My Final Post From The Great Country of Peru (This Year...)

Sadly, as the title says, this will be my last blog post from Peru. However if God permits, I plan on returning here in the future, as well as to other countries in South America.  In this post I share some of the recent things I have been involved in and some of my experiences with the culture, I also reflect upon my time here and some of the things God has revealed to me.

First, a little cultural experience! In the United States, we're not really exposed to a lot of futbol (soccer) because it's not really a favored sport in our culture.  In Peru, and the rest of the world, it's a totally different story.  I had known this before coming here but I really didn't know this, as in... I had no idea what it was actually like to be immersed in a culture that's crazy about futbol.

I came to Peru during a very interesting time, I've seen a lot of things in my short time here...The presidential elections, the Peruvian Independence Day, and also Copa America.  Copa America is the futbol tournament between all the Latin American Countries.  It's been over for at least a week, with Uruguay being the winner, but I still remember a couple of the games that Peru played in.

My first real experience with the craze of futbol here in Peru was during Peru's third game in Copa America.  They had already beaten Mexico and lost to Chile, and now they were playing Colombia.  I don't have a T.V. in my room..but in Peru, you really don't need one. I knew when Peru scored their first goal vs. Colombia just from standing outside...all of a sudden I heard a roar coming from all directions, from the streets, from the rooftops, from the windows, I could hear many many people cheering loudly.  Then I was walking with one of the women who helps Ingrid in her ministry here, we were preparing for something that I'll be talking about later in this post, and when we rounded one of the street corners there was a mob of people standing outside a furniture store with their faces glued to a small little T.V. that was propped up on a wooden chair.  As we got closer to them (we had to walk passed them to get to where we were going) their eyes got bigger and bigger, and they started moving around frantically, but this was not in reaction to myself and the woman I was with... I didn't know it at the time, but it was because Peru was on their way to scoring their second goal.  Sure enough, as soon as we reached them, Peru had scored again and the entire mob of people went absolutely crazy.  People were running around hugging people they didn't know, I saw one man throwing a chair, I had never seen anything like it, not even at a Super Bowl party in the United States.  I couldn't do anything but smile and laugh, I was beside myself.  When I got back to my neighborhood the security guards that work there weren't even doing their jobs, they were huddled together around small television watching the game!  

I thought I had the ultimate futbol experience that day but I was wrong, because I had a greater one just a few days later as Peru played Venezuela. (Just a note for all those wondering, Peru won that game versus Colombia... sorry to all my Colombian friends, I love you too!).  This time Peru was playing for much greater stakes, it was for 3rd place in Copa America (behind Uruguay and Paraguay).  However, you would have thought they were playing for the World Cup.  As I already said, I don't have a T.V. nor did I plan on watching any of this game that day...I was busy most of the day.  Despite this fact, I ended up seeing or hearing all 5 goals scored by both teams that day just from going about my daily business.

The first one I saw while I was sitting in my favorite place to eat lunch, a little place called "Tokyos."  It's close to my room, the food is cheap (you can get the equivalent of a full meal at Applebees, Chilis, or a similar restaurant for less than $2.50) and it's also very delicious.  I frequently go their to eat my favorite Peruvian dish, "Lomo Saltado."  Anyway, I was sitting there eating and watching the game when Peru scored their first goal.  Everyone was glued to the T.V. and there were people standing behind me who weren't even there to eat, they just walked in to watch the game.  Also, when Peru scored, some of the women who were cooking in the kitchen ran out to take a look at the replays! I heard when the next goal was scored from my room when I went back to prepare to go grocery shopping.  Again, you could hear all the cheers coming from the neighborhood.

Then I left my room and went to the nearest paradero to catch a combi to Plaza San Miguel.  On my way to the paradero I was absolutely amazed by the amount of people who just stopped their ordinary business, and even their jobs, to watch the game.  Every single little tienda that I passed had the game on either a T.V. or radio, and everyone was watching it.  People of all ages, from little kids who were too young to even walk, to men and women who were so old they were unable to walk.  Men, women, it doesn't matter, it's a cultural thing.  The futbol team of Peru represents Peru, it's a matter of national pride to them. It's not about whether they have a stronger military force than the opposing country, or if they have a healthier economy, the "better" country, is the one that wins the futbol game that day.  It was on the ride to Plaza San Miguel that I heard the 3rd goal of the game from the radio which was scored by Venezuela.  Nobody said a word, it was silent...you could feel the tension in the air.

After arriving to the plaza, I went to use the ATM in order to withdraw Soles.  On my way there I looked to my left and I say literally hundreds upon hundreds of people all hanging over the railings on the side of the plaza.  At first I had no idea what was going on, I thought there was some event or something taking place, I was wondering what everyone was looking at.  And then I noticed the big giant projection T.V. screen that had the focus of their attention.  They were playing the 3rd place Copa America game on a giant T.V. at the plaza!  I was stunned, my first thought was of regret, regret that I had not brought my camera with me! Hardly anybody was shopping, they were all watching the game.  For those of you from Jacksonville, imagine every single person on a typical Friday or Saturday (i.e. a LOT of people) night at the St. Johns Town Center stopping all their shopping, and congregating to one central location to watch the United States play for 3rd place in some Olympic sport.  I can't picture that, can you?  

Anyway, after I got my money from the ATM I went to Wong which is the grocery store in Plaza San Miguel.  I went in through the side entrance which is where all the appliances are and again I was amazed.  As I walked in I saw another mob of people standing in the middle of the isles.  They were all huddled around the televisions that were for sale...because all the T.V.s had the futbol game on!  I stopped to watch with the rest of the crowd for about 5 minutes, and in that short time I saw Peru score their third goal of the game!  Everyone went nuts, I found myself clapping and smiling as if I was a Peruvian or something, I don't know how to explain it, the atmosphere is just something you have to experience.  After that goal I continued on with my shopping, just after I put some boxes of manzanilla in my basket to take back to the U.S. I heard a ton of screaming...I already knew what had happened. Peru had scored again! I ran back to the T.V. section and saw everyone celebrating, and I watched the replays.  It's funny because whenever Peru scores, it's like everyone is best friends, all of a sudden people who don't know each other are like family!  

This was during the closing minutes of the game and there were no more goals, Peru won third place in Copa America with a score of 4-1.  Like I said earlier, this was only for third place but you would have thought it was for the World Cup!

The next cultural experience has to do with food...my favorite part! A couple weeks ago I was invited by some friends to go to a restaurant after church and try Ceviche for the first time!  Nobody wanted me to leave Peru without trying Ceviche...and I didn't either. This is a classic Peruvian dish that has become famous in many parts of the world, but mainly in South America. In my Spanish classes at UNF I had heard about this food and read about it on the internet, but never had the chance to try it until now.  I will be posting pictures of it on facebook when I return to the States so you can see what it looks like, but basically it's raw fish...that's technically not really raw.  The reason for this is because it's "cooked" by the acid of lime juice. It's prepared in many different varieties and with many different sides depending on where you go or what type of ceviche you order. Mine came with camote, (which is like a sweet potato, but the one I had was the best sweet potato I've ever eaten...It's also prepared differently from what you're accustomed to in the U.S.) a type of giant corn, and Caulsa (not sure if that's how you spell it) which is hard to explain, it's another classic Peruvian food made with their indigenous yellow potatoes and it's absolutely delicious.  To be honest, I didn't like the ceviche that much, but that's only because I have never liked seafood in general.  Growing up I was never fed much seafood so I never really developed a taste for it.  I can eat cooked fish, or any seafood that doesn't have a "fishy" taste to it, but raw fish is hard for me to eat, which is why I don't eat sushi either. Anyway, I was just happy to have tried this famous dish.  Everyone else in Peru LOVES ceviche.  My friends made sure I was aware of the fact that though ceviche is served in other South American countries, it's a Peruvian original.

My next great food-trying experience took place just the other night with my friends Carlos, Dimas, and Seinova. After spending the day in Mira Flores (where I bought a Peruvian cook-book) with them and about 4 or 5 others we went to a near-by city called Barranco. For those of you that know Paul Washer, this is also the city that the church he planted is located in which I visited 4 or 5 weeks ago for a Sunday service.  Anyway, the reason why we went there is because they wanted me to try another classic Peruvian dish...Anticuchos, and Barranco is known for their Anticuchos.  I know my American friends are wondering what in the world Anticuchos is, well to put it bluntly, it's cow heart.  I wasn't eager to try this because in all honestly it just sounds strange to me (the thought of eating the heart of anything).  But I wasn't going to leave Peru without trying this! The area we went to eat anticuchos was absolutely beautiful, it was dark out though so my pictures didn't come out to well, but I also have a video I will post.  Anyway, it was right near the beach, and for those of you familiar with downtown St. Augustine, FL, that's what it reminded me of, except with a Latin twist, and with the kind of elevation you don't see in the flat state of FL. 

