There’s nothing more irritating than people who think they are indispensable in the workplace or in ministry. We used to have a couple of guys at work who would say things like, “The company would go under if they lost us!” Well, guess what? Not long after that both of those guys ere gone and the company thrived.
I’ve seen people get high-minded in ministry as well. Some people really think that God’s people will really suffer if they aren’t around to do the work they do. But God is not at a loss for servants. If one refuses to carry out His will, He can easily raise up another.
It would be good for all of us to realize that, whether in the workplace or in ministry, our shoes are not that difficult to fill.
That’s not to take away from the fact that each individual is incredibly valuable in the sight of God. As a father, I can relate to this. When I say that I love my kids, its not a blanket statement like when I say, “I love twinkles,” because in that sense, any twinkie will do. But I love each of my kids individually. I cannot give the love I have for Angel to Elijah, because that love is for her. I already have specific love directed at Elijah, which belongs to him and him alone. The same goes for each of the other kids.
In the same way, it is also true that I desire each of them to love me in return. None of them can love me for the others. Elijah cannot give me the love I desire from Angel, and vice versa. I love each of my kids specifically, and I desire each of them to love me back. They are all indispensable to me.
But you know what? When I need to get some chores done around the house, I can use any one of them I want.
God’s love for us is like that. He created each of us individually, and the love He has for us and desires from us is specific to each person. Each of us is irreplaceable in one sense, because God loves us individually. But God can use anyone He chooses to carry out His will.
So lets not get too cocky or think too highly of ourselves in our ministry. Be confident in your relationship with your Father, but stay humble and grateful that He chooses to use you, wherever that may be.
Our family has pretty much settled into a groove here in Mexico. Our daily schedule has become more regular, so it makes it easy for everyone to follow.
The kids are now familiar with their limitations, and what is expected of them. They have all been tackling their school and doing quite well. Beth and I have gotten used to being in class for a few hours a day, and the work duties are actually very light, at least they are compared to what we are used to.
Last week was a mini-outreach week. 4 days of the same type of outreach activities that we can expect to see during the 10 week outreach phase. Each day, we did different things.
Thursday, we drove an hour away to Tecate to pick up several thousand pounds of mangos, then came back to the base and separated them for distribution to local orphanages, villages, and individual families. Then we spent the afternoon out in the Colonia for the Circulo ministry. It rained really heavily, so we had to drive around picking kids up. We only had about 15-20 kids come, but the rain turned into a blessing when we decided that since people weren’t coming out to see us, we could go door to door and hand out bags of mangos to families while inviting them to come next week. We made the best of the situation! Getting out of the colonia to the paved roads was a mess though. It was a team-building moment. Lots of pushing and running in the mud!
Friday we visited a special needs orphanage. These kids are all physically and mentally handicapped. I would tell you about individual cases but its really sad and it would make this blog long. But I will say that this was the hardest outreach for me so far, not because I don’t care about kids, but because I do. I am used to going to find ways to help people who are suffering, but these kids already have a great facility. There is nothing I can do to fix the problems they have. Its kind of a helpless feeling. That is whats hard about it. But what we can do is find ways to show them love. Spending time with them (more than a few minutes) is one of those ways.
Saturday we spent the day at the U.S. Consulate. There is an official there who does an annual event for local kids. There were songs, lessons, and activities that were all designed around basic truths about who Jesus is and the message of salvation. It was a big blessing for a lot of kids to leave their homes in the slums or from the orphanages to come play and learn in such a fun way.
Sunday I spoke at a church called La Vina in Tijuana. Then we spent the afternoon back at the special needs orphanage.
This week has been hectic around the base because we are celebrating the 25th year anniversary of the Homes of Hope. Homes of Hope is a program where teams from businesses and churches come to this base and go out into the colonia and build a home for a family. Its pretty amazing how this has grown. 25 years ago, they knew of a family that was living in an old bus, and they got a team together to build them a 16’x20’ home. Next thing you know, they find another family to do the same thing. Then another, and another, and pretty soon teams are coming form all over. In 25 years, they have built over 5000 of these homes, most of them here in TJ, but also it has extended to 19 different countries.
So, for the 25th anniversary, we are building 25 homes in one weekend. There are tons of people here, and tons of staff volunteers. Its really busy.
Over the next two days, our DTS is building for a family here. I’m looking forward to getting my hands a bit dirty!
