Grace and Galatians
The Works of God
Last July, our family of seven moved to Mexico to join Global Education Ministries as overseas missionaries at the Manantial School. We became immersed in a culture that was so foreign to us that it left us clawing for some form of familiarity and identity. Our response to this feeling was to get to “work”.
We sought to make things happen that were not yet ready to happen. We would overreach our mandate, attempt a shallow form of evangelism, or try to perfect some part of our jobs. The level of activity was extremely pressured and I felt manic…wanting to see everything happen NOW. Praise God He didn’t let us stay there long.
My wife suddenly got shingles on her face, and this sickness led to some of the hardest weeks of our lives. All of our work and striving came to a screeching halt for two full weeks, while my wife was bedridden. I mostly stayed home and cared for her and the children. It forced me to pray constantly and to begin calling upon God more fully.
I would equate this time in our lives to a car getting four simultaneous flat tires right as it hit the gas to plunge over a huge cliff. God, in His infinite wisdom, knew that this trial would save us before we could wreck everything. This situation, along with several other exceedingly difficult trials to follow, began new humbling in our hearts.
In the midst of the suffering and difficulty, God gave me a treasure of a verse to help me through, even as I thought I was doing “God’s work” as a missionary going 90 miles an hour to press “His” agenda. In the gospel of John, right after Jesus fed 5000 people with 5 loaves and 2 fish and then walked on water, Jesus explains that He is the bread of life. At this point, Jesus really has the ear of the disciples after what they have witnessed. The disciples, who are completely intrigued by this miracle man, ask Jesus this question, “What must we do to be doing the works of God?” And Jesus answered them, “this is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent.”
This verse put me right in my place. I had been seeking to “do” the work of God, but I was not resting and believing. On the surface, I would have told you I believed more strongly than before, but I deceived myself and believed a lie. A dominant thought current running through many of us Christians is that the more we DO God’s work, the more loved we are….that somehow we can earn God’s love and favor.
99% of evangelical pastors, leaders, and missionaries would agree that we can’t earn God’s love…but it’s a different thing to think something than to live and rest in it. Our human drift is towards capitalism, whereby we seek to achieve, succeed or win with relationships or the market for our purposes, comfort, or increase.
Do you strive to make things right? Do you work tirelessly to be the cause of the desired fruitfulness in your life? Do you try hard to escape the suffering you so fear? OR…Do you, at your core, rest in the finished work of Christ on the cross. Do you, at your core, know that your human efforts are spiritually fruitless? Do you, at your core, see suffering as the means by which you are cleansed, disciplined, and crafted into His image?
Do not work for the food, results, status, or material that perishes, but believe in Jesus who God sent to free you and give you all that you will ever need in Him. See what happens when you are transformed to let your work be to believe. Let your new sweat be envisioning what Godly result you want for your friends in His name. Let your new mission be to cry out to Him, in belief for your family’s deliverance. Let your new craft be to ask and believe God for business effectiveness, gospel witness, and a prosperous rejoicing in His name. Let your new trade be to believe in God’s promises for your church by seeing Jesus lifted up and your members unified, sanctified, and witnessing to the power of the gospel.
When you find yourself looking to yourself for effectiveness, change this focus into examining yourself solely to see how you and your thoughts are hindering belief in what was accomplished at the cross and then agree to simply rest in that finished work. Do you believe it is finished? Rest and pray. He is faithful. “Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.” Mark 11:24
Rob and his wife, Mauri, were married in 2004 and have been blessed with 5 children (2 biological and 3 adopted). Rob has a Master of Education degree in Counseling and Development from Winthrop University. He is a Licensed Professional Counselor, who also has many years experience teaching children of all ages. Rob is currently serving as the 7th grade Bible teacher and School Counselor at The Manantial School in Mexico.
Humility
Humility
I am reading a book right now called Humility by Andrew Murray. I am being profoundly affected by it. As I read it, I am simultaneously encouraged and convicted. Inspired and indicted.
Let me quote a few lines from Mr. Murray:
“Let us…admit that there is nothing so natural to man, nothing so insidious and hidden from our sight, nothing so difficult and dangerous as pride. Let us feel that nothing but a very determined and preserving waiting on God and Christ will discover how lacking we are in the grace of humility, and how impotent to obtain what we seek. Let us study the character of Christ until our souls are filled with the love and admiration of His lowliness. And let us believe that, when we are broken down under a sense of our pride, and our impotence to cast it out, Jesus Christ Himself will come to impart this grace too, as a part of His wondrous life within us.”
Pride is “insidious.” It is absolutely the default nature of man to be self-exalting and self-focused. We are helpless to be rid of this impulse on our own. Then he says,
“We need to know well the Second Adam and His power to give within us a life of humility as REAL and abiding and OVERMASTERING as has been that of pride.”
