Connecting with the Heart of God in China

My hope is to communicate all that God showed me and transformed in me while I was in China. I don’t know if I can but I will attempt with a series of blogs about the trip. It was an awesome experience and the last few trips I have been on have really impacted me. The trip I took to Acuna, MX with college students from Countryside last summer impacted my heart for people in a humanitarian way. God showed me what “poor and hungry” really is. He showed me the growth in our students. He grew my compassion for those in physical and material need. All for the sake of communicating God’s love for them and looking to persuade them to trust in the Provider, Jesus Christ who gives hope in this life and the life to come.

This trip to China with college students from Kingsland was a little different. God showed me totally different things. I will blog about the fun touristy things we did thoughout this series of blogs (climbing the great wall was awesome) but I need to share about a few things in the first few blogs that really impacted me spiritually. God hit me with some eternal realities that have grown my compassion for people’s spiritual lives, both practically and eternally.
Our group went to minister on a university campus in China. We joined up with long term people living there and joined in their work. We went to teach about how American’s celebrate the tradition of Christmas. Through this we were able to communicate God’s love to them. We hosted apartment parties, on campus lectures, and met students one-on-one to build relationships. I can’t wait to tell you about some of the people I met and the opportunities God gave us.


Connecting with the Heart of God

From the time I got on the plan to Beijing I could tell things were different. Our group sat in the back of the plan in the middle rows. As I put my bag in the overhead I noticed the people, the smell, the sound…it was different. The time this hit me hardest is when we were taking a break for lunch on our third day in China and some of our students were shopping at a local market. I decided to walk down the strip a little bit by myself. As I got to the end I looked back and just paused to soak in my environment. Everyone was Chinese! I know this is silly but I was overwhelmed with the number of people in the market and the fact that they were all Chinese. Everyone. Everyone was Chinese. Then it hit me to consider how many of them have never heard of God’s love for them and how He demonstrated that love by giving His Son, Jesus (Jn. 3:16). I asked myself, How many of these people are unsaved? How many of them live apart from the love and grace of God? Then I realized a sad thing…Hell is going to be filled with lost Asian people. I also realized that this breaks the heart of God and it began to break mine as well.

God challenged me. Do you really believe in heaven and hell? Do you really believe in the reality of afterlife? Do you really believe this? As I thought about this I reassured myself of the trustworthiness of the scripture and how this was a clear truth (2 Tim. 3:16). People who do not receive life (relationship with God - Jn. 17:3) remain dead (separated from God – Eph. 2:1-10). Then I wondered if I have the same love for people that God does (1 Tim. 2:3-7; 2 Peter 3:8-9; 1 Tim. 2:3-4). Does my heart for the lost match the heart of God? I know God was changing my heart right there.

Then, if I have the same heart as God am I willing to demonstrate the same love in the same way (Mt. 16:24). Am I willing to lay down my life for the lost? Am I willing to do whatever that looks like in my life? I don’t think this is limited to physical death but is a broader concept. Am I willing to have less money? Am I willing to have less selfish time? Am I willing to make sacrifices that reflect a real concern for the lost in an effort to demonstrate and communicate the love of God to them? Not only for their benefit in this life and in eternity, but also for the glory and pleasure of God. To be a person who is living out the heart of God.

If my heart matches the heart of God and I have the willingness to sacrifice to live that out, what does this look like in my life? How do I live this out in and from Katy, TX. How do I stay connected with the heart and work of God, not only on a trip like this but every day?

I don’t know the answers to these questions yet. But God has given me a fresh realization of heaven and hell. He has given me a new perspective that there are millions of people who are living apart from the love and grace of God, and who may exist that way in eternity. He is transforming my heart to match His heart for those people. He is challenging me to imitate Him in response. He is challenging me to check my purpose, my priorities, and my focus on comfort rather selfless sacrifice for the ones He loves.

For Single Parents

Being a single parent can be a tough responsibility. Of all the things you try to pass on to your children, nurturing them to have a sincere faith in Christ can be the most concerning. I know this especially concerns single moms with young boys. Being the primary faith trainer to a child of the opposite sex presents many challenges but as always, God does not allow challenges to come into our lives that we cannot handle in a way that brings Him glory (1 Co. 10:13).

One thing we emphasize in our ministry to single parents is that a single parent home does not have to be a broken home. Many single parent families feel they are in fact not a family. They feel they are not able to have a healthy home life. They feel they cannot effectively nurture their children to be godly.

I want to encourage you to know that a single parent can have a healthy home life and an effective ministry to their children. Although this is not the biblical model we do have biblical examples. One of the clearest is seen is Paul’s letter to young Timothy.

2 Timothy 1:5
I have been reminded of your sincere faith, which first lived in your grandmother Lois and in your mother Eunice and, I am persuaded, now lives in you also.

The verse previous to this one states that Paul remembers Timothy in his prayers and with tears of joy as he reflects on the faith of young Timothy. Notice that Paul contributes the faithfulness of his young disciple to his mom and grandmother. They were faithful Jewish believers (Acts 16:1). His dad was not a part of his faith training. He was a Greek Gentile and probably an unbelievers, the very reason he is not mentioned here. So we see that single parents and specifically a single mom with boys can nurture a sincere faith in their child. You can be an effective faith trainer to your child as a single parent, even to the point of producing tears of joy on looking believers.

How did this single parent succeeded as the primary faith trainer through childhood?
2 Timothy 3:14-17 tells us:
14You [Timothy], however, continue in the things you have learned and become convinced of, knowing from whom you have learned them, 15and that from childhood you have known the sacred writings which are able to give you the wisdom that leads to salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. 16All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; 17so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work.

