Looking BACK…

I can hardly believe how quickly the past eight years have passed.

In 2001, I came to Scotland for 3 months. I’m still here.

It started as a short sabbatical for study. I went to International Christian College to pursue some further learning, and I fell in love with Scotland.

I soon returned to finish a degree in theology, with a speciality in Cross-Cultural Ministries. While I was here, I also worked with Riverside Gospel Church in Kirkintilloch from 2003 to 2005. We experienced a time of great blessing during those years. The church about doubled in size, but more importantly a lot of new people came to know Jesus Christ in a real and personal way. I also made a lot of wonderful friends, both at Riverside and at the college, who will always be important to me.

After I finished my degree in 2005, I soon went back to America for a year to preach in missions across the States, as well as in other countries. But Scotland soon called me back…

In 2006, I came back and led the launching of a new church in Moodiesburn. In the next two and a half years, I experienced all kinds of amazing adventures. Working in a rough town, I met all kinds of people…from hardened criminals to sweet little old ladies…and made friends with them all. The church here got off to a wonderful start, and it is now opening up a beautiful new coffee house for the community, the first and only safe place for people to hang out in Moodiesburn.

In addition to the degree and the churches here, I also got to be part of a wonderful team of people who were pioneering the first full-time radio station in Scotland, which started about the same time we started the new church in Moodiesburn. Together with Graeme Adams, who is also the worship leader in Moodiesburn, I had a lot of great times doing our program, “Nothing Is Impossible,” on Revival FM.

I also started an Iranian men’s group and developed a wonderful relationship with the people at Glasgow Iranian Church, where I will be speaking again this Sunday afternoon.

There were plenty of trips away from Scotland during this time as well. During the same time frame, I had the privilege of helping to launch a number of new churches in Tanzania and also training church-planters in Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda and Rwanda. The work there also branched out during this time to help many of the churches to start practical work in their communities, making it possible for the communities to grow corn, raise cattle, raise chickens, etc, and thus helping people rise above poverty. We also saw thousands of people come to know God in a real and personal way.

Then there was India in 2006. That was amazing. We saw thousands come to know Christ and had the privilege of taking part in one of the most amazing movements I’ve ever seen.

In addition to all the work, however, I have been particularly blessed with a number of amazing friendships here in Scotland. God has blessed me with the opportunity of knowing some of the most amazing people I have ever met and establishing friendships that I know will last for life.

Of course, the most special of those friendships was with Karen Bell, who became Karen Lewis recently when the two of us were married. We are very happy together and are looking forward to the next phase of our life-adventure in México.

Karen and I are getting ready to leave Scotland this May. Our plan is to spend some time with my family in America, whilst also getting ready to start a new work in México very soon. Before we move to México at the end of the year, however, we also plan to be a part of some amazing works in Africa, Spain and America.

So it looks like it’s going to be an exciting year.

I’m leaving Scotland, but I’m also taking part of Scotland with me. This nation has changed me, and Scotland will always be a part of me. Besides, my wife is Scottish.

And who knows when Scotland may call me back again.

Exclusive Christians?!

One of Jesus’ disciples, John, once said to Jesus:

“Teacher, we saw a man driving out demons in your name and we told him to stop, because he was not one of us.” — Mark 9:38

Now, how do you think Jesus responded? Many Christians today, had they been in Jesus’ place, would have said, “Good! We must make sure that our name doesn’t get associated with that man. After all, he isn’t part of our organization, and the fact is, his statement of faith might have some variances with the one we’ve got published on our website.”

But what did Jesus say? He said, “Do not stop him. No one who does a miracle in my name can in the next moment say anything bad about me, for whoever is not against us is for us. I tell you the truth, anyone who gives you a cup of water in my name because you belong to Christ will certainly not lose his reward.” — Mark 9: 39-41

Amazing, isn’t it? He didn’t even say, “Bring him to me and have him share his detailed statement of faith so that we can make sure we share the exact same view regarding the end times.” Instead, he indicated clearly that anybody who was spreading his name was acceptable in his sight.

In the world today, we have way too many “exclusive” Christians. Why is it that some Christian churches and organizations will refuse to associate with each other just because they are not “one of us?” Do they realize that when they take this stance they are playing into the devil’s hands?

I am convinced that one of the enemy’s favourite tools is found in the attitude of the Christians who exclude one another and refuse to see each other as members of the same body. Do we agree on every single point? No. But do we agree on what really matters? If we agree about who Jesus is and what he has done for us, then we are supposed to see each other as brothers and sisters in Christ.

Christians who refuse to see each other as part of the same team serve as terrible witnesses for Christ and a great excuse for the world to stay away. The very word “Christian” means “Christ-follower.” If we are truly going to follow Christ, it’s time we shared his philosophy in our relationship with one another: “Whoever is not against us is for us.”

Are you ruled by fear or faith?

