Could It Be?

I recently returned from a mission experience in Guatemala. Inevitably after each of these trips I hear similar feedback and comments. One thing that people often ask is "why is it that I sense God's presence more in Guatemala than I do when I am at home in the States?" People also say things like "it seems like I can actually see God working here in a way that I don't see back home".

Is God more present in a third world country than He is in the U.S.? According to the Bible the answer is a resounding "NO!" God is omnipresent which means He is in all places at all times. So why is it that time and again people feel like this?

I am reminded of a story in the Bible where Jacob had a dream and encountered God. When he awoke he said "Surely the Lord is in this place and I was unaware of it." (Gen. 28:16) Could it be that as it was with Jacob, the Lord is actually "in this place" and we are simply unaware of it?

But what would make us more aware of His presence in a place like Guatemala as opposed to here?

Well, there are a few things that are different in Guatemala. First of all there is no television available to us. We have no access to the Internet and only limited access to a phone while we are there. We are not driven by time and our days are consumed with serving others and spending time in community as well as corporate worship and prayer.

Could it be that the reason we are able to see and sense God more during times like this is because we have less to distract us? Could it be that in some ways many of the "blessings" we enjoy have become a form bondage that keeps us from seeing and experiencing God in a deeper way?

Could our experience or lack thereof really have more to do with our own personal choices than God's presence being stronger in one particular place than another? Could it be that it is God's desire for us to experience Him in this way on a regular basis?

What a tragedy it would be if day in and day out "the Lord was in this place" and we were simply unaware of it.

Predestined to be divided?

I often get questions about theology, doctrine and hot button topics. One that has come up a few times lately is the issue of predestination. While I feel that it can be profitable to explore such issues, it has also proven to be quite divisive.

Why do we feel a need to be so dogmatic about things that God has not spelled out clearly in His Word? Nowhere do find a neatly packaged explanation of the mysteries of divine sovereignty, predestination or election. If these issues where so important as to divide churches and break fellowship among brothers, why wouldn't Jesus have sat down and clearly laid this out to his disciples?

It is funny to me that so many followers of Christ feel the need to have ALL the answers. It is like they have to have God totally figured. What happened to the childlike faith that Jesus talked about. I am not talking about a faith that asks no questions or that doesn't challenge things. I am talking about an educated faith that is mature enough to allow room for God to be God.

In case you are wondering where I stand on this, I will simply say that I do believe that God is sovereign as His Word says. I also believe that we as individuals have the ability to make choices as we see throughout God's Word as well. When it comes to reconciling the two, I choose to leave room for God to be God.

I whole heartedly agree with A.W. Tozer who said:
"God will not hold us responsible to understand the mysteries of election, predestination and the divine sovereignty. The best and safest way to deal with these truths is to raise our eyes to God and in deepest reverence say, "O Lord, Thou knowest." Those things belong to the deep and mysterious profound of God's omniscience. Prying into them may make theologians, but it will never make saints"(The Pursuit of God, pg. 64)

Vic

P.S.
Were you predestined to read this or did you have a choice? Can you choose whether to agree or disagree with what I have written or was that predetermined? Must I keep typing because I was predestined to do so, or can I choose to get on with living a life that brings glory to God?

Could the answer simply be...yes?

What do I seek First?

This morning I spent some time with a small group of guys talking about a passage in the Bible where Jesus commands us not to not worry but rather to seek first His Kingdom (Matt. 6:25-35). Could it be that the reason we worry so much is because our focus is on so many things other than God's Kingdom? He says that worrying cannot add a single hour to our life and it solves nothing. If that is true, why does it consume us at times? Is it a lack of faith and trust that God will provide for our basic needs or is it that we have become so attached to our American lifestyle that we fear being stripped of some of our luxuries? I think for most of us it is the latter. Our fear isn't that God will fail to provide for our basic needs, our real fear is that we might be reduced to such a lifestyle. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy the blessings of living in such a prosperous country as much as the next person but it is sad to think that we often worry and fret over losing things that many people in this world only dream about ever having.

I just want to know the contentment of Paul who said; "I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do everything through him who gives me strength."

