Letter to Lillian

A little over a year ago I was in the Westgate Mall in Nairobi .  I remember eating lunch at the Artcaffe, one of my very favorite cafes in Nairobi.  I went there after church with one of the missionary couples on staff with Rafiki.  I remember being in the Nakumatt grocery store.  I remember thinking this was probably one of the nicest malls I've ever been in - Kenyan, American or otherwise.  I remember thinking what a startling contrast this mall was to the rest of Kenya, all pristine and modern, while you walked out the door and down the road and found tin roof shacks and red clay roads.   

And now it's a war zone, the focal point of the world. 

When I first saw the headlines this past Saturday morning, I was in the middle of a work event I was coordinating.  I was scrolling through the list on my phone when I saw a headline that simply indicated a mall in Nairobi had been attacked.  I began to frantically scroll through the article, searching for which mall, knowing that there were ones frequented by the Rafiki staff, wondering if I knew anybody involved and wondering if they were safe.  It wasn't until I got to the very bottom that it finally said Westgate. 

And it's that striking moment when you realize, "I was right there..."  I can see the stores in my head and I can see the Kenyan people enjoying the bakery and I can see the security at the entrance and I can see the neatly polished floors and I can smell the freshly roasted coffee.

If I were there now I would see shattered windows, blackened walls from grenades exploding, faces hiding, trembling in the shadows and mad men on a mission to destroy.  

I want to grieve and I want to get angry all at the same time.  Because it's just such utter nonsense and pure evil.  

And on the heels of the attack, I get a sweet letter today in the mail from Lillian, the little girl I sponsor in Kenya.  And I found the contrasts overwhelming, just like when I stood in the Westgate Mall and marveled at the disparity of what I was looking at versus what I knew existed just beyond its walls.  And here in light of watching this attack unfold, I get this precious letter from an equally precious little child.  

How do I reconcile that?  How do I reconcile a world so full of hate and outright evil with love notes from a young orphan child who thanks me for sending her a postcard with a polar bear on it?  Because when I put the two side-by-side, I just think, "How? How do we go from arms flung wide and praying blessings over lives to grenades in hand and raining down curses on humanity? How?"

I want to write back to little Lilian.  I want to write her a long letter, one full of things she simply cannot understand at such a tender age.  Full of things even I don't understand.  

I want to tell her that Satan is real and he has an agenda.

I want to tell her that his number one goal is to end her life and the lives of others - spiritually and physically.  Jesus said it himself in John 8:44, "He was a murderer from the beginning."  

I want to tell her that Satan will stop at nothing to destroy lives, destroy homes, destroy governments, destroy creation, destroy marriages, destroy relationships.  It's all fair game and he's playing for keeps.

I want to tell her that we are most certainly waging war, but not against this flesh and not against another country and not against another people group and not against another government.  We are waging war "against the rulers, against the authorities, against the spiritual forces of evil..." (Ephesians 6:12)

But what I really want to tell her is this - 

Don't lose hope, dear one.  Don't lose hope.  

Don't drown in the sadness and don't drown in the depravity of this great big mess called humanity.  Hold tight to Jesus Christ, the one who firmly claims that he will swallow up death forever (Isaiah 25:8).  

He will claim victory. He will defeat Satan.  And this world will be a passing memory.  "You will have trouble in this world.  But take heart! I have overcome the world."  (John 16:33)

Take heart, little Lilian!  Jesus Christ, the Lamb slain before the foundation of the world, has overcome the world.  

Take heart. 

Accidental Worship Heresy

I laughed so hard I cried when I read these the other day.  My brother sent me a text with the web link and I made the mistake of reading it while I was at work.  A mistake mainly because I was laughing so hard I was nearly making a fool of myself.  Thankfully everybody else in the office seemed engrossed in their own work while I was too busy crying a river over these lines.  It's a repost from a church in Texas called The Village Church.  Read and enjoy.

http://www.thevillagechurch.net/the-village-blog/accidental-worship-heresy/

In January of 2012, I sat down with a group of worship pastors over dinner, and we told stories of moments where our hearts wanted to say or sing one thing but our lips delivered a different message—we committed worship heresy.

Like that time I introduced the lyric, “O hell, where is your sting?” by shouting “O HELL!” into the microphone at the top of my lungs. And word jumble moments, like the time I prayed, “Father, thank You for dying on the cross.” Or the time I enthusiastically shouted, “Jesus stayed in that grave! AMEN?!”

We laughed so hard that night, and it occurred to us that we were probably not alone. So I took to Twitter and posed the question, “Anyone have any accidental heresy examples to share? #worshipheresy.” You will see their responses below. Usernames have been left off on purpose—I’d like these people to continue doing their jobs. I hope you enjoy these.

Michael Bleecker
Flower Mound Worship Pastor

 "Take my LIPS and let them be swift and beautiful for Thee" #worshipheresy. I'm a dang good kisser now though.

Misquoted Col. 3:16 as, "psalms, hymns and spiritual thongs" while officiating one of my best friend’s wedding.

"To the God of treachery, all glory be, to the One who gave it all..."

I sang, "He cr*ps himself with light" during How Great is Our God. Mixed “wraps” and “crowns.” #worshipheresy

I sang, "I see a generation rising up to take their place with selfish faith."

"The weight of all of Your shame, released when You came and gave up my life." #worshipheresy

"Jesus, we thank You that the tomb is not empty."