This book is saturated with statements like this. One of the chief concepts that Murray seeks to promote in his book is that humility is one of the most distinguishing and important characteristics of our Savior, God the Son, Jesus. He maintains that humility is of an importance to us that cannot be overstated but yet it is very rarely actively sought out to be cultivated. I, as do many, energetically and enthusiastically agree with Murray.
Indicted
I have said that I feel indicted by Murray’s words in Humility. I am indicted on the grounds that I am personally guilty of what he describes as the chief problem of man: pride. My initial, unfiltered, hidden, and secret mental reaction to being overlooked or forgotten is one of annoyance and disappointment. I find fault when someone else’s idea gets carried out and not mine. Instead of being overjoyed at the success and fruitfulness in my friend’s life I want to know, “Why not me?”. My battle and struggle with pride is a daily one, no an hourly one. As I’m sure yours is as well. I read Murray’s words about pride and its offensive heinousness to our God and I know I am reading a description of my own deeds. He says things like this:
“Let (the reader) consider how all want of love, all indifference to the needs, the feelings, the weaknesses of others, all sharp and hasty utterances and judgments, so often excused under the plea of being outright and honest; all manifestations of temper and touchiness and irritation; all feelings of bitterness and estrangement, have their root in nothing but pride that ever seeks itself….”
Inspired
But by the grace of God, as often as I am indicted in my reading of this valuable book, I am inspired! Thank you Jesus! There is hope for me! There is hope for you! Murray talks about how humility is to be the chief thing that we seek as believers, for from it springs all other good behaviors, attitudes, ideas, thoughts, feelings, impulses, habits and words! Our main problem as people before our God is our pride. Our obstinate, tenacious and determined desire to acknowledge and exalt ourselves instead of God. I read Murray’s words like this:
“Our one need is to study and know and trust the life that has been revealed in Christ as the life that is now OURS and waits for our consent to gain POSSESSION and MASTERY of our whole being.”
Since I have been crucified with Jesus and HE now lives in me (Galatians 2:20) the life of Jesus is now MY life. That is true about me! That is true about me in SPITE of my failings! I want Jesus’ life to come out and be seen in MY actions and MY behaviors more and more! I want to be MASTERED by Jesus more and MORE! I want to be more like Him and less like ME!
When I feel the reflex to want to grab for attention, I fight that with faith in the Son of God and try to give it up and give attention to someone else. When I am tempted to drop the comment that I know is bound to impress others, in my head I ask the Holy Spirit to help me keep my mouth shut. When I want to speak up for my rights and not let someone get away with being so insensitive, rude, uncaring, irresponsible for whatever they might have done to me I, in faith, try to remember Him that “…when He was insulted did not retaliate, and when He suffered, he made no threats. Instead He entrusted Himself to the one who judges justly” (1 Peter 2:23). These are the type of sentiments and attitudes that are being stirred within me as I read words like:
“Humiliation is the only ladder to honor in God’s kingdom.”
“ Brethren, here is the path to the higher life. Down, lower down! This was what Jesus ever said to the disciples who were thinking of being great in the kingdom, and of sitting on His right and His left. Seek not, ask not for exaltation; that is God’s work.”
I am given great hope as I read this book. I highly recommend it to all. It gives me great peace and comfort to know that I am not the one who can work humility in myself. It is in my realization of the impossibility to do this that the lowliness is brought about. Jesus brings it about. My life in Him began because of His work. It will continue because of His work. And He will finish it.
Philippians 1:6 “being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.”
Philippians 2:13 “for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose”
Philippians 2: 5-8 “Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus, who being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man he humbled himself and became obedient to death even death on a cross!”
Jason Faircloth currently teaches 3rd grade at the Manantial School in Puerto Escondido. He is also the director of our Primary School. Jason and his wife, Kate, and son, Abraham, have lived in Puerto Escondido for almost 4 years now serving with Global Education Ministries.
The Vineyard and the Young
I’m a teacher…. I love teaching young people. It’s amazingly difficult, frustrating, and rewarding all at the same time. As I’ve grown up in my faith and in my love for teaching, I’ve also come to believe the best way for a Christian (teacher or not) to spend their life is by pouring into children. Shocking statement…I know. But I believe it to be true!!
Sometimes seen as a stepping stool for greater ministry work, the reality is that working with children is the greater work. Jesus makes this abundantly clear in the way he teaches about children and what he teaches in parables. In one parable, the owner of the vineyard who calls workers throughout the day, highlights why we should be excited for the opportunity to work with those called in the first hour of the day (read as…those who become Christians at an early age).
Here are a couple reasons:
1- The best work of the day is done early in the morning. Those who were called by the owner of the vineyard in the first hour are able to work for the master the longest. They start earlier and have the chance to accomplish more. When the master is God, and the work is for the kingdom, while difficult and painful, the work is always to our benefit! The master doesn’t need us to work for Him… He lets us work because He knows it’s for our good. The things that we do for the master bring him glory and they also benefit us. So, in the simplest terms…the more opportunity to work for the master, the greater the blessing is for us. Those who come in at the 11th hour…the end of the day…still receive the same reward at the end, but they can never make up for all the missed opportunity to work for the master. They sit idle and are not blessed by their labor for the master.