I have some other great news. When we first were responding to God’s call to join YWAM, I really struggled with why God would be calling us to do such a thing. It didnt make sense to me that He would take an evangelist from one area, where we were bearing a lot of great fruit, and plant us in the midst of a bunch of other evangelists. We had a lot of cool ministry in Tri Cities, and beyond that with the India ministry. Why would God want us to leave that to blend in among a bunch of other missionaries?
Well, we took that step of faith, following clear direction, and now that we are here, He is beginning to reveal to me why He called us here, and how He is going to use our gifts and experience to benefit the organization. It’s really exciting stuff. The best thing about it is, we have people in leadership here who are paving the way before us, rather than being the type of people who barge in and try to push an agenda.
It’s a big relief for me because, as I said, I struggled for a long time, asking God “Why?” It’s all becoming clear now, and we are pumped up and filled with hope and expectation for the future.
Thank you to all of our prayer and financial supporters. We are so blessed by your partnership, and God is pleased with your faithfulness. For those of you who pray for us, thank you so much. I know you don’t desire any thanks, but we are grateful. And for those who support financially, we are so thankful for you. You understand that missions takes resources, and your gifts make it possible for us to go out and do the work we do. Right now, we are in the initiation phase of joining YWAM, but soon we will be full on in the outreach and teaching phase. Thank you for your support. The Lord will certainly bless you.
A few days ago, my son cause a bit of a stir when he came into the room with a bottle of root beer. Our new Brazilian friend Robson jumped out of his seat and shouted, “Oh my gosh, Billy, you let your son drink beer?” I couldn’t tell if he was serious, so I casually shrugged my shoulders and said, “No, that’s not beer.” He got even more exasperated, and pointing to the label, continued to freak out, “Look! It says ‘beer’ right here!” I realized he was serious.
After some more conversation, we found out that they don’t have such a thing as root beer in Brazil. No wonder he thought it was beer! All he saw was what looked just like a beer bottle, with beer on the label. He had never seen or heard of root beer.
It was then that we introduced him to amazing taste of root beer, and the magical world of root beer floats. Robson is now a huge fan!
I remember the first time I walked into a church with musical instruments for worship. Until then, I had never seen or heard anyone worship God with anything other than hymns accompanied by an organ, at the most. They were up there with guitars, drums, keyboards, and other things, leading the people through songs. It was like a rock band in church! People were raising their hands and everything. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. I was really upset. I refused to participate with all these people acting so irreverent.
After the service was over, I was sharing my disdain with the friend who took me there. I was going off about how you had to be serious in church and that God doesn’t want us rocking out, and explaining how I thought the whole thing was just a big show. I was even criticizing the lyrics.
I have a good friend. He didn’t get upset. He didn’t tell me I was foolish or judgmental. He gently showed me some Scriptures that I hadn’t read before. Specifically from the Psalms.
First, Psalm 150, which says,
“Praise the Lord.
Praise God in his sanctuary;
praise him in his mighty heavens.
2 Praise him for his acts of power;
praise him for his surpassing greatness.
3 Praise him with the sounding of the trumpet,
praise him with the harp and lyre,
4 praise him with timbrel and dancing,
praise him with the strings and pipe,
5 praise him with the clash of cymbals,
praise him with resounding cymbals.
6 Let everything that has breath praise the Lord.”
Well, I suppose that just about covers all of it. I had to either ignore the Bible or come to grips with the fact that I was wrong. But my friend didn’t stop there. He gave me many more scriptures, including Psalm 134:2, which tells us to “Lift up your hands in the sanctuary, and bless the Lord.” I guess I couldn’t judge those people about that anymore either. Then he showed me how the lyrics of each of the songs they sang, which I had criticized, were actually word for word right out of the Bible. They were older than the hymns I thought were so ancient and right!
Once I realized that I was wrong, I didn’t want to be stiff-necked. I immediately changed course. I would rather worship God the way He wants to be worshiped than in some ritualistic manner. It’s so freeing when you realize that what God wants is true worship that comes from a pure heart. Jesus said that the true worshipers worship in spirit and in truth. (John 4) Sometimes that happens in a Psalm. Other times, it may be a hymn. Sometimes its a brand new song. Sometimes its accompanied by music, and sometimes not. What’s important is worship that is in spirit and in truth.
Have you ever looked at the way someone else worships God with judgment in your heart? Remember David’s wife Michal. (2Samuel 6) Yikes! Don’t be Michal.
