Qur'an, Questions, and Kabobs

I am sitting here in Abidjan after a 10 hour flight from Dubai. Yesterday was a  most amazing day. I woke up and took myself for a swim in the Persian Gulf. Then I took a taxi to the Al Manar Islamic Studies Center for Friday prayers.  It might frustrate some Christian Brothers & Sisters to hear me say that it was one of the most challenging experiences I've had in a long time.  I sat on the floor in the back of the room and watched 160 men get on their knees, faces to the floor, and prayed to the God of Abraham.  The young man giving the message challenged us to be better husbands, father's, business men, and servants of God. He challenged the men to search their hearts for any sins committed since last Friday. They then needed to repent, and walk the right road.
 After prayers Hamed, the resident theologian, spent an hour answering my questions.  Hunger sent us next door to an Afghanistan restaurant where we ate lamb kabob, pita bread, and rice with our fingers. We spoke and ate for two hours. It was delightful conversation between two men committed to their faith.  We talked about the Qur'an, shariah law, veiled faces, democratic government in a Muslim world, and those committing crimes against humanity in the name of Allah. Our conversation was deep and wide.  It evolved as we spoke and took on an evangelistic tone.  Hamed was showing me the need to recognize Jesus as a prophet, and give up my polytheism.  He challenged me to worship only the one true God.  As our conversation headed to a zenith I shared with Hamed that I agreed with almost everything his young preacher had said.  I could kneel beside him, face to the ground, and worship the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.  But my problem was the blood.  Lambs blood on the doorpost facilitated the exodus.  God gave Abraham a ram to save his son.  There was blood in the tabernacle, and blood in the temple.  Finally, there was blood shed on a cross.  In fact, without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins.  As Hamed firmly testified that there is no God but Allah I was reminded of 1 John 5:11-12 which I memorized in 1977.  For this is the record, God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his son.  He who has the son has life and he who has not the son has not eternal life. I concluded by sharing with Hamed that for me to declare Jesus as less than I believe Him to be is as difficult as for Hamed to declare Jesus more than he believes him to be.  I left a Christian, and Hamed remained a Muslim. But I made a new friend, ate a great meal, and respected that Hameds seven year old son sat with us and listened attentively to an hour of prayer, and three hours of adult theology.  I now have a friend who can give informed answers about Islam to my far ranging questions.

I will ccontinue to be challenged by the preachers Friday charge that we live for God as if we are in the midst of an emergency, never to be mired in passive complacency.

Keep prayng that I get everything God has for me in this coming week of prayer, evangelism, deliverance, and instruction.

I love you.

Pastor Paul

Knowing about God, and Knowing God--by Linden Malki

Two of my good friends grew up in strict, legalistic churches. They know the rules.  One commented to me that he was in church regularly as a kid, but he's not living it.  The other one was harsher:  "Do you know what the teaching I got growing up makes? Atheists!"  One thing I noticed about both of these guys is anger.   These are not kids--both are middle-aged. One often vividly describes what he thinks should happen to people who cause him trouble or inconvenience.  The other has a history of depression, which is often related to anger.  They learned about judgment, and missed the rest of the story.

I know from my own experience that being nagged to stop being frustrated and angry does not accomplish anything good. The breakthrough for me was realizing one night that the bad temper I was wallowing in was in danger of getting out of control.  I remember calling out to God to take it away;  I could not stop it on my own. And then I could feel it draining away . And God took not just the emotion of the moment, but the trigger;  I do not know any more what it was that set me off.  What I do recall is realizing that  a big part of it was an unhealthy enjoyment in feeling sorry for myself.  What I learned was that I had the choice to be all about own feelings and frustrations; or to deliberately pass it off to Someone who could get it out of my hands and brain, and do whatever, if anything,  truly needs to be done. 

Knowing about God and knowing God are not the same thing.  Knowing about God is a first step; we need to remember that we can never know everything about God this side of eternity, but the writer of Hebrews said it well: we need to know first that He IS, and He rewards those who seek Him.  Knowing only His greatness and power is just the beginning. The real miracle is that He--the Master of the Universe--wants to reach down and have a relationship with little, fallible us.  Peter recognized Jesus' Lordship as He was walking on the water;  he was willing to accept Jesus' invitation to get out of the boat, but found that he could only do it with his hand  in the hand of Jesus.

