There is a particular quality to the air in a place that has been through fire. Not the romantic fire of a hearth or a campsite — but the kind that consumes entire cities, that levels what generations built, that leaves a landscape so altered it is almost unrecognizable to the people who once called it home. Vietnam knows that kind of fire. Walking through this country today — through the streets of cities that were once reduced to rubble, past a countryside that absorbed some of the heaviest bombardment in the history of modern warfare — you are walking through what came after. You are walking through the after-ashes.
And what you find is not what the logic of destruction would predict. You find life. You find rebuilding. You find a nation that absorbed one of the most devastating conflicts of the twentieth century — a war that consumed Americans and Vietnamese alike, that shattered families on both sides of the Pacific, that left an entire generation carrying wounds that no government program and no passage of time has ever fully healed — and kept going. The question that this place forces on every honest observer is not simply historical. It is profoundly personal. How does anything — a nation, a soul, a life — rise from ashes? What makes the difference between the ruins that stay ruins and the ruins that become something new?
There is a posture that God invites every believer into — and most of us spend our entire lives fighting it. Not because we are wicked or faithless, but because the world has trained us, from our very first breath, to grip things tightly. To scheme, to strive, to press, to worry, to manufacture outcomes through sheer force and anxiety. The world calls this wisdom. And it has produced in the hearts of God’s people a deep, chronic, soul-wearying strain that was never part of His original design for us.
Jesus said it plainly, without qualification, to people living in conditions far more precarious than most of us will ever face: “Do not worry about your life.” — Matthew 6:25.
There is a thread that runs through all of Scripture — a pattern so consistent that once you see it, you cannot unsee it. It is not the pattern the world expects. It is not the pattern even the religious establishment of any given era expected. It is this: God does not choose the way man chooses. He does not select the powerful, the credentialed, the connected, or the ones whose résumé impresses the room. He reaches past the inner circle, past the halls of influence, past the people who have built their identity on being in — and He finds the one standing at the edges. The outsider. And He changes the world through them.
Here is a hard truth that must be spoken: a large portion of the modern church has grown deeply, profoundly, tragically ashamed of the gospel. Not ashamed in so many words. No one stands at a pulpit and announces that they find the cross embarrassing. But the evidence is visible in what is preached — and far more in what is not. The blood of Christ has been quietly removed from the vocabulary of too many congregations. Sermons about sin, judgment, and hell have been replaced with messages designed to comfort, entertain, and above all, not offend. The thunderous warning from 2 Timothy is being fulfilled in real time: “For the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear.” — 2 Timothy 4:3.
The battle we face is not primarily political, social, or economic. It is not fought with weapons that can be seen or measured by human instruments. The conflict that defines the Christian life takes place in a realm invisible to the natural eye — a dimension where principalities and powers, thrones and dominions, wage war against the souls of mankind. Scripture pulls back the curtain on this invisible conflict with startling clarity in Ephesians that our struggle is “Not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places” — Ephesians 6:12. Notice the plural — not one enemy, but organized forces. Not localized skirmishes, but systemic warfare across a spiritual geography that spans “the heavenly places.” This is not a metaphor. This is not poetic language meant to inspire. This is literal spiritual reality. Every believer lives embedded in a war zone. Every decision, every prayer, every step of obedience either advances the kingdom of darkness or advances the kingdom of light. There is no neutrality. There is no middle ground. Jesus Himself confirmed this reality when He addressed the seventy disciples upon their return: “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven.” — Luke 10:18. The adversary was not defeated by human strategies or institutional power. He fell because of the authority delegated by Christ Jesus.
The Active Life
Idleness is the great killer of purpose. Idleness doesn't always appear in the form of slothfulness or lazy behavior, but instead, it is usually brought about because of a lack of challenge. In our modern society we have striven to remove challenges from our lives to the point we have reduced ourselves to a mass of bored individuals that are unfulfilled.
The Risk of Not Risking
Comfort is an alluring offer. Comfort and security can give us the things we are taught to want, but ultimately comfort holds us back from becoming or doing anything great. Risk is the only way we achieve our dreams, calling or any memorable feat in life. Risk goes hand and hand with faith, for without risking anything, your faith would not be coupled with action and thus, dead. Life is filled with risk, but the greatest risk of all is never taking a risk.
Decisiveness
Imagine life is like a river. The flow of time is the rush of water leading you towards your final destination. Along the way, there are tributaries and many different paths the river can take, but time is always leading you in one direction. Now, imagine you are in a raft on this river of life, and as the flow of time pushes you forward, you have to make choices as to which tributaries you will navigate. Some tributaries are safe and well charted, some are dangerous and unknown, but each major direction you choose will define your life.
The Company We Keep
This month, we would like to talk about the company a person keeps and how that company ultimately influences the person they become. Proverbs 27:17: “Iron sharpens iron, and one man sharpens another.”
