Perfect Unity

"I am in them and you are in me. May they experience such perfect unity that the world will know that you sent me and that you love them as much as you love me. "(John 17:23 NLT)


This was Jesus prayer for you and for me as believers in our day. We aren't there are we?


What would it take to get there? What would it look like? If all of the Christian churches in your town or city came together, who would preach on Sunday morning?

How about you? Of course you are right about everything. Can you worship along with someone who is wrong about a few things?

Surreal Hope

What is the worst kind of bullying you’ve ever had to endure?  I was the skinny kid.  One of my friends posted a video of a kid who was taunted as a “pork chop”. 

                I’m not here to make light of whatever you might be facing or have had to endure, but I’m been reflecting lately on how there is a level of bullying that we seldom have to face here in North America.

                I want to describe a picture for you.  It’s the picture of a woman that was sent to me this past week.  She is naked, lying flat on her back in a bed.  This isn’t the kind of naked picture you find in a magazine or on any of your porn sites.  She has been stripped naked.  She also happens to be dead.

                I’d show you the picture, but I don’t believe it would honour her or her family.  Her head is impaled to the pillow underneath of it, as a crucifix has been stabbed through her oral cavity, out the back of her head.   Blood poured out of her eye sockets, I assume from having them gouged out.  There is a hole in her chest, from where her heart used to be.  It was ripped out, probably because, “that’s where Jesus was”.

                It was pretty rough growing up as a skinny kid, but never that rough.  Getting stuffed in a locker might have been fun for the people who put me there, but it wasn’t much fun for me.  I still remember being afraid to go to some of my classes, because I knew which people would be there.  Yet even the worst of what I faced, and what many of us face, pales in comparison to what Christians face around the world.

                There is another picture that has been on my mind lately.  It’s a picture of another Christian.  He is smiling joyfully, with a hangman’s noose around his neck.  He is facing the ultimate act of bullying, but has the kind of confidence that many of us lack.  No terror.  No fear.  No weeping.  Only joy, knowing that He is about to meet The One he loves most.

                If you enjoy teasing people, I ask that you would think carefully of the words you use.  Most of the people you interact with do NOT share the same hope that this man has.  The people we mock, ridicule and persecute are much more likely to cry themselves to sleep, fall into depression and contemplate taking their own lives, especially if the ridicule plays on their personal sins and insecurities.  That kind of merrymaking can be unbearable, particularly when it plays with an already muddied conscience.

                If you are the victim, I want you to know that your torment doesn’t have to last forever.  I say that in a couple of ways.  Firstly, school isn’t life.  Work isn’t life.  Where you are now, isn’t where you will always be.  Nobody is shoving me in the locker anymore.  You aren’t alone.  We normally escape.  The people who torment you now probably won’t follow you, your whole life through.

                Secondly, there is real hope.  It’s not the same kind of hope the world offers you.  The world tells us that we have to stand up, which is really a good idea.  But it’s tougher than it sounds.  Isn’t it?  Sure.  There are some success stories, and we celebrate them on YouTube when the bully gets his.  Yet the world doesn’t see your bruises from the time you tried to push back, or the injuries you took after telling the powers that be. 

                The hope that I speak of, is the same hope possessed by the man with the noose around his neck.  It’s a hope that allows us to stare death directly in the face, with a joyful smile.  It’s a hope that allows us to endure.  It’s a hope which sounds like this;

          2 Corinthians 4:8-9

⁸ We are pressed on every side by troubles, but we are not crushed. We are perplexed, but not driven to despair. ⁹ We are hunted down, but never abandoned by God. We get knocked down, but we are not destroyed.

                I have seen this kind of hope, only amongst the people of Christ.  I’m not saying that all Christians are able to happily stare death in the face.  I’m simply saying that I have not seen this kind of hope elsewhere.

                Unfortunately, I really do think that there is a torment which lasts forever.   However, the pain you’re facing now, isn’t that kind of pain.

For pastors, coworkers, missionaries, family or anyone who is interested in what I do.

                My wife and I like to help support a missionary couple who don’t go anywhere.  Well, sometimes they go places, but mostly they’re still here, which leads me to believe that even God might appreciate irony.

                This past week, they sent us an update on their lives.  Along with the update, I was blessed to receive a small, hand written note, and in this note, they shared this;

                “Been praying for your book studies.  Do you have many takers yet?  I can’t come, but I will pray.”

                The thought occurred to me, that maybe they aren’t the only people interested in what has been happening in my calling lately.