God has given us the basic principles of becoming fit for His presence; but we also need to remember that like Peter, we can't do it on our own.  In fact, we can't be the people God made us to be on our own; our own priorities and self-centered wants will keep us trapped in ourselves.   If we are willing to hand it over, He can give us the wisdom and strength to do what needs to be done, or drain away what  needs to be gone. (And if you look carefully, the opposite of each of the basic commandments is our own self-centeredness.)  It is important to recognize and confess our failures, but we have to go beyond the wishful good intention to do better.  We have to accept the power of His forgiveness, and let Him get rid of whatever stands in the way of living in His eternal Kingdom.

WHY NOT?--by Linden Malki

When I was working with our Adventure Club kids' program, there was one lesson I don't forget. The topic was very basic: the difference between right and wrong.  The lesson worksheet was a page of balloon outlines, each with a simple description of things that a kid might do; some good, some bad. One might have been "kick the dog"; another might be "take out the trash."  I passed out a red and a green crayon to each of the kids (about eight 8-9-year-olds) and told them to color each of the good things green and the bad things red. The kids were discussing and coloring, and I noticed one boy by himself at the end of the table looking puzzled and doing nothing. I explained it again to him, and he asked "but i don't understand; what's the difference?" I realized that he did not have the concept that some things are good to do, other things are not good to do. One evening one of our children's workers saw him riding his bike out at about 9:30 at night on a school night. When asked if it might be late for for him to be out,  his answer was "Why not?" I occasionally saw his mother in church, apparently listening and coming out with an occasional "Hallelujah!", and she did bring the boy to church.  But something wasn't connecting here.

Looking around at today's world, we see and hear a lot of "Why Not?". The idea that there is right and wrong seems old-fangled and cruel, especially when it interferes with something you want to do.  Too often "right" and "wrong" is a reflection of what you think will make people think better about themselves. Sometimes it's throwing blame around without knowing facts or context--and away from yourself. Sometimes it's avoiding responsibility. And the rationalization: so what difference does it make?  In many cases, there is an immediate upside, and the downside may crash down fast, or slowly, or in an unexpected or even unknown area.

The ultimate answer to the "Why Not" is also the heart behind the rules: God. He does know Why Not, and He is the ultimate accountability. When we think about the Commandments, we have a vision of Moses coming down from a mountain with the Law.  But the letter of the Law is not the most important part of this incident.  Look at  Exodus 19, the previous chapter. What God told Moses to tell the people of Israel is first, that they saw what God did for them in getting them out of Egypt. Then, if they would listen to His Voice, He wanted to have a relationship with them.  Moses brought this word to the people; they agreed, and Moses took the agreement back to God. Notice something about this whole conversation: They did NOT know the content of the agreement!  The were taking it on faith that what God wanted of them would be best for them.

The target that they were shooting for is God's. 

There are lots of targets out there in this world. Some of them are income levels; some of them are job successes, some of them are body images; we can think of many more (and there are plenty of people out there who will be happy to set up a target for you.) They may not be bad targets: but are they God's targets?

Facing Our Giants--by Linden Malki

Flopsy, the sneaky and self-willed dog who lived with us when I was growing up (I can't say "our dog" because she was really her own dog) liked to chase cows. No, we didn't have cows running loose in Spokane, but every summer we spent a couple of weeks out in the mountains of western Montana, fishing and unwinding.  One of our favorite camping spots was a meadow along a creek, with a ridge of woods on the other side of the meadow. There was a narrow trail through the woods to a farm on the other side of the hill, and cows from the farm would come over the hill to "our" meadow to graze.  Flopsy would try to herd the cows back to the trail, chasing and nipping and barking at their heels. All would be well until one of the cows looked back at her, and she knew that the cow knew she was a just a little dog harassing a big giant animal. It was amazing how quickly she would be back under our camping trailer with her tail between her legs!  

