Finally!

For the first time ever in our journey of abiding, Pam and I were able to teach what the Lord has taught us in the form of a careful and full explanation of what it means to abide on a daily basis. Praise the Lord the 140 women from the First Baptist Church in São Jose dos Campos received the teaching with open hearts. It was wonderful!

The range of Christian experence was from new converts to very, very mature believers and leaders. Even so, the metaphor fit each life just as Jesus said it would. For those who doubt the power of His words, just try using them exclusively for a while in your teaching and preaching and you will see that what He said is the final word in every life.

In one of the pictures I have chosen to show this wonderful moment in our lives you will see two elderly sisters with their hands raised and fingers folded down into the palm of their hand. One of them said to me, "When we stand up as individuals (open hand) we are very different. When we all bow together before God we are all equal" Try it and you will see that even our hands preach spiritual truth.

Finally, I am beginning to see how all things truly work together for good to those who love God and are called accordiing to His purpose.

The Abiding Experience

Pam and I are happy to report the "birth" of the course on Abiding we have worked on for many years!
Today we will head to the mountain city of Campos do Jordão to teach the 7 hour course to 140 women from the First Baptist Church of São Jose.

The course is designed to be used in retreats, small groups and in individual discipleship. The course is based on John 15 and walks a person through the metaphor that best describes how the daily Christian life can and should work.

Pray for us as we teach the course and continue to develop the other tools that will help people enjoy "The Abiding Experience" of the life of Jesus 24 hours a day and seven days a week.

We hope to have the english editions of both the marriage course and the abiding experience course by January. Our goal is to train church leaders to use the courses effectively in the life of the local church.

Surprise--Back on the radio

Once again I have been surprised by God's attention to detail. Why is it I cannot just expect Him to be so perfect at what He does?
I am ashamed to admit my faith is so small yet I am happy to say He continues to work with me. It is amazing.

The latest surprise is the opportunity to speak by radio to over 100,000 listeners in a southern Brazilian city. This also may lead to putting the Abide program on similar stations all over Brazil. God brought our friend Edson Bruno back to Brazil to lead a new radio ministry. Edson has introduced me to the media team in the city of Joinville and they have embraced the abide ministry and its message.

I have just returned from two days with these dear brothers in Christ. We recorded the marriage seminar for broadcast and we prepared 12 new programs for immediate use on the air. Radio programs are a lot of work to prepare but the impact is worth it.

Pray for all of us in this project. God has other surprises in store.

In the first photo I am with leadership team at the new radio station in Joinville.
In the second photo I am with Pastor Antonio Siqueira who is a man that God has touched deeply concerning the need to develop intimacy with God 24 hours a day and seven days a week.
In the third photo I am with Edson Bruno in the new recording studio.

The Real Problem

I recently spent some time with a dear friend who has been deeply offended in two very diferent ways. My friend had been treated terribly by a person in business here in our city. The business person took money and never delivered the services promised. This caused a huge delay in a project and the cancelation of an important trip. Needless to say, my friend wanted nothing more to do with the person who failed to deliver. My friend's conclusion was that this was a person with a severe character flaw. My friend is right.

A little while later the unethical business person entered into a deep business partnership with my offended friend's best friend who is also a relative. The friend and relative did this already knowing the story about the failure to deliver. So, the unethical enemy was now a close associate and friend of my offended friend's friend and relative. Can you follow the pain? If this has ever happened to you, you can follow it and feel it. My friend could not believe that their friend and relative became so close with their enemy. it was as if the first pain was small compared to this second pain.

My friend decided to stay completely away from all involved. My friend asked me how a friend could do such a thing. Since I could follow the pain, I said it was much more common than most people believed. It happens all the time and God permits it and does not explain exactly why. At least He has not yet explained it to me.

I guess we all wish our closest friends would stay away from anyone and everyone who hurts us. We hope that others will feel our pain, make a judgment and stay away. People who have gone through a divorce or have been fired from a job know this feeling. When this has happened to me what I wanted was for my enemy to be isolated from those who were my friends. That is what I wanted until I thought a little more deeply about this everyone staying away thing. On the surface it may be good for me but it may not be good for everyone and God is about everyone not just me.

Jesus was certainly God's friend and we (all of us) were God's enemies. Jesus could have stayed away from us with good reasons. Instead, He came and lived among us as a friend. God wanted Him to. God sent Him. Perhaps therein lies the difference. God and Jesus trusted each other with this being close to an enemy thing. Something in God reaches out in ways that are still very strange to me.