                To answer the question directly; No.  No, I don’t have many takers.  I have chosen 10 other people to help develop Alien Love’s study guide.  The way I have went about it, is I am simply going through it as if it were a study, but behind it all, I’m doing it as I go along.

                Of course, from my perspective, it really isn’t about leading a book study.  It’s about living into each other’s lives, and using the opportunity to grow in an authentic love for God and for each other.  For those of us who can, we get together around 4:00pm and do our best to come alongside of each other.  We usually have supper around 5:30.  During our meal together, we continue talking.  At 7:00, we sit down and talk about how the month’s chapter speaks into our lives.  We pray too.  You can’t do Christian stuff if you don’t pray.

                Radical. I know.

                It’s groundbreaking.  I assure you.  We talk.  We eat.  We talk while we’re eating.  (But we’re not supposed to talk while our mouths are full.  Barb is very strict about that kind of thing.)  We pray.  We talk some more.  Some of us go home.  For those who stay, we talk some more.  They go home.  Barb and I wash the dishes, talk about how wonderful the afternoon and evening were.  We climb into bed and go to sleep. 

                In between our monthly gatherings, I do my best to keep invested in their lives.  Sometimes I get together with them for coffee or breakfast.  Some of them are texters, so I text them.  Or we talk before, during or after church.  Email works too.

                I want to thank those of you who have been praying for me in my walk with Christ.  Through these past few months, I have really grown in my love for other people, specifically for my family and for my coworkers.  It’s another example of irony.  I mean, I’m told that for most people, they write books after they know enough about a topic.  For me, it’s like God had me write the thing, and now I’m beginning to understand and live it out.  Alien Love was easy to write and probably easy to read.  It’s much harder to live.

                My hope for the future, is that about 50% of the people who take the study, will kind of graduate.  There will be no diploma, but I hope that they will intentionally seek out and do what they can to disciple the people in their own lives, whether they be believers at the moment or not.

                As for me, I feel torn about what might lie ahead, but feel that God has given me direction for the near future.  I really hope to be able to share Christ with my co-workers in this way, but I also feel that I have neglected my family for far too long.  I mean.  I get together with my Christian family, we talk about Jesus, we eat together and share our lives together.  I’m being convicted that I need to allow my flesh and blood into my life.  Whether or not they want to know the “hooked-on-Jesus” Kevin, will be up to them.  The least I can do is to extend the invitation. 

So I beg of you to continue to pray.  I can’t do this on my own.  I’m not just trying to sound spiritual.  I really can’t.

                I intend for the study guide to be available for free on the internet, and probably won’t be producing a print version.  If you want to check out what the guide looks like at the moment, you can find it here.

https://dl.dropbox.com/u/7480335/Alien%20Love/Alien%20Love%20Lessons.docx

                Until next time, remember....even though they have similar spelling, there is a big difference between gluten and being a glutton.   

How Do You Invite Those You Love?

  

  Unless I have my spiritual wires crossed, this fall I plan on going through Alien Love with the people that God places on my heart.  For anyone who has already went through the study, if they remain with me, they will be playing a vital role in it as well.

   I have spent a lot of time lately thinking about the kinds of conversations I need to be having with the people in my life, whether they be believers, non-believers, family or coworkers.  I have also done a lot of thinking as to how I would go about inviting loved ones to take the journey with me.

   I know that you might go about it much differently if you were in my shoes, but here is a sample of what has been on my heart as I consider inviting the people on my heart.

  

 

 

 

Dear Fellow Christian, 

 

  It’s a privilege to share a common faith in our Lord Jesus Christ and I trust that you are allowing Him to continue to mould and to make you more and more like Himself.  I hope you desire the same for me.  I’m writing today to invite you to be a part of something that I am very passionate about .

   Beginning this September, I plan to lead a study group through my book, Alien Love.  I think very highly of you, so I thought that you might be interested.  We will be meeting once a month for 10 months.  If you are interested and if you think you would have the time, I hope you will consider attending our first gathering, just to try it out.

  We will be kicking off the study on September 15^th.  If you’re interested, please let me know by August 3^rd.  If I don’t hear from you, I will assume that you aren’t interested, but I would appreciate hearing your thoughts either way.

   Have a great day!

 

  In Christ, Love

 

Kevin

 

 

 

Dear Non-believer,

  Kevin here.   I’m writing to you today to invite you to be a part of something that I am very passionate about.  As you know, I’m one of “those” Christians; the kind that thinks forever lasts a very long time.  And because it lasts a very long time, I am convinced that whatever happens to us there, is far more important than what happens in our brief time here.  I also believe, that in forever, there is One God, and Jesus is the way to be made right with Him.