Before the Anticuchos were delivered to the table, they brought out a little drink called "Pica Sour." This is a famous peruvian drink, I believe it's actually the official drink of Peru. Don't even ask me what's in it, the only ingredient I know is some kind of citrus, I think lime juice. As the name suggested, it was indeed sour, but it was also very tasty! Then came the anticuchos... my friends already had their cell phones and cameras out to take pictures and video of me trying cow heart for the first time.  I'm not gonna lie, it smelled very delicious. It actually tasted very good too, I think if someone fed it to me without telling me that it was cow heart I would like it more because the flavor is very good, but eating is an experience that involves more than just taste.  There are other things that are important such as smell, texture, visuals, and your mind plays a part as well. That being said, I didn't enjoy it as much as I could have because I kept thinking to myself, "I'm eating cow-heart," but the flavor was great, just like the smell! After eating the anticuchos we wen't down to a little caratia where I got to try another typical Peruvian food for the first time.. Piccarones. This is a desert food, and the closest thing I could describe it to in the U.S. would be like the taste of funnel cake, but it's a bit different, and its served with a sauce.  This food was absolutely amazing, and it's one of the recipes in the cook-book I bought!

Alright, the culture portion of this post is over with, now to church-related events! Several weeks ago I was privileged to be invited to join the elders of the church in pre-service prayer.  This is where they get together and pray for the pastor, his family, the church, the different ministries the church is involved in, the community around them, etc, etc. Of course they spoke and prayed in all Spanish so I wasn't able to understand everything but it was a great experience, they were all very gracious to me, and I was able to pray for a few of the things on the list, though I prayed mostly in English. Following the meeting, one of the elders who's also a friend of mine, Jorge, asked me if I could prepare a devotional for the following elders meeting before the next service.  I was honored by this, and so I prepared a devotional in Spanish on Philippians 1:21 and 3:7-8.  My Spanish wasn't perfect but they all understood what I was saying, and they were very appreciative of the Word I gave that day, it's little experiences like these that I'll never forget.

I was more honored to take part in this next event than anything else I've ever done.  I had the great privilege of baptizing two of the young men that I have been discipling during my time here in Peru.  This is the event I referred to in the beginning of this post when I said I was going somewhere with one of the women to prepare for something.  We were walking with a deflated pool to see where we could get it inflated at, we wound up paying to get it inflated at a shop that deals with car tires (by the way, walking several blocks back with a giant inflated pool in the middle of winter earned us several strange looks and comments jajaja). Anyway, back to the baptisms.  After the bible study that night, we all went outside (close to 25 of us) where my friends Carlos and Pablo were to be baptized.  Guisella and I had spent at least an hour filling this pool up with a bucket of water and finally it was time to put it to use! It was a great night for them, and I was as I said, very honored to play a part in such a significant moment in their lives.

Two Fridays ago (this last one the campus has been closed as it has all week because classes are over) I had my last mens group discipleship meeting en la cafetaria de quimica which is where we've had it throughout my entire time here. This time though it was a little more difficult because I was without a translator because Pastor Luis couldn't make it, and Ingrid had left for Colombia the day before.  My goal in this meeting was to get the guys to realize what it means to be a real man of God, and to strive to live like one.  I challenged them to be leaders, to take after the example of all the great men in the Bible, and most of all, to follow the example of Christ.  I told them I wanted to see them carrying the majority load of the ministry, to take the weight off the shoulders of the women. There are many women here involved in the campus ministry, but very few men, and the few men that there are, are all either very new in Christ, or fairly new.  That being said, they're sometimes content with hanging on the coattails of the women here who have a longer relationship with God, but I wanted to challenge them to obey God and be men of God, because to be a man of God is to be a leader, not a bystander. I hope to return one day and see my goal fulfilled! And I will be praying for them when I am back in my country.

Lastly I'd like to talk about what transpired last night and reflect upon my time here in Peru a little.

Last night was the last weekly Saturday bible study that I will be a part of in my time here but it was also the most touching. After the teaching and worship, everyone moved their chairs in a semi-circle in front of me so that they were all facing me where I was sitting. They then proceeded to take turns one-by-one sharing their thoughts about their time spent with me and giving me words of encouragement.  I say this at the risk of seeming like less of a "man," but I honestly had to fight back the tears. Not only because of the extremely kind things that were being said of me, but also because in my mind at the time I was just thinking about how the situation was such a great picture of God's grace on my life.  They were all thanking me for my time spent with them, telling me that they were very encouraged by me, that they learned a lot from my teachings, that they look up to me for leaving my country to go to a foreign land, etc. etc. And all the while I kept thinking to myself, "I don't deserve to be thanked for this, I'm nobody... I wouldn't even be here were it not for God, everything good I do comes from him, and I'm getting credit for his work on my life." I was just overwhelmed by the grace of God in that moment, I cant even describe it. I really had no idea how much of an effect I had on these people, until then I never even knew if my messages were getting through to them. But almost every single person confirmed that they did. They all want me to come back, and they all hope I can speak Spanish fluently when I do so that I can teach more.  I really hope I can return one day, though I don't know the will of God.

I'm extremely thankful for this opportunity that I had, and I'm blessed to see some fruit from my labor..God didn't have to allow me to see fruit, but he did. I can't see how I could ever do anything else with my life other than ministry. Last night was even greater confirmation of my desire to serve in the ministry, there's no greater joy than to see lives changed as a result of serving God. The great thing about it is that it works both ways, their lives were affected by me, but my life was also impacted by them. I love the people here and I'll never forget the time I spent with them. I cant describe to you how encouraging it was for me to hear that things that I have done, and messages that I have preached were beneficial to their relationship with Christ, that they were encouraged by me, and that they learned from me.  As I told them, my greatest passion in life is to be used by God to further his kingdom and serve his will, and to see this actually taking place in my life is incredible. All that time spent reading and studying the bible, listening to sermons, and praying was worth it and all put to use during my time here. The best part about it is that this is probably only a small taste of what is to come. I am only 23 years old, I've only known Christ for not even two years now and look at all he's shown me, look at where he's taken me. I can't imagine what I will have learned or where I'll be, or what I'll be doing even 2 years from now, let alone 10, 15, or 20.

 A few days ago I was listening to a MacArthur exposition on one of the chapters in Mark where Jesus sends the disciples out on their first mission without him. This was only a short term mission, and MacArthur mentioned how that's normally the smart thing to do when you're training somebody for bigger things in the future. You send them out on a short-term mission of what they will one day be doing long-term so that they can get their feet wet and come back and record what it's like, what went well, what went wrong, and better prepare/be more-ready for the long-term mission. This is exactly what Christ did to his disciples, he later commissioned them for their life's mission at Pentecost, to go out and preach the gospel to every tribe, nation, and tongue. I have a strong sense that this is exactly what's going on with me now, and I'm excited to see what the future holds. I really believe I will be returning to Peru, and possibly other countries in South America for ministry in the future, it seems as if he would like me to continue learning the Spanish language based upon several circumstances that I am now finding myself in, and I will continue to pursue this as long as there is way for me to do so.

Through all of this, I must give all the glory to God. If it wasn't for him I wouldn't even be alive, if it wasn't for him I wouldn't be in Peru, if it wasn't for him I never would have had the desire to study and learn the things that I now preach, and if it wasn't for him I wouldn't do any of the good that I do. Even though I hate my sin, I thank God for allowing me to see the wretchedness of it. Because that is what keeps me grounded, that is what allows me to be humble, and that is what causes me to point to Him. The reason for this is because when I see my sin, I realize how desperate I am for Him and his grace, and I realize what I would be like without Him in my life. Then, instead of becoming puffed-up, or prideful when I receive praise from people for my good works, I inwardly dislike being praised because I know how un-deserving of it I am. Please don't be confused here, I'm not saying not to encourage people, we all need encouragement, myself included. I'm just saying that when I'm aware of who I truly am without Christ, I have a genuine desire to direct the praise I receive to him since without him I'd be receiving none of it in the first place, thus all of it belongs to Him. In this sense I am making a distinction between praise and encouragement, I believe there is a difference. So I have found yet another way in which Romans 8:28 "All things work together for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose," is true. Even my sin is worked into good. I am not saying that sin is good, but that through the power of God, my sin is used to produce genuine humility. Similar to this would be the story of Joseph. While he was second in command over all of Egypt and his brothers upon finding out his identity cried out for forgiveness to him, Joseph responded by telling them that what they meant for evil, God meant for good.  