Contentment brings peace and I believe it is the cure to the bondage of worry and fear.

God help me to seek First You and Your Kingdom and to be satisfied with what you give and what you take away...

19 Years and Counting...

My wife and I just recently celebrated 19 years of marriage. It is crazy to me to think that we have been married for that long! Time has flown by and I just love her more and more as each year passes. We have gone through a lot together and learned a lot in the process. I am forever thankful that God gave me such a beautiful, godly woman to share life with.

I read this note on her Facebook the other day and I couldn't help but share it with you. Rox, I hope you don't mind...

What I learned in Guatemala (Roxane Cuccia)
Fear not!
Do not be afraid of what people think about me, what people might do to me. For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power, love and a sound mind.

Love more.
Love as Jesus loved. See past the person and into the heart. Be the hands and feet of Jesus by loving. Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God, and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God.

Things deceive.
American culture teaches us selfishness, self-centeredness and greed. Things are to become powerless in my life. They will rob me of my joy and steal my attention. Store up for yourselves treasures in heaven.

Live simply.
Live simply so I can share all I have with others.
I can buy new GAP jeans, or I can feed a family in Guatemala for a month. Do I really need GAP jeans? Am I afraid what you will think if my jeans are from Walmart or the thrift store? I tend to be shamelessly self-absorbed. What would Jesus choose? What would Jesus have me choose?

"If anyone is to follow me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me."

It is a profound privilege to have met the beautiful, precious people of Guatemala. It breaks my heart that they work so hard every day of their lives, just to survive.

If I choose to live with less, I could give away more. Give away food, medicine, love, life.

What is God calling you to do to make this world a better place? It will be a better place if we start to live a radical Christian life that is not about us.

Sweet Jesus Christ my sanity
Sweet Jesus Christ my clarity
Bread of heaven broken for me
Cup of salvation held up to drink
Jesus the mystery
Christ has died, and Christ is risen
Christ will come again.

After the last tear falls, may God be pleased with the way I loved His creation, and may my children see that they can change the world – one sandwich, one smile, one person at a time.

Quiet!!

How ironic is it that the Bible clearly tells us "Be Still and know that I am God" (psalm 46:10) and the world that we live in is filled with things that distract us by the minute? Why is it so hard to be still? What is it that keeps us from the quiet? I have recognized that even in the "quiet" moments where there is no sound, there are distractions that flood my mind. In fact, even as I type this in the quiet space of my office I have been distracted by the buzz of my cell phone vibrating on the desk from an incoming call that I "had to take", another buzz from a Facebook post that I "needed to look at", the office phone ringing which I actually did need to answer so I could buzz someone in downstairs and the ringing sound of my computer telling me I have a new email. Literally this was all in a five minute period. And we wonder why it is hard to be still and know that He is God. Often I invite "noise" in my life more than I invite God in on a daily basis.

To know that He is God is to be reminded of who He is and to know, believe and understand His goodness, love, grace, mercy, compassion and endless blessing in our lives. If I could just be still long enough to ponder these truths maybe life wouldn't be so stressful. Maybe anxiety and worry would wash away as the truth of His presence in my life washes over me, giving me the peace He promised.

Lamentations 3:22-23 tells us "The Lord's lovingkindesses indeed never cease, for His compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness." He is faithful and He is true to His word. Too often we overlook His faithfulness and focus on the things that we don't have. Much of the time what we don't have, we don't need and what we do have, we overlook as His blessing. As the verses above state, His lovingkindness Never ceases and His compassion Never fails, they are new every morning. He gives us enough for today.

He promises to give us enough for today and my hope and prayer is that I can learn to be quiet and slow down enough to recognize His provision and simply rest in that. Tomorrow will bring a new set of needs, concerns etc. and along with that will come a new dose of His provision, which is..."new every morning" great is His faithfulness!

Another Man's Treasure

Can you imagine what it would be like to live in a cornstalk hut with a dirt floor in an area where the temperature gets down to the 40s during the winter and upper 90s in the summer? No bed, no heat, no air conditioning. Just a dirt floor with some blankets and walls that you can actually see through. During the rainy season, not only do you get wet but the floor turns to mud.