What an opportunity it is to be able to work with young people, who are still in the first hour of their lives. If our focus is glorifying God and advancing His kingdom, we should be actively pursuing those who have the greatest opportunity to commit themselves to the master’s work…. none better than those in the first hour of life!
2- Those who join the work in the first hour will have greater potential for more long lasting impact on the vineyard. Not only are they able to do more work for the master, but the quality of their work will, at the end of the day, be better. A worker who has been trained up from the beginning will become skilled and useful. Their habits, thoughts, and efforts will be tailored to maximum effectiveness for their master. But the laborer who joins at the end of the day, while still being able to contribute, will be limited and hindered.
Not only do they have less time to work and develop the necessary skills (maturity) to contribute in the same ways as a worker who came in the first hour, they will be hindered by all the extra time committed to tasks that aren’t from the master. All the idleness won’t be useful in equipping them or preparing them for the task. They will have to unlearn bad habits, laziness, and unproductive thoughts to commit themselves to the real work of the master. Of course, God is wonderful, and even the lazy worker who has come in the last hour will be rewarded and can be useful…in spite of missing the benefit of working for the whole day and the usefulness that comes with training and growing up in the task.
A real life practical example I’m living through is…. Learning Spanish! I can learn new languages…. I’m sure of it! But I’m hindered by two primary things that will never allow me to learn a new language as well as a child. Numero uno… my pride inhibits my ability to practice enough to learn quickly, and numero dos… years of training my mouth to move in certain ways will ensure that I’ll always have an accent. My son, as he learns Spanish, doesn’t have these same problems…at least in the same way I do. He practices freely because he hasn’t let his pride grow like mine, and his pronunciation is better because he’s only spoken his first language for a few years. I think the same principle is true with the effectiveness of the worker in the vineyard. How much better it is to come and be trained up in the work in the first hour, instead of the 11th hour!
It seems like it would be much better for the master to gather all the workers in the first hour, but who are we, as servants to question the plans and generosity of the master, who always knows what is best. Although not explicitly stated in the parable, research has shown that most laborers for the Lord, those who are chosen and called to the work, come in the first hour. In fact, an overwhelming majority comes in the first hour, while only a small percentage comes in the last hour.
No matter when we come, a few truths are important to remember. We come because first, the master came to us. Regardless of the hour, we stood idle, doing nothing. Our impulse to join in the work came from the call of our master.
Secondly, when we come, regardless of the hour, early or late, we are to come as those who come in the first hour. Come like children – “unless you change and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of God.”
I believe the best way to spend our lives is by pouring into children, but it’s also the most difficult for many people. Probably impossible to prove in any quantitative way, as I’m sure it is difficult to minister to unreached indigenous populations, and others entrenched in sin and damning religious traditions, etc. But many languish in the work with children and look for greener pastures – ministries that are more fulfilling.
It’s true that most Christians come to saving faith early in their lives, but as those leading children to faith we often don’t value it as much as leading an adult to faith. The angels may rejoice over one sinner that repents, but often times for us, if that sinner is a child, its viewed as a half victory. But if our grown neighbor came to faith then we’d be more inclined to let loose and celebrate with the angels in heaven. I’m guilty of it and I believe many more working with children are as well. Its wrong, and its prompted by sin.
There are a couple reasons why we fall into this sin:
1- We doubt the sincerity of their faith. We look at their youthfulness and their simplicity of thinking and think about all the things they don’t know, and then we judge them. With their lack of wisdom, intelligence, experiences, and lack of everything compared to us, can they possibly have the same saving faith that we have??? Of course they can!!
The master calls to work many in the first hour of the day. Additionally, scripture supports the reality that our intelligence and world wisdom doesn’t somehow increase the likelihood of finding true saving faith. If anything, it hinders it (1 Cor 1:19). We aren’t to look at young believers who have supernaturally been given saving faith, and judge them. We are to look at young believers, and simply be like them – humble, obedient, and believing. Who is more likely to profess a faith that isn’t true and genuine, a child or an adult? Scripture paints a clear picture that it’s the latter not the former. See the life of the Pharisees.
2 – The second reason we fall into this sin is because, often, we don’t get as much satisfaction out of a child coming to faith as we do an adult. We value a lost soul differently than God. The angels rejoice over the repentance of any sinner, regardless of the hour they’ve come to the vineyard, because they know that God values every soul with unlimited and eternal worth. It is no greater victory to win an adult to Christ than it is to win a child. As I mentioned before, while the souls are of immeasurable value, there is clearly no comparison in which can potentially contribute the most to the work of the kingdom.
What a blessing it is to be a teacher, to work with children, and to every day tell them about Jesus!!