God has indeed shown me much during my time here, more than I can fit in this blog post. I've seen some of my strengths in the ministry, and I've also been shown several of my character flaws...things that will undoubtedly be worked on as I continue in sanctification. Of course I fear God and what exactly he will do and how he will act in order to straighten out these flaws and conform me to the image of himself but I know that everything he ordains to pass is inherently good and I know it must be done. I will be arriving at the airport at 9pm with a bunch of friends who wish to say their goodbyes, my flight leaves at 12:20am and I'll be landing in the United States around 7am. I know this will be bitter-sweet for me. Half of me is excited to see my friends and family back home, and the other half of me feels right at home here in the Spanish Culture after having lived in Peru for 3 months. I will certainly miss all my friends here, the culture, the food, and I will never forget the experiences I've had. Prior to becoming a Christian I had never been on an airplane, let alone to another country, in less than two years I've been to Peru twice, and lived there for 3 months....I never intended on going anywhere, but God clearly had other plans for my life and I'm so blessed to know him. What kind of God is this? To one day snatch me up out of my sin, give me completely new desires, new passions, new plans, to cause me to hate things that I once loved, and ship me half-way across the world in the name of Someone who most consider to be nothing more than a foolish fairy-tale. Who is like Him? Who is like our God? Nobody.....absolutely nobody, and I'm so blessed to know him.

I want to give a special thanks to all those who supported me on this trip whether you supported me financially or prayerfully, I am grateful. Your prayers and your money were not in vain, my own life was changed for the good, and so were others through me, and vicariously through you. I believe some have received newness of life, the kind that can only come from a saving faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Thank you.

I will be back to edit later...I wrote this very quickly and did not have much time to go back through everything.

The Trinity- A Model for Community in the Home and in the Church

In this discussion I will be talking about the significance of the Trinity in terms of our need as Christians for community. I will also discuss how the relationship between the Father and Son is to be a model for the relationship between man and woman in the institution of marriage, and finally I will touch on the roles of men and women in the Church and how this is also to be a reflection of the God-Head as well.

I realize that some of what I will be talking about is deemed “controversial,” by some Christians, and I also know that not everyone holds to the views that I will be presenting. Personally I do not see any of this as being controversial, but instead as being a topic that is extensively talked about in the Bible, and because of this...the fact that it's in the Bible, means that God obviously saw it as important enough for us to know it, and so we have to talk about it. Someone may object and say, “Well, if you know that this issue may cause division among Christians, or can be a sore-subject for some, then why bring it up? Isn't it harmful to the unity of the body of Christ?” In response to this, other than what I've already said in regards to it being in the Bible thus worthy of discussion, I give a quote from Dr. R.C. Sproul Highlighting my reasoning,

“The worst thing you can possibly due in light of the reality that doctrine at times does divide, is to flee from doctrine. That's like saying the Truth of God doesn't matter and God forbid that we should ever set it forth in our church because if someone gets upset or offended we're going to have a split, a church that never cares about doctrine is a dead church...If we disagree doctrinally, that's a bad thing, but we can't be satisfied with it because truth is too important to kill it in the streets for the sake of peace...it's too important.”

Please hear me on this, this applies to this post as well as future posts that I am planning on writing which I know will be deemed even more divisive than this. I do not have an “ax to grind”, and I am not writing about these things for the mere sake of “stirring up trouble” or anything of the sort. I write about the things I write about because I genuinely care about the truth of God. I care about what the Bible says, and I care that people understand it and be obedient to it. I am only after what the scripture teaches, I only say what I say, teach what I teach, and believe what I believe because of my understanding of the proper interpretation of the holy scriptures. I hope all of us can agree that it is not about what X group of people believes, or what X denomination believes, or what our friends believe, or even what our pastor believes. For me it is not about aligning myself with a certain group of Christians, it is only about understanding what God means by what he says in his Word, and if I happen to align with a certain “group” or denomination of Christians after careful study and meditation on the Word of God then so be it, because it is not they that decided my understanding of the Word, rather it is my understanding of the Word that decides whom I agree with and thus “align” myself with as a Christian.

(When I say “align” I mean simply in terms of agreement on doctrine, I am not advocating a type of separation or division because we are called as Christians to be “One body.” There are some issues of Christianity that are essential and necessary to believe in order to be a Christian, and these issues we cannot disagree on, but even now I am friends with many Christians whom I disagree with in many “secondary” issues of doctrine. In fact, I am involved in ministries where I disagree with many of the leaders involved, yet we are still united under the banner of Christ, and we work together for one cause.)

My hope is that when reading what I have written, the reader will not be asking him/herself whether or not he/she agrees with me, but rather that they will be asking themselves the question, “Is this what the Bible teaches or is it not?” And if not, are they able to provide sufficient support from the scriptures to back their claim? We are not individually the authority, the scripture is, and because of this, the scriptures must interpret the scriptures. I always try and give scriptural support for all of my positions, though I do not always go into every detail and present every case there is to be made or answer every objection that exists, I simply could not do this in the context of a blog but if anybody ever wants to discuss anything about something I have said, I will be happy to go into greater detail with them.

Well with all of that clarification out of the way I can get started in my discussion about the Trinity. This is not a post to try and explain the Trinity, or to show biblical proof of their even being a such thing as a Trinity, but rather to discuss the significance of it in terms of our need for community. That being said, I am obviously already assuming the reader's understanding and belief in the Trinity. If someone is reading this who does not understand, feel free to send me a message and I will be happy to talk about it. I have decided not to go too in-depth on this issue because honestly it would require too many paragraphs, instead I will be aiming to give a basic understanding. That and because I am writing this from my room in Peru so I am without many of my resources, including internet.

Community is essential for all believers, this is a fact the Bible is absolutely crystal-clear on and cannot be escaped. I would venture to say that there is no such thing as a “lone-ranger” Christian. This fact is shown to us in several ways but it all starts with the Trinity. In Genesis it is said that we were created, “In the image of God,” now this does not mean that we physically look like God for he is spirit and does not have the physical form that we have. When the bible talks of God upholding us with his “right hand” or when something happens by the “finger of God,” or when it is said that the earth is his “foot-stool,” these are all what are known as “anthropomorphisms.” In lay-mans terms this means that God is speaking “baby talk” to us, that is, he is speaking to us in terms that we can relate to, so that we can better understand him. He doesn't actually have feet, but the picture of the earth being his foot-stool is to show his grandiose, his majesty, and his absolute power over creation.

So what does it mean then that we were created in the image of God? Well it means a lot, enough for another blog post so I wont delve into all of it here, but for the purpose of this post, one of the meanings for this is that he created us with a desire and a need for relationship/community. I will touch more specifically on the significance of the different genders in a minute but for now just the aspect of community. You see, the Trinity is a picture of “community.” For all eternity the God-Head has been in a perfect relationship with perfect love, sharing glory among one another. I am talking about the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit who have been in communion with one another from eternity past. The Trinity is ONE in essence but THREE in persons, all “persons” of the Trinity are equally God, yet they have different roles..more on this when I talk about the two genders.

One thing I must mention at this point is in reference to the event of the crucifixion of the second person in the Trinity; Jesus Christ, the Son of God. Many people believe that leading up to the crucifixion when Jesus prayed, “Father if it is possible let this cup pass from me” that he was praying this in anticipation of the intense physical pain that was to come. And likewise, many people also believe that when he was hanging on the cross and cried out, “Father, why have you forsaken me?” That this cry was a result of the intense physical pain. While this pain was certainly off the charts and unfathomable to us and may have played a small role in Jesus' prayer and then his cry on the cross, the role was nevertheless small compared to another pain, a spiritual pain. You see the greatest pain Christ felt can be seen in what was in the “cup” that Christ asked to pass from him if there was a way. In the contents of this cup was something you and I could not imagine, and the contents of this cup was so dreadful that after 100 billion years in hell, those who are there would still not have come close to experiencing what Christ swallowed that day at Golgotha. Christ drank the full cup of God's wrath. This means that he experienced the wrath of the Father that was stored up for the sins of everyone who was ever to become a Christian. But he also experienced something else, something specific to the topic at hand, he experienced separation from the Father as the Father turned his “back” on him. Christ had been experiencing perfect fellowship and love among the members of the Trinity for all eternity, something unfathomable to us, and all of a sudden, at that moment on the cross, this fellowship ended. Christ became the bearer of sin and we know that the Father is holy, he has no part with sin and so Christ was separated from that eternal love. This is why this “cup” that Christ “drank” is far worse than what anyone shall endure in hell, even after 100 billion years, because Christ was severed from what was an eternal relationship with God, and 100 billion years pales in comparison to eternity. Those who will go to hell will experience a separation from the presence of God for the rest of eternity but they have not been cut off from the presence of God after previously sharing an eternal relationship with him. (I realize that speaking of the “rest of eternity” is a philosophical problem because “rest” implies time and God, existing in eternity is outside of time, but as someone with a finite mind who is encompassed inside of time, I have no other means of putting it). (I also want to note that technically they are not totally separated from God because in hell they are experiencing the wrath of God. For while it is true that we are saved from sin upon attaining salvation, scripture makes it clear that we are really saved from God, for we are saved from the wrath of God. See Rom 5:9). Try and imagine sharing a relationship with someone you truly love for eternity and then all of a sudden being separated from that relationship.

