Crops and Barns

In Luke 12 we have recorded one of Jesus' parables. A rich man is doing so well at accumulating crops, that he says..."What shall I do, since I have no room to store my crops?" On the surface this seems to be a great problem to have and a completely normal question to ask. In reality this question reveals the sad state of this man's heart. He actually thinks he is blessed by the earth and the Creator of the earth to bless himself and in so doing find rest for his soul.

What could he have done with the abundance that had come into his hands from God's earth? He could have asked God why he had more than he needed. He could have asked God who needed what he had received. He could have seen the abundance as a sign that His ability to bless others had increased. He could have asked God, but he chose to ask himself. Big mistake.

Getting the answer from his own fearful mind, he tears down his existing barns and builds new ones to calm his soul. Then he dies and his soul is judged for its behavior on earth. He loses his soul. This is what will happen to every human being sooner or later. Our souls will be required of us and we will have no argument other than what we did with our soul--our mind, emotions and will.

The human soul was originally designed to receive and deliver love's abundance. When we have in our possession the means to bless others and we decide to build new barns instead, we offend the very nature of our souls and the nature of the universe.

In this parable, even the earth is smarter than this man. The earth that produced the crops for this man was generous with what it produced. The earth delivers what it produces over and over again into this man's hands. The man who produced nothing and received everything should have said "Who can I love with this?" Since he did not see the crops as being received by grace, he concluded that he had produced the wealth himself and could do with it whatever he pleased.

If he had asked about who should be loved with this, certainly God would have led him to care for his most intimate relationships first just as the earth is generous with all who live from its wealth and lets those who work the land eat first. Beyond caring well for his family, this man would have then been led into a life of generosity and love toward others. His soul would have been resting as he delivered what he received. Receiving much and delivering well allows the soul to rest

When you are blessed be careful not to seek rest for your soul through the building of bigger barns. Build bigger relationships through delivering love. Trust that the Creator will be contiinuously generous to you as you continue to be generous to others. If we can trust the earth to keep producing crops, we can certainly trust the Creator to keep taking care of us.

Worth the Effort

The trip to China was a major effort in so many ways. At times such an effort can leave one wondering about the cost and about the effort. It only takes some word from those to whom we ministered to make the effort seem worthwhile.

Here is a word I got this morning. I am not going to correct the english errors. The person writing is a very, very sharp business leader who leads a major company and a person who has paid a great price for living their faith. This is from a believer who knows Jesus deeply and knows her way around the corporate world.

As you read her words rejoice with us that the book The Satisfying Life has found a place in the hearts of those who need it.
The e-mail was addressed to the Chinese friend who was my guide in China and also responsible for the translation of the book into Chinese.

Dear brother Shu Su Yee;

RE: THE SATISFYING LIFE

I NEED SPEND LOTS TIME TO READ IT DUE TO ALL THE MESSAGE FOR ME REALLY IS GOD SPEAK TO ME

LOTS THINKING ----THE TRANSLATION OF THE BOOK IN CHINESES IT'S REALLY WONDERFUL COULDN;T BELIEVE IS FIRST TIME

YOU USED THIS MATERIAL IN CHINESES

THIS BOOK CAN HELP LOTS PEOPLE I AM GOING TO ASK ALL MY BIBBLE STUDY READ SLOWLY AND DISCUSSING THIS BOOK SLOWLY TOO ( THIS IS SO IMPORTANT FOR ALL THE CHRIST LOTS FAITH AND LOTS OF TEARS)

MAY GOD BLESS YOU ALL YOUR WORK IN CHINA I WILL REPORT AGAIN DUE TO I AM READ IS NOT BOOK IS GOD WORDS TALK TO ME AND TOUCH MY HEART I NEED TIME ABSORB ALL THE WORDS

THANK YOU FOR YOU COMING OUR BIBBLE STUDY

BEST REGARDS

BECKY


Trying to communicate across a language barrier is exactly what makes these efforts so difficult. Even so, a letter like this one makes it all worth the effort.

For those who supported this effort--It was worth it! For those who are supporting the same effort in Brazil, Portugal. Angola and other places--it is worth the effort.

Lost in Translation

I visited a 1000 year old Pagoda today in China. The thing I will long remember about the Pagoda was the translation on the wall that was trying to tell all English speakers not to drop things from the open windows and not to smoke. If you don't think trying to learn another language is a challenge, take a look at the translations.
The pagoda is old China. The bullet train is the new China.

Obvious

I should have known. I should have known that Christians are designed by their new birth to live and thrive anywhere in the world. Governments don't make Christians thrive. Why am I surprised?

I think my early childhood in the USA with daily prayer and Bible reading in the public schools made me believe that Christianity was supported and expanded by the USA public culture and government. Actually the USA culture and government was supported and blessed by so many Christians in the land. Governments do not support or sustain Christianity, God does through Christ. I should have known.

Being in a place where there is 0% support for the Christian or Christianity makes one clearly see that God's branches truly only need the Vine to thrive. I should have known!

What Christians need is the peace to be who they are in Jesus wherever they live. Vineyards need peaceful environments to thrive and bless. Whenever any government is wise enough to encourage Christians just to be who they are, that culture will be blessed by the Christians who call that country home.

I should have known what I would see as I travel the world. Christians are designed to bear fruit in every country. Thank God they do!

New Abide Materials

One of the most gratifying accomplishments of the past 4 years has been the development of discipleship resources in the Portuguese language. Each project has been a labor of love and a lot of work. Each project has been a team effort involving contributors, translators, artists and volunteers.

Rejoice with us that we could present these materials in our own space at a recent pastor's conference. They were well received and will impact many, many lives for years to come.

Thanks for your part in this!

Bud

Twitter

I began "twittering" because my son Kevin encouraged me to join this newest communication tool. I am glad I did. I am resisting being old and out of touch. It is a challenge!

I am mostly enjoying the immediate connection to people I love that twitter affords. On the other hand, I am becoming increasingly concerned about some people I follow. Having been at this thing called life for a while, I can see patterns of thought and activity in the comments I read. I almost feel like I am the proverbial "fly on the wall". At times it is almost embarrassing to know so much about a person's moment by moment world. In some cases twitter posts seem like an ongoing Oprah show.

Here is what I am noticing that concerns me most. Many married men I follow seem to be focused almost exclusively on their work, hobbies and outside the home relationships. That may be only because they don't use twitter as a place to talk about family.
I am not sure. I certainly hope I am wrong.

If what I read on their "tweets" is the true picture of what they find most stimulating, their marriages and homes may be in trouble and I almost want to intervene with a comment or two.

If I did talk, here is what I would probably say.

1. Since you talk constantly about food, take your wife to lunch with you once in a while and be excited about it. Mention her.
2. Get as excited about your kids as you do about the latest Apple product or film you just saw.
3. Share a thought about your life that shows some depth of thought beyond "I am eating at..." or "I just saw..."
4. Don't be ashamed to tweet your faith if it provides you with joy.

Do I sound old and out of touch? Go ahead. Send a "tweet" or a facebook comment. I am connected.
By the way.... Happy Mother's day to my beautiful wife Pam. Let's do lunch when I get back from China. Ate at Pizza Hut in Shanghai today. I love all my "Kids."
Bud