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Posts tagged with: Hope
Jan 24, 2012    |       2 comments

Retweeting Jesus “RT@JesusChrist #6”

But even more blessed are all who hear the word of God and put it into practice. –JC Luke 11:28(NLT)

Did you know that the word “Obey” is not in the Old Testament? You might find the words Obedience, Obedient, and Obey in our English translations, but there is no word ‘Obey’ in the Hebrew Old Testament original language and writing. We just translated it that way. Okay…okay…for you doubters, go ahead and get your study tools out and test what I am saying. The Bible does say “Test everything!” Go ahead and then come back. I highly recommend that you use a Hebrew Interlinear to discover this truth for yourself.

Crazy to think that in the Old Testament times they never would have heard the word “Obey” from anyone, not even from God.

There is a philosophy that exists that says this…if you have to say it, then you probably aren’t really doing a good job of it. Perry Noble, Pastor of New Spring Church in NC said recently on his blog… www.perrynoble.com

“Does Martha Stewart have to declare she is a good cook?
Does Drew Brees have to declare that he is a good quarterback?
Does Taylor Swift have to declare that she can sing?
Does Lebron James have to declare he can dunk a basketball?
Does B.B. King have to declare that he can play the blues?
Does John Grisham have to declare that he can write fiction really well?

Perry makes a good point in those questions above. It is my opinion that If you, your church, or your business are constantly declaring that you ARE something then I think its fair to say that you might be trying to convince your self. The reality is this, you aren’t who you are because of what you are declaring, but rather because of what you are doing. Anyone can declare that they can do something or be something. Jesus says in Matthew 11:19 that, “wisdom is shown to be right by its results.” I would translate that, “Talk is Cheap,” or “Action speaks louder than words.”

Ask yourself, “Am I doing a lot of talking in an area of my life, but in reality I have no proof that I’m actually doing what I’m continually saying?” I would encourage you to ask the people around you if you are saying a lot of something, but not actually doing it. Or, if you have the capability to actually measure the facts as to your success of what you are saying, then do the study and get the facts. I was recently a part of a group that said over and over that they were actually doing something and they even said publicly that they did it better than most. So I took the time to actually measure whether or not they were actually doing what they were saying. When the facts and the proof statistics came back to me. It was clear that my group was just saying this as a marketing tool, but actually weren’t doing very good at it at all. Are there areas in your life that the same thing is happening in your case? Are you saying something…a lot…but you’re really not putting it into practice or showing any results proving it?

“But even more blessed are all who hear the word of God and put it into practice.”

This tweet from Jesus was in response to a person that shouted at him from the crowd. The person who shouted said, “God Bless your mother, the womb from which you came, and the breasts that nursed you!” LOL. What a strange shout out. I have had many people shout some funny, cool, and even mean stuff from the crowd when I was preaching. But never anything like this one! Can you imagine? Jesus’ reply was simple. “But even more blessed are all who hear the Word of God and put it into practice!”

Practice Makes Permanent!

So back to my point…Instead of the word “OBEY” God had them use the word “LISTEN.” For the people of the Old Testament to “Hear” WAS to “Obey.” In the Hebrew culture, to hear the word of God or to listen to a person in authority automatically obligated you to do what the person of authority was saying.
TO HEAR was to OBEY. They didn’t have to use the word obey. If they heard it they were obligated to do it…thus their is no need for the word obey, because I think God knows that talk can be cheap. Hear = Do. It puts a new spin on the frequent phrase in the Old Testament, “Hear O Israel, the Lord is one!” Do you understand? There is a lot of meaning now in the phrase, “HEAR O Israel!”

We actually understand this in our Western Culture. If you are a parent and you tell your children to do something but they don’t actually do it. What do you typically say to them when you noticed they didn’t do what you asked of them? I’ll speak for myself here, but I actually say to my kids, “Why are you not LISTENING to me?” Or, “Did you not HEAR me?” I am guessing when I ask this of my kids they think to themselves… “I HEARD you, I just didn’t DO what you asked of me.” It’s rare to actually hear a parent ask of their kids. “Why didn’t you Obey me.” We usually ask, Why did you not listen to me?”

Knowing this…how might it change you? Do you understand now the importance of not just reading the Bible, but doing what we “hear” from it?

Jesus said some things about this…

“Why do you call me Lord, when you don’t do what I say?” Luke 6:46
“Not everyone who SAYS to me, ‘Lord, Lord’ will enter the kingdom of Heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father.” Matthew 7:21
James writes, “Do not merely listen to the Word of God and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.” James 1:19

All Jesus and other spiritual authorities are saying here is “Talk is Cheap.”