We may have big scary giant stuff wandering around in our own meadows.  What do we do about it?  We can put on the big show of being tough, but facing reality just might send us back to our own safe doghouse. And sometimes that is appropriate, and sometimes we are missing a great opportunity because we didn't learn how to deal with this giant. And sometimes we just want to "do it ourselves" rather than ask for the help we need. And then when we can’t do it, we ask God to save us and fix it.

  

The history of the Israelites is a continuing story of fighting giants. Too often, people have not realized how big a deal things really are. At the beginning, one little fruit and one smooth-talking snake didn’t appear to be a giant—but it was actually one that we are all still fighting. Noah faced a giant flood. Moses faced a Pharoah, a sea, a thundering mountain, a large group of stubborn people, and then when the end was in sight, they literally wimped out at the sight of “giants”—which cost them 40 years more in the wilderness. As you read, watch for giants that people faced, what they did and how it turned out. Sometimes it looks like a little thing but turns out to be a giant thing. King Saul thought he was doing God a favor by going ahead with an offering (I Samuel 13) when he had been commanded to wait for Samuel. He thought the important thing was the offering; the giant mistake was his disobedience. And he didn’t learn. In chapter 15, Saul was told to exercise God’s judgment on the Amelekites without looting or profiting in any way, and instead he thought he could placate God with looted offerings, and that was the giant ego trip that cost him his kingdom and ultimately, his life. 

The classic giant story, of course, is David and Goliath. There are two things that David did right that made him a giant-killer. One was that he was prepared; he knew his own capability and how to use it. He probably hadn’t been real thrilled about the lions and wolves and bears he had had to learn to deal with out with the sheep, but it paid off. The other, and most important thing, is that he knew where to ask for help. God can do amazing things with people who are willing to let God teach them and empower them—and give God the credit!

We've Got Plans!--by Linden Malki

A young, brand-new military wife to her husband, about to leave on an emergency mission: Can't you just tell them that We've Got Plans?   How often do we make plans, only to find out that we're really not on the planning level? Whether we understand it or not, none of us are at the top planning level!  There is always something that can undermine even the simplest, or the most well-thought-out plan. Not that we shouldn't plan, but we should always be aware that even  the concrete we think our plans are set into can crack and crumble.

One way or another, I think we are all control freaks.  Making plans is one way of taking control of our future.  Not that it is necessarily a bad thing,but it can lead us too far down a wrong road. Sometimes we recognize that something is not going right, but the time and effort we have already expended makes it hard to change.  Sometimes it takes something pretty drastic to turn us around.

St Paul is a good example of dealing with plans changing--he was sure he knew what he was doing, but after God knocked him over and confronted him with Jesus Himself,  we find him open to to change. He faced visions and shipwrecks and beatings and prisons,  but he was able to turn on a dime and trash his own plans to follow God's directions.  There is a legend that Peter at one point was running away from persecution in Rome under Nero, and on the road Jesus met him, going the other way. All Jesus said was "Quo Vadis?" Where are you going?  Peter then turned and returned to Rome and martyrdom.

The classic example of God messing with a man's plans is Jonah. He had the calling to prophecy, but his plans didn't include God's plan. His own plan was to go as far the other direction as he could go! It took a storm, a shipwreck and a fish to turn him around.  Even when God blessed his efforts, he wasn't happy. 

It's very easy for us to know what we want, and ask God to bless our plans. Sometimes the right doors open, and sometimes they slam shut. Sometimes the doors that open are not the ones we expect.  I may know what i want, and I can be pretty stubborn--but it may not be what God wants for me.   On the other hand, the plan might be more complicated and difficult than I realize.  We might just be a supporting player in God's drama, and we don't know what He is doing with the rest of the cast. We could be sailing into a shipwreck--but even a shipwreck is often a life-changing experience.

 He just might meet us on our own road, and ask where we're going!

