You might be wondering why there has not been a new post since August. I haven’t died, or moved to Zambia. I have simply been immersed in a large documentary project and have been focusing all of my blogging efforts on the Silent Fall Documentary blog. If you want to catch up on what I have been blogging about, check out the Silent Fall Director’s Blog.
I am hoping to get back to blogging on The 2nd Man again. I have been missing writing down my thoughts about identity and destiny.
What do you believe qualifies you for the love of God?
When things go wrong in your life, is your first reaction to wonder why God let it happen? Do you become introspective to see what you have done wrong? When you pray, do you find yourself going through a mental checklist of successes and sins to determine if God will answer your prayer?If we ask ourselves the wrong questions, we end up like Adam and Eve: alienate from God through the fear and unbelief in our mind. We usually ask ourselves if we are worthy enough for God to answer our prayers and meet our needs. The answer to that is an obvious NO! But God doesn’t answer our prayers because we are worthy; He does it because we are qualified. There is a difference. I may not be worthy based on my actions. But I am qualified for all the promises of God because I am in Jesus! To be qualified is to meet legal requirements. To be worthy is to be deserving. I meet the legal requirements even when I am personally undeserving. Why? Because I am in Jesus! He is worthy!
Paul said it this way: “Giving thanks to the Father who has qualified us to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in the light” (Colassians 1:12). How could I possibly be qualified when I am not worthy? Simple! Jesus is worthy. He inherited all promises of God. I am now in Christ. In Him I share in the inheritance, all the riches of god.
In Jesus we were all given the gift of righteousness. We do not stand before God in our righteousness. We stand before Him in the righteousness of Christ Himself! “But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets; even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference” (Romans 3:21-22)
We have a righteousness that is not of our making. It is not based on our performance; it is based on the finished work of the Lord Jesus. “But of Him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption” (Corinthians 1:30).
When we receive His righteousness as a free gift, our conscience is made clear and our sense of self changes. We step into the identity that man was created to enjoy– one of dignity and worth. It is this very sense of righteousness that gives us peace and frees us from fear and wrath. It is the righteousness of Jesus that frees us from the abiding sense of lack, doom, low self-worth, and vague feeling of not measuring up. It is in this spiritual/ emotional state that we fulfill our God-given destiny as priests and kings.
–from Breaking the Cycle, by Dr. James Richards
I had the privilege of serving Dr. John Trent by putting together the video series of his Life Mapping seminar. In this seminar, Dr. John Trent helps you to map out a course for your life and get you to your destination. The seminar (and the book upon which it is based) involves taking a revealing review of the events and patterns in your past in order to develop a “storyboard” of where you’ve been, where you are, and where you’re heading. In the opening session, Dr. Trent holds up a thousand-piece puzzle box and suggests that our lives are much like a complex puzzle with all sorts of defining experiences and events fitting together to make up the whole. He then asks the question, how difficult would it be to put this puzzle together without the picture on the front of the box?
I agree that life is much like a puzzle with each piece being a component of our identity as a whole. Some pieces are our natural, God-given personality, temperament, desires and passions. Others are defining experiences that have reinforced God’s designs. Some of the pieces make up our worldview on faith, politics, relationship; determining our values and how we might react to any given life circumstance. And throughout our life, we are assembling this puzzle. But I would like to suggest an addition to this analogy: What if there were hundreds of puzzle pieces that had been added to our box that looked very similar in color and design but did not go with our personal puzzle? And what if we didn’t have the picture on the front of the box to go by?
Every day, you and I are assembling our identity puzzle; searching for who we are. I often find myself questioning some of the puzzle pieces I find in my box. Is that piece really me, or did that come out of the “peer pressure” puzzle box, or the “institutional religion” box, or the “that’s how we do it in our family” box, or the “keeping up with the Joneses” puzzle box? I continue to try to force these pieces into my life puzzle despite the fact that they have never really fit and have caused me a lot of discomfort trying to make them fit. Whenever I am working with that particular piece, trying to fit it here or there, I lose my peace and find myself reacting with uncharacteristic anger and emotion. Yet, I did find the piece in my box, didn’t I?
Many of these pieces, I have found to be deeply established, false identity messages that came from wrong conclusions I have made about myself and about God after I was wronged by someone, or was hurt physically or emotionally. Others, upon examination, I realize got into my box at times I chose to chase the success illusion and allowed jealousy and striving in. Some pieces I recognized as left-overs from an unhealthy relationship with a past girlfriend or college party buddy, or foul-mouthed co-worker. I’ve had to toss out a lot of pieces from past life patterns of pornography addiction and people-pleasing and works-righteousness.
The big question I find myself asking is, “How long am I going to continue forcing pieces into my identity puzzle that just aren’t me?” Oh, and by the way, I did find the picture from the front of my box. God had it safely tucked away for me between the pages of my Bible.