Have you ever tried to catch the wind? I remember when I was a kid I tried this. It didn’t take long to discover that chasing the wind is a fruitless affair. You can run right into the wind and try to grab ahold of it, but guess what? Your hands will be empty. You can take an open box, stand in the path of a big gust of wind, and try to capture the wind in the box, but guess what? When you open the box, no breeze blows out of it. It’s empty!
We wouldn’t laugh at a kid trying to chase down the wind, because they are just learning, but can you imagine seeing an adult do that?
Solomon likened this illustration to what it’s like when we chase after money, power, pleasure, and possessions. Read Ecclesiastes 1and 2, and you will see that even after he chased these things and got them within his hands, it came up empty. He had all the wealth, power, and pleasure this world can offer, but instead of finding fulfillment, he recognized the futility of it all and in desperation he declared, “And indeed all was vanity and grasping for the wind. There was no profit under the sun.” Eccl 2:11
Paul takes it a step further and says that the pursuit of these things is more than just a waste of time. It is actually far more destructive than we realize. “But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and harmful lusts which drown men in destruction and perdition. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.” 1Tim 6:9,10
We live in a world full of people who’s whole life’s purpose is to seek these things. Jesus puts it all into perspective with two simple questions. “For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?” Mark 8:36,37
Examine your own life in relation to these verses. Do you have Jesus and His purpose for your life on hold because you are chasing other things?
Do you really want to exchange God’s will for something that will come up empty?
A Christian who is chasing after these things looks just a silly as a full grown adult trying to grasp the wind in his hands. We ought to know better.
We’ve only been in Mexico for two weeks now, but the family has already adjusted so well, you wouldn’t think its been such a short time.
The base here is probably the nicest YWAM base in the world. This has consistently been the comment coming from all the traveling speakers. There are a few reasons for this. First, because it’s all been built within the last 5 years. Before that, the base was in an old building in downtown Tijuana. There’s a long story in how the land was given and the buildings were donated, but to make that long story short, this is a very nice, clean, new base with great food and an extremely well-organized staff.
Beth and I felt blessed when they gave us two rooms. All of the other DTS students are sharing rooms together, 4 per room, but they gave our family two adjoining rooms. The rooms are about 400 sq ft each, including the bathrooms. They’re about the size of the average hotel room. The kid’s room has 4 bunk beds in it, and ours has a queen bed and one bunk. This gives us enough room to get by.
The kitchen and mess hall are about 300 yards away. Meal times are: breakfast – 7:30, lunch – 12:30, and dinner – 5:30. If you miss out, you can always eat some PB&J or a bit of fruit. I’ve been giving the kids a little tough love in the food department. They’ve gotten used to eating whatever they want, whenever they want. Now they have to eat whatever the cooks provide, or go hungry. The first week was tough on them, but they are coming around.
We’ve also been enjoying the teaching here. DTS is short for ‘Discipleship Training School”. It’s designed to build the foundations of a strong knowledge and relationship with God. It is 12 weeks in class, followed by 8-12 weeks on the mission field. DTS students are typically young, 18 – early 20 somethings, who go on to school, pursue their career, get married, etc. when DTS is over. But some stay on to become staff or eventually become leaders within YWAM. Everyone in YWAM has gone through a DTS when they joined the organization. So, Beth and I are here as students for the next 5 months. We have both decided to approach our time here with a positive attitude, enjoying the teaching and reinforcing the foundations of our own faith.
We are really looking forward to the outreach phase as well, which for us will be either in Rosarito or Ensenada.
Our daily schedule has been an adjustment as well. Rather than working, I am sitting in a classroom. And rather than taking care of her house, Beth is also sitting next to me in class. But class time is only in the mornings. Afternoons are filled with miscellaneous things like work duties, devotionals, occasional class time, and one ministry per week. My work duty is to wash and detail base vehicles. Beth’s is to work in the kitchen. We both love it. Seriously, we were begging to be able to volunteer to help out around here, but they wanted us to not do anything for the first week.
At first I was a bit frustrated about being a student and not really being able to serve a lot or teach. After the amount of ministry we enjoyed before we left Tri-Cities, I was really concerned that I wouldn’t be able to be involved much. I know it may seem silly, but I was afraid of letting go and just resting during this time. I didn’t want to get used to it and not want to be busy when DTS is over. Also, I am not exactly fond of getting up in front of people. Even though most people know I speak all the time, I honestly have a lot of stage-fright. I guess I was nervous that if I wasn’t speaking for 5 months, I would get rusty and be too scared to teach again. But God has been good. He’s given me some opportunities to speak and teach, and also Beth has been able to minster to a lot of the girls here. We’ve both been able to serve in practical ways with our work duties, and also been able to minister to people as well.
