Journey Outside the Camp

Into the Deep

When I was browsing in the Campus Crusade Media bookstore, I came across a book entitled, Into the Deep by Robert Rogers. It was a testimony of how Robert, his wife Melissa, and their four children were driving home from a wedding when they were caught in a flash flood. Robert was swept away in the flood but he survived. His family, however, did not.

The tragedy had taken away his family but could not take away his faith. I was compelled to read it. I raced through the first third of the book in one night as it was the account of what happened that terrible night. On 31 August, 2003, Robert was driving his family through Emporia, Kansas in heavy rain when he was caught in a jam on the I-35 heading south. Before too long, a huge wall of water burst from the nearby Jacob Creek and washed his minivan away.

My heart crumbled along with his as he grieved for his family. The hours after he was rescued were the worst for him as his life came to a complete halt while he waited for news about his family. He struggled to understand why God would let this happen to him. When the rescue workers eventually reported back that none of his family were alive, Robert took it hard and he found it almost impossible to believe that his God would let such a thing happen. I say almost because the remarkable thing about him was that his faith was strong. He told God that he would believe and trust in him on a minute-by-minute basis because that's all the strength he could muster. And God reached down to him and supplied him the strength, peace and faith he needed.

The road to healing and recovery took more than a year (which too me is amazingly short). Robert had a strong relationship with God and though he didn't understand why all this happened, he chose to trust God. And God continued to tell him through many ways that even in the worst tragedies, God was in control and there was a purpose to all things, even the bad things.

As Robert himself says at the end of the book:

I have learned that nothing can ever separate me from God's love. I know that even if everything that happens to me isn't good, God can still bring good out of everything. I have seen it in my life, and with my family—both before the flood and since then.

He goes on to say he now understands that the troubles and challenges he faced in his life before the tragedy was God's way of preparing him to handle such a big blow. And most of all, his family's deaths were not without purpose. Through their deaths, he has managed to be a witness to God for many people and today he runs a ministry that teaches people how to treasure their families and live a life of no regrets. He knows that God's way is the best way, even if it leads through dark valleys at times.

For me, it really was a lesson on how to accept the sovereignty of God and it was a such a big testimony to the truth that "for those who love God all things work together  for good, for  those who are called according to his purpose." (Romans 8:28).

Goals of parenting

When my wife and I spoke at the recent Spiritual Habits of a Child's Heart symposium, we asked the question to the participants of our workshop: What are your parenting goals?

The question appears to be straightforward but the tricky part is that most parents have not stopped to think through this question. When we are at work and have a project to do, we like to start with the vision and goals. But with parenting, we have a kind of hope-for-the-best attitude which frankly, is a little alarming.

To help the participants think about the goals of parenting, we gave them four questions to work through.

1. What do you want for your children's lives?
2. What do you want them to be like when they grow up?
3. What do you deem as a successful life for your children?
4. How do you want your children to relate to God?

If parents sat down and answered this questions thoroughly and honestly, they will be able to see where their heart is for their children. Do they want God as the goal for their kids? Or do they buy into what the world espouses—a life of materialism, status, reputation and riches? In other words, an empty life.

We suggested some sample answers for the participants to consider. They are the answers we want for our children. We have to pray every day for God to make these answers a reality. The work to get there will take years but the good news is that it is the work of the Holy Spirit. We don't need to rely on our own strength. Yes, we have lots of shepherding to do, but God is the one that ultimately moulds our children.

Here are our answers.

1. What do you want for your children’s life?
I want my children to worship the one true God, to live in reverent fear of him, to treasure him above everything else in life and to live to glory God through everything that they say and do.

2. What do you want them to be like when they grow up?
I want them to be God-fearing people who recognize that they are one of God’s children and they have no allegiance to the world. They value nothing that the world offers but crave God instead. They love others with the love that Christ showed and they live to do the will of God for their lives. They are incredibly happy with God and don’t care that the world thinks of them as fools.

3. What do you deem as a successful life for your children?
A successful life is one lived completely for God and one where God is glorified through the obedience of my children. In the world’s eyes, they may not have made it, but they are a blazing witness for the glory of God.

4. How do you want your children to relate to God?
I want my children to fear God and be mindful of his wrath. I want my children to know that they cannot relate to Christ at all except through Jesus Christ who came to take away their sins and provide the way of reconciliation with God. I want them to always come before God with great joy, knowing that God has supernaturally reached out to rescue them from the path of destruction. I want them to be fully confident that God will do what he promises: to preserve their faith and refine them until they will be fit for heaven when they die.

Welcome to the Revolution

In seeking out good books for use in Sunday School, I came across this one called Welcome to the Revolution by Brian Tome. It was a very easy read, with its conversational tone and quirky humour. The author, Brian Tome is the pastor of Crossroads Community Church and the blurb says he was tired of looking for a book that he could give to new believers so he wrote one.