I have had to ask myself, what would it take for me to be O.K. with my friend being the friend of my enemy? I think I would need to know that my friend trusted me enough to believe what I said really happened and and agree that it was wrong. I think I would need to know that my friend would never knowingly add to my pain by agreeing with or enjoying what was done to me while in the company of the one who hurt me. I think I would need to know that my friend was motivated by something more than self interest in the relationship with my enemy. I would hope my friend would understand my pain enough to reassure me that they were being led of God to be a friend to my enemy and they would stay away the moment God said they should.


As I listened to my friend speak of the enormous pain that was washing over their soul, I remembered my own experiences of seeing friends enjoying people who had been and still were enemies to me. I told my friend to take their eyes off the friend and the enemy and put their eyes back on Jesus who had been their friend when they were God's enemy. I told my friend to ask Jesus what they should or should not do toward the friend and relative. I honestly don't know of a set way to handle this situation except to seek Jesus each day and be willing to let Him teach us how this can work for good in all of our lives. I do believe there is a combination of some going toward the enemy and others going away. Jesus knew when to go toward and when to move away. He still does and He still guides His children.

Jesus has already been clear about our enemies--Love them and bless them. I think the reason for this command from Jesus is based on the fact that the only hope for our enemy is to get at the root of what drives them to be an enemy. What drives any of us to sin or be an enemy is the a failure to receive God's love deeply into our lives so we will not need to hurt others to get what we want. As far as I can tell, Jesus gave no specific word to us about what to do with a friend who is a friend to our enemy. He gave no word but He certainly lived the example. He stayed close to them unless they tried to turn Him against His Father. He would have none of that and His friends and His enemies knew it. If I knew my friends were still that loyal to our relationship it would certainly help.

I now know that what my friend and my enemy need from me is to wish them well in real and tangible ways. The only true "wellness" comes from receiving from God and His love. Most of the time that receiving must come from someone close to the one who is not receiving. My enemy needs someone close who loves God deeply. Since most of my closest friends are deeply in love with God, it would make sense that God might ask one of my freinds to stay close to someone like my enemy.
it makes sense if I am thinking "big picture" and not just "my picture."

My enemy will only be my enemy for as long as they fail to receive from God what they need to stop. The day they receive from God in Jesus what they lack which caused their behavior toward me, they will not want to be my enemy any longer and they, too, will hear Jesus say "Love your enemy."

Maybe my friend needs to be close to my enemy so that moment can be made easier if it happens. If it never happens and my enemy ends up forever God's enemy then I am sure I will be glad my friend was close-- Close enough to my enemy to speak of God's love because I was not able to be close enough to say it myself.

There will be a day when there will be no enemies to love and bless. There will be a day when there will be no friends who hurt us by staying close to those who hurt us. For now we will have to allow our friends to make their choices for good or bad reasons.

It is never easy to be a friend in the world. It was never easy for Jesus.

In John 15 Jesus calls us friends and then sends us out into the world to love people who still hate him. This is hard thing to do and we must be careful never to agree with Jesus' enemies about essential things about Jesus. We must, however, be close enough to Jesus' enemies to gently and clearly say "You really don't understand Him and you did mistreat Him and so did I. I admitted I was wrong and you need to do the same."

In the end what I want from my friends is to know that the enemy cannot manipulate them away from the relationship with me. I need to allow my friends to be wrong because I , too, am often wrong in what I do or do not do. I need to know my friend is really a friend and the enemy cannot change that. If the enemy tried to change that fact, I would hope that would be the line my friend would not cross. It was certainly the line Jesus would not cross.

I hope my offended friend can find the strength from Jesus to love the enemy. I hope my friend can find the strength from Jesus to love the friend and relative who may or may not be making a serious mistake in joining in a close relationship with someone who really does hurt people and has a character flaw. We would do well, however, to remember Jesus kept Judas close to the end and even Judas played a part that God controlled for good.

I told my friend I understood this pain. I do. I told my friend that only Jesus could direct through this kind of complexity. I told my friend to abide and ask for wisdom. My friend and I were drawn together by this challenge of faith. This kind of pain leaves one with a kind of weariness and hurt that is hard to describe unless it has been felt. If there is any hope at all for any of us it is that God still loves us when we complicate things and cause pain. There is always hope because no one can manipulate God away from us and the day will soon come when this enemy thing will be over.

August 2006 update

Click on image to enlarge

Miami Connection--Global focus

Once again I am amazed at how God is continuing to connect our lives with people we thought we were "leaving" in the USA.
This past week I was privileged to be a part of Brazil's first GLOBAL FOCUS training with Dr. Larry Reesor and Dr. DIno Pedrone.
Larry is the founder of Global Focus and Dino is the Senior Pastor of the New Testament Baptist Church in Miami, Florida.