I know this, you know this, and so does everybody else.

“But even more blessed are those who hear the Word of God and put it into practice.”

Keep “Listening!”

Is your gut telling you something right now that you have been saying, but need to start doing.

Just Do It.

Jan 18, 2012    |      1 comment

Retweeting Jesus “RT@JesusChrist #1”

Quick Intro to this project.

I am presently sorting it out, but it seems that there are 14 truly self-standing complete sentences that Jesus said in Matthew, Mark, Luke and John that are no more than 140 spaces…And not connected to any other statements He made. These are true Twitter-Like Phrases. Only 14 in the whole Bible. What does this mean? It means that if Twitter would have existed I’d like to think that Jesus would have tweeted these out for his followers to read. Some are deeply serious and some are a bit obscure. I hope you will read one a day with me as we retweet Jesus. This is not a theological thing…this is a devotion thing. When this is all said and done and you find a 140 space sentence that is completely self standing that I have missed…meaning not a part of another statement or paragraph that Jesus spoke then let me know. I’ll retweet it into this material and give you credit for the “find!” BTW…I’ll be using different Bible translations and I’ll pick the one I feel is easiest to understand. Also, I’d like to think this blog platform for this retweet Jesus project is the precursor to a pretty cool book for people to use to inspire them to focus more on Jesus’ way.


RT@JesusChrist” #1
Matthew 7:12 (NLT)

“Do to others whatever you would like them to do to you. This is the essence of all that is taught in the law and the prophets.” JC 9

Oh, what an easy thing to say, and seemingly impossible to follow through with. I don’t even think that Jesus had an easy time with this tweet. Think about it…there were times when Jesus called people(pharisees) names. i.e. “Sons of Vipers, brood of snakes, white washed tombs.” Another time He used a whip that He hand made and used to whip people out of the temple. He must have been okay with others doing the same to Him or He would not have done these to others. Strange to think about that. He was called names and also whipped. This makes me think about what Jesus said to Peter in the Garden of Gethsemane. “Peter…put your sword away…Those who use the sword will die by the sword.”

Do to others what you would like them to do to you.

I wonder if Jesus were living in this day and age of suicide bombers and self-mutilators if He might have worded this tweet a bit different? Because, after all, a Suicide Bomber that kills 40 innocent men, women and children actually did to others what he did to himself. A terrorist that did this brutal act of horror actually followed what we call the Golden Rule. Make sense?

Now as to whether or not Jesus would say it differently today…I don’t want to open the door of someone thinking that I think Jesus made a mistake here. That’s not my point. I am thinking that maybe Jesus…if He were living in today’s culture wouldn’t use the Golden Rule, as tweeted above, as much as He might have used what I would call “The Platinum” rule. I think the Platinum Rule, if spoken by Jesus, would read “Do to others what I have done and will do for you.”

Out of the mouth of Jesus that is a game changer. The Platinum rule seems to squelch all possible neglect and abuse from the speaker of the rule. For today, we would have to quote the Platinum Rule this way. “Do to others what Jesus did for you.”

The Platinum Rule makes the following comment from Jesus pop! “There is no greater love than this…He who lays down his life for another.” He commands us to give, share, reward, encourage, hold accountable, even die for each other. These would be things that Jesus did for all of us. These are things that fit the Golden Rule also. Do to others as you would have done to yourself.

If Jesus actually tweeted this to you today. “Do to others what you would like others to do to you.” And you knew it was directly from Jesus…how would you live your life today? Think about the free gifts that Jesus gave you. Hope, Joy, Forgiveness, Purpose, etc. Would you give these to others today? And then tomorrow as well? And then….

Spend a few moments and meditate on that. Think about what you should do today in regards to the Golden Rule.
Think about your day and what’s coming. Who do you know that you will encounter today? Make a decision right now to treat them like you would like to be treated. Be prepared. Don’t be caught off guard.

I hope as you live your day that you will dwell on this Golden Tweet. Do to others what you would like done to you. If that passage makes you feel guilty about selfish decisions in your past…ask God for forgiveness and the person you offended and then take care of today. Don’t let the past distract you from what you can do right now. Right now is more important. Today is more important than your past.

Its crazy to think that the Golden Rule sums up the Law and Prophets as the Tweet says. The law and prophets include way too many things to actually remember. 613 Old Laws from the Old Testament and then all the things the prophets said. Jesus gives us the cliffsnotes to the Law and Prophets! I like how Jesus thinks. “Do to others what I would like to have done to me.” Jesus had a way about Him in keeping things simple.

So, be like Jesus and keep it simple. When we start treating others the way we DON’T want to be treated…things get complicated.
So focus on this tweet today. “Do to others what you would like to have done to you.”