Mom & Dad,
As I have considered God’s faithfulness to you over the last 50 years, I can’t help but see the rich heritage you have left to your children and grandchildren. With every new year I come to a greater understanding of the depth and significance of all I have learned and gained from you. Each time I learn a new principle or idea about how to live a successful life in God’s kingdom, I have found that the idea or principle is already so familiar and I stop and ask, “Where do I know that from?” Inevitably, I find it is because you had already modeled that lesson or principle.
I wanted to share some of the life lessons I have learned from my father and mother:
These are just a few of the many life lessons; the heritage you have passed on to me and the inheritance you are passing on to your grandchildren. I thank God for His faithfulness and I thank you for yours.
I love you,
Evan
I have been recently volunteering in the county jail. I help lead a Bible study which walks the inmates through seven steps to spiritual freedom. This week’s lesson asked the men to write down statements that their parents or others had made about them which had not agreed with God’s heart for them. The virtually unending lists of curses and destructive identity messages these men received were astounding!
These young men had grown up hearing their father or mother proclaiming over them statements like, “you’re worthless, I wish you were never born, I wish you were dead, you will never amount to anything, you just bring pain to everyone you know, you’re going to end up in prison or dead” and on and on and on. Many of these statements were reinforced by their fathers abandoning them.
I asked my group, “What are the kinds of statements you make to and about yourself when you mess up?” Not surprisingly, they listed the exact same kinds of destructive proclamations they had received throughout their lives.
Is it any surprise that a child who was never given any value; who never came to know their own worth to God and had no worth to their own parents would grow up to see no worth or value in other’s lives or property? No wonder they end up drinking, drugging, stealing and killing. Why not, nothing really matters anyway.
But can you blame their parents? Their mothers and fathers most likely grew up with the same statements being made about them and with the same lack of self worth. And so it goes, generation after generation, until someone tells them that a loving God created them and has a good plan for their lives.
It is amazing to see the light come on as they realize that all those statements were lies, and that they do have value to God and others. Suddenly a sensitivity to the plight of others creeps in; a true regret for the pain caused by their crimes. A hope begins to burn and a new purpose and vision for a life of living right and doing good comes into their eyes. They begin thinking about their fatherless children and the women they have used.
Identity is at the root of every social, economical and spiritual problem we have in the world. If we want to truly cut crime, we need to reach these hurting families with the love of God before they program their children to grow up to be criminals.
Here is some information about locations to which we may be traveling to film for World Orphans. Please take some time to read the blog posts by Paul Myhill, World Orphan’s president, and learn more about some of the unique needs around the world.
1.) INDIA
Region: India/South Asia
Religious Context: Hindu
Issue: Infanticide
Primary Care Continuum: Residential care
Summary: Many villages in Tamil Nadu, India are still involved in the age-old practice of killing female babies. World Orphans works with a partner to rescue these children from the grave and place them into church-based homes.
Relevant Blog Posts:
Infanticide Fund
Marked for Death
Daughters
2.) MOLDOVA
Region: Eastern Europe
Religious Context: Atheist, Secular, Eastern Orthodox
Issue: Human trafficking (sex and organs)
Primary Care Continuum: Transition homes
Summary: Moldova is the sex and organ trafficking hub for Europe and Russia. World Orphans is working to put at-risk children into transition homes after they have graduated state orphanages. In addition, we are rescuing children from the streets.
Relevant Blog Posts:
Of Pipes and Pipers
Organs (part one)
Organs (part two)
Organs (part three)
Basket Case
Miriam’s Malady
Tearing Down Walls
Wrong Side of Their Chests
3.) IRAQ
Region: Middle East
Religious Context: Islam
Issue: Abandoned Children
Primary Care Continuum: Residential care
Summary: World Orphans has been officially recognized as an NGO in Iraq, working with churches to rescue abandoned children.
Relevant Blog Posts:
First Iraq Visit (multiple links)
Back to Iraq (multiple links)
Return from Iraq (multiple links)
4.) CAMBODIA
Region: Southeast Asia
Religious Context: Buddhism
Issue: Children sold into the sex trade
Primary Care Continuum: Prevention/Delay
Summary: The Vietnamese community in Cambodia, living on the waterways, is so impoverished that families sell their children. World Orphans is working to provide trade skills development and income generating programs to prevent children from being sold.
Relevant Blog Posts:
A Game of Thirds
A Sense of Urgency
5.) KENYA
Region: Africa
Religious Context: Animism, Islam, Christianity
Issue: HIV/AIDS, poverty, violence
Primary Care Continuum: All
Summary: Example of a church that is engaged in the whole spectrum of the continuum.
Relevant Blog Posts:
Kenya Crashing
Few would argue with me if I made a statement like, “The institution of the family is God’s mechanism through which He intends to pass identity and destiny from generation to generation.” It is generally taken for granted that the family is the model God chose to be the safe and stable “school of life” where healthy adults are made; healthy men and women who learn how to have healthy relationships and who learn their God-given identity and purpose in His kingdom; stable people with the capacity to trust and develop healthy, interdependence on others; men who watch their fathers love, honor and provide for their mothers and women who grow up watching their mothers honor and respect their fathers.