– Casey Herring, founder of GEM
Casey and Meg Herring met overseas in Brazil while serving as teachers. They fell in love, got married, and now have two precious sons, Oliver and Elijah, and a baby girl Adelyn Grace. Casey received a B.S. in Secondary Education from Western Oregon University and an M.S. in Global and International Education from Drexel University. He has 13 years of teaching and leadership experience. Casey is currently serving as the CEM Director in Mexico.
A Life That Demands A Gospel Explanation
About two years ago, God used a simple question to revolutionize how I desired to live: “Do you live in such a way that demands a Gospel explanation?” – Jeff Vanderstelt.
This question led me to reflect on my life up until that point. Did my words or actions demand a Jesus explanation? In other words, when people looked at my life, did it look like the rest of the world, or did my life reflect the radical love and joy that is found in Jesus?
This is an excellent question for all of us to ponder: Does the way I live demand a Gospel explanation? When people look at our life, do they see a life that conformed to the world’s ways or a life transformed through faith and obedience to Jesus?
I often ask myself – “What is the primary motivation for my life? Am I motivated by happiness, comfort, safety, material possessions or am I compelled by the command of my Lord?”
Think about this: Jesus lived a life that demanded an explanation. He claimed to be God! That’s a statement that demands some kind of explanation. His life did not make sense to this world and neither should ours. His life, death, and resurrection demands an explanation. Either he was who he said he was, or it was all a lie.
So what does all of this mean for us? In order to know how to live, we must learn from Jesus.
Jesus, Our Perfect Example.
“who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Philippians 2:6-8.
If we endeavor to live our lives in such a way as to demand a gospel explanation, the first place to start is to look to Jesus. He sets the pace for us.
From the very beginning, he came to earth understanding that His mission was all about obedience to His father. He knew that he was going to be arrested, tortured, and persecuted (Matthew 26:56) to fulfill the scriptures. Because sin had entered the world, God sent His son so that we could live in the freedom of His grace. He came caring the burden of humanity’s sin to the cross so that all people have the ability to know the freedom found in Christ. He came with no purpose of His own; rather, He came to serve us that we could have life (Mark 10:45).
His entire life was lived to bring glory to his father and to provide freedom for all of humanity. Jesus, fully human and fully God, lived a perfect life not on His on will, but on the will of His Father (John 6:38) He is the perfect example for us. Not only did Jesus claim to have all authority (Matthew 28:18), his life revealed this to be true. His life and ministry was spent in submission to the Father ultimately so that all humanity could have life through his death and resurrection.
Just as Jesus did, we are called to reorient our lives around God our Father. We are to act and live in the same way as His example for us.
Servants of Jesus: A Gospel-Sent People
“Again Jesus said, “Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.” And with that he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit.” – John 20:21-22
Jesus did not only send his disciples. Jesus did not only send pastors, church leaders, deacons, the more spiritual people, or missionaries. Jesus sent every person regardless of race, color, gender, or economic status. Not only has He sent us, but He has sent us with the Holy Spirit to guide us into all of life. We are a people sent with the good news of the Gospel to proclaim Him all over the world.
Because Jesus is our perfect example of a servant, we serve in the same way. We don’t serve others to get recognition, but we serve to make much of Jesus in our lives. We don’t need the approval of man, because God has already approved us as his righteous children. Therefore, we serve as people who are free.
1 Peter 2:16 tells us, “Live as people who are free, not using your freedom as a cover-up for evil, but living as servants of God.”
Our motivation comes from what we have received in Jesus. We can love unconditionally because we have been loved much. So how do we apply this to our lives?
Prayerful Application
How do we live such a way that demands a Gospel explanation? In other words, how can we live that would lead people to wonder what is different about our lives?
I want to give 3 practical ways that will lead us to live out our identity as dearly loved children who live in the joy and freedom of Christ.
1. Head: Remind yourself of the incredible gift of God’s grace that you have received every day. Preach it to yourself, and meditate on the truth of the Gospel early in the morning and before you go to sleep. Let it be in your mind all day.
2. Heart: Pray and ask God to let these truths you are meditating on sink into your heart. Jesus said to ask Him what we need in His name and He will give it. Give thanks to Jesus daily for the cross and the freedom we have in His grace. Think about your time before Christ and how He has radically changed your desires and have given you a hope that will never fail.
3. Hands: The scripture teaches that out of the overflow of the heart, the mouth speaks. As we begin to meditate the truths of the Gospel, the truths will sink into our heart and overflow into action. Peter and John said, “For we cannot stop speaking about all we have seen and heard” (Acts 4:20), referring to the power of the Gospel to transform lives. They were so passionate about Jesus that they couldn’t stop talking about it.
It is impossible to live a life the demands a Gospel explanation without the Spirit at work in our lives. As we strive to live in obedience to Jesus, may we never stop meditating on the truth of the Gospel and praying for these truths to continually transform our hearts to action.
Daniel Mcdonald graduated from Liberty University with a B.S. in Communication (2011) and a Master’s of Divinity in Evangelism and Church Planting (2014). He is serving as the Director of Communication for GEM, while his wife, Kristen, serves as the 4th-grade teacher. Above all, they desire to make disciples by making Jesus known in Puerto and around the world.