I once knew a young lady who had an inspiring motto for her life:

“Fear is focus on myself —

Faith is focus on the Lord.”

How very true that statement is! Whenever we start to become fearful, we can be sure that we’ve got our eyes off of God and onto self. For a vivid biblical example, I think of Peter when he walked on water. As long as he had his eyes on Jesus, he could do anything! But as soon as he looked away and started focusing on the impossible situation that surrounded him — the storm, the waves, the impossibility of walking on the lake! — he began to sink.

Are you sinking? Could it be because you’ve stopped focusing on God and are instead focusing on the storms, the waves, and the impossibility of your situation? When you do that, of course, the problem isn’t really the storm or the waves, at least not from the perspective of faith! The real problem is that you are now depending on your own strength to deal with these things…it’s not that your eyes are on the circumstances so much as that your eyes are on YOU.

The more we focus on Jesus, the less room there is for fear. If we’re giving into fear and worry, we can count on it that our faith focus is off…we’re looking to self rather than God.

What are some signs of a fear focus rather than a faith focus? Answer the following questions with a yes or no, and perhaps the answer to that question will become more clear.

1. Do you spend more than an hour every day going over the same problems in your mind?
2. Do you spend a significant amount of time worrying about what other people are thinking of you, perhaps fearful that someone might be upset with you or not respect or love you as you would wish?
3. Do you spend half an hour or more every day worrying that you might contract a terrible disease or die suddenly?
4. Do you spend half an hour or more every day worrying that somebody you love might contract a terrible disease or die suddenly?
5. Do you spend a lot of time worrying about things you cannot change?
6. Do you spend a significant amount of time worrying about your work, college or church situations when you are not working or at college or church?
7. Do you spend more than an hour of each day worrying that you might have offended somebody?
8. Do you spend an hour or more a day worrying that you might not be saved or that you might go to hell?
9. Do you spend an hour or more each day worrying that God is not pleased with you?
10. Do you spend an hour or more each day feeling excessively guilty for sins that you’ve already asked God to forgive you for?

How many of the above did you answer “yes” to? If you said yes to 2 or less, fear is a problem for you, though only at the level of the average person. However, God can and wants to help you overcome all your fears.

If you answered yes to 3 to 5, you have a serious problem with fear and need to seek God’s help immediately! As a result of the fear, you are probably becoming more and more self-centred and incapable of noticing the good things God is doing in your life or of being much help or encouragement to others. In fact, you will probably find that people will become more and more uncomfortable being around you because your fear will cause you to become a negative and possibly even judgmental person.

If you answered yes to 6 or more, you have become almost totally driven by fear rather than faith!! I encourage you to follow the biblical steps we’re about to discuss, but I also urge you to seek counseling immediately! You have become so fear-driven that you will almost certainly need someone of strong faith who can help you and pray with you as you go through the steps to freedom.

However, wherever you are on the fear cycle, don’t despair! Don’t be afraid that you can never be free!!! God can deliver you from your fears.

Try spending more time praying, reading the Bible and focusing on positive things and less time worrying about stuff! Seek help from a good Christian friend who can pray for you and hold you accountable when you start to focus on fearful things instead of faith things. Take the Apostle Paul’s advice as well. He wrote:

“Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.” — Philippians 4: 4-9

Let’s notice a few steps he gives us in these verses:

• Rejoice

Even when there are things happening that you don’t like, God wants you to find something in your life you can rejoice about. It’s not always at easy, but perhaps following the next steps can help you to then come back and find your way to rejoicing as you focus on faith rather than fear.

• Worry about nothing; pray about everything

The Bible actually commands us not to worry, and yet it’s one of those things pretty much all of us spend a lot of time doing! How do we not worry? Well, first of all, we must learn to replace worry with prayer. If all I do is focus on not worrying, I’ll just worry more! It’s like if somebody says to me, “Don’t think about pink elephants.” The moment I try to not think of pink elephants, I’m thinking of pink elephants. However, if I can replace the thought of pink elephants with something else (green elephants maybe?), the pink elephants will eventually fade away.

The same is true with fear thinking. We can’t just sit there and say, “Don’t think about that thing you’re worrying about!” So what can we do? Paul said to pray about it. Instead of going round and round it in your mind, he says to talk to God about it. That’s one of the first steps to overcoming fearful thinking because instead of focusing the problem on self, which leads to fear, you are focusing on God, the object of faith.

• Be thankful

After we’ve committed it to God in prayer, we need to start transferring our thoughts to something else. If we just keep praying about that thing we’re worrying about over and over and over again, our prayers can start to become just another vehicle for carrying our worries. Once we’ve prayed to God about it, we need to ask him to take our worry on board and help us to think about something else for awhile.

So what else should we think about? Instead of focusing on negative, fearful things, we need to think about what we can be thankful about. Years ago, somebody suggested to me that I think of three things from the day that I can be thankful for before I go to bed each day and thank God for those things. Doing so has helped me to remember that, even in the most difficult of days, God is still there working, and it has helped me to focus more on the positive things God is doing as I come to him in thankfulness.