Now think of a young child that you know and love. Maybe your own child, a sibling, niece or nephew or a grandchild. Can you imagine what it would be like to live in these conditions with that beautiful child by your side? How would you cope? What would your conversations with God be like? Could you bring yourself to believe that God is good even if you had little hope of change, outside of a miracle?

It's hard to imagine what that would be like. Most of us will never experience such struggle and pain personally, so when we see pictures or hear stories it is difficult to grasp the reality of it. It is so far removed from the way we live that we cannot understand the gravity of the situation.

So you can only imagine the rush of emotions I felt as I stood in the center of this very primitive structure that a beautiful family of four once called home. Words cannot do the experience justice. I can only say that it caused me to rethink almost every aspect of my life.

Thanks to the generosity of some God loving people, this family now lives in a modest block home that keeps them sheltered from the elements. Although the parents and children share the same room, they actually now have a floor to stand on and beds to sleep in. By our standards this would still be considered "extreme poverty", but they are not only content, they are extremely grateful. They would even call this a miracle.

Try to wrap your mind around that for a moment. We have all heard the expression "one man's junk is another man's treasure". These people look at this new home as an incredible blessing from God, while many of us would feel abandoned by God if we were reduced to such living. To give some perspective here, most of us park our cars in nicer structures than the new home this family enjoys.

Yet God loves us all just the same. God loves the people of Guatemala as much as He loves Americans. God loves Rosa and Luterio and their two beautiful sons, Manuel and Oscar, as much as He loves you and your family.

So why are some so blessed while others struggle desperately to survive? Why do some of us get to choose from a variety of colors of paint, carpet and tile while others don't even have walls around them or a floor to stand on?

Maybe we have some responsibility in the matter. Maybe the fact that we sometimes spend more on one meal in a restaurant than some families earn in two months time says something. Maybe it actually has something to do with obedience. Consider the words of John the Apostle who said:

"This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers. If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him? Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth."
1 John 3:16-18

My hope and prayer is that this makes you as uncomfortable as I was when I stood in the middle of that cornstalk home less than a week ago. I can only pray that the people of God, including myself, would come to a deeper understanding of what it means to love our neighbor as ourselves.

Someone once said "there is too much need, we can't do it all". I would agree and simply say that God never intended for us to do it all, He just wants us to do our part. The big question is this; how will we respond to what God puts before us? Will we be obedient and help or will we be selfish and hoard?

The way I see it, God is inviting us to join Him as He answers the prayers of those in need...what an awesome oppotunity...how can we pass that by?

Merry Christmas

Although my postings have been sporadic at best lately, I thought it was time to at least write something as we are approaching Christmas. It really is the most wonderful time of the year, isn't it? There is nothing better than spending time with family, singing Christmas carols and watching the face of loved ones as they open their gifts on Christmas morning. It is a joyful time for most.

However we should never forget that there are many people who don't have the privilege of experiencing such things. There are a lot of people out there who either don't have family to spend the holidays with or would rather experience a root canal with no Novocaine than spend time with the family they do have. Then there are those with family that they know and love but because of a slowed economy, they will forgo gift giving in lieu of just trying to keep their heads above water and simply pay the bills.

But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord."

Do hard times, broken relationships and trials erase the good news of great joy that is announced by the angel? A closer look at the New Testament would indicate that hard times and struggle are to be expected in this life. The good news of great joy is not deliverance from all pain, heartache and struggle in this world. The good news is that the Savior is born. He is the One who has overcome the world. This good news involves a reality beyond this world. It's a reality that can bring peace in the midst of even the greatest struggle.

Does the truth mentioned above absolve us from any obligation to those who are experiencing these difficult times? Absolutely not, it actually puts more weight on those who would call themselves Christ followers. We would all do well to remember that this good news of great joy is often made known through those who know the Savior.

Let's not forget those around us who are struggling during the holidays. We should all look for opportunities to reach out to those in need. Maybe you could invite someone in your home who would otherwise be alone this Christmas. Give a gift to someone who is struggling or volunteer time at one of the many local organizations that are serving those in need.

In doing so we just might have the opportunity to bring good news of great joy to those who desperately need it right now