can challenge our thinking and assumptions we have about life.

God is good.

Preparing for Haiti

I was listening to Tim Keller's podcast on Justice the other day. In it he suggested that our response to the poor, the widows, and orphans is a good gauge of how well we really understand the Gospel. He suggested that if we aren't generous to these groups, as the scriptures continually command, that we may not truly know the Gospel or our Lord and Savior Jesus.

Our western culture encourages us that enough hard work results in a life of luxury and pleasure. That if we only work hard enough and save enough for college and retirement we can rest and relax in luxury. Unfortunately, the scriptures teach us that the pursuit of riches and leisure in this world is nothing but vanity. True rest only comes in God's rest, his Sabbath, both here and to come. Jesus taught that we should pursue treasure in heaven, not here where rust and moth destroy.

"Isiah 58:6 “Is not this the fast that I choose:

to loose the bonds of wickedness,
to undo the straps of the yoke,
to let the oppressed [2] go free,
and to break every yoke?
7 Is it not to share your bread with the hungry
and bring the homeless poor into your house;
when you see the naked, to cover him,
and not to hide yourself from your own flesh?
8 Then shall your light break forth like the dawn,
and your healing shall spring up speedily;
your righteousness shall go before you;
the glory of the Lord shall be your rear guard.
9 Then you shall call, and the Lord will answer;
you shall cry, and he will say, ‘Here I am.’
If you take away the yoke from your midst,
the pointing of the finger, and speaking wickedness,
10 if you pour yourself out for the hungry
and satisfy the desire of the afflicted,
then shall your light rise in the darkness
and your gloom be as the noonday.
11 And the Lord will guide you continually
and satisfy your desire in scorched places
and make your bones strong;
and you shall be like a watered garden,
like a spring of water,
whose waters do not fail.
12 And your ancient ruins shall be rebuilt;
you shall raise up the foundations of many generations;
you shall be called the repairer of the breach,
the restorer of streets to dwell in.

13 “If you turn back your foot from the Sabbath,
from doing your pleasure [3] on my holy day,
and call the Sabbath a delight
and the holy day of the Lord honorable;
if you honor it, not going your own ways,
or seeking your own pleasure, [4] or talking idly; [5]
14 then you shall take delight in the Lord,
and I will make you ride on the heights of the earth; [6]
I will feed you with the heritage of Jacob your father,
for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.”"

Who wouldn't want the Lord to hear their prayers, reap his blessings, to ride the heights of the earth? We all would. But how many of us in America can really say with a good conscience we are generous to the poor? What would a life of sacrificial generosity really look like? What would we have to give up? Where do we pull back? How many times should I eat out? How many White Chocolate Mochas should I buy? How much should I save for college and retirement? How many vacations, cars, toys should I have while God's image bearers are suffering and hungry across the world?

As I return from Panama and plan to go to Haiti I wrestle with these issues. I don't have the answers but I'll share with you where God leads me.

Jim

Haiti Trip

Hey Guys! I'm going to join a team going to Hait 4/2 - 4/10/2010. I'll be the team doctor and we'll be going to Damou Christian Mission outside of the city of Jacmel. We'll be cleaning up, doing maintenance, and anything God has planned for us. One of the most important things we'll be doing is supporting the missionary, Tina, who has been there over twenty years, and investigating future opportunities to minister in the area.

This will be my first missionary trip to Haiti. Ever since the earthquake I have been disturbed by the thought that there is so much suffering there, while we are so comfortable here. I couldn't sleep after I watched pastor Mark Driscoll's experiences in Haiti.

When I got back from my last mission trip to Panama, I was already reflecting on the right response to how God has blessed my life. What is my responsibility to my wife and kids, my church, my neighbor? What about my poor brothers and sisters across the world?

Shortly after I returned, I was invited to go to Haiti to be the team doctor and the lead for SonLights future efforts in Haiti. I was and am excited about the opportunity but disturbed about what we'll see in terms of human suffering and the darkness in our world.

I hope to use this blog to chronicle my journey. Won't you accompany me? I need your support in prayer and encouragement.

In Christ,

Jim