Now, one of the ways in which we were created in the “image of God,” is that we were created for community. God is, in a sense, a community, and he has created us not just with a desire but with a need for community. So what does this mean for us in application to our lives as Christians? The scriptures refers to this community as being “one body” with “many members.” Paul discusses this in his first letter to the Corinthians, “For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body...for the body does not consist of one member but of many.” 1 Cor 12:12-14 The analogy he uses is clear, as Christians we are all “one body” but individually we are the different members that make up this body. From this we can gather that community is important in the same way that it's important for me to have a brain for my body, or a leg, or an eye. Paul then goes on to stress this importance by continuing in the analogy, that it is necessary for the body to contain all of its members, “If the foot should say, 'Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,' that would not make it any less a part of the body. And if the ear should say, 'Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body' that would not make it any less a part of the body. If the whole body were an eye, where would be the sense of hearing...But as it is, God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as he chose.” vs 15-18. I italicized that portion to stress the fact that community is God's plan, and in this way among others we have been created in his image. Paul is arguing the fact that we all have different roles and functions in the body of Christ, some may get more notoriety than others, some may get more recognition, but all are equally important in ensuring that the body functions as it ought to function. We all need each other, you the reader have gifts that I the writer do not have (if you are truly converted). You have been blessed in ways that I have not, and so I could benefit from you to make up for what I lack. In the same way, I have been gifted in ways that you have not, and I have been blessed in ways that you have not. We cannot abandon the Church, or “community” because not only would this be hurting ourselves but it would also be a selfish act because we would be keeping what God has blessed us with from the body, because God has not just blessed us for our own benefit, but so that we can edify others. We each have a function in the body, and we are meant to be involved with the Church, interacting with fellow believers.

I'm going to just briefly list a couple of other reasons for community without describing too much because I need to move on to the next portion of this post. The Bible also says that the world will know we are Christ's disciples by our love for one another. This is one of the ways in which we are witnesses for Christ in our time here on earth. Our love for one another is a very real and genuine love, extending beyond personal similarities or cultural contexts. It is also listed as one of our assurances for our salvation in the book of 1 John. If we are truly saved we will have a genuine love for other Christians. Our love for one another is to be visible in such a way that the “world” (those who do not know Christ) notices. I can tell you from personal experience that the love I have for my brothers and sisters now as a Christian is incomparable to any sort  of “love” I once shared with my friends before I was saved in the sense that it is much greater and feels much more genuine. I don't even have to know somebody, when I find out that someone is a Christian I'm automatically enthralled and experience a type of love for them. It doesn't matter where I'm at, in the gym, in an airplane, in a foreign country, or what “type” of person it is that I'm talking too. Because I realize that they are in my spiritual family, they are my eternal brother or sister, I have something in common with them that goes far beyond my commonality with anything or anyone in the world. If we're not engaged in community then we are failing to take part in one of the ways that we witness to the world the love of Christ.

Accountability is another reason. Though we have been freed from the bondage of sin, we still live in our un-redeemed flesh in a broken and fallen world. Our brains still have memories from our old self, and we are still susceptible to fall into sin every now and then. Community is one of the ways scripture gives to combat this susceptibility. Everyone should have someone or more than one person that they are personally accountable to (such as close friends), that they share their heart with and confess their shortcomings too. Someone that is not afraid to ask them the tough questions and challenge them to walk up-right and abstain from sin. Even the greatest pastors I know have other pastors as accountability partners. If you have nobody like this in your life then you're going to be much more liable to obey the flesh because in the back of your mind you know that nobody will ever find out. Every couple that is in a relationship should also have an accountability partner. This is a must for those couples who are not yet married because the temptation to fall into sexual sin can often times be too great for many couples to handle, someone needs to be involved to ask the hard questions.. “Where did you guys go last night? What did you do? How is your relationship going? Are you still pure?” Of course there is the possibility that you lie to whoever this person is, but I would hope that you would be convicted by the holy spirit in such a way as to keep you from lying, that's why this persons should be someone you normally have no problem telling anything. Some might believe that this is a little extreme, intrusive, and annoying. But I believe that anyone who has an honest desire to keep God's commandments and thus show their love for Him and please God, would welcome these precautions, and anybody that wouldn't probably has bad intentions in mind to begin with. It is beneficial for even married couples to have accountability. It's no secret that in today's world there are many problems surrounding marriages. There are so many things that are getting in the way of successful marriages, and having people to go to can really be helpful. Of course the people that you go to need to be people of spiritual authority, people who understand the Word of God and can give sound biblical advice, not someone who's been born-again for two months.

There are many other reasons for us as believers to be engaged and frequently involved in community such as for the building up of each others faith but I have gone on for too long and so it's time to move on to my next discussion; the relationship of men and women in the institution of marriage, and how this is to be a reflection of the relationship between the Father and the Son, and also between Christ and his Church.

I know those of you who know me might already be thinking, “Wait a minute, you're about to talk to us about marriage and yet you've never been married?” Well for one, it's a good thing I've never been married because if I have and I'm now single then there's a possibility that I failed the first time and I wouldn't exactly be the best person to give advice on the matter. (I acknowledge that not all divorces are the result of someone having “failed,” the Bible gives clear allowance for someone to divorce if their spouse has been involved in adultery.) All jokes aside, the real reason why I can talk about this is because I am not the authority on the subject of marriage, the bible is. And while I may not have ever been married, I have the same manual in my hands on how to do it right as every couple who is currently married. Though my goal here isn't to instruct on how to have a successful marriage, I'm just talking about the roles of men and women, and this is starting to get near to what I said some consider “controversial” though that will apply more-so in the final section on the roles of men and women in the church.

First I want to take you back to creation. Surely God could have created one sex if he chose (like he did the angels) but he didn't, he created two. Two distinct genders with distinct features both physically and emotionally. This aspect of creation is also a reflection of the Trinity. He created us as personal beings with a desire for relationship, a desire to love, and a desire to be loved. This is a reflection of a personal God who loves and who seeks to be loved. Now God does not need our love, nor did he need to create us. He was doing just fine for all eternity in the perfect union of the Trinity, he wasn't bored, nor was he lonely, he created us for his mere pleasure. (Our creation also has a part in the love relationship of the Trinity in the sense that in eternity past the Father made a covenant with the Son to create a people and redeem a people for him..etc. etc. maybe I'll write about this another time).

God also created man and woman as equals, that is, man is not more important or valuable than woman, nor is woman more important or valuable than man. He created both genders in his very image (Gen 1:27). Both genders bear the very image of God in the fact that both genders show different characteristics of the character of God. In Galatians 3 verses 27-28, Paul says that, “For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” Clearly scripture shows that man and woman are equal, but my next point is that while they are equal, they have been given different roles to fulfill.

This is another way in which another aspect of the Trinity is reflected in God's creation of the two genders. He gave differing roles for males and females. Just as in the Trinity all members (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit) are equal but have differing roles, so men and women are equal but have different roles. The Father is the head of Christ, scripture makes this clear on several occasions. That the Father has more authority than Christ is no secret, they are equal in that they have equal power and share equal attributes, but the Father always relates to Christ as his son, He has leadership in terms of authority over Christ, as well as over the Holy Spirit. To give an example of the differing roles among the Trinity I will quote Wayne Grudem in his book, Systematic Theology: An Introduction to Biblical Doctrine in which he states,

“In creation, the Father speaks and initiates, but the work of creation is carried out through the Son and sustained by the continuing presence of the Holy Spirit (Gen. 1:1-2; John 1:1-3; 1 Cor. 8:6; Heb. 1:2). In redemption, the Father sends the Son into the world, and the Son comes and is obedient to the Father and dies to pay for our sins. After the son has ascended into heaven, the Holy Spirit comes to equip and empower the church. The Father did not come to die for our sins, nor did the Holy Spirit. The Father was not poured out on the church at Pentecost in new covenant power, nor was the Son. Each member of the Trinity has distinct roles or functions” (p. 459).

