Leaving Comfort Behind

Every time I am engulfed in "normal" everyday life in society, I start to become comfortable. I get a job. I have a little bit of spending money and my priorities start to swing. I begin to tell myself there are movies I need to see- as if it is a high priority- or music that I need to buy. My focus goes to things I want and looking for reasons to justify having them. This past winter, it was movies. I started thinking I had to build up my movie collection. "Oh, this is a really good movie. I need to buy it" or "I really think this would be a good movie to add to my collection." The problem is that I explicitly fought against this two years ago because I was starting to idolize my collection of movies. I gave away most of my DVDs when I was at Acadia National Park. It was obvious to my coworkers that I was acting foolishly. But I realized the world should often think I act foolishly if I am striving to live like Christ. Christ did not live in luxury. His life was not comfortable. He was not concerned about his collection of movies. So, why I should I be comfortable and concerned of such earthly things? 

Anyway, I was sitting comfortably in my "normal" everyday life when my phone rang...twice. God gave me two Valentine's Day gifts this year: a job offer in Zion National Park and a job offer in Big Bend National Park. Both options gave me the chance to pack up all the things I needed and simply leave the rest behind. After doing this a few times, I realized that I forget about all the other stuff I don't take with me- the stuff I don't actually need. It can be very cleansing when you live out of a suitcase. My possessions stop possessing me.

So now, here I am, twenty miles (as the crow flies) from Mexico. Jackrabbits hop through the cacti outside my window and javelinas wander around my dormroom like demon beasts of the night. Between the mountains and the desert floor is where I currently reside, somewhere around 3,700 feet above sea level. It's hot during the day and cold at night.

Most days of the week I work in the Chisos mountains where mountain lions come hungry for a resident pooch- not hesitating to offend the Rangers by stealing a personal pet for a snack. It's not uncommon for residents to see a cougar prowling across the parking lot near the lodge. Other times, a Mexican black bear might meander through the area. However, I am glad that mountain lions and Mexican black bears are the worst animals out there now. Soon, the rattler snakes will awake from their hibernation and arise from the earth to bathe in the sun, the scorpions will begin to make surprise appearances in hidden places- under blankets and inside shoes, poisonous millipedes and centipedes will thrive as many-legged nuisances, and the tarantulas will arrive by the thousands- scurrying about on the ground like a furry arachnid blanket. As a porter, I get the privilege of protecting guests when they complain about these creatures of the desert getting too close to the lodge.

Just down the mountains is where I will work other days of the week, at the Rio Grande Village. Close in distance to the Chisos mountains yet a world away when it comes to wildlife. Here, birds come from different continents to hang out in the green trees and bushes. Exotic birds of bright plumage add to the palette of colors. Different bugs take their turn rising in myriads until they reach plague-like proportions and then disappear or die out, only to be replaced by a different bug.

The Spanish language is prevalent here. Since many people do not speak English, it is easy to imagine that I'm not in the United States anymore. However, the white upper-middle class retirees and nature lovers who spend their days traveling from park to park serve to remind me that I am still in the U.S.A. These people would go to the moon if the U.S. claimed land ownership of it and designated it a National Park. Come to think of it, I probably would too. But this is not the moon, this is Big Bend National Park.

As I write this, I can hear the wind pull through the mountains and scrape across the desert floor. The breeze finds me with the warmth of another passing day. I can't help but wonder why I'm having a harder time than usual at settling in here. There are faint tinges of homesickness in my heart which tells me I was probably living life too comfortably back home. So, out in the desert...beside the Chisos mountains... just a few miles from Mexico...this is where I'll stay until my homesickness goes away.

Jugglando

When I spent a college semester in Nicaragua, I remember going to see an active volcano with my friend Emily. It was relatively early in the semester and, as we walked up the road to the top of the volcano, we came across a typical yellow road sign. The sign read "CRUZANDO" and had a picture of an armadillo-type animal. Confused, Emily and I both looked at each other and asked, "What's a cruzando?" It wasn't until later that we realized the sign meant "crossing"- implying that armadillos tended to cross the road there.

Looking into the volcano caldera

Another time I had trouble with present progressive Spanish was when my friend Daniel would wait for the chicken bus to take him home. He told me he often practiced juggling things to pass the time. One day he told me he heard someone talking about him. He told me he heard laughter and the word "jugglando." I later realized jugglando is not present progressive Spanish for "juggling." Jugglando isn't even a word.

I've never been able to jugglando. I don't know if I could, even if I tried. However, I'm told a good juggler focuses his eyes on the highest point of the objects he juggles. He doesn’t focus on any one object but looks to where the objects stop ascending and start descending. In the same way, we juggle school, work, relationships, hobbies, and everything in between. Things in life come up and go down but we must keep our eyes on the highest point. We must always look to Christ.

 

  

Humanism

Why do we do mission work? Is it because of the Great Commission? In Matthew 28, Christ instructed us to "go and make disciples of all nations." We listened to him and that is why we have missionaries, right? 

Most Christians will tell you we do mission work because there are people in the world who have never heard about Jesus and, therefore, we need to tell them in order for them to be saved. Paul Washer says the end result is that we honor the Great Commission to save the souls of people. The end result is not about glorifying Christ. 

Humanism is defined as "any system or mode of thought or action in which human interests, values, and dignity predominate." It sounds like humanism may have infiltrated our motives for obeying Christ's Great Commission. 