Running Free
One of my biggest struggles has always been finding myself stuck in a routine. To a certain degree, life will always have a bit of a routine. I always teach Math first, Science is always filled with sweaty faces after recess, and Itzel never fails to bring me an apple on Tuesdays. And I love knowing these things. I love feeling confident in what will happen, in how (usually) my plans for the day are always carried through.
Then sometimes a feeling of restlessness takes over my heart. A yearning for new. For experiences and places that I have never known. This feeling could be simply a human desire, growing bored or unsatisfied so quickly with the gifts God has given us in the here and now.
Or maybe these new experiences and places are not so far from the here and now as I had thought.
This morning I awoke with the sun on a gift of a Friday with no school. I instantly felt that dread of a routine day. Knowing that I would start with a run, I laced up my shoes and set off. At the bottom of our hill, where I always turn right and head to the beach, I ran into a fellow teacher and his growing band of bike riders. He told me they were going on a road that seemed to have no end, a road that eventually ran parallel with the river, and was filled with great views. A few minutes of small talk later and I was headed back onto my routine for the day (because if I’m honest new things make me hesitate at first).
One minute late something stopped me. Whether it was the Holy Spirit, or the threatening chicken just ahead, I’m not so sure, but something made me turn around. Turn around and do something different…and a little bit outside of my comfort zone.
I was SO blessed.
Those hard steps became a worship to the Creator of my body. The dreaded and just get this over with attitude changed into an experience I didn’t want to end. My thoughts turned into prayers, my heart became filled with love, and my morning became a glimpse of how Jesus desires to pursue His children (yes, endorphins could have played a part as well).
I laughed with a woman as I showed my white girl fear of two goats (I’m still sure they were ready to charge), I was completely in love as I ran on dirt roads with a mountain view, and my desire to pursue God was renewed.
So maybe today it could be a small decision to turn left on a run instead of right. Or to not avoid that small conversation with a neighbor. Or even just to pray for someone that is hard to love. All I know is that those small decisions…those can change our hearts…those can make us feel nervous and uncomfortable…those can bring amazing experiences…those can bring glory to God.
Sarah Quigg graduated from Liberty University in 2015 with a B.S. in Special Education. She loves running and growing closer to God while exploring His creation! We are so happy to have her on the team, teaching 5th grade. This is her second year at the Manantial School in Mexico.
So Worth It
Ruined – A Brief Reflection On Isaiah 6:1-7
ISAIAH 6:1-7
In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and the train of his robe filled the temple. Above him stood the seraphim. Each had six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. And one called to another and said:“
“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts;
the whole earth is full of his glory!”
the whole earth is full of his glory!”
And the foundations of the thresholds shook at the voice of him who called, and the house was filled with smoke.
And I said: “Woe is me! For I am ruined; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts!”
Then one of the seraphim flew to me, having in his hand a burning coal that he had taken with tongs from the altar. And he touched my mouth and said: “Behold, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away, and your sin atoned for.”
This passage is one of the most striking passages to me in the whole Bible. It reminds me of my smallness and my frailty. It speaks of my total inability to make myself right before pure holiness.
A VISION OF TOTAL PERFECTION
Notice the progression in the text as Isaiah has a throne-room vision of God. What he sees utterly terrifies him – God is high and lifted up, the train of his robe fills the temple. He is beyond comprehension. We get no description of God other than him sitting on a throne high and lifted up and the train of his robe filling the temple, and his total, perfect holiness. In the vision, he sees and hears angelic creatures crying out, “Holy, holy, holy.” In ancient Hebrew literature, a word used three times consecutively carries greater force and gives that word the highest meaning it can possibly carry. So what these angelic beings are saying is that God is supremely holy. None can match the supremacy of his holiness. Basically, God’s holiness means his “otherness” in that it is uniquely distinct from all creation. He is set apart. He is “not us.” John Piper says of God’s holiness, “His holiness is what he is as God which no one else is or ever will be. Call it his majesty, his divinity, his greatness, his value as the pearl of great price.”
THE ONLY RESPONSE
Isaiah sees a glimpse of God’s absolute holiness and he finds himself utterly devastated. He is ruined by a glimpse of the only perfect, holy, glorious, eternal God. He cries out, “Woe is me!” which is a funeral dirge over the dead. He recognizes that he is utterly, totally devastated. He makes this plain by crying out “I am ruined!” The Hebrew word Isaiah uses for ruined here is dâmâh. It’s a verb that could mean “to be silent” or “to be cut off/destroyed.” However he is using the word, it’s clear to the reader that Isaiah feels a profound sense of dread in the presence of a holy God. He is utterly ruined because he realizes that God is totally holy, perfect, and pure, and that he is by comparison unclean, impure, and sinful. Andrew Bartelt rightly says, “a sinner before the holy God can only cry out in despair.” That’s exactly what Isaiah does.