I could finish the book in about three days (I'm a slow reader) and the author gives a very down-to-earth, jargon-free introductory journey on what it means to be a Christ follower. I especially like his analogy of a three-legged stool, with the one leg each representing prayer, Bible reading and community. These are the supports for the main goal which is the seat, and that represents missions.

While the discussions were introductory in nature, I did think the book can go a long way in helping a new believer make a good start on his journey with Christ. I learnt a few things myself when I got to chapter 6. There, the author asked the reader to examine his or her relationships closely to see which ones were helpful and which were draining. That made me sit back and think through my own relationships too to see not only if I was receiving nurture from others but also if I was nurturing to others or just sucking some people dry.

I've already passed one copy to a new believer and he's alsmost done reading it. I'll ask what he thinks of it. I've another new believer who wants to read my copy too. Looks like I'll need to get a few more to pass around. I think it's possible to use the book as a base for small group and Sunday School lessons and discussions.

Why do we pray when God is all-knowing?

I was asked this question recently: Why do we pray when God is all-knowing? This is an important question. It's a question that has troubled even some theologians. A similar question is, if God always does his will, why on earth do we bother praying then?

One of the most helpful set of verses to answer these two related questions is actually the Lord's prayer. Matthew 6:9-13 says:

Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name.
Your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread,
and forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors.
And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.

There are many things we can learn about God from this prayer that Jesus taught but I want to highlight three points.

First, God is acknowledged as the one having authority (Our Father in heaven). We appeal to the highest authority when we pray.

Second, God has already established his good and perfect will. Jesus doesn't say to pray, "Your will be formed" or "Your will be suggested to us." Jesus told us to pray that God will fulfill the plans that he made. God has a plan that predates our prayer.

Third, there is the acknowledgement that we depend on God daily. This is shown to our appeal for our daily food.  It highlights that it is God who takes care of our basic daily needs.

In other words, God is the highest authority who has already ordained that his will be done and that all creatures depend upon him for their lives.

Now if God has a will and he will do it without failure or defeat, then why on earth do we pray? Can we expect to change his mind? Can we—through prayer—bend his will so that we can get what we want?

One passage in the BIble that seems to indicate that we can change God's mind through prayer is when Moses beseeches God to change his mind about destroying the nation of Israel. In Exodus 32, God is angry with the Israelites for turning away from him, despite all the trouble he went through to rescue them from the hand of Pharoah. God says he wants to destroy them and begin afresh but Moses pleads with him not to and so God "changes" his mind and spares the people instead. On the surface, it seems that Moses did succeed in changing God's mind. But in fact, it is not. God already knew that the people would do this and he knew what he was going to do next. What God was doing was simply to involve Moses in the fulfilling of his will. For here, (and in other "change of mind" passages) God deliberately tells his servant of his threatened action, and by si doing, God is inviting the servant to plead for mercy. God could have just brought judgment to wicked sinful Israel without consulting Moses beforehand, but he did tell Moses to elicit the plea of mercy from him. Then God proceeds to carry out the mercy as he originally intended, now in response to Moses' prayer. Thus all Moses can do is praise God for his action. Prayer then, is a mechanism that allows us to participate in the unfolding of God's perfect will.

So how do our prayers make a difference? In his kindness, God has elected on occasion, that his good and perfect will be accomplished only as his people pray to ask God to work in a certain way. He knows what he wants to do but waits till his servants pray for it. The role of the prayer then, becomes necessary to the accomplishing of God's will. He can do it without our involvement or knowledge. But he chooses to include us so that we become part of what he is doing. God is sharing bountifully with those whom he loves. He lets us share in the anticipation and the joy that comes from seeing his will done. When we pray and our prayers are answered, we are overjoyed, God is glorified, and we understand better just what God had planned all along.

The fact that God is all-knowing is a great comfort to us when we pray. It means that God can anticipate and know the future and provide an answer for us accordingly. Matt 6:25–33 shows how God's all-knowing nature is a great comfort in prayer. For example, even before we pray for what we need, God knows what we need and he can therefore provide us what we are going to pray for. Frigthening is the notion that God isn't all-knowing and so may not know how best to answer a prayer. In such a scenario, how can he be equipped to pour out miracles "on the fly" if he can't anticipate what his people will pray for? Or how can he his will be done if he doesn't know what's coming up ahead?

I remember reading about George Müller, who was a famous evangelist with a great heart for children. He set up many homes for orphans but refused to seek donations to help run these orphanages. Instead, he prayed and ask God for all the provisions that the children needed. Often, at the breakfast table, the children would sit before empty plates and cups and George would lead in prayer, asking and thanking God for the food. When he finished praying, there would be a knock on the door. It would be a baker or milkman or someone else that God had impressed upon to donate provisions. So God knew what George Müller and the children needed. He sent the milkman and baker ahead, even before George prayed. Only an all-knowing God could answer George's prayer in such a timely manner. Indeed, for George, he got the help and God got the glory.

(For more on this, read Their God is too Small by Bruce A. Ware.)