Are you focusing on fears about things that worry you? Think of three things you can thank God for and start praying about those; praising God for his grace, help and provision in those things!!

• Let peace be your guard

Paul says that as we do these things, the peace of God that passes all understanding will guard our hearts and our minds in Christ Jesus. As you start developing the habit of committing your worries to God, ask him to guard your heart and mind with his peace. It’s like he puts a bouncer at the door of your heart and says to those negative thoughts: “This heart belongs to me! Stay away!” When we start focusing on the negative again, we may have to go through steps 1 to 3 all over again, but as we begin to form this habit we will discover ourselves finding more and more moments of peace in life, and less and less hours will be wasted with fearful thinking.

• Think about good things

Paul said to think about whatever is lovely and good. Ask God to help you focus your mind on something good that is happening around you. As you do, you will probably find there’s a lot of good in your life that you have been missing out on because you’ve been obsessing with negative, fearful thoughts. Start replacing fear-thinking with faith-thinking!

• Follow faith-examples

Paul said, “Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.” He urged the people to follow his examples and put the things they’ve learned from him into practice. He was a true man of faith, and if people would follow his example they would learn to be content in all circumstances, just as he had (see verse 11).

What faith-examples can you find to focus your mind on? Perhaps you could try reading the biographies of heroes of the faith or watching movies about their lives. Or you could find a mentor who models faith to you, whether it be somebody you know personally that you can meet with regularly, or a teacher or preacher you admire whose teaching can boost your faith and help keep your mind on course.

God doesn’t want you to live in fear! In fact, the command not to fear is the most commonly repeated command in all the Bible!!

No matter where we find yourself on the fear cycle, these steps given to us by the Apostle Paul can help you and me to become more faith-centred and less fearful.

Remember King David? He was in hiding and in grave danger when he wrote the following words:

“I sought the LORD, and he answered me;
he delivered me from all my fears.

Those who look to him are radiant;
their faces are never covered with shame.” — Psalm 34: 4-5

As long as our eyes are on self, fear will control our lives; but as we look to him, he desires to deliver us. Have you noticed how the face of a fear-filled person tends to look clouded? Well, according to David, when we look to him instead our faces are radiant! May God help us to shine for him as we give our fears to him and keep our eyes on Jesus! Lord God, deliver us from fear-thinking and transform us into faith-thinkers as we learn to look to you in all things!!!

Mastery of my own making

As I reflect on past busyness, I am reminded of the tendency of many different masters to dominate my life. The work has gone exceptionally well as I’ve seen so many people come to Christ and have seen great evidences of lives changed. But in my personal life I have allowed myself to spend way too much time worrying over the small things and letting those worries master me in ways they never should. And I suppose sometimes that I allow the work itself to become my master, which should never happen.

In 1691, a Japanese poet by the name of Bosho wrote the following words in his journal one day:

“It rains during the morning. No visitors today. I feel lonely and amuse myself by writing at random. These are the words:

Who mourns makes grief his master.

Who drinks makes pleasure his master.

The fact that Saigyo composed the poem that begins, ‘I shall be unhappy without loneliness,’ shows that he made loneliness his master.”

Now perhaps I am thinking way too deeply, but as I read those words the fact that really stuck in my mind was the reality that the things we dwell upon or depend too heavily upon in our lives become our masters. For example, if I focus on my worry, it masters me. If I focus on my fear, it masters me. If I focus on grief or pleasure, those things can master me too.

The Bible makes similar statements. The words in Ephesians 5:18, for example, can lead my mind to a similar thought as these words of the 17th century poet. “Do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery; but be filled with the Spirit.” In those words I see the idea of being controlled by what fills us. If we are filled with wine to the point of drunkenness, it takes control. If we are filled with the Spirit of God, and continually being filled with the Spirit (as the tense of the Greek in this verse actually indicates), then our lives will be controlled by Him and good will result.

What I’m personally being reminded of today is that what we focus on controls us. If we are obsessed with music, it has power over us. If we are obsessed with the internet, it can become our master. If we are obsessed with a relationship, it can become a controlling factor in our lives. And if we are obsessed with our own thoughts, they too can take over and obscure reality.

I recognise that sometimes I have allowed worry to master me. I have allowed my own worries to control me too much when sometimes the best thing to do is simply not to think about them and to focus my mind on something else. And sometimes I have allowed the balance in my life to go too far to over-focusing on my work, which results in my work mastering me instead of myself mastering the work. The most important key, of course, is focusing on my relationship with God. As I allow myself to be centred spiritually my mind becomes free to let only God be my master so that I can pursue all the activities of my life but never let them master me.

No-one can serve two masters…Lord, let it be that You and You alone will always be my only Master!