We went down to La Playas (the beaches) of Tijuana to scout out a place to do some street preaching and let the kids play in the ocean. I think I’ve found a pretty good spot to go and do some Saturday street ministry. I’ve been working on recruiting a translator so I can do some open air preaching as well. Please pray the God provides the right guy.
The ministry we chose to be involved in is called “Circulo”. It’s an outreach that focuses on building relationships with families through the youth. We went last week for the first time. It happened to be the first time in this particular area. The vision, if I understand it right, is to go in, hold an event each week with the kids in the area, where we play games, do some activity, and teach them a Bible lesson. During this time, part of the team ministers to the parents, and encourages them to come to the local church we are working with. At the end of 3 months, the pastor takes over the ministry and the team moves on to another area to do the same.
Our first event in this new area drew in over 40 kids! They were hoping to have around 50 by the end of the outreach, but God blessed it and there are already a whole bunch coming. Praise God!
I know this is a long update, but it’s the first one. There was a lot to catchup on, and still try to keep it short. I’ve been waiting to update you until I could tell you that we are actually doing something other than just being students. Ministry and work duties just started this week, so now I feel like I can give you an update without being embarrassed haha. Also, I have a bunch of photos to share with you, but I don’t know how to convert them and make them comparable with this blog. Frustrating. Only has one that was small enough to work.
I was planning on using the blog to alternate weeks with updates on what’s happening in YWAM, and my typical devotional type messages. Sometimes there wont be a lot to tell as far as anything new, so I may wait an extra week or two to update you. Please feel free to leave comments or questions and I will be happy to include any info on the next update.
God bless you, friends! Thanks so much for your prayers and financial support. We could not be here without you!
One time I worked for a painter back around 1997. We were painting the exterior of an older house, but the elderly homeowners had some troublesome bushes lining the home. I asked my boss how we were supposed to paint around them, and he instructed me to go ahead and trim them.
Well, I’m not much of a gardener, so I just chopped away until I created a nice wide passageway for workspace between the house and the bushes. I was actually quite proud of my work. The elderly homeowner, however, didn’t share my enthusiasm. I’ll never forget the tone of this woman’s voice when she came out, gasped in horror and shrieked, “He ruined my prize rhododendrons!” We lost the job.
People have their identity wrapped up in all sorts of things. Having the best looking yard, making the most money, wearing the nicest clothes, driving the most expensive car, marrying the trophy spouse, being the hardest worker, being the best at sports, having the right family background, etc. All these status symbols tell the world who we are and what we’ve accomplished.
Well, there is one guy who really had a lot to brag about, if he chose to. The apostle Paul. Look what he says about himself in Philippians 3:4-6, “though I also might have confidence in the flesh. If anyone else thinks he may have confidence in the flesh, I more so: circumcised the eighth day, of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of the Hebrews; concerning the law, a Pharisee; concerning zeal, persecuting the church; concerning the righteousness which is in the law, blameless.”
He could have bragged about this. But he didn’t. At one point in his life, that was his identity. All those things were so important to him, and important for him to show off to the world. But when he came to Christ, he had an entirely different attitude.
Follow what he says in the next few verses, ” But what things were gain to me, these I have counted loss for Christ. Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith; that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death, if, by any means, I may attain to the resurrection from the dead.” (vs. 7-11)
Where do you find your confidence? What is your identity wrapped up in? Once you come to Christ, and experience real transformation, you should recognize that now you belong to God, and anything your are in Him or accomplish in Him are for His glory.
There is no room for pride in God’s family.
We are all on a level playing field in Christ.
“Do not be quickly provoked in your spirit, for anger resides in the lap of fools.” Eccl 2:9
Have you ever said or done something in a moment of anger, which turned out to be stupid or foolish?
About 15 years ago, I was framing a house, and the boss gave me a task I wasn’t used to. I was swinging away with my hammer at some braces, but it was awkward and I couldn’t get a solid hit. I got irritated and swung really hard in anger, but I missed and hit myself squarely in the knee. I was howling for half an hour, and everybody got to see it.
It’s experiences like these, and believe me, I could cite plenty more, that have taught me not to give in to the impulses that come when I’m angry.
Yielding to the inclinations of a quick temper is a sure way to get yourself into trouble, hurt yourself, and often times hurt others as well.