It will impact and change how you live each moment. How incredible would it be if you could remember this tweet all day every minute?

Practice makes permanent.
tr

Nov 21, 2011    |      Comments Off on Just another day? Really?

Just another day? Really?


This photo is riveting to me. Haunting. It evokes powerful emotions in me. It creates a squeeze inside of me that could only come from the part of my body that is called soul.

I am just one week from my return from Uganda Africa where I met thousands of people just like the child in this picture.

Every time I see this picture I swear I hear God saying to me all kinds of things. Here are a few things that I think God has spoken to me in the multiple times I have viewed this picture; “This world is not about you and your plans.” “You are back home with everything you need, she is still there praying for many things to happen in her life.” “She just wants to crawl up in your lap and be held.” “Its not stuff she wants…she wants to know if she matters.” “She is wondering if she’ll be thought about again.” “She is wondering if you’ll ever come back to see her again.” “I’m not the answer to her prayers, you are.”

So here’s my questions for you and me today…
“Can you lay your life down, so a stranger can live?”
“Can you take want you need and take less than you give?”

Here’s the deal with this little girl in Uganda Africa and the millions of other children around the world in circumstances like hers.

She didn’t choose to be born where she was born. You didn’t choose to be born where you were born. I sometimes wonder if I got the lucky sided flip of the coin that allowed me to be born in a place with ample food, clean water, education and conveniences; “Heads!” And the young girl,in the picture, got the unlucky side as the coin spun on the floor and came to its final rest. “Tails!”

The fact is that I know better. There is no coin toss in matters such as these. God chose me to be born where I was born and to have the things that I have. It doesn’t make me better or you better. It actually puts more pressure on you and me. “To whom much is given, much is required.” I will be held more accountable because of the material I’ve been given and will have to give an account for how I used God’s material that He loaned to me. Will I have used it all on my self? Will I take what I need and take less than I give?

During my life, I suppose that I want to give as much as this little girl gives. When I showed up, she smiled and waved and crawled up into my lap and gave of her love and friendship and affection, her trust. She gave me everything she had. It was a gift for Kings. I felt like a king in her presence. Accepting the presents of her self.

So…now…I’m back home. Her wave goodbye haunts me. I don’t know how you will respond and how you will give and what “sacrifices” you will make to contribute back to the life of this little girl and the millions like her that weren’t born here. All I can do is speak for myself.

I, until God makes it clear to stop, will spend the rest of my life being an advocate for these little ones and big ones who are just like this little girl. I will be asking for your help. Your gift. Your time. Your service. I will ask you to never stop thinking about these. The people Jesus calls, “the least of these.” The people that Jesus says if we invest in their lives we are actually and personally investing in Jesus’ life. “That which you do for the least of these, you do unto me.”

She’s waving at you. You hold the choice to make that wave a wave of Hello or Goodbye.
Stay tuned.
I will ask you someday to respond to the wave of this child. Respond with your money, your time, your talents, your prayers and your heart.

Trent

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Nov 12, 2011    |      1 comment

Lions…Elephants…and Floods…Oh My!

Lions, Elephants and Floods…Oh My!

If you’ve been keeping up on this African Adventure that I’ve been blogging about, you noticed that I didn’t blog yesterday.  The reason is because is was a travel only day.  We drove 9 hours from Torroro to Fort Portal Uganda.   It was a long ride.  

We arrived in Fort Portal Uganda for our process of re-engaging into America.  We got into our rooms at the Mountains of the Moon Hotel.  All I can say is whoa!  This is an upscale place.  Incredible food.  Amazing rooms and the grounds are in perfect shape.  After spending the last 9 days in a place that didn’t have running water most of the time…this is a true delight.  Tonight will be our last night here and tomorrow we head for the airport and I will arrive  home at 6:30 pm at Sky Harbor Airport in Phoenix on Monday.

But before we call this African Adventure a wrap…please let me tell you about a really cool and fun day.  

We got up this morning at 6am and had an amazing breakfast.  Then we headed for something I have only ever dreamed about doing.  An African Safari.  Unbelievable.   We drove 2 hours to the Queen Elizabeth National Park where we had a two hour boat ride where we saw wild hippos, cape buffalo, all kinds of wild birds and just had an amazing time in the middle of wild Africa.  After the boat ride we hit the land in our bus and we went on the lookout for two major animals that we wanted to find.  Elephants and of course…Lions!