A scene from The Chronicles of Narnia is helpful in understanding God’s holiness. Speaking of whether or not Aslan (the lion who represents Jesus) is safe, Mr. Beaver says,
“Safe?” said Mr. Beaver; “don’t you hear what Mrs. Beaver tells you? Who said anything about safe? ‘Course he isn’t safe.
But he’s good.
He’s the King, I tell you.”
God is not safe. He is not akin to a nice old man in a white robe sitting on a throne, listening to harp-playing, nude, child-angels. When the Seraphim called out to one another, the foundations of the thresholds shook. The whole place shook. What Isaiah saw ruined him. It changed him.
RUINED FOR YOUR JOY
John Piper says God’s glory is “the public display of the infinite beauty and worth of God…the radiance of his holiness – the radiance of his manifold, infinitely worthy and valuable perfections.” Isaiah saw the radiance of God’s holiness and it shook him to the core. He recognized in that moment that he was a ruined sinner. Because God is not safe and because he is so utterly holy, Isaiah knew that he was undone. The text goes on to explain how God made atonement for Isaiah. Rather than Isaiah trying to clean himself off and make himself presentable to the king of the universe, God himself made a way for Isaiah to be purified. God had made a way for Isaiah to be in his presence that did’t involve Isaiah dying.
This passage teaches us something profound – a right vision of God’s supreme glory will ruin you. When you encounter the holiest being in the universe, the only response is to cry out with Isaiah, “I am ruined, for I am a sinner!” Yet we can rejoice along with Isaiah that in the moment we see his glory, and our sin, we are able to rightly grasp the magnitude of his grace for us in Christ Jesus! Just as Isaiah was purified through God’s appointed means, Jesus is the means by which we are declared righteous before a holy God. Jesus alone. Jesus is the appointed means by which a holy God and a sinful man may meet. He is our only hope, and it is for this reason that God’s ruining glory is also our eternal joy – because in it we find the sweetest of grace in Jesus. By being ruined we are made whole. By having a vision of the grandeur of God so large that we can never hope to attain right-standing with him, we are ready to receive the grace of God through faith in Jesus alone. God’s glory ruins our meager attempts to work our way into right standing; it compels us to rest, to trust in his grace. God’s glory ruins our petty attempts to find satisfaction in lesser pursuits, because one cannot exhaust his delights and his goodness. God’s glory ruins and devastates our pride and postures us to walk in humility. God’s glory ruins our insecurity, because we stand confident in the cleansing work that he has done on our behalf. God’s glory utterly ruins us, and the result is a harvest of eternal joy.
Think about that – God devastates us for OUR JOY! His glory, the manifestation of his holiness, utterly ruins us, leading us to cling to our only hope – Jesus. And when we cling to him, when we trust in him and treasure him, we find greater joy than we could have ever imagined.
Thomas Watson, a puritan author, once wrote, “Till sin be bitter, Christ will not be sweet.”
I would push that and say, “Till God be glorious, sin will not be bitter.” But once we see a right vision of a holy God, we see with stunning clarity the depth and magnitude of our sin. Only then will we find the magnitude of his grace for us in Christ Jesus so very sweet.
A right vision of God’s glory will cause our hearts to sing with the apostle Paul,
“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him. In love, He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, which He freely bestowed on us in the Beloved. In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace which He lavished on us…” -Ephesians 1:3-7
Let us pray each morning with renewed passion for God to open our eyes to his stunning glory and for a heart to receive him and exult in him. My prayer for the Church is that we see God’s glory in such a way that it devastates our sin and yields the fruit of repentance and joy!
Daniel Mcdonald graduated from Liberty University with a B.S. in Communication (2011) and a Master’s of Divinity in Evangelism and Church Planting (2014). He is serving as the Director of Communication for GEM, while his wife, Kristen, serves as the 4th-grade teacher. Above all, they desire to make disciples by making Jesus known in Puerto and around the world. To read more posts on Daniel’s personal blog, click here.
Oaxaca Teacher Strikes: The Simple Truth
Oh, Oaxaca…an amazing state, with amazing people…but also with so many problems. Oaxacans are known for their fighting spirit and passion. Some of Mexico’s greatest heroes have come from Oaxaca….most notable being the revered President Benito Juarez. Right now, the only news coming from this incredible place is about the militant teachers marching on the streets instead of teaching in their classrooms. Teachers are on strike in Oaxaca, Mexico….again.
It’s happened at some point every year, for the last 30 years. The radical teachers union, named CNTE, has mobilized itself this year in protest of educational reforms that were passed 3 years ago. It seems the teachers are most interested in having performance evaluations repealed. To pressure the government, the CNTE has set up dozens of blockades around the southern states, shutting down commercial traffic on major highways. As a result, businesses are losing money, tourism has essentially stopped, and everyone is running out of basic supplies. In Puerto Escondido, the local gas stations were closed for two weeks. The teachers have also taken over the main square, named the Zocalo, in Oaxaca City.