Global Focus helps local churches live out the vision of Acts 1:8 where Jesus said his followers would be empowered by the Holy Spirit to be witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria and the ends of the earth. It is a wonderful new way of doing missions through the local church. We hope to develop a partnership between Abide Ministries and Global Focus.

New Testament Baptist church is one of our supporting churches. It is also the home of Dade Christian Schools. I graduated from Dade Christian in 1969 and Pam's family was supported by New Testament as far backk as the 1950's.

Being with Larry and Dino was a blessing. Three men from New Testament church also came down to teach and launch the Global Focus ministry.

It was a good week. The connections that God is engineering for us continue to amaze me.

The first picture is of Dr. Dino Pedrone preaching in the evening Global Focus service.
The second picture is of the Global Focus team from the States.
The last picture is of Dino, me and Larry just before an evening service.
(Click on the photos to enlarge them)

A Pleasant Surprise

Oswald Chambers once observed "God orchestrates our circumstances to educate our faith." For that reason I am always alert to the seemingly small details that tell me God is at work all around.

For the past four days Pam and I have been in the mountain city of Campos do Jordão looking for our future home here in Brazil.
From the very beginning of our call to return to Brazil this mountain city has drawn us back again and again. In human terms the city seems to be out of the way and not in the middle of the big things God is doing in Brazil. That is just not true.

We stayed in a wonderful mountain hotel in Campos named "Leão da Montanha" which means "Lion of the Mountain." The hotel was built 25 years ago by a Jewish man who survived the Holocaust. That Jewish man is now 84 years of age and the running of the hotel is now in the hands of his grandsons Fabio and Elan.

The amazing detail is that Fabio and Elan have both accepted Jesus as their Messiah and they want to work to help the Abide Ministries in Campos and among the Jews of Brazil. The chances of this kind of contact is amazing. My faith was educated once again! God is at work in His way in every place.

A year ago we dreamed of having a place in the mountains where we could bring leaders and learners to clarify what it means to abide in Christ 24 hours a day and seven days a week. Now we have people willing and ready to help who own a camp and a hotel. We also have extremely sharp Jewish believers ready to introduce us into the Jewish community.

When we left South Florida with its huge Jewish population, it never dawned on us that we would be sent to a mountain city to continue to work with God's chosen people scattered here in Brazil.

One picture is of Pam and me with our Jewish brothers in Christ Fabio and Elan. The other picture is of Fabio, Elan and another young Jewish believer named Raphael.

Don't miss the surprises in your life. God is educating your faith.

A thought on the demonic

Here in Brazil there is a tremendous emphasis on the unseen, demonic world. Yesterday at the church we attend there was a seven hour couse given on "Spiritual Warfare". The young pastor who taught the course did an excellent job with the Biblical material. I was amazed at his depth of experience and Biblical knowledge.

One thought that struck me as he spoke came from the words of Paul in Ephesians six where he says "We wrestle not against flesh and blood..." What struck me is that we all wrestle with demonic forces. Life is like a wrestling match for all of us but we think it is people who are behind the struggle. No. There are forces opposed to life in God that create the force we feel resisting us. To fight people is to miss the point of the real struggle. There are powerful forces behind the visible against which we "wrestle"

Human beings are not sources of anything. Human beings are receivers. Remember when Paul said "I am what I am by the grace of God"? He said his whole life was the result of receiving from God. If Paul was what he received, so, too, are all humans what they receive.

Demonic forces are substitute sources that attempt to attach themselves to the human spirit. Most may never manifest a deomonic presence as we think of demonic possession. Yet, all of us reflect through the fruit of our lives the source or sources that feed our spirit. There is no such thing as a human spirit that is not receiving from some source of thought or intent.

The word "sorcerer" means one who seeks the source. Make no mistake. A source of some kind is trying to reach your spirit and feed it . Truly, we wrestle not against flesh and bone. Humans are not the source our spirits was wrestle against. There is a spirit world and it will make a connection if it can and its fruit will appear over time.

This is why the blessed Holy Spirit of God is in us. If we rest in the Holy Spirit and resist the Devil and his counterfeit sources
we win. To fight humans is a waste of time. The battle is behind the fruit in human lives.

In the end it is always about the source from which we drink and eat. Thank God Jesus is come into the world as our daily bread and water!

Time Team

Pam and I are busy leading a group of young people from the USA. It has been a long time since I have been surrounded with such energy!

The team is made up of young people and their leaders from Massachussets, Daytona, Florida and Miami, Florida. The International Bible Baptist Church of Miami has developed a wonderful summer missions outreach for teens and young adults called TIME. The team uses drama presentations to preach the message of Jesus. It is very, very effective.

Got to run! Pray we can keep up.