We are the sum of all the intimate friends we interact with in life. Our thought process, our actions, and our lifestyle all derive from the circle of friends we choose. The source of your beliefs and thoughts are greatly influenced by those around you, for better or for worse.
Mastering Your Problems
Often times, for most people, life boils down to a series of problems. These problems are carried around in people’s hearts and minds like a lead weight and can destroy their health, finances, and spiritual life. Problems can be as simple as dealing with daily tasks, and as complicated as combating a serious illness. Think about your life for a moment — from the waking in the morning to the wee hours of the night you are probably thinking about how to fix a problem. You might have a reprieve from time to time, but let’s be honest, most of us are constantly beset with concerns on how to fix our problems. Problems that are common amongst people are: creating enough income to support their family, paying off debts, finding time to stay healthy (working out, eating right, etc...), conflicts with other people, breaking bad habits, making meals, shopping for food, and on and on it goes.
Value of the Word
There are many steps one can follow to bettering their life. No matter if it is diet, habits, time management or anything else, there is a system that can be easily found and followed because of our access to information. The internet and the free society we live in gives us unparalleled knowledge at our fingertips. We can search and discover any subject without leaving our home by browsing the internet. Now in contrast, let’s look at a time in history when information, especially information about God, did not flow so freely. The story ahead will encourage a strong value of the Word of God while also highlighting the need to follow the simple practice of reading the Bible and knowing God personally.
Hope Deferred
We live in a society and world that constantly robs us of our hope. People everywhere are deferring their hopes, dreams, and purpose in life to live according to a formula that society presses upon us. In Proverbs 13:12 it says, “Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a dream fulfilled is a tree of life.” How often have you wished for a different path in life? Or regretted the choices you made to get to where you are now?
Less is More
Most people don’t know it, but the more material objects a person obtains, the more that person becomes enslaved. In our society today we are taught to have more of everything, but the unintended consequences is slavery to a system that cannot bring true happiness. In fact, the more one gathers of material items the more stress and unrest a person will feel in life.
The God Type of Heart: Part Three - Jesus. In parts one and two we highlighted David and Moses, who both had The God Type of Heart, and this month, we would like to conclude the series with the ultimate example of The God Type of Heart - Jesus. Really, the title for this letter should be The God Heart, because Jesus is God and was before the foundation of the world. He is the example of the perfect man and the One we should all fix our eyes upon. His walk on earth was pure and without blemish and He lived life without sin. The good news is we can receive the same Holy Spirit and overwhelmingly conquer in Him. Let’s examine a few aspects of Jesus life and find wisdom in His actions.
Part Two: Moses — Moses grew up in a time where his people, the Hebrews, were oppressed by the Egyptians. His life was suppose to end at birth. The Egyptians, who feared the rise of the enslaved Hebrews sent an edict throughout the land that all newborn male Hebrews were to be thrown into the Nile and drowned. Moses, whose mother couldn't bare this outcome, set him in the reeds of the Nile hoping life would find him.
We would like to share a continuation of our days in Nepal in the aftermath of earthquake.
Day Two: A quiet dawn breaks over the city of Kathmandu. Gone are the incessant honking of horns, street sellers hawking goods and the busy foot traffic that gives Kathmandu its personality. The mood instead is somber, quiet, and fearful of what happened and what might happen next.
The Earthquake: Day One - 11:56 AM Thamel District - Kathmandu, Nepal: A low rumble of what seems like a large truck passing by begins to vibrate the desk I am working at in our 2nd floor room. But something is different. The vibration begins to increase and I take my hands from the desk and lift them up like I have done something to cause this. I then look at a water bottle near me as it teeters around in a dancing motion and then falls to the ground. The deep rumble increases and the entire room begins to sway. I look over to William and both of our eyes grow wider as the vertigo motion takes hold. It feels as if we are aboard a ship in high waves and passing over debris. The rumble increases and from every direction we hear screams of terror.
Siberut Island, Mentawai archipelago off West Sumatra - Indonesia: Sitting cross-legged on the wooden-slat floor inside the uma (Mentawai style long home) we take stock of our scratches and leech bites from a long jungle trek. Our clothes are soaked with sweat and mud and we are flush pink from exhaustion.
Finding Your Quest
A Quest, by the medieval definition is: an expedition made by a knight to accomplish a prescribed task. There is a great amount of adventure, daring and excitement in that short definition, and in the depths of every person there is a desire to take a quest. Quests, are not, specifically, all the same, but each person has one. We, as Christians, know we have a Quest given by the King of Kings (Mark 16:15), but He sends each of us out, in different capacities, to accomplish the same goal. Do you know what your Quest is? Are you living your Quest?
We would like to show some of the first testimony responses to the new episode--People of the Trees. We are so grateful for the support and prayers each of you has given and we look forward to many more great missions like the Korowai Journey.