In the same way as Christ is equal to the Father yet submissive to the Father, so also is the wife equal to the husband yet to be submissive to the husband. Now I know some people read this and immediately negative thoughts come to mind. This is because our minds are polluted with sin and so we come to the text with convoluted ideas about what it means to be submissive, because biblical submission is different from worldly submission. Those of us who live in America also have been effected by the strong influence of the push for “equality” between men and women. So much so that in many homes today you have men playing the role of “house-wife” while the wife is out at work making money for the family to eat, because women are wanting to fulfill every role that a man fulfills since they are confusing the difference in roles with the perception of equality/inequality. But the bible says that we can have differing roles and still be equal.

In regards to submission, people often associate this concept with a little, scared wife who must heed every command of her domineering husband. A husband that treats his wife more like a pet than an actual person. Who keeps her around merely to cook food, clean the house, and take care of the kids while he barks orders at her. A man who has absolute control over all family matters, while the wife simply shrieks back saying, “yes sir!” This is NOT what the bible teaches when it says that women are to be submissive to their husbands. Before further explanation on this concept, you might be wondering where I get my scriptural backing. There are multiple verses that cover this but I will share a couple, first is Ephesians 5 verses 22-24 which states, “Wives, submit to your own husbands as to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife even as Christ is the head of the church, his body, and is himself its Savior. Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit in everything to their husbands.” Here we see the analogy of the wife's relationship to her husband with Christ's relationship to the Church. In fact, many times in scripture the Church is referred to as Christ's “Bride.” We see this difference of roles also in 1 Cor 11:3 which simply says, “But I want you to know that Christ is the head of every man, and the man is the head of the woman, and God is the head of Christ.” I don't think I need to do much more elaboration because the scripture is quite clear on this matter however, while some of you may consider this a tough command to swallow let me show you what Christ says about the man's role as I continue from the above mentioned verses in Ephesians, “Husbands, love your wives as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word....Husbands should love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. For no one ever hates his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ does the church. (vs 25-29).

Just incase any men read about God's command for women to be submissive and become proud, may this verse deflate their pride! In my opinion it is the husband that has the tall order! For he is to love his wife just as Christ loves the church! Christ is the epitome of love, perfect love, and we as men are called to that very standard, to strive with everything we have to love our wives with that same perfect love. The standard doesn't get any higher than Christ himself and yet we are called to imitate him in the way in which we love our wives. This also means sacrificial love. All true love is sacrificial love to begin with in some sense, but this verse takes the meaning of sacrificial love to a whole new level, as men we should be willing to die for our wives just as Christ gave himself up for the church. It is also in this verse that you see some real wisdom, when it says, “he who loves his wife loves himself. For no one ever hates his own flesh....” If your wife is happy then you're going to be happy, so in loving her like Christ you also benefit. This verse also has a sort of reference to Genesis in the sense that it considers loving your wife to be the same as loving yourself, because in the institution of marriage God made it so that two would become one, “Therefore a man leaves his father and his mother and cleaves to his wife, and they become one flesh” (Gen 2:24). So with all this being said, we can see that the biblical view of “submission” is not a negative one but a beautiful one. If a husband is going to love his wife as Christ loves the church, he's not going to take advantage of the fact that his wife has been called to submit to him, and for the wife, her submission is not going to be a burden for her but something she delights in doing out of love for her husband and more importantly out of her desire to keep the commands of God. So here we have it, two genders, equal in importance and significance, yet differing in roles within the institution of marriage, I was going to write more about this but again I've gone on too long so I will continue and discuss the differing in roles among men and women in the context of the Church.

This is the part that I was referring to that has the potential to divide Christians at times. Though I must note that in regards to church history, the view that I am about to present has been the dominant view in the majority of churches throughout the world. It has only recently become a “bigger issue.” That being said, I ask the reader to remember what I wrote in the beginning paragraphs. It doesn't matter if you agree with me but whether you agree with the word of God, and if I am teaching what the Word says and you disagree, then you are not disagreeing with me, but with God himself (assuming my explanation of the text is correct).

Continuing on with the theme of the equality of men and women, that they are equal in importance and in value to God, but have different roles in the family, I will now show how they also have differing roles in the Church family as well. Remember the discussion about how the members of the Trinity have a differing relationship to each other in terms of authority? That the Father exhibits authority over Christ, and Christ authority over the Holy Spirit? It seems also that God has designated differing levels of authority between the different genders in context of the Church. This would make sense based upon everything we've discussed thus far. The stance that I take (along with most in Church history) is that women are not to be Pastors, nor are they to hold the position of “Elder” in the Church. This is not out of some misogynistic belief, or a sense of superiority for I have already stated that women are equal to men, and I do not consider myself above a woman. This is simply another case of a differing in roles, and out of my desire to be obedient to the Word of God and to teach nothing but truth, I hold to this view, so much so that my conscious holds me captive and I could not give up this view unless someone could show me convincing scriptural evidence to the contrary.

So where is my evidence you ask? I think the best scripture for this is 1 Timothy 2:11-14 which says, “Let a woman learn quietly with all submissiveness. I do not permit a woman to teach or to exercise authority over a man; rather, she is to remain quiet. For Adam was formed first, then Eve; and Adam was not deceived, but the woman was deceived and became a transgressor.” The first thing to mention about this is that Paul is talking about this in the context of the Church assembly. The next thing to note is that in Paul saying that women are not to teach or exercise authority over men, in saying that he has effectively eliminated the possibility of a woman preaching, being a pastor, or holding the office of elder because teaching and having authority over men are the roles that elders and pastors fill. Elders have authority over the congregation, and so do pastors, and if a woman was to fill either of those roles, she would have authority over the congregation, and of course the congregation is going to contain men. For a more in depth knowledge of this it is helpful if you do a study on church government in the bible and what the qualifications and duties are of an elder as set forth by scripture. Furthermore, it just makes sense that the role of the woman in the setting of marriage to be “submissive” to the husband who is the head of the wife, would carry over into the Church, especially when we see the word “submissiveness” here which is parallel to the role of the woman in marriage.

I will address two of the main objections here just incase any reader has these same objections. And here I will be borrowing from Wayne Grudem's Systematic Theology again. The first one is that this passage only applies to a specific situation, most likely one where the women were teaching false doctrine in the church at Ephesus. Grudem responds to this by saying, “This objection is not persuasive, since there is no clear statement in 1 Timothy that says that women were actually teaching false doctrines (it only talks about them gossiping, not teaching false doctrine) Moreover, Paul does not simply tell certain women who are teaching false doctrine to be silent, but he says, 'I permit no woman to teach or to have authority over men.' And finally, the reason Paul gives for this prohibition is not the one proposed in this objection, but a far different one: the situation of Adam and Eve before the fall, and before there was any sin in the world.” I think Grudem has a good point here, Paul lists the reason in vs 13 where Paul says, “For Adam was formed first, then Eve,” this is clearly insinuating that it was part of God's plan from the beginning, that it is part of the way he established the differences in roles between the two genders. I find John MacArthur's commentary on Paul's “reason” in verses 13 and 14 to be helpful,

“A woman's subordinate role did not result after the fall as a cultural, chauvinistic corruption of God's perfect design; rather, God established her role as part of his original creation (v. 13). God made woman after man to be his suitable helper (Gen 2:18; 1 Cor 11:8-9). The fall actually corroborates God's divine plan of creation. By nature Eve was not suited to assume the position of ultimate responsibility. By leaving Adam's protection and usurping his headship, she was vulnerable and fell, thus confirming how important it was for her to stay under the protection and leadership of her husband. Adam then violated his leadership role, followed Eve in her sin, and plunged the human race into sinfulness—all connected with violating God's planned roles for the sexes. Ultimately, the responsibility for the fall still rests with Adam, since he chose to disobey God apart from being deceived.”