We looked for hours driving through the Safari Refuge and then our guide spotted a Pride of Lions laying under the African bush in the shade.  They were about 200 yards out and you could barely see them.  The guide got on his phone and before we knew it we turned off the road and drove straight at the big cats.  They didn’t budge until we pulled up beside them…I kid you not…10 yards away!   The pictures I got with my iPhone are amazing.  There were 2 male lions…big manes and all that stood up….seemed to pose and then just looked at us and walked around a little bit.  I’ve never been that close.   There is something surreal about seeing a massive lion in the African wild.  I mean, the Phoenix Zoo is cool and all but…Africa?….wow!

After spending about 10 minutes next to the big cats…we started whining about how we hadn’t seen any Elephants.  So we drove around for about an hour more and then gave up and headed for our hotel.  On the way out of the park…we literally almost ran into a herd of Elephants.  They walked right at the bus…and then…walked around the bus.  I’ve got some decent shots with my iPhone of the big bull, but everybody in the bus was out of their seats trying to grab a great shot.  

After about 10 minutes of just watching the Elephants we headed home.  We made a quick stop at the Equator.  Pretty cool to stop and take a photo.   After everybody got their photos we took off and about 20 minutes into the drive it began to rain in the only way Africa seems to do anyting…BIG!

The road ahead of us began to flood out.  The water came rushing over the road and all the people from Uganda began to get out of their cars and it looked like a huge traffic jam . Our bus was just sitting on the highway and all these Ugandans were just walking around talking to each other.  So…we got out.  It looked like we were the only white people in the world.   I started talking to people around me and I had my iPhone and began to video people.  One guy got in my camera and yelled…”Its happening to us…this is a Ugandan Tsunami”…and he just began to laugh out loud.  

These are the friendliest people I have ever met. 
This trip is the most emotion evoking trip I have ever had.
I pray that you will go to Africa someday in your future.
When you go to Africa…you must go with Hope 4 Kids International…
God has something to tell you when you are there!

Thanks for reading this. 
I will be back in the USA on Monday.

Trent

Nov 8, 2011    |       5 comments

Remote Village Tuesday

Today was a great day in Uganda.  I got a great nights sleep and got up and had a great breakfast with the team.  We had bacon, eggs, coffee, french fries…yep…for breakfast!  

After breakfast we met for a team meeting.  Its called “Family Time.”  We rehash our experiences from the previous day, we pray, do a devotion and laugh a lot even cry some at the miraculous stories of love we hear from each other.   It is truly amazing how each person in the group keeping a focus on the mission of Christ and each person maintaining an attitude of servanthood makes for a united group that becomes friends.  There is a message in this fact.  Think about it.  I am gathered with 60 strangers from all over the USA.  We are out of our comfort zones and getting very little sleep, eating food that’s a bit different than we are used to, and getting worn out everyday meeting and mixing and serving others in Africa.  That is a formula for fighting, bickering and group irritation.  However…none of that is happening.  The group laughs, treats each other with respect and enjoys each other’s company.  

It makes me wonder about two other types of groups.  Let’s start with your biological family.  I mean…”We Always Hurt The Ones We Love…” right?  Isn’t that what the song tells us?  We all know that family life is very challenging.  I wonder if you put the elements I mentioned above into your family environment might it be better?   1.  A focus on the mission of  Christ…each family member.  2. Each family member maintaining an attitude of servanthood.    I know its ideal to think this is possible all the time, especially when we are dealing with children and teens in our families.  But its a worthy goal, right?!

The other group I am talking about is the Church.  I won’t preach too much on this one, but let me say this.  If there is a ton of fighting, bickering and group irritation…I’m not a betting man…but I’d bet there is a lack of Focus on the MIssion of Jesus Christ and a lack of people maintaining an attitude of servanthood.  I believe it all starts at the top and trickles down from the church leadership.  Think about your church…think about its current status and think about what I mention above.  

Today I chose to go with the group that was heading out to two villages to dedicate two fresh water wells that were given to these villages.  The names of the two villages are Lulonda and Bwaya Villages.  We went to Bwaya Village first and it is the most remote village that Hope 4 Kids International is involved with.  THIS VILLAGE WAS FULL OF PEOPLE WHO HAD NEVER SEEN A WHITE PERSON!  Can you imagine?  As we got out of the buses at the village there were some children who greeted us with song and dancing, but there was hardly anybody around.  The village leader told us that most of the village were afraid and they ran to their huts.   However…as the music continued to be sung and we began to mix with the people…more and more Africans came out and greeted us in a very  nervous manner.  There was a group of about 10 kids who were standing in a porch area away from us all about 50 yards.  I headed their way all by myself.  As I got about 20 yards from them they literally sprinted from me as if I were a Lion.  The looks on their faces was terror.  They all ran but one child.  I am guessing he was about 8 years old.  He stood there like a brave young man and I smiled, and slowly walked up to him with my hand extended hoping he would take my hand and shake it.  He did!  The other 9 kids were peaking from a distance and most of them…after they recognized I wasn’t going to eat them…slowly and nervously approached me and greeted me.  What a cool moment with them.  