The government has been in talks with the CNTE, but no progress has been made on the main sticking points. Sadly the protests have turned violent. Two weeks ago 8 protesters were killed and dozens of police and protesters were injured when the police tried to break up a blockade.
As the violence has started to make international news, we’ve been flooded with emails and calls. Are you safe? Do you have gas? Is it safe to travel there? Are the roads closed? All very good questions.
When you talk to people here, most diplomatically claim, “It’s a complex” issue.” In some ways, that’s true. It is complex. There is a lot of history, a lot of stories and lots of different components to the issue. But at the same time, it’s also very simple. At its core, the violence, closed schools and roads aren’t really about teacher tests or abuses by the government. It’s about sin. It’s about pride that pollutes our minds and hearts and convinces us we deserve better than what we got.
It is Satan, the great deceiver and liar, who wants this to be a complicated messy issue. But when the violence stops, the accusations and threats cease, and the teachers go home, what is left is the core simplicity of the issue. It will all be repeated…as it has every year for the last 30 years…if the rebel heart isn’t surrendered to Jesus.
From the outside, for those getting their info from news reports, it probably looks really dark here. Violence, unrest, danger, and darkness – but the truth is that the Son is still shining! The teacher protests and unrest have opened new doors for the gospel and God will use this to glorify Himself. GEM moved into Puerto Escondido and opened a school with the hope of serving the community and building bridges for the gospel. When we came here 3 years ago, the teachers were protesting. Our office was flooded with people, mostly non-Christians, who were desperate for their children to receive an education. Many of those kids have become a part of our school ministry and have heard the gospel taught each day in our classrooms. Now, 3 years later, we are again flooded by parents desperate for help. From the outside, it may look like sin and evil has won the day, but the reality is different. God is pulling people to our ministry and ultimately to himself, and he’s allowing the sin of others to be the driving force. No matter how out of control it may appear to be or how dark the situation, God is always in control and the gospel is always advancing!
Pray for our state and the people here who are impacted by the strikes. Pray that blind eyes will be opened to where the true rebellion occurs and that many will surrender their lives to Jesus. Pray also for GEM as we serve those around us and try to shine the love of Jesus in everything we do.
– Casey Herring, Founder of GEM
MARRIAGE, MEXICO, AND MINEFIELDS: THE JOY OF FOLLOWING JESUS INTO THE UNKNOWN
“God is so vastly wonderful, so utterly and completely delightful that He can, without anything other than Himself, meet and overflow the deepest demands of our total nature, mysterious and deep as that nature is.” – A.W. Tozer
CHANGE: WRESTLING WITH THE UNKNOWN
If there is one thing in my life that I consistently struggle with, it’s changed.
Six years ago, I moved away from my family in south Georgia for college in Virginia. At the time I was 21 years old. I had never been away from my family for more than 2 months. Moving away was incredibly frightening. In my case, change meant moving 8 hours away from friends that I had invested in over 21 years of my life. Change meant a lot of new, uncertain things in my life. For a person used to safety and comfort, this was very difficult. It meant that I was moving into a new setting where I was the outsider, the new kid. Yet, I knew God was leading me away from where I had been for 21 years to grow and live independently from my family. What I didn’t know at the time was that change was soon to become the mantra of my life. I had no idea that God was going to use the thing I hated the most to shape and refine me, day-by-day, moment-by-moment.
Tim Chester says, “Change is a lifelong, daily struggle that will end with an eternal harvest of holiness.”
God uses change in our lives, good and bad, to refine us and shape us into the image of Jesus, bringing us into fuller joy.
REDEEMING THE UNKNOWN
In my own life, God has used change in several ways to shape and refine me. In college, I was forced to stand on my own. I was taught through the unknown transition into adulthood that God can be trusted in all circumstances. Because of my experiences in college I came to understand the church with deeper clarity and conviction. I learned that God does not only intend for us to show up once a week to a building to hear his word preached but that the church is his body – a people redeemed by Jesus sent into the world to be his witnesses. I learned that the church isn’t a place at all – it’s a people. I learned that God calls me to worship every single day, not just on Sundays. I learned that the church is this messy, broken, redeemed, beautiful, healed people trying to live in light of the truth and that we have been declared righteous by God through faith in Jesus.
God was also revealing to me that discipleship was much more than just one on one meeting or a bible study. Rather, discipleship is submitting all of our lives to the Lordship of Jesus. Jeff Vanderstelt writes,
“Discipleship—learning to follow, trust, and obey Jesus in the everyday stuff of life—requires submitting to and obeying God’s Word in three key environments: life on life, where our lives are visible and accessible to one another; life in community, where more than one person is developing another; and life on mission, where we experience making disciples and, while doing so, come to realize how much we need God’s power.”
Ultimately God used my time in Lynchburg to grow me and help me to see the beauty of who Jesus is and who He is making me to be. I have found Proverbs 16:9 to be fittingly and sometimes frustratingly true – “The heart of man plans his way, but the Lord establishes his steps.”
