Day 6: What's true compassion?

Dr. JoAnn Butrin leads International Ministries. Her teams emphasize compassion ministry, helping people get clean water (wells and filters), eat healthy foods (agriculture), and dealing with illnesses (medical teams). She gives us a case study and divides us into three groups. We're to evaluate how helpful various AG organizations (showcased at booths in the foyer) could be for the case study.

I'm appointed team leader so I assign team members to find out what the various ministries offer. The rest of us roam around evaluating our options. Meanwhile, Al - a pragmatic thinker - talks to a missionary already headed to the case study area to find out their plans. I whistle to assemble our team and we gather to listen to whether or not a ministry would be a good resource.

The group reaches an easy consensus about who might be the most helpful partners. Al acts as our spokesman; he does a good job of presenting our case to the general session.

When we resume, Dr. B emphasizes the importance of building relationships and asking what locals want and need - within or beyond their existing structures. Missionaries are connected to many resources in AGWM. However, we must build a vision locally and work together with nationals.

"Don't impose something from the outside that is not helpful or sustainable," she warns. "It's hard not to show up to FIX things. Most interventions are very temporary solutions."

"Times have changed," Dr. B continues, "and we can't come in to provide easy answers. We have to be careful with interventions. Restraint is vital. The local church has to be proud of saving the children, be in control of the well, solve their problems ... and get the credit. The church's presence must be given respect and influence in the community."

How? Butrin says that we show dignity and restraint. We do an assessment. Then we listen. Evaluate. We never create dependency, but plan for sustainability. "If you are partners with the local church, American giving can help. But we plan for one-time and limited financing. We engage with an exit strategy in place, so that locals own their ministry and helps."

During the lunch break, W and I zip to the seminary. It's about 10 minutes away and I want to say hello to my former professors. We catch up with a few and I slip my card under the doors of those who are away. Then we head back to the CBC campus for lunch.

After noon, we talk about spiritual warfare. "It's as real as this table," says one speaker. "You must be prepared and prayed up at all times. This is no game. This is war. We are not fighting people but spiritual battles."

The missionaries give us examples that raise the hair on my neck. "This is no picnic! Get prayer teams. You will need many intercessors, not just casual prayer partners."

Fabriano dot pages

My notebook has been filling up. I love the lime green cover on my A4 Fabriano dot-book. I can draw or write and the paper quality is good enough to fill both sides. W laughs when I pull out gel pens to color the diagrams and notes I'm making. But the little bursts of color highlighting the pages help me remember the info. This wee bit of art, especially in my sixth week of sitting in classes, cheers me up.

We're at Jason and Mary's place for supper. They're NU alums involved in Convoy of Hope. We're so proud of them! It's fun to catch up on their news and ours.

We get home to Taylors' place and tidy up, pack, and do laundry. I call my sweet Uncle E to wish him a late Father's Day. He's been a faithful "second dad" all my life. I'm blessed to have someone besides my folks who has loved me since I was a little girl.

Tomorrow we'll be on a flight home. We'll get in before midnight and leave the next day for Singapore. This is some summer! Used to be summer meant vacation. Now it's an adventure.

Read more:

*But as for me, God will redeem my life. He will snatch me from the power of the grave." Psalm 49:15 NLT

*The Sovereign Lord is my strength; he makes my feet like the feet of a deer, he enables me to tread on the heights. Habakkuk 3:19 NLT

*Amos said, “I am a herdsman, and a dresser of sycamore trees, and the Lord took me from following the flock, and the Lord said to me, ‘Go, prophesy to my people Israel.’" Amos 7:14-15 NLT

*Jesus said to Simon, “Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching people.” Luke 5:10 NLT

Moravian Prayer: Dearest Lord Jesus, there’s a lot of risk involved in leaving our boats by the lakeshore. Help us to know your strength as we share your love with others. Amen.

Recognizing undeserved gifts

Sometimes we act as though all the good gifts of God were earned. Deserved. Coming our way because we did something to achieve them.

I read about a pastor on a mission trip. He saw a starving Indian man pushing a wheelbarrow. As the wheelbarrow passed him, he saw inside it another man, almost dead, pleading with his eyes for food and care. The pastor almost fainted from "transferred hunger" but did not help. He wrote that the gift of compassion he felt was his greatest gift from his India trip.

I've been thinking about that story for a few days. My first question, because the pastor had food, was, "Why didn't the pastor help? Why not share, giving the little he had to those who had none?" Was he overwhelmed by needs everywhere so he did not see the point? Is learning compassion enough? Was sharing his resources thwarted by caste (could the men accept his food)? Did religion prevent the sharing of one person's bounty with another's dearth?

I began considering were the underserved favors that come our way by God's hand. Why was the pastor (and I) well-fed, while the two men lived at death's door? Why was one educated and working in a rich land while the others subsisted in poverty? I have no answers.

My list of undeserved benefits is long. For example:

• We attend a church where freedom of worship is encouraged and the pastor examines scripture with us
• We recently spent a relaxing weekend with friends, boating the islands, talking about God and his ways
• Our children serve the Lord
• I find ministry in unexpected places, that fits the gifts God's given
• Networking is a joy and God often surprises me with connections that I or others need
• We have so much food that we could throw out some if we wanted
• Our house is warm, my office nice, and we have useful work
• We enjoy "bonuses" like finding the exact futon model for our guest room - free on www.FreeCycle.org

There are too many other abundances to count.

So, how do we gratefully accept the undeserved gifts?