Paul built upon the foundation laid by Timothy’s mom. Notice that she taught him “sacred writings”. Paul is referring to the scripture; this is plain from the verses 16-17. Scripture is what gives us “wisdom that leads to salvation and faith” and ultimately to a life with Jesus Christ. If you want to effectively pass on your faith to your children you have to make known to them the word of God. The scripture must be the focus, the authority, the guide. It must have priority over every other source of counsel or consideration when making decisions or developing our way of thinking. The scripture is the most profitable source of teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training one to live righteously in the sight of God. We want the next generation to be men and women who have been sanctified by the word of truth (John 17:17) and taught to think like the scripture because the scripture is what makes one “adequate, equipped for every good work”.

This is a great example of a single parent having a healthy home, passing on faith, and rearing children to love God, love others, and live out his Life in Christ. If you want to have a healthy single parent home, if you want to effectively pass on the faith to your children, if you want children who live righteously and are equipped for what God has planned for them you must nurture them in the word and pour it into their life. You must make the commitment to “teach them diligently to your sons and shall talk of them when you sit in your house and when you walk by the way and when you lie down and when you rise up” (Duet. 6:7). This is what defines a healthy home, a home where children are taught the word of God by a parent who lives as their primary faith trainer by modeling and teaching them the scripture.

Obama Wins

I know that many Christians will be discouraged and confused about Obama winning the presidency. He does not have the view many evangelicals support concerning many issues. I have heard many people say, "Don't worry, whether you support Obama or not God is still in control. He will use this for His glory."

As I prayerfully reflected on these ideas and concerns I realized some encouraging truths:

1. Our purpose does not change. We are stewards of God and servants of Christ called to make disciples as we live our lives. We will continue to strive in our effort to love God, love others, and equip the generations to do the same.
2. We must now work more diligently. We should be more passionate and determined in the pursuit of living out our purpose. We should not feel like this hinders us but is God's way of placing more responsibility on us.
3. The church is the restrainer. We learn in 2 Thessalonians that during the time of the church age their is a restrainer of evil in the world. I believe that restrainer is the Holy Spirit working through the church. The responsibility to influence the culture toward Godliness and to restrain evil in the culture is on the church, not the government. This could be God holding us accountable to live up to our responsibility.
   
4. There is nothing to fear. Our faith is in the power and supremacy of God. God does not allow anything to happen that thwarts His ultimate plan of redemption of man and reestablishing His rule over creation through man (which will happen through the King in the future Kingdom).

No matter who you voted for. No matter how you see the issues whether social, moral, economical, etc. Know that our purpose is the same, our work is to be more diligent, our responsibility to restrain evil is ever more present, and we are not a people of fear but a people of faith in the power and supremacy of God.

Thoughts on God's Sovereignty

The sovereignty of God can be confusing and is often misunderstood. We often have the view that everything that happens is the direct result of God preordaining it to happen; that He controls things as the agent of cause behind everything that happens. However, I have found that this simple view of sovereignty contradicts scripture and the place of responsibility. One example of something that happens yet is not preordained by God is temptation. James 1:13 states, “Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am being tempted by God”; for God cannot be tempted by evil, and He Himself does not tempt anyone.” We all experience temptation yet God is not the agent of cause for this experience and the responsibility is placed on man. However, we see God’s sovereignty in 1 Co. 10:13, “No temptation has overtaken you but such as is common to man; and God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, so that you will be able to endure it.” God does not tempt us to sin although He does allow it while at the same time providing a way of escape. In doing so He demonstrates and exercises His sovereignty apart from predestination (human responsibility in sanctification is clear and God has given man many ways of escape- Ro. 6:12-14, 8:13; 1 Tim. 4:7, 15; 2 Tim. 2:2; Gal. 5:16, 6:2; etc.).

We must realize, as stated in the Evangelical Dictionary of Theology, “divine sovereignty and human responsibility [seem to be] paradoxical and beyond human comprehension, [they are] not contradictory. Divine sovereignty and human sovereignty are certainly contradictory, but divine sovereignty and human responsibility are not. God uses human means in history to accomplish His purposes, yet such means do not involve coercion”.

To be certain, all things that happen fall under the sovereignty of God. Sovereignty simply means that God is supreme in all things. According to Easton’s Bible Dictionary, the sovereignty of God refers to “His absolute right to do all things according to his own good pleasure (Dan. 4:25, 35; Rom. 9:15–23; 1 Tim. 6:15; Rev. 4:11).” God maintains sovereignty in all things because of the fact that He is supreme in all things, not because He necessarily preordains all things. Supremacy speaks to God’s right, authority, and power. Even though God allows things to happen it does not mean He ordained them to happen yet He still maintains sovereignty because He maintains supremacy. He is supreme in the fact that He will never allow something to happen that will thwart His overall plan in history (namely, to reestablish His rule over creation through man), He maintains the right, the authority, and the power to intervene as He wills because He is sovereign in all things (Eph. 1:11). As Charles Ryrie states, “How intricate must be the details of the plan of God who can govern all things, allow human choice, and yet get glory to Himself through people who are permitted to make choices…”

If it is valuing God’s sovereignty we are concerned about, this view, which incorporates human responsibility actually reveals the beauty and authority of God's sovereignty in the most powerful and moving way. It moves me into a deep love and appreciation for God. He brings about His will through persuasion rather than coercion. What a loving, graceful, patient and supremely sovereign God!