August 2018 - The Sound of Rain
At the end of June, I took a trip to Ecuador with Jay Murphy, our worship leader at Living Streams. We had a week of fruitful ministry with leaders and churches in Cuenca and Quito. Our hosts in Quito, Ramiro and Viky Granda, took us to Mitad Del Mundo, where you can put one foot across the Equator in the Northern Hemisphere and your other foot in the Southern Hemisphere.
We ascended a nine-story tower, which is part of the complex that honors the scientific expeditions, which have taken place at the Equator since the 1700s. We were told how the climate at the Equator affects the climate around the world. The Andes mountains running through the Equator have a strong effect on the jet streams that impact the oceans and climate worldwide.
Our friends told us the weather in Ecuador has been acting strangely this year. My study of the Bible has convinced me that man’s behavior has a direct impact on our climate. From the stories of Sodom and Gomorrah and Noah in Genesis, to the plagues in Egypt, through the judgments in Revelation, the Scriptures are full of stories about the link between human behavior and weather.
Carbon emissions can affect our climate. Too many carbon emissions and pollution represent the greed and waste of people who don’t care about their impact on our environment. However, the clearest biblical link between the climate and human behavior is the morality and spirituality of people, not our carbon consumption. When Israel was idolatrous, Elijah prayed and asked God to stop the rain. There was a drought until God prompted him to pray for rain three years later.
Since human behavior affects the climate, and the climate at the Equator affects the world, we were at a great place to pray for our climate. From the balcony atop the tower, we overlooked Quito and prayed for God to have mercy and end the drought in Arizona. “If my people who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land” (II Chronicles 7:14).
Last week, five of our leaders from Living Streams were returning to Phoenix from a retreat in the mountains where we had been planning and praying together. We were discussing the possibility of sending one of our pastors who likes to surf, to lead a church in California. I told the men I didn’t know if I could still surf, but Kristina and I have an upcoming trip to Maui to be with Jonathan Stockton, who pastors a church in Hana. As we neared Phoenix, we could see giant white cumulous clouds forming to the north. David Stockton looked at the clouds and said, “Look at the picture of the little boy on a surf board.”
The clouds had formed a perfect picture of a boy with his head raised laying on a surf board. Behind the boy, large clouds had formed like waves pushing the boy on the board forward. The Lord had designed a picture to encourage us.
We arrived home just as strong winds pushed those clouds into our valley. Lightning flashed, thunder roared, and rain fell in sheets, drenching Phoenix for the next two hours. Branches snapped off and trees toppled as the storm intensified. The boy on the surfboard had arrived.
The next day, we had a messy yard to clean up, but I felt that our prayers at the Equator were being answered. The Spirit moves like the wind, in ways we don’t always understand or anticipate. Life is messy at times, but God brings blessings to those who abide in Christ. May you persevere through the storms of life, because the Lord has blessings that will surprise you and bring you joy.
May 2018 - Is God’s Kingdom Gaining or Losing Ground?
I attended a conference in the Canary Islands this month with Christian leaders from Argentina, Ecuador, Italy, India, France, Spain, England, Africa, and the United States. It was refreshing to be with these men who oversee church networks and congregations with thousands of people around the world. Most of them spoke two or three languages, which left me feeling a little inadequate.
As refreshing as the fellowship with these leaders was, there was a theme at the conference I didn’t agree with at all. A couple of the speakers believe the culture of the world is getting darker and the darkness is destined to increase until Jesus returns to deliver the world.
I realize many societies have loosened their moral standards. There is an increase of pornography and drug use around the world. TV and movies show more sex and violence, and use far more cursing than ever. However, the loosening of moral standards in the media, or culture does not tell the whole story about the influence of God’s Kingdom in the world.
Let’s go back 200 years in America to determine how our society has changed. If you were a black man in America, you would probably have been a slave. If you were from India, Asia, the Middle East, or a native tribe, you would be subject to major discrimination. If you were a woman, you would have no voting rights and have little access to education or a good job. If you were a child, you would have limited access to education and might be forced to work in dreadful conditions.
No matter how rich you were, your healthcare options were worse than the poorest people in America today. The justice system was substandard for the poor. The prisons were dungeons compared to today. Higher education was limited to the rich. Healthful food, sanitation, and warm houses were not available to most people year-round.
What does this progress have to do with the gospel? Because of Jesus, most people in our society believe there should be food, clothes, medicine, and education available to everyone. Because of Jesus, many people have devoted themselves to improving medicine, education, and justice for all. Jesus teaches us to love our neighbor as ourselves. He set the standard for righteousness in our lives. The light he has brought to his disciples over the generations has permeated our culture like leaven.
Even those who don’t follow Christ often aspire to do unto others as they would have others do to them. Jesus has motivated His disciples to love and serve others. The sacrificial service of believers has set standards of righteousness which are lauded and emulated by people in every nation.
Isaiah 9:7 says, “Of the increase of His government and of peace there will be no end.” The government of God on the earth has been increasing from the time of Christ and it will continue to increase until His return. It is a mistake to assume that the freedom to indulge in pornography, immorality, or abortion means there is a decrease in Christ’s influence in a society.
The followers of Christ are the salt and light of the earth. Though attendance has decreased in some denominations, the church is growing worldwide. We may disagree on taxation, gun control, and immigration, but we want freedom and justice for all. Nations are in competition with each other, and tribalism, racism, and the love of money cause many evils. However, food, medicine, justice, education, and access to the gospel have increased exponentially over the last two hundred years.
The increased well-being of the world’s population corresponds to the way the gospel has permeated our cultures. We have a long way to go and many battles to fight, but Jesus will sit at the right hand of God until all His enemies are put under His feet (Psalm 110:1, Matt. 22:44, Acts 2:34).