Maybe this is not the worst thing that could happen. The apostle Paul says, "But what does it matter? The important thing is that in every way, whether from false motives or true, Christ is preached. And because of this I rejoice." (Phil. 1:18) Still, it is a slow slipping away from a Christ-centered way of thinking to a man-centered way of thinking.

Jesus' instructions as to why we should "go and make disciples" was because "all authority in heaven and on earth has been given to [Him]." He doesn't say we should do it to save the souls of men. He simply instructs us to do so because He is God and everything is His.

We would be wise to watch our motives closely, lest we begin to focus on humanity and distort our reasons for obeying Christ.

Prayer Priorities

Why is it that our prayer meetings and requests often sound like something from a medical convention? We get together and everyone knows someone who is sick with a strange disease. And so, we pray. It only seems natural that we ask God and thank God for the things that are meaningful to us.

However, prayer is also a window to our priorities. If we look through that window and examine our prayers, we see that health and safety are a very high priority to us. The more we pray about one thing, the higher a priority it is to us. I do believe persistent and continual prayer is a good thing but we must never let it be about us.

After going through some extended sickness last year, I realized I am not entitled to my health. Somewhere along the way, we all get swept up in our antiseptic culture, and without even realizing it, we soon believe we deserve a long and healthy life. Then, God is in the wrong when He takes that away from someone. We lose sight of "your will be done on earth" and humanly think "my will be done on earth." We see it backwards and go to God only when we need something from Him; as if He works on our terms.

Plain and simple, our prayer should not be prioritized by requests for health and safety when it means sacrificing prayers for the advancement of God's kingdom.

My friend Tim says it is a dangerous prayer to ask God to "use me today." We're scared of how God might use us because, deep down we know He will pull us out of our comfort zone. It is so much easier to promise God the near future. "God, I'll give you ALL my time and efforts as soon as I get through this busy season." It is different when it is immediate. "God, use me today." Then, there is no place for us to hide.

Often, my prayer time is cut short because of my schedule. So many things to do, so little time. I need to ask myself, "Is my schedule cutting into my prayer time or is my prayer time cutting into my schedule?" It is all about priorities. Your schedule or your time with God?

Sometimes the easiest way to prioritize is when you are facing life-or-death situations.

John Piper says this, "Life is war. That’s not all it is. But it is always that. Our weakness in prayer is owing largely to our neglect of this truth. Prayer is primarily a wartime walkie for the mission of the Church as it advances against the powers of darkness and unbelief. It is not surprising that prayer malfunctions when we try to make it a domestic intercom to call upstairs for more comforts in the den. God has given us prayer as a wartime walkie-talkie so that we can call headquarters for everything we need as the kingdom of Christ advances in the world."*


*Let the Nations be Glad


Listen to an audio sermon about prayer meetings here

Amidst a Humbling Circumstance

When I arrived in Wisconsin a few months ago, I knew I needed a job- pronto. I had loan payments like sharks, nipping at my toes. Each day, I was applying to four or five places of employment and, despite having a college education, I knew no jobs were beneath me. I needed to work. Low and behold, Walmart called me about my application almost immediately. I went in for an interview and, after a second interview, I signed the paperwork and became an employee.

However, for two weeks, I heard nothing about my ensuing first day of work. As I waited, I began to question my decision to work at Walmart. Internally, I heard whispers saying I was better than Walmart and shouldn't lower myself to its level. Satan was whispering pride but, the more I thought about it, the more I saw that God always teaches me valuable things when I am willing to take a servant's lowly position.

"Humbling" is the best word to describe the period of waiting to work at Walmart. I wasn't waiting for a prestigious job that utilized my college degree. Instead, I was waiting for a job that would pay minimum wage.

Over the course of my life, I have had seventeen different jobs and almost all of them have been different and taught me different skills. I love variety and learning new things because it makes me feel capable of many things, as if I am becoming a Jack-of-all-trades. With Walmart, however, I figured there was nothing for me to gain by working there.

That is when I read James 1: 9-11, "Believers in humble circumstances ought to take pride in their high position." 

I took that as confirmation that God would teach me valuable things in my walk with Him during my time as a lowly Sales Associate. I might not learn valuable job skills but maybe I would learn a thing or two about humility. Besides, my life is not about the job I get, it is about serving Christ. I could start my job at Walmart confident and full of pride in God and his ability, not mine. God will certainly do things through me and my job at Walmart.

And so, like most jobs, I come in every day and hear people spreading rumors, complaining about customers, swearing, and talking about the idols with which they fill their lives. Amidst a humbling circumstance, I ask God to let me see my own faults; to see my own gossip, my own unnecessary complaining, my own swearing, and my own idols that steal from my walk with Christ. I am not above this job; I am not above these people. We are all broken. We all need Christ. 

Believers in humble circumstances ought to take pride in their high position. But the rich should take pride in their humiliation—since they will pass away like a wild flower. For the sun rises with scorching heat and withers the plant; its blossom falls and its beauty is destroyed. In the same way, the rich will fade away even while they go about their business.

Road Trip

Alcatraz

Golden Gate Bridge

Big Sur Coast, CA

Death Valley National Park

Grand Canyon

Gas $ in CA

Zion National Park

Crater Lake (Click to see whole image)