I think its important for all us to recognize that we as white Americans don’t have the market share on Jesus.  This whole village believed in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior.  I don’t know how…but they did.  Heaven will be filled with all colors and cultures.  Heaven will look very little like what America looks like.  I think the greatest thing I am learning from my time in Africa is this…..COMMUNITY.   Its unbelievable how these people rely on each other for their very lives.  They do everything together.  American can learn from Africa.  The Church can learn from Africans about community.

After mixing with the people in this village we all gathered around in a giant circle in the shade of Africa.  We spent time teaching how to use proper hygiene.   How to poop and wipe appropriately when there is no toilet and paper and you have to go in the bush of Africa.  We taught proper washing of hands and we taught them about germs and how they spread.  Our Hygiene leader had a great idea.  He used glitter to teach the African people about the spreading of germs.  He was very animated.  He took the glitter and poured it into his own hands and he pretended to sneeze and wipe his nose with the glitter covered hands and then he squatted and pretended to poop and then he grabbed some leaves and pretended to wipe and then he pretended to sit down and eat with those same hands and then he walked over to the children and began to touch them and shake their hands and the glitter got all over them and they got the picture very well.   

He told them that if they wash their hands and be smart in being careful with the spreading of germs that God would bless them and they would live longer healthier lives.  

After the session on hygiene we gathered around the water well that had been dug and was now pumping fresh clean water and we prayed over it and gave the well to the people and told them that every time they drink this fresh water that we hoped they would thank God for the gift and remember how we American Christians love them very much.  

Many asked how we found them in such a remote place from so far away . We simply told them that God led us to them and that God was answering their prayers.   Now please understand the people in this village were having to walk daily nearly a mile to get water from a watering hole where cattle pooped in it and major water born diseases stagnated and they had no choice but to drink from it because the Ugandan Government told the people that this was a waterless area because they tried to dig up to 20 wells and never hit water.  The problem is that the government was being lazy and only drilled down about 30 feet.  When Hope 4 Kids heard about this we chose this village and sent the drilling team (all African local workers) and we are willing to pay for the drill to drill down to 300 feet.   They found water and it is considered miraculous.   Guess who gets the credit for the miracle.  You got it…Jesus Christ!   

You can personally pay for a well to be dug for another remote village like this.  It costs 10,000 for everything.  If you can’t personally pay for it…why not get all your neighbors to contribute to it and do something amazing as a whole neighborhood?   Or your Church or your family?   Or if a loved one dies…instead of flowers at the funeral, ask people to give towards digging a well.  That would be cool.  If you want more information, contact Hope 4 Kids International.  They are pros at doing this and they do it best!

As we prayed over the well and prepared to leave….The people in the Village gave us a goat.  Now understand…to have a goat in these villages is to be considered very rich.  For them to give us the goat…shows intense love and gratefulness.  

Once we got the goat in the bus, there is a group of people from one  Church in California who had made what are called “pillow case dresses and tie died t shirts to give to the African children.  It was such a joy to give these items to the kids.  I chose to help the young girls part because young girls in Africa get very little attention from their dads…if they even have a dad around.  The little girls left their village clothes on and we gently put the dresses over the  girls head, they helped us pull the dresses over their bodies and we tied the shoulder straps on.  These little girls giggled with each other and beamed huge white smiles when they received their dresses.   It made me miss my two girls at home…Madison and Mia.  I love them very much and it was a joy to help these young girls as I told them that I had two daughters at home and how I hoped to bring them one day to Africa.  Yep…go ahead and tease me that I helped with the little girls…I can’t tell you how choked up I am about being able to serve in such a simple way for the least of these.  “That which you do for the least of these…you do for me.” –Jesus.

Before we left we gave the most needy families mosquito nets to help fight the mosquitos and prevent the spread of Malaria. We hugged and waved and headed back to the hotel. 

I have arrived at the hotel…incredibly dirty…and there is no water.  Don’t know why.  Would love a shower….hope it comes on.   If not…I’ll still be grateful for all the blessings I have in my life.  

I miss my family.  I am excited to be reunited with them soon.  In the meantime…if you are reading this…I am doing this in honor of you.  I am carrying your love for Jesus here with me and I am telling the African people how much you love them .   

I hope someday you can experience this.  I don’t care if it takes you 20 years to save the money.  Start now.  

Wow.  What a day.  

Love 
Trent

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