The second objection that is often given is that Paul prohibited this because women weren't well enough educated in the first century and thus weren't qualified for these roles. But again Grudem responds by saying,

“Paul does not give lack of education as a reason for saying that women cannot “teach or...have authority over men,” but rather points back to creation. It is precarious to base an argument on a reason Paul did not give instead of the reason he did give. In addition, this objection misunderstands the actual facts of the ancient church and the ancient world. Formal training in Scripture was not required for church leadership in the New Testament church, because several of the apostles did not have formal biblical training. On the other hand, the skills of basic literacy and therefore the ability to read and study Scripture were available to men and women alike. There were many well-educated women in the ancient world, and particularly in a cultural center such as Ephesus.”

Grudem goes on to make more points in response to these objections but I won't get into them here, though like I said earlier, I would be happy to discuss this with someone who has questions. The next verse I give as support for this, which I won't go into as much detail on, is 1 Cor 14:33-36 where Paul says, “As in all the churches of the saints, the women should be silent in the churches for they are not permitted to speak, but should be submissive, as the law also says. And if they want to learn something they should ask their own husbands at home, for it is disgraceful for a woman to speak in the church meeting. Did the word of God originate from you, or did it come to you only?” Now this verse doesn't mean that women have to enter the church building with their mouths closed and never open them while inside. It's not talking about the act of talking while within the church when it says they, “are not permitted to speak.” The word “speak” here is in reference to speaking before/in front of the congregation.

Now I'd just like to say a few things. I believe that the bible teaches that women can be just as gifted as men. Women can, and have been just as skilled in teaching as men. That is not the issue here, the issue is the role and exercise of these gifts, and the Bible prohibits the exercise of this by women in the church setting before the congregation. Again, we see the theme of difference in role and authority, the Bible is not teaching that women are forbidden from doing these things because they are inferior to men, rather this is simply the way in which God has designed men and women to function in their respective roles.

I am all for women having the ability and the desire to teach. In fact I think it is necessary and here's my own personal reason why. First of all, women are permitted to teach other women and to teach children, and as Christians we should be desiring to grow and hear the Word of God more than one day a week. So who's going to teach the women the other 6 days of the week? Surely there needs to be women who are gifted in this area. I myself have a desire to work full time in the ministry one day, whether that means preaching, teaching, or something else only God knows right now. But I know one thing, I am not going to want to be spending any one-on-one time with women to disciple them, nor would I want to lead some sort of “small group” that is made up of only women. The only time I will ever disciple or teach/preach to women is in the congregational setting, or perhaps also in some type of mixed small groups. For one thing I would not do it for my wife's sake if I was married (would you feel comfortable if your spouse was meeting one-on-one with someone of the opposite sex?) but I also wouldn't do it for my own sake. As a young Christian I remember having a sort of “foolish zeal” for God. I was just so enthralled about the things of God that I wanted to tell anyone, and so I would even sit down with and try to evangelize members of the opposite sex one-on-one. I realized that this wasn't a good idea after I noticed people liking me as more than just a friend. And I'm also not so naïve as to believe that I would be immune to liking the person I'm discipling or evangelizing, even though I may have good intentions to start. With this in mind, clearly there is a need for capable women teachers who can “rightly handle the word of truth.” (2 Timothy 2:15)

With all this being said, I would like to conclude by showing how the bible has very high praise for women. This also points to the divine authorship of the Bible when you consider the cultural view at the time that the Jews and Greeks had of women. Women are held in high-esteem in many places of scripture. One particular instance that comes to mind is the fact that women were the first witnesses of the risen Christ at the empty tomb. If you understood the way that the culture viewed women at the time, you would know that nobody ever trying to create a religion would ever ever ever have women as the primary witnesses for what would be the foundation of that religion (in this case the resurrection of Christ). In fact, in that time, the testimony of a woman was not permissible in court, that's how low their statements were regarded. But Christ appeared fist to women, the only way the authors of the Gospel accounts would ever have written that down is if they were under the control of the Holy Spirit, because they certainly knew that under ordinary circumstances, nobody would believe these women who claimed to have seen the risen Christ. Not only this but as I explained earlier, the Bible tells us that man and woman were created as equals! The Bible is simply far ahead of its time in it's view of women from the very beginning, a great proof for divine authorship. There is no reason for any man to have any sense of superiority over women, because men are no greater than women. This post was merely to show how we have been given different roles to fulfill and I hope that I have done that in a convincing manner here. Thank you for reading!

**Edit**

I hope I did not confuse anyone but I did not mean this to say that women are eliminated from serving at all in the church or holding any position.  There seems to be nothing in scripture preventing women from being Deacons (again it is helpful if you do a study on what the roles are concerning the different church "offices" as I won't go into a study on that here.  These verses were simply in terms of offices that would hold authority over men, which goes against the creation order). Again, these verses might be tough to swallow for some, especially with our "modern" views, but though we can struggle with them, we can wrestle with them, one thing we cannot do is ignore them because at the end of the day they are still there, they are still part of scripture, and we are still commanded to obey them.  

I realize some of you who have read this may currently even be a member of a church who does not obey these scriptures.  That being said, you might think I'm "extreme" or "going over-board," or maybe you might think I'm young and I just don't understand because your pastors are much older than I am and thus have a better understanding of the scriptures than I do. But please, I challenge you, read these scriptures for yourselves, study them, what do they say? Find out what basis your church has for not following them, what is their "interpretation" and is it satisfactory? Does it line up with the rest of the scriptures? Or is their interpretation a really big stretch, twisting the very words of God to be more satisfying to the culture.  Scripture is timeless, it is not bound to the culture and we cannot abandon the words of God in an attempt to appease the culture. Who should we be seeking to please, the culture or God? God is not pleased when we disobey his Word, especially when it's deliberately, when we put words in his mouth to make him say something he did not say, and disregard what he did say.

 If your church disregards these scriptures then it may seem normal to you for there to be women pastors (and thus you might assume I'm presenting something foreign in this post), but I promise you that your church is actually in the minority and many churches hold to the view that I have presented here.  I do not mean to say that your church is "evil" or even that you should leave your church, that is not my goal here. Present these verses to your pastor or your elders, see what they say about them.  I understand their is no perfect church, and as I said I am friends with those who would disagree with me here, and I've been to several churches where women have preached.  But we have to care about obeying the word of God, and I say these things and future things at the risk of being viewed as "extreme" by friends, or even being alienated by some friends, and by churches as well. However, I cannot care about pleasing and appeasing man, my primary concern has to be pleasing God, and often times that comes with a cost...a cost I am willing to accept, I hope you would also. Because when it comes down to obeying or disobeying God, it's a serious matter and can't be taken lightly, if the scripture says something do you believe it or do you twist it to mean something you want it to mean? We must be honest with ourselves because we're all prone to try and evade the commands of God.

Aliens...and I'm Not Talking Science-Fiction

I want to give a quick little update and a brief story about something that happened recently before I get into the meat of this blog post. Saturday at Ingrid's we always have a bible study. It's almost like a full-on service because first we do a few songs of worship followed by about an hour of preaching. Anywhere from 10-20 people usually come for this and it's always followed by fellowship, snacks, music, etc. Ingrid has started a series a few weeks ago where every week we will be going through one chapter of Romans. This last Saturday was the third week, and so it was the third chapter, and Ingrid asked me if I would teach this chapter. Of course preaching the word/teaching it/talking about it is my favorite thing to do, and not only that but Romans is my favorite book in the bible,so I was pretty excited about doing this.

Anyway, after it was all over, I went with Carlos and his girlfriend Patricia to a Chifa restaurant across from San Marcos for dinner. It ended up being a very bad dining experience to say the least. We payed about the same amount that you would normally pay here for what we ordered “Arroz Chaufa con Pollo,” which is kind of like our chicken fried rice in the U.S. Normally for the price that we payed, you get a very large portion that is almost impossible to finish on your own. When our food was brought to the table, the first thing we noticed was how small the portions were, they were extremely small. The amount we were given would be worth half or less than half of what we were paying for. I wasn't really bothered by this too much because I wasn't extremely hungry in the first place, it was just a disappointment. But then we started eating and realized that there was virtually no chicken at all to be found, just tiny specks here and there but it was 99% rice, and the rice wasn't even that good. We ate a little bit and then decided we didn't want anymore, it just wasn't good. Patricia said she wasn't going to pay for it, and Carlos was apologizing to me for taking me there. I told him it wasn't his fault, I really didn't have a big problem with it, and that they didn't need to yell at the people or anything. But they insisted and so I said “Ok, let them know it's not worth what we're expected to pay, just try and be polite about it.” The guy took our plates and said we would only have to pay for the soup (that Carlos bought). But when we went to the front to explain the problem to the woman and pay for the soup, she threw a fit and called for what the woman who I guess was the manager of the kitchen. Carlos and Patty were arguing back and forth with them for a good 10 minutes, I don't know everything they said because it was all in Spanish, but the lady wouldn't budge. She looked furious, I really didn't think it was that big of a deal but she was visibly irate. She also said that we had to pay because we ate all of our food which was an outright lie. Both my plate and Patricia's (Carlos only had soup) was given back to them with well over half of the food still on the plate. I could tell that this wasn't going anywhere and Carlos & Patricia were even starting to get upset so I just spoke up and said in Spanish so that the women who worked there could hear me, “Carlos don't worry about it” then I told the woman “Here's the money for my food” and I gave her the full amount, then I told her to have a good night and we left.