“A patient man has great understanding, but a quick-tempered man displays folly.” Proverbs 14:21
Hey guess what? If you are lacking in the patience department, I have good news. Patience happens to be a fruit of the Holy Spirit within your life. All you’ve got to do is come clean (confess) with God where you’ve made mistakes, and ask Him to empower you through His Spirit.
He guarantees us in Luke 11 that He gives the Holy Spirit to those who ask, so why go on being irritable and frustrated?
Go get some!
I have a signed hockey jersey thats been hanging in my closet for a few years. A lot of sports fans hold onto things like that. Perhaps you have or know someone who has valuable pieces of sports memorabilia.
Its funny to me that we place such value on those things. After all, a baseball bat is really pretty useless when it leans against the wall by itself. But put it in the hands of Babe Ruth, and suddenly it can win a World Series. A football is actually a fairly cumbersome and worthless object, but in the right hands, it can electrify a crowd of thousands and bring home a Super Bowl.
The object that was used deserves none of the credit for the things accomplished by those who use it.
Christian, you can try to go out and do great and mighty things for God, but until you realize that you and I are nothing more than tools in His hands, and allow Him to have His perfect way in and through you, then you will not yield the results you are looking for.
Some Christians want to accomplish great things, but for the wrong reasons. They want to receive recognition for their work, or be considered devout, pious, generous, or whatever.
For us to give any kind of honor or recognition to the Christian who does things for God is like congratulating the baseball that won the World Series. It’s nothing but an instrument, and so are we.
We can look at the Billy Grahams and the Greg Lauries of the world and hold them up in high esteem, but really, they are simply tools in the Master’s hands, and He has just as much a plan for your life as He has for theirs. It may not include speaking before thousands of people, but His calling for you is just as important, and your role in the advancement of the kingdom is just as vital.
Have you discovered the will of God for your life? Are you asking Him to reveal it to you? He has great things for you to do.
Ephesians 2:10 “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.”
Just remember, He is the one who does the work through you, and He gets all the credit. What He calls you to do is yield to His will, and do it in the power of the Holy Spirit within you.
Philippians 2:13 “For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.”
While our family was out to eat this afternoon, my littlest says to me, “Dad, if I won the lottery, I would be so happy I would start crying.”
“Why,” I asked, “What would you want that for?”
“So I could have lots of money,” he replied.
“What would you spend it on?”
Without hesitation, he smiled and said, “Sundaes!” as he happily took a scoop of ice cream.
Ah, the simple life of a 5 year old. His idea of the perfect life would be plenty of sundaes. We laugh because we can think of a lot better things to spend money on than ice cream.
I wonder if God looks at us like that when we look for or find a sense of fulfillment in temporary, worldly things. We plan and work and sweat and dream and long for so many things that simply pale in comparison to the things He has prepared for us.
You and I can choose to live this life He’s given to us spending all of our talents and resources on ourselves and our own pursuits, and possibly enjoy some earthly benefits, or we can choose to pursue God’s will for our lives and spend all those things loving others and building His kingdom, and lay up treasures in heaven.
The rewards He has in store for us are so far beyond imagination or comprehension, that He says, “Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.” 1 Cor 2:9
Do you really want to settle for the temporary pleasures this world has to offer, when God has immeasurably better things prepared for you?
Think about your life. Your future. Your goals. What are you living for?
I beat my wife up a few times a week. It’s true. It happened again this morning. Other times, she wakes up before I do.
Whew! That sounded bad. Just taking the phrase “I beat my wife up” by itself can be interpreted a number of ways. But given the context, you gain a proper understanding of the intent.
The same principle must be applied to the Bible. People misapply and misinterpret the Word all the time, sometimes intentionally and sometimes in ignorance.
For example, did you know the Bible says that “there is no God?” It’s true.
Psalm 14:1 “The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God.”
See what I mean?
When it comes to the Bible, we don’t get the liberty of quote-mining, taking passages out of context, misapplying them from their original intent, in order to support our own erroneous doctrine.
How do I know I’m not doing that? Well, a couple of things to keep in mind.
1. What is the context? Read the entire chapter, or book. What is the overall message?
2. What is the author trying to convey? What is his intent?
3. Who is the audience? Who was it originally written to? Why?
4. Is this interpretation consistent with the rest of Scripture? Does it contradict other passages?
Understanding everything taught in the Bible doesn’t happen overnight. It comes with maturity.
Paul told Timothy to “Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.” 2Tim 2:15
The only way you can know for sure if what you are being taught or what you believe about God’s word is right is if you study it for yourself. Don’t take my word or anyone else’s word for it.
Get your nose in that Book!