   Beginning this September, I plan to lead a study group through my book, Alien Love.  I understand if it doesn’t interest you, but please know that I’m not inviting you because I want to force it on you.  I’m inviting you because I love you, and would enjoy nothing more than for you to be my brother in Christ.   

  We will be kicking off the study on September 15^th.  If you’re interested, please let me know by August 3^rd.  If I don’t hear from you, I will assume that you aren’t interested, but I would appreciate hearing your thoughts either way.

   Have a great day!

   In Christ, Love

 

Kevin

 

 

Dear Family Member,

  Kevin here.   I’m writing to you today to invite you to be a part of something that I am very passionate about.  As you know, I’m one of “those” Christians; the kind that thinks forever lasts a very long time.  And because it lasts a very long time, I am convinced that whatever happens to us there, is far more important than what happens in our brief time here.  I also believe, that in forever, there is One God, and Jesus is the way to be made right with Him.

  You also know that I am quite active in my church.  At times, I feel like I give more of myself to my church family than I do to you, and in doing so, somehow neglect you.  I often wish that my life there were not separate from my life with you.  Perhaps you hope the same.  If so, maybe there is a way to remedy the situation.

   Beginning this September, I plan to lead a study group through my book, Alien Love.  I understand if it doesn’t interest you, but please know that I’m not inviting you because I want to force it on you.  I’m inviting you because I love you, and would enjoy nothing more than for you to walk with, me as I walk with Christ.  

  We will be kicking off the study on September 15^th.  If you’re interested, please let me know by August 3^rd.  If I don’t hear from you, I will assume that you aren’t interested, but I would appreciate hearing your thoughts either way.

   Have a great day!

   In Christ, Love

 

Kevin

 

 

 

Does God Take Pleasure in You?

He Likes Me!

by Margaret Neufeld

What does God like about you? This is a question that came up when studying Alien Love by Kevin Abell with a group of believers. At first, the only thing I could come up with was God likes me. To be honest, I didn't like the question at first. It sounded kind of conceited. Who am I to say what God likes about me? I don't know what He thinks. I was afraid to put words into the mouth of God. Also, asking what God liked about us sounded kind of cheap, like we were downplaying His love for us. However, as I began to think about it, I became very thankful for this question.

At first "like" sounded like a cheap word when we consider God's love for us. But it isn't. God isn't immature like we sometimes are. He doesn't say "I love Margaret, but that doesn't mean I have to like her." Imagine if God was like that, if He only loved us, but didn't like us. Every time I feel compelled to say "I love that person, but that doesn't mean I have to like them", it's always because I feel like I have to love them, that I'm obligated to. I have to love them because God commands it, not because I want to. I'm glad God isn't like that. He loves us because He wants to, not because He has to.

It's much easier to think about what God doesn't like about me. After all, there are a lot of things about me that are not desirable. It's almost as if I'm so used to focusing on sin in my life, my faults, things I need to change, that I forget about the good. As I mentioned, I was afraid of putting words into the mouth of God. I think it's harder to say what He likes about me specifically, because His Word doesn't tell me. I can go to His Word and see what sin is in my life that doesn't please Him. I can go to His Word and see that He loves me and created me for His pleasure. I can go to His Word and see what my position is in Christ. I can say I'm a saint, and that I'm His bride, because the Bible says I am. The Bible never tells me what God specifically likes about me, Margaret.

However, we as Christians are quick to point out things in each others' lives, and perhaps even in our own lives, that don't please God, even when the Bible doesn't specifically say so. I can say with confidence that it would not please God if I spent all my free time watching dirty movies and playing video games. The Bible never specifically says I shouldn't do that. But the Bible does say we are supposed to redeem the time and that we are to put no vile thing before our eyes. The Bible gives us general guidelines and we come up with our own specifics. Sometimes this can be dangerous and other times it can be beneficial.

If we can do that with things God isn't pleased with, then why shouldn't we be able to do the same thing with things that God is pleased with, on the condition that we are using His Word as a guide and not coming up with ridiculous ideas and claim God is pleased with them? After all, His Word does give us indications of many things that do please Him, even if it doesn't tell us anything about our lives specifically.

So what does God like about me? I started by looking in the mirror. God likes the way my eyes squint when I smile or laugh. (He likes it when I smile or laugh.) It may sound silly to some, but my eyes are a facial feature a lot of people notice about me. And since God delights in the way He made me, I think it's safe to say He likes that about me. God likes the way I share my heart with Him, no matter how dark, fearful, painful or sinful. No, He doesn't like everything I think and feel, but He does like that I don't hide those things from Him, but trust Him and lay them bare before Him. He knows anyway, but He still likes when I talk to Him about it. God also likes how I write to share with others what I'm learning and what He's doing in my life.