At that point I was more worried about handling the situation in the manner of someone who is representing Christ, to show grace despite the fact that I knew we were right and they were wrong. Further argumentation wouldn't get us anywhere. And not only that but I knew that she knew we were telling the truth, that I was being honest, and that by the way in which we left they could tell that they were in the wrong. I don't know if it was the holy spirit working in me or not but during the whole ordeal I was very conscious about the fact that I was representing Christ, and that I also had a good opportunity to show by example to a couple new Christians what some of the fruits of the spirit actually look like in action. This story sort of brings me into what the title of this blog post is about. If you don't see why now, you will in a minute.

What I am about to talk about is not something that only came to me following this little event. It's something I've had on my mind for several weeks now. I like to call it to mind frequently and meditate on it, consider the implications of it, and what my response to it should be. It's very comforting, very intriguing, and at the same time it can be very burdensome (in a sense) if you're honest with yourself in considering the full weight of it. What is this truth that I'm describing? The fact that we as Christians are aliens. Yes aliens, and just as I said in the title, I'm not talking about science-fiction, or little green people, or UFO's, or some mystical interpretation of the bible (believe me some people try finding evidence of the other kind of aliens in the bible). Some of you already know exactly where I'm going with this while others may be puzzled, wondering where I get my scriptural backing for this.

Well, I guess it would depend upon which translation of the bible you're using as to whether or not the word “aliens,” appears in it, either way the point and the message is the same. The verse I am referring to that some translations use the word “aliens” is 1 Peter 2:11-12 which says, “Dear friends, I urge you as aliens and temporary residents to abstain from fleshly desires that war against you. Conduct yourselves honorably among the Gentiles, so that in a case where they speak against you as those who do evil, they may, by observing your good works, glorify God in a day of visitation.” Some translations substitute the word “aliens,” for “sojourners” which is what my ESV does (the quoted verse comes from the HCSB), both words are relating the same concept.

Before I elaborate further on what it means to be an “alien,” or “sojourner,” let me briefly tie this passage in to the little story I gave about my experience at the Chifa restaurant. Notice in verse 12 Peter says, “Conduct yourselves honorably among the Gentiles, so that in a case where they speak against you as those who do evil, they may, by observing your good works, glorify God in a day of visitation. What does Peter mean by this? Well if you look at the phrase “in a day of visitation” you can understand what he's saying here. In the OT this could mean a couple of things, it was either God drawing near to his people or nations for the purpose of judgment or for blessing but in the NT, “visitation” refers to redemption. So what Peter is saying here is, “Always conduct yourselves in an honorable manner so that even when people speak against you, when they see your graceful response, and your good works, if the day ever comes that God grants them repentance and they are saved, they will glorify God upon remembering and having seen the testimony of fellow believers in the face of opposition.” That is what I hope happens to the women at the Chifa restaurant who were accusing us of being liars though they themselves were the liars and false-accusers.

So what does the bible mean when it says we are “aliens” or “sojourners?” This concept is not secluded to one little verse, it can be found in many places and I will get to more instances in a minute but first, what exactly does it mean? Well truth be told you could summarize the meaning of it in many ways but basically it means that we are foreigners in a foreign land, this earth is not our home, and we are not citizens to this kingdom (the kingdom of earth/Satan) but instead our citizenship is in heaven, Christ is our king, and we are his people, we're merely passing through. It's almost analogous to my current situation here in Peru. I'm a foreigner, I'm not from here, I am a citizen of the United States. But really this analogy does little justice to the magnitude of what the bible means when it says that we are aliens or sojourners as Christians.

Now, let's interpret scripture with scripture and see where this concept takes us, what it means for us. The first verse I want to look at is 2 Corinthians 5:20 which says, “Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.” I want to pay special attention to the word, “ambassador.” Now I know when studying the word usage of a text it's imperative to look at the word in the original language (in this case Greek) and the cultural context in which it was used. So what I am about to do wouldn't normally be the first step for you to take unless you didn't understand the word in your own language, but here the meaning in our language and in the original context is very similar. You might find this very interesting, look at what the current definition for “ambassadors” is in the Merriam & Webster dictionary, “A diplomatic agent of the highest rank accredited to a foreign government or sovereign as the resident representative of his or her own government or sovereign or appointed for a special and often temporary diplomatic assignment.” I hope you would agree that the parallels here with the biblical definition of what it means to be an ambassador as a Christian are striking. Certainly we are diplomatic agents of the “highest rank” being children of the “Most High” God, the creator of the heavens and the earth, the Alpha and the Omega. We are also accredited to a “foreign government” that being the government of the worldly system, the government of which Satan is the current president. (I am not insinuating he has authority over God, rather God has ordained that he have rule on earth for a period of time, though he can never and has never done anything without God first allowing him to do it. He rules those who are of “the world” whom we are also called as ambassadors to). I also love how it says, “appointed for a special and often temporary assignment.” Certainly our assignment is special since it comes from the appointment of the Lord God Almighty, and it's also temporary. We're only passing through, we have a limited amount of time here on this earth before we're called home to our true kingdom.

Now let's look specifically at what Paul is saying here with this verse in his second letter to the church at Corinth. I've talked about this before in other ways. We are ambassadors, messengers from God, carrying a message of hope to this broken world, that message is the gospel. God always ordains the ends but he also always ordains the means to the ends and in this case the end is salvation, and the means is the proclamation of the gospel. He has chosen us as his ambassadors to proclaim the gospel and by doing that God is, “making his appeal through us” for people to “be reconciled to God.” This is our great assignment as Christians, this is the reason why the church (all truly converted Christians) are still on this earth and not in heaven. God has chosen to use us in his great plan of redemption, I won't go too in depth about this because I've already written about this in a previous blog post but wow, I just think it's amazing. One of my favorite segments of scripture is 1 Corinthians 18-31 and in one part of this Paul says, “God was pleased to save those who believe through the foolishness of the message preached.” I can't get into the context of this verse and all the glories that surround it without writing a whole another blog post but just think about that for a second! We are ambassadors, here to preach a message from our King, a message that has the power to save (Rom 1:16), yet a message that is regarded as foolishness to everyone except those whom the holy spirit gives sight and exchanges a heart of stone for a heart of flesh, “For to those who are perishing the message of the cross is foolishness, but to us who are being saved it is God's power. (1 Cor 1:18) I must also note that as ambassadors for Christ, it is imperative that we strive to be like him in our day-to-day lives. You wouldn't want to represent your King in a way that would displease him would you? We are to continually be striving to be conformed to the image of Christ. So many people have a bad impression of what it means to be a Christian because they see many who claim the name of Christ who really don't know him or worse those who do yet don't live as they should. They then assume that every Christian is like this and that this is what it must mean to be a Christian. We are called to be holy because He is holy, when they see us and they evaluate our lives it should be made clear to them that something is different about us, because we don't bow down to the ways of the world, we serve the Most High King...and when we live like this, perhaps 1 Peter 3:15 might happen to us, and then we will have an opportunity to share what we have with others.

I just want to share two more scriptures before wrapping this up, both from the same book. The first is John chapter 15 verses 18-19, “If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.” This is a verse explaining persecution of Christians. I am not going to go into an explanation of the text because this post isn't about persecution, I just wanted to show it because Jesus clearly says here that we are “not of the world.” The world recognizes that we don't belong to them, they see the difference, they see the standard that we live by, and that they have absolutely nothing they can offer us because we know all their wells are empty and dried up, we know they cant satisfy, and we find our treasure in Christ and the kingdom to come. They see this, they see our holy standard and so they hate us just as they hated Christ. We are no different, the servant is not greater than the master. If they hated him and he was not of this world, they will hate us who follow him for we also are not of this world. I just want to insert a scripture here that ties into this paragraph, 1 Peter 4:3-4 “For there has already been enough time spent in doing the will of the pagans: carrying on in unrestrained behavior, evil desires, drunkenness, orgies, carousing, and lawless idolatry. In regard to this, they are surprised that you don't plunge with them into the same flood of dissipation---and they slander you.” (emphasis added).