"Father, we thank You for rising from the dead."

"Not because of what You've done, but because of who I am."

"I thy great father and thou my true son," during Be Thou My Vision. #worshipheresy

"I'd rather have silver than Jesus or gold." #worshipheresy

I don't think it counts, but I when sang "Never Let Go" by Matt Redman, I missed an entire verse and chorus by sneezing.

I picked soft music for a corporate prayer time that I later found out was the theme to “The Exorcist.”

"Jesus lay prostate on the ground." #worshipheresy

“You are wonderful. And you're never to be trusted." Supposed to be, "and you're never to be faulted."

During Give Us Clean Hands I sang, “We turn our eyes TO evil things.” #worshipheresy

"He is jealous for me, floats like a butterfly, stings like a bee." #worshipheresy

I once asked a congregation to "Stand and worship us," rather than "Stand and worship with us." #worshipheresy

I mixed up the lyrics of Word of God Speak and said, "the last thing I need is to be with You." #worshipheresy

"Lord, align Your will with ours." #worshipheresy

“Ashamed, I hear HIS mocking voice call out among the scoffers!" Sang that one loud and proud. #worshipheresy

Don't know if it’s heresy but during a prayer I meant to say, "God, be honored and glorified." It came out "God, be honorfied."

Heard during an offering prayer, "Lord, we thank you that Jesus set a wonderful example for us while being a great American."

"God, you always change!" #worshipheresy

Not really #worshipheresy, but I told my church peeps to "shake a neck and hug a hand" one time.

"Because a sinful Saviour died, my sinless soul is counted free." #worshipheresy

I was trying to prime our church for the pre-chorus of God of This City and I emphatically yelled, "There is no God!" #ranouttatime

"Thou on my head in early youth didst smite"...actual lyric is "thou on my head in early youth didst smile."

I once prayed for God to give a guy "aides." When you say that word out loud, no one pays attention to the letter E.

"Lead us into temptation and deliver us in evil..." Speed praying should've never happened. #worshipheresy

"Marvelous sins of our loving Lord…"

"Sex is better, money is better than You, Jesus."

I prayed, "We're just trying to repay You for what You’ve done."

Just caught myself singing "banana in the highest" to myself in the shower. Not quite right. Must be hungry this morning. #worshipheresy

Once heard a pastor say, "Please rise for the hymn of indecision." #worshipheresy

My dad used to sing "Gladly, the cross-eyed bear," but it sounded right to everyone else. #worshipheresy

“In every high and stormy gale, my anchor old within the whale." #worshipheresy

"God, that you would decrease so that I may increase..." Yep...prayed that during worship once. #worshipheresy

"O that with yonder sacred thong we at his feet may fall!"

Jesus on Every Page

I remember sitting on the porch of Kenyatta house in a tiny village in Nairobi, Kenya. I remember the early morning sun streaming across the porch, across the faces of those gathered, both black and white. I remember sitting across from Yeen-Lan, the village director, and listening as she told the story of Esther. And I remember it being the first moment I realized that Jesus was on every single page of the Bible, not just the New Testament.

Yeen-Lan was sharing from Esther 5.  At this point, Esther had already been named queen and she had uncovered the plot Haman had to kill the Jews. It was for such a time as this that she had came, to save her people.  She knew she could not remain silent.  But she also knew that if she approached the king uninvited, to plead on behalf of her people, the law declared she must be put to death.

But still she went to the inner court.  And the king stretched out his golden scepter, indicating his acceptance of her presence.

Yeen-Lan went on to say, "There is Jesus, right on the page, right in the middle of Esther, extending the golden scepter, letting us know we are welcome in his presence."

Ever since then, ever since hearing Yeen-Lan say, "It is Jesus on every page," I have been haunted by this idea.  Could he really be on every page? And not just in the New Testament, but in every book of the Bible, on every page of Scripture?  And if he is, how did I miss this?  How did I miss him?

I joked with a friend of mine as I explained to her this fascination I now had with finding Jesus on every page of the Bible.  She told me it would make a great thesis. Due to my aversion for academic writing, I told her I would probably spend the rest of my life writing it.

It turns out David Murray beat me to the punch and saved me the hassle.

And the name of his book?

Naturally.  

I forgive him for squelching my dissertation that I never planned on writing.   

Let me tell you what, though.  This book is rocking my world and completely altering how I view the Bible unlike few other books have.  I got a free advance copy through BookSneeze, and I have to say, it's probably been my favorite BookSneeze book yet, next to Love Does by Bob Goff.  Murray walks through ten key principles of how Christ is scattered throughout the Old Testament - through prophets, through creation, through characters, through history, through types, through covenants, through proverbs, and on.  You name it - and you will find Christ in the midst of it.  I can't get enough of this book - which makes me want the Bible all the more.  To read it, to soak it up, and to find Him - to find Christ on every page.  

I love the quote from Gleason Archer that Murray includes: "How can Christian pastors hope to feed their flock on a well-balanced spiritual diet if they completely neglect the 39 books of Holy Scripture on which Jesus and all the New Testament authors received their own spiritual nourishment?" 

And to that I say, it's not even Christian pastors, but Christians period!  How can we hope to feed ourselves on all that is Christ when we so often gloss over the entire first half of his Holy Word?!

He is there on every page. And he is worth finding.

Get the book Jesus on Every Page.  It is worth every penny.  

"And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, [Jesus] explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself."   Luke 24:27