I also think that perhaps God likes some of the same things about us that the people who love us like about us. When I ask people for things that characterize me, I get various answers, but there are some things people mention that I believe God likes about me. How I take risks, do things to make a difference even when I may not be guaranteed results, how I'm not afraid to share what I believe, even when others might not like what I have to say. I think those are things that God likes about me as well.

This has been a good question for me to think about, and I encourage you to think about it as well. You can drop a comment to share your thoughts.

What does God like about you?

No Self Control

            I found this article to be interesting.  Well.  I guess I don’t find the article all that peculiar.  It’s the general response that I don’t understand.  Most of the responses I have been reading seem to be upset that she was let go because her boss found her irresistible.

It doesn’t make sense to me.  I mean, that is precisely what our world teaches over and over.  My daughter is in her first year of high school and she is being taught the very same things I was taught over 20 years ago.  Whenever anyone brought up the concept of celibacy outside of marriage, the predominant teaching was that you can’t expect people to control themselves.

                It is taught year after year, generation after generation, and from class to class.  We are animals with no self control.  Whatever your inclinations are, either men or monkeys, there is nothing you can do about it.  History and science generally teach the same.  We’re just creatures of instinct.   (Personally, I don't know why we aren't offended by the message.)

So why is it, that a man without self control would offend our culture?  Not only that.  Why are we appalled at rape?  If we can’t control ourselves, then we can’t control ourselves.

                One of the comments I read said something like this – ‘I thought we were past this sort of thing.’   That’s precisely the point.  This is the very direction we are headed in.  We tell each other that we are animals.  We teach our students that we can’t expect them to control themselves.  We glorify the orgasm in song and in film, and somehow we have the gall to be offended when somebody can’t control himself.

Of course…the news writers spend very little time taking note of the fact that her boss asked her to dress down.  I don’t know about you, but in my workplace, the people who sign my paycheck generally expect me to do as they say.  In fact, I even have to wear the clothes they tell me to.  

Did the dentist do right?  In my opinion, that depends on whether he is a monkey or a child of God.  If he is a monkey, he did well.

For the Weird Girl

  Whether we realize it or not, there is a very real battle being fought for our minds.  Some of those fights are waged hoping that we will simply purchase their product. Others are trying to convince us of their political views or to get us to join their cause.  Others are vying for our very souls.

   I often wonder whether or not those battles are intentional, or if we have been programmed as such.   We’re taught, at least in English, how to form a thesis and defend the argument, in order to convince the reader of that thesis.  Rather than a seeking after truth, we have been taught how to defend our point.  (Personally, I think there is a great injustice in that)

     It is therefore no surprise that our world does everything it can to mould you into their form, buy their stuff and think their thoughts.

    Sending you off to high school wasn’t really all that tough of a decision for your mother and I.  A lot of people thought it must have been hard.  You have likely overheard many people ask, “So.  Are you ready for the big change as your daughter heads off to high school?”

   I guess it was big in the sense that we did a lot of praying over the decision.  It was also big in the sense that I almost cried when your cat walked to the road to say good-bye on your first day of school.  It was not a big deal in the sense that we are worried about your ability to find your way in this world. 

  It isn’t so much that we think you’re the perfect girl and that you don’t sin.  It’s more that, we believe that your faith in Christ is authentic, and that He is able to meet your every need as you navigate through life.

    As believers, we often debate over what our lives in this world should look like.  Sometimes we look down on people who seem to isolate themselves from the world.  The truth is, we are in the world whether we like it or not.  The question we need to ask is, “What am I doing as I live in the world?”

Jeremiah 15:19

“....If you speak good words rather than worthless ones,
you will be my spokesman.
You must influence them;
do not let them influence you!”

   When I think of you in your life at high school, God’s words to Jeremiah often come to mind when He said, “You must influence them.  Do not let them influence you!”

   You are much different than the world, and by now, you have no doubt noticed exactly that.  It’s not that you are better than anyone, that you sin less or that you do more good things.  The difference is Christ.   Sure.  Our world is fine with individuality, just as long as our individuality remains about the clothes we wear, our hair style or wearing black lipstick.  We find opposition when we actually are different.

   I believe that you are there in your setting to influence those around you.  They are not to influence you.  My hope is that you don’t grow weary in being you, because your mother and I REALLY like you.  I know it can be tiring to swim upstream, but that’s kind of the whole point.