Lastly, to further emphasize the point that we are aliens, ambassadors, foreigners, and sojourners we will look at John 17:14-18 but before we do that I have to give a little intro to who exactly Christ is praying for here. Many people assume that God loves everybody the same, but this is not a biblically sound position to take, for it is not true. God has multiple kinds of love that he shows, in one sense he does love everybody because everyone is his creation, and everyone is an image-bearer of God. Everyone is shown his grace every day in that they do not receive the just punishment for their sin (death). “The rain falls on the just and the un-just,” the un-saved wake up in the morning just like everyone else, they get to enjoy the sunset, have a cup of coffee, enjoy time with their spouse, and reap all the benefits of what is known as God's “common grace,” (which is illustrated by the quote, “The rain falls on the just and the un-just”). But God has a special kind of love for those who are his. Just like a father may love all children but reserve a special love for his own children. Before we get to verse 14, Christ expresses this special kind of love to Christians in verse 9 when he says, “I am praying for them. I am not praying for the world but for those whom you have given me, for they are yours.” Now without getting into the doctrine of election here (I'll do that another time) Christ was praying for every believer when he said, “but for those whom you have given me,” and not for everyone in the world, clearly showing his special love for us. Then we go down to verse 14 and he says, “I have given them your word, and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. I do not ask that you take them out of the world but that you keep them from the evil one. They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth. As you sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world.” Again we see him say that we are not of the world. This is known as Christ's “High Priestly Prayer,” just as the high priests in the OT interceded for the nation of Israel before God, so Christ has become our High Priest (see entire book of Hebrews for further description of this), reconciling us to God, and to this day he is in heaven interceding for us to the Father.

This truth that I am, that we are, aliens in a foreign land is something I like to think about every day. While I'm walking the streets, while I'm sitting in a cafe, riding a bus, whatever it is I'm doing, it keeps me focused on the mission so that I don't lose sight of the reason why I am here. Knowing that I'm not here forever, but only for a time, and that my time here is not in vein….but isn't it beautiful that while we're here, we have been given a purpose, a purpose that has eternal significance! I just absolutely love the thought that my citizenship is to the Kingdom of God, knowing that this crazy earth is not my ultimate destiny. It's such a joy to live serving Christ here and now, but how much more amazing will it be when we're reunited with our King in his Kingdom? For now we can only fathom, and whatever it is we fathom, doesn't come close to what will soon be a reality for all of us. My prayer for you is that you live kingdom-minded, keeping your eyes on the prize (Christ!).

"I Don't Want You, I Just Want What You Can Offer.."

I have developed a sort of routine that has become my favorite way to begin my days here in Peru. I like to wake up in the morning and take a cambis/bus to the plaza that is nearest to where I live (Plaza San Miguel) and have breakfast at Starbucks or one of the cafes there that has internet (I don't have internet where I live). This is usually my time to message my family, friends, and supporters back home and let them know what's been going on here as well as answer any questions they might have. This is also the time I use to post most of my blog updates. It's very relaxing and I'm able to get a lot of thinking done and get prepared for my day. My favorite part about it though is the fact that I'm able to listen to sermons online from some of my favorite pastors back in the United States, it has a way of making me feel at home but more importantly it gets my mind saturated on the Word of God and the things of God before beginning my day.

(Just to clarify, I do not supplement listening to sermons for actually reading the Bible and I'm not suggesting you do that either. We need to read the Word for ourselves to see who God is for ourselves and not simply rely upon what other people tell us about God (because they could be wrong...even your pastors, but even if they're right, God desires a personal relationship with us, not merely one based upon hearsay). I spend my own time with the Word, and I also listen to sermons to hear brilliant expositions on the text from men like Piper, MacArthur, Sproul, and others. Though God has certainly given us the office of teachers and preachers for a reason, and gifted men to fill those offices that they might be a gift to us by properly explaining and teaching to us God's holy Word.

So Phillip ran to him and heard him reading Isaiah the prophet and asked, “Do you understand what you are reading?” And he said, “How can I, unless someone guides me?” And he invited Philip to come up and sit with him. -Acts 8:30-31)

Anyway, a few days ago I was listening to a message from John Piper from the “Contending For the Truth” National Conference in 2007. His message was mostly on the relationship between faith and reason and how the bible constantly implores us to use our minds in conjunction with our faith (as opposed to bypassing our mind and saying something to the extent of, “I don't need my mind I have the holy spirit!”) but he also spoke quite a bit about what it means to have true saving faith. In fact he talked about exactly what I was trying to talk about in my previous blog post when I mentioned my frustration with people who say they are Christian but whom you can tell really are not. Piper was able to articulate what I was trying to say in a much better way than I ever could and it really helped me to hear his explanation as to why there are so many who claim to have Christ but in reality do not. I enjoyed his explanation so much that I took notes from it and some of them are posted below this paragraph. ,I wanted to share them with you because I feel it may help you in understanding where these sort of people are coming from, and because I don't feel I was clear enough in my last blog post.

“There are so many people who say they have received Christ and believed on Christ who give little or no evidence of any spiritual life, they don't seem to be “alive,” they are unresponsive to the spiritual beauty of Jesus...it doesn't get any echo, they are unmoved by the glory of Christ, they don't have the spirit of the apostle when he said “I count everything as loss for the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord...I count it all as refuse in order that I might gain Christ” You listen...and you long, and ache to hear anything approximating that heart in these people who say they have received Christ and you don't hear it..ever. Their spirit is not..it seems, of the apostle Paul. So what's the problem?

They are not receiving Christ for who he really is, that is, they are not receiving him as supremely valuable.

They receive him as sin forgiver because they don't like feeling guilty, they love being guilt free.

They receive him as rescuer from hell because they love being pain-free.

They receive him as healer because they love being disease free.

They receive him as protector, because they love being safe.

They receive him as prosperity giver, because they love being wealthy.

They receive him as creator, because they love a personal universe.

They receive him as the lord of history, because they love order and purpose.

But they don't receive him as supremely and personally valuable...that is they don't receive him as who he is. He is more glorious, more beautiful, more wonderful, more satisfying than anything in the universe, and they don't prize him, or treasure him, or cherish him, or delight in him, they do not receive him for what he is.”

Many people receive Christ in a way that requires no change in human nature. You don't have to be born again to love being guilt-free, you don't have to be born again to love being pain free, or disease free, or safe, or wealthy... all natural men love those things, and they'll do whatever they need to do to get them, say whatever they need to say, believe whatever they need to believe. If that's what you want and you're told this will get it and it looks plausible, then they'll use that to get it...you don't have to be born again to be driven by what drives the world. But Jesus says you have to be born again to go to heaven. And so that kind of receiving Christ doesn't get you to heaven...the kind of faith that gets you to heaven is the kind that requires a new-birth and embracing Jesus as your supreme treasure requires the new birth." -John Piper

I hope John Piper's explanation was as helpful to you as it was to me.

Just to elaborate a little more on what he said, I think it's important to understand that those of us who are true Christians do not and should not do the things we do simply because He (God) gives, but instead because of who He is. I don't love Christ, obey Christ, serve Christ, and honor Christ, because I'm expecting him to bless me financially, pay off the rest of my college, get me a great job, or because I expect him to pour out his blessings in any number of ways. Certainly the bible gives us assurance that we will be blessed for being obedient to him, both temporarily and eternally (much more significantly eternally). But that cannot be the source of our motivation, it's not about what he gives, it's about who he is. We do the things we do for God because he gave everything up for us, namely his only Son, and through that supreme act of love we are so captured by the magnificence of God...His amazing grace, his holy character, his benevolence, his patience, and all of his captivating attributes that always operate in absolute perfection and draw us into a deep desire to worship him and live a life that brings Him glory. If my motivation to serve God is because I expect him to bless me with something and he doesn't, then what's going to happen? Or what if I do some “great” things in service to him expecting to be greatly blessed and all of a sudden God decides it's time for a period of testing, chastening, and discipline... my world is going to be rocked and I'm not going to know how to properly respond or handle it. Like John said, true saving faith accepts Christ as being supremely valuable, not the things he can give or what he can offer, and this extends beyond our conversion to our Christian life...doing what we do for Him because He is our supreme treasure. Because the greatest gift God could ever give us is himself...and he did; Jesus Christ. I don't want heaven if God isn't there, I want him.

Hope this helps!