MARRIAGE
Recently, another life change occurred: I married my beautiful wife, Kristen. Marriage, more than anything else, has already been one of the most difficult, joyful, sanctifying realities in my life.
God’s grace is at work, transforming us as we navigate these recent changes together.
Marriage is messy. My wife sees my life for what it is and I see the same in her. This is what makes it so amazing! God is in the works of changing us—through marriage—to His likeness.
Paul Tripp reminds us that God uses spouses as tools of change.
“When your ears hear and your eyes see the sin, weakness, or failure of your husband or wife, it is never an accident; it is always grace. God loves your spouse, and he is committed to transforming him or her by his grace, and he has chosen you to be one of his regular tools of change.”
God is redeeming the difficulties in marriage to transform us. He is using our transition into marriage as a means of changing us. He is using the sin, brokenness, selfishness, and mess as tools of change for the sake of His name.
MEXICO
When Kristen and I were dating, we often dreamed of what our future would look like, where we would be, and who we would be serving. We had plans to settle in Virginia (quite comfortably) for a season before we would eventually move to Portland, Oregon to be a part of a church planting team for the sake of Jesus’ name being made known in the Pacific Northwest. However, God had different plans. Again, Proverbs 16:9,
“The heart of man plans his way, but the Lord establishes his steps.”
My wife was recently attending a local fair for teaching jobs when one particular school seemed to stand out. This school is called Centro Educativo el Manantial (CEM). This is not your normal, American public school. This is an English immersion school that is found in Puerto Escondido, Mexico. It was started by an organization called Global Education Ministries. When Kristen first told me about this, I remember thinking, “there is no way we are moving to Mexico!” Why would I want to go to Mexico? We already had a great plan! We had a safe plan. We had a comfortable plan. We had a plan that required minimal change. We would stay put for a couple of years and then move to Portland.
So we prayed. And prayed. And we sought wise council and deliberated with friends. Finally, after much consideration, wisdom, and prayer, we can say with confidence that the Lord is leading us to follow Him to a country neither of us knows, in an area we are unfamiliar with, and in a way we never could have expected. Six months after being married, we are about to embark on the biggest adventure of our lives. Here is what we are learning – God calls us into unfamiliar situations that require us to obey and trust in His faithfulness.In light of all of this, we have committed to two years in Puerto Escondido, Mexico for the Glory of His Name! We are very excited about how the Lord will use this in our lives to grow us, mold us, draw us closer to Him. We are equally excited to see how He uses us to lift up the name of Jesus in Mexico!
PURSUING JESUS IN THE MINEFIELDS OF CHANGE
If there was going to be anything I’ve learned through all these changes it is this: Jesus is worthy of all our time, possessions, decisions, and personal desires. Psalm 103:2-5 gives us a beautiful picture of our God and who He is to us.
“Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits, who forgives all your iniquity, who heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit, who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy, who satisfies you with good so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.”
Nothing else in this world will give the satisfaction that Jesus offers. He is good and there is no one like Him. We were created by and for Him. It doesn’t matter if you are living in the states or in another country, God desires that you seek him with your whole heart. He has given his church a command: to make disciples of all nations. Therefore, all of us have a mission and that mission is to love and serve your neighbors, co-workers, classmates, roommates, spouses, and those you encounter on a daily basis. That mission may lead us into uncomfortable situations and deep into the unknown, but there is so much joy in following Him. Hebrews 12:2 says, “For the joy set before Him, He endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” If Jesus, in joy, endured the cross, how much more can we, with joy, seek Him and follow Him wherever he leads us? He is our joy, our treasure, our hope.
There are a lot of unknowns when it comes to moving to Mexico. Where are we going to live? How are we going to raise enough money? What are we going to do with all of our stuff? It can be overwhelming thinking about all of these logistics, but there is beauty in following Jesus into these unknowns.
The less we know about our specific plans, the more we will be able to trust in God’s promises to keep and guide us. We have nothing to hold onto except for Jesus. What a joy it is to trust in His promises to take care of us!
God’s word tells us to follow Him regardless of the cost. Following Jesus will most likely take us through minefields of change. This means, we never know when some kind of change will happen in our life. We will continue to encounter change — sometimes to the extent to moving to another country. This will be a constant reality for the rest of our lives. The good news is – we can walk through minefields of change with an understanding that God is worthy of our trust. His name is worthy of our lives, regardless of the cost.
Daniel graduated from Liberty University with a B.S. in Communication (2011) and a Master’s of Divinity in Evangelism and Church Planting (2014). He will be serving as the Director of Communication for GEM. Kristen graduated in May 2016 with a B.S. in Elementary Education and will serve as the 4th-grade teacher at the Manantial School. They enjoy playing sports, eating good food with friends, and exploring with their wonderdog, Nala. Above all, they desire to make disciples by making Jesus known in Puerto and around the world. To read more posts on Daniel’s personal blog, click here.