The Family is the delivery device God created to impart identity and destiny from one generation to the next. And, more important than that, the family is the environment in which God intended we come to know Him as our source of all things. Through growing up in a healthy family we see God the provider and protector in our fathers and we come to know God’s love for us through the nurturing of our mothers. Within a healthy family, the child comes to all the correct conclusions about the world, God, others and his or her role in the big picture of life.
As I sit here in Denver, Colorado, spending two days getting to know an organization called World Orphans, the picture of Satan’s plan to remove the healthy family from the lives of as many children as possible becomes clearer and clearer:
According to World Orphans’ statistics, In the past hour:
1,625 children were forced to live on the streets by the death or abuse of an adult
1,667 children under the age of five died from malnutrition and vaccine-preventable diseases
115 children became prostitutes
66 children under 15 were infected with HIV
257 children were orphaned because of HIV/AIDS
There are 143 million orphaned and abandoned children in the world today. The stories are heart-breaking:
In Moldova, government-run orphanages are turning out children onto the streets who are then quickly snatched up by human traffickers who sell their organs to wealthy families who need a kidney for their child.
In Cambodia, Vietnamese river boat people living in extreme poverty often sell their young girls into sex slavery rather than see them starve to death. One in three families have sold a child and an additional one in three families have considered it.
In Africa, millions of children have lost both parents, and often times, every adult in their family to HIV/AIDS.
In the middle East, children born out of wedlock are abandoned at the hospitals and to adopt or care for them is to bring dishonor to your family.
What are these children learning about their world? What kinds of lessons are they learning about how a healthy family works; what kind of picture are they getting of our loving God; what kind of impartations are they receiving about their value and worth; about their destiny and purpose in life? What kind of generational blessing do they have to pass on to their children?
Thankfully, there are ministries like World Orphans who are working to get these children into Church-based children’s homes where they can receive the care, love and the impartation of identity and destiny God has for them. These will be the ones redeemed from Satan’s plan of destruction and the ones who grow up to lead their countries of Moldova, Cambodia and the continent of Africa back to God’s plan for the family.
We have been enjoying our new home since we moved in three weeks ago. We have been truly blessed by God’s rich provision. Here are some pictures for those of you who have asked to see it. Thanks for your support and encouragement throughout our transition.
Few films have created so much excitement in the Christian community as The Golden Compass. There has been much discussion about the clear anti-religious agenda of Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials trilogy and the effect it could have on unsuspecting children who read the books or watch the film. I agree that there is cause to be concerned and we, as Christians, need to be pro-active in countering aggressive anti-Christian propaganda. However, the majority of articles, TV interviews, radio programs and commentaries I have seen do not well represent our Christian faith.
The average atheist or secularist who might read some of the doomsday warnings about The Golden Compass coming out of main-stream Christian circles would have to dismiss them as knee-jerk, over-reactive, religious extremism. The reason I say this is because there is very little real engagement of the authentic concerns about religious authoritarianism expressed by Pullman or acknowledgment that those concerns have some basis in reality.
We, as Christians, should be taking advantage of the opportunity to authentically engage these concerns, instead of reacting with violent, poisonous, wholesale condemnation of what is obviously a common rejection of God by individuals who have been hurt by the hypocrisy of men.
An excellent example of this kind of authentic engagement can be seen in the articles written by Tony Watkins, the Managing Editor of CultureWatch.org. I highly recommend reading all the articles written by Tony Watkins, as well as his interviews with Philip Pullman. We damage our credibility when we do not approach controversy of this kind with intellectually honest debate. Let’s educate ourselves and turn these cultural crises into opportunities.
Here are links to the articles and interviews by Tony Watkins:
As I have discovered and become immersed in the world of facebook, I have been pleasantly surprised to find identity and authenticity as the foundation on which facebook’s success is built. Facebook is a social-networking site through which individuals stay connected to their family, friends and colleagues. What sets facebook apart from all the other online communities, like MySpace, is that misrepresentation of your real self is a violation of company policy.
Facebook.com’s mastermind, Mark Zuckerberg, identifies authenticity as a critical part of his vision for facebook. Through facebook, I can share as detailed a picture of my identity as I desire, but only with people whom I have given permission to access my profile. Unlike MySpace, facebook only allows individuals in my “friends list” to access my page and interact with me.
With 150,000 new users joining facebook every day, there must be something here that people are looking for. I think people are flocking to facebook because it is a portal through which their true self can be seen by others and through which they can get an authentic view into the lives of those they know. It is also a place where they can share information in a relevant way.
This trend is indicative of a hunger in our culture for realness. There is a desire for something more than prime-time TV sitcoms, airbrushed network news anchors and false realities generated by Hollywood graphic artists. We saw our first clue of this movement in all the “reality TV” programming over the last few years and, I believe, will continue to see this cultural move towards authenticity grow over the next decade.
See you on facebook!