1. Recognize that life itself is a gift. Not a day can be added or taken away by sickness, health, or other circumstances. God knows how long we'll live.
2. God has put us where we are. If we live in the West, we live among abundance, regardless of our bank balance. Wherever we reside, we may be surrounded by a big family or a loving community. We may have work that uses our gifts and talents. None of these can be taken for granted.
3. God has given us everything we have, whether or not we've "worked for it." The psalmist says the cattle on 1000 hills are his. Many others work harder, longer, and have crushing stressors beyond what I could bear ... yet I may have more than they do.
4. God alone protects us, the ones we love, and our stuff. When God removes his covering shelter, lives and wealth are swept away in an instant. All the burglar alarms and police in the world cannot protect us if God does not.
5. God gives abundance that may not be obvious at first glance. We may not have a lot of money, but do we have friends? I may have lost your job, but do I still eat? I have wish for things you can't afford, but do are my true needs met? 

Let's be grateful. On this weekend when we've celebrated the freedoms won and preserved by our countries' soldiers, we acknowledge that the world is both dangerous AND wonderful. Freedom of spirit and body cannot be taken for granted. It is hard-won, whether by spiritual giants or military engagement.

And no good thing in life is deserved or can be taken for granted. It is the gift of God, whose everything is and to whom everything belongs.

Read more:
*Your laws are perfect and completely trustworthy. … Your promises have been thoroughly tested; that is why I love them so much. … As pressure and stress bear down on me, I find joy in your commands." Psalm 119:138, 140, 143 NLT

*Mortals look on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart. 1 Samuel 16:7

*As he who called you is holy, be holy yourselves in all your conduct. 1 Peter 1:15
*Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your
requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you. Philippians 4:4-9 NIV

Moravian Prayer: Lord, you find that little spark inside of us that grows into a burning flame for you. We want to work for you, the one who knows us inside and out. We know you have given us everything we need to complete the tasks you call us to. Amen.

In with the Old...

In with the Old Testament, that is. I listen to the Bible on radio a few times a day. 

I find the Old Testament really depressing. It's not that God is unfaithful or uncaring. It's that we are such stupid people, generation after generation. (I'm not using the term "stupid" lightly, either.) 

From the time the first people began to reason, we think we know better than God. Adam and Eve choose "the knowledge of good and evil" over knowing God and the wonderful surprises he had planned in his relationship with them. By the time Noah is told to build the ark, humanity is so corrupt that God chooses to start over with Noah and his family. Researches note that Noah would have had to take about 3,800 species into the ark to keep diversity as we see it today; everyone and everything could have fit into his boat as long as Noah saved the lower tier for manure. Ugh stinky. But after all that work, one of his grown sons is disrespectful and consigned to serve everyone else. The writer of Genesis doesn't say if Noah had a temper, but his curse on his son sure sounds like it.

Then Moses, the murderer, impulsive caretaker, and meekest person on the planet. Gideon, who keeps making excuses why he shouldn't lead and builds an idol from the spoils of God's victory. Rehaboham, Solomon's heir, who splits the kingdom by being a tyrant. Israel, who goes "whoring after other gods" time and time again... 

It's just depressing. Some people find the OT uplifting because of God's faithfulness. I think that's the only good part of the story. People who are faithful to God get thumped by their peers. They're told they are out of step and idiots to serve God. Evildoers hunt them down and kill them when possible. Much of the Old Testament contains God's warnings of the horrible punishments his righteous judgment will inflict. Does anyone pay attention? Very few do. Very few indeed.

It gives me a heavy stomach to read the stories. I find myself stopping and losing track between all the prostitution, killing, and idolatry. Which is why I have scripture read to me on UCB Bible. I can focus on the words, the scope, the ongoing movement of God among us through history.

I don't understand most of what the Bible says about God. He is like the wind whose movement is seen and felt but cannot itself be captured. The more I know, the less wisdom and understanding I seem to have. The older I get and the deeper into a life of faith, the more trust it takes to pray, "Not my will but yours for this day." I want to shout, every time I see horrible things on the news, experience another surgery alongside my daughter who lives in pain, or hear of marriages breaking up, financial ruin, and people taking advantage of others-- "PEOPLE PAY ATTENTION! DON'T BE SUCH MORONS!!! GOD WHERE ARE YOU?!!"

But would anyone mind a warning? I'd probably be sent away to an asylum for disturbing the peace, if not for appealing to God for help.

Yet I also sin. Continually. I break the law and cut into line, looking out for myself rather than my neighbor. I look without pity on the poor and needy and walk by those who need my help, the Pharisee hastening on the other side of the road so I don't become "defiled" or waste precious time (Luke 10:25-36). 

Grrrr. After all these years of reflection and saying to God, "I'm yours. Help me to obey. Help me to love you with all my heart," I'm still a sinner, continually washed by God's grace and a once-for-all blood sacrifice.

I am comforted by reading the stories of Abraham (liar, coward, God's chosen) and David (adulterer, murderer, deceiver - pretend-madman, God's chosen). Both kept coming back to say, "Sorry! I'm actually and truly yours, in spite of what I just did. Please help! No other gods before you."

The God who had mercy on them looks on me with pity and compassion, too. "Lord have mercy! Christ have mercy! Lord have mercy!"

I'm praying with the Orthodox church today, after listening to a half hour of genealogies from 1 Chronicles. Oh please - how about some cheerful psalms? Like #150. 

Read more:
The LORD is gracious and full of compassion, slow to anger and great in mercy. The LORD is good to all, and His tender mercies are over all His works. Psalm 145:8-9 NKJV 

Thanks be to God.