One Man and One Kingdom

The story in Acts 8 of the Ethiopian eunuch actually begins a thousand years earlier, at the time of King Solomon.  We read that Solomon was visited by the Queen of Sheba, with a large entourage. At that time "Sheba" included both what is now Yemen and more territory on the other side of the Gulf, on the Horn of Africa, including part of Ethiopia.  It says in I Kings 10 that Solomon gave the Queen "all that she asked". It is believed in Ethiopia that this included a son, who became King Menelek of Ethiopia.  There has been a community of believers in the God of Israel for many centuries,  which may date back to this time. There is also a tradition that Menelek made a trip to Jerusalem to visit his father Solomon, and learn about his God.  In any case, there was trade and contact between the northeast part of Africa and the eastern coast of the Mediterranean.

The Ethiopian community of believers, one name for which is the Falasha, have Scriptures in Geez, their ancient language, and also perform many of the sacrifices and feasts as described in the Old Testament. (Many of them have emigrated to Israel in this century.)

There is also a church in Axum, the ancient capitol of Ethiopia, St. Mary of Zion, which claims to have possession of the Ark of the Covenant.  The traditional story is that when Menelek visited Jerusalem, he had a replica of the Ark made and brought home the original.  Another suggestion is that during the period that the Temple in Jerusalem was being used for pagan worship, the Ark was smuggled out to a Temple known to have been built at Aswan, on the upper Nile, on an island known as Elephantine.  Papyri in Aramaic dating from the 5th century BC have been found describing a  military outpost and Temple observances.  This community was disappeared, and there are legends of a holy object moved up the Nile to Lake Tana in Ethiopia. In any case, there have been Old Testament traditions and worship in Ethiopia for many centuries.

This makes the presence of an Ethiopian official visiting Jerusalem for Passover, who was familiar with the scriptures, and eager  to learn not surprising. Add to this the instructions given to Phliip to find this person and give him the "rest of the story", and we see another case of one person in the right place at the right time with the Word of God, being able to be a seed planted that became one of the oldest Christian communities in the world. 

PULLING WEEDS--by Linden Malki

"I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth. Therefore..." Before telling his disciples what they were to do, He established the point that He was acting on the authority of God the Father. And of course, He was also establishing the concept that God Himself is the ultimate authority in the Universe.

And of course, we human beings, being self-centered and willful creatures, have had a problem with this ever since a talking snake pointed out to Eve (and Adam, who was right there with her) that she could act against the one specific prohibition that God had given them. Too many of us have figured this out too; that we can do things that are not "in the book" but we are physically able to do them. Doesn't mean that we should do them, that it's a good idea, just that we can do them. We are usually defying some sort of authority when we do them, and they usually do not work out well. My favorite definition of "repentance" is that it does not mean that we regret the unsatisfactory result, but that we recognize that God has the legitimate authority to judge.

This is the first step in following Jesus: acknowleging that God does have the authority to require obedience; that He really does have our best interests at heart. The next step is recognizing that Jesus not only has the authority of God to deal with us, but that He, and God, do this out of love for us. He created us to have a loving relationship with us, but it has to be with the understanding that as our Creator, this relationship has to be on His turf. Nothing that is not compatible with His authority can exist in His presence, now or in eternity.

It's easy to get this backwards. We want to do it ourselves; to have the pride of cleaning up our acts ourselves. The problem is that we can't do it right. If we try to control the disobedience ourselves, we're trying to do this with the same strength and doggedness that led us into the disobedience in the first place. Even if we apparently succeed, the reasons we got off track are still there, and can still trip us up. Not to mention that we are usually unpleasantly self-righteous and judgmental, often being hypocritical about the whole thing.

When I lived in Devore, every spring and summer was a fight against weeds. We could cut them down, but they just sprang back with the next rain. One year I decided to really get them out--got up an hour early every morning for most of the spring and pulled them out by the roots where I could. I couldn't do it all myself, but the area I did around the house didn't grow back as fast. But living in a world of weeds, they came back the next year.

We have to give up--to let Jesus pull the weeds out of our lives--and keep watch over the seeds as they try to come back. He is the ultimate Gardener--better than mowers, or hoes, or tractors, or Roundup. Before we have the permission or authority to say anything to anybody else, we need a story to share that does not brag about ourselves, but that gives credit where it is truly due and truly available.