Bud and Pam

Stunned

One of the small, but interesting differences about living in Brazil is the absence of airconditioning and screens on the windows. This combination makes for a much more direct contact with sounds, smells and nature. What is normally kept outside in the USA can often be found inside in Brazil.

This morning at breakfast two "outside" things came inside. One was the smell of a nearby factory. This smell normally does not come inside unless there is a lot of fog and the temperature drops. When fog and temperature are just right it smells like the factory is right next door instead of across the river. The second was a small bird that came into the window by mistake and then could not get out. This small bird is normally one of the first things we see each day when we look out the window of our ninth floor apartment. These small sparrows always remind me of Jesus' words that the Heavenly Father even takes great care of the little birds so He will most certainly will take care of us.

The sparrow came in through the open window and flew right into a large mirror we have on one wall near our dining room table where Pam and I were having breadfast. He hit the mirror really hard and then flew to the ledge near the window where he stopped and made no movement at all. I waited to see if he would try to fly out the window again but he did not move. He was too stunned by what he had done to move.

Slowly I approached him thinking he would panic and try to fly away from me. He did not move at all. I put my hands over him still expecting panic. Instead, he let me hold him in my hands. I lifted him to the open window and he flew back to his normal world.

I could not help but believe God has done the same for me over and over again when I am stunned by life--even when I was the one who flew into a world that was never meant for me. The key when one is stunned is to sit very still and wait for God to come. To fear His hand when we are stunned by our own decisions is to misunderstand who He is our lives. Truly His mercy endures forever.

To struggle against His hands is to only make matters worse. Letting God hold us is the beginning of a return to the life He has made for us.

May-June Update

CLICK ON THIS IMAGE AND IT SHOULD ENLARGE SO YOU CAN READ IT.
THANKS!
BUD

A special moment

This past week Pam and I experienced a very special moment in our lives. I was invited to speak at the church we founded nearly 26 years ago here in Brazil. The special occasion was the tenth anniversary of the current pastor of the church. I was one of his seminary professors many years ago and we have enjoyed a good relationship over the years.

It was a wonderful moment to be standing behind the same pulpit I left back in 1987. To see the church doing so well was a wonderful moment. God is so good!

Six Metaphors for a Happy Marriage

Our marriage course entiltled "Six Metaphors for a Happy Marriage" is being received extremely well. People are the same all over the world. Marriages suffer the same kinds of stress in Brazl as they do in the USA.

This past weekend we offered the seminar for couples in our church and we had 65 couples attend. It was truly a remarkable opportunity.

mobile happiness

Jesus said in John 15:11 "I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete."

It is clear from this statement that there is a direct relationship between what we hear from Jesus and the state of our joy.
That makes sense. When we get news that tells us good things are happening we naturally sense some level of happiness or joy. When Jesus spoke of the abiding presence of God in our lives He certainly knew that such news would make our joy complete if we would receive it.

The other day I received some news that brought me joy. Interestingly enough, I did not let the news take up residence (abide) in my heart and produce joy because it sounded too good to be true. Having been "burned" in the past I was not ready to ride a new wave of joy only to be dumped by the crashing wave of disappointment. In this particular case I was right to have waited for further word. The good news soon turned to bad news. I had not wasted my emotions on receiving false information.

An essential part of abiding is to go ahead and receive what Jesus is saying as a completely settled reality. That is how He lived. He had no doubts about His Father's love. He was abiding in that love and it produced a full joy in Him each day. Are we doing the same or are we waiting for further news?

Jesus' plan for His joy was to make His joy "mobile". That is, He wanted His joy to be in us and not dependent on exterior circumstances so we could freely and joyfully move about in this world. This can only happen if we will simply receive His message and let the joy it produces fill us up.
When we do, we are liberated from the need for our happiness to be circumstantial. Instead, our happiness becomes based on facts that cannot and will not change.

This "mobile happiness" is a powerful force in the world. It makes it possible for disciples to move about freely without fear of messing up their source of happiness. Most people need external stability to have happiness. A disicple of Jesus that is bound to a place for happiness is truly a contradiction. We are to be bound to a person for happiness but never to a place. "Follow Me" still means exactly what it says.


Do you remember the words of the TV commercial for a mobile phone company that said over and over "Can you hear me now?"
In the spiritual realm Jesus is saying each moment "Will you hear me now?" When you will not hear Him, watch how quickly your joy diminishes and your happiness starts depending more and more on other visible sources. Listening is receiving. All spiritual reality--abiding---depends on receiving as true what God has said to us through His Son.

Having "mobile" happiness is a true teasure. It makes us willing to risk and follow. I hope your happiness can roam wherever God is leading. There is no place on earth where God lacks the coverage needed to make our joy complete.

An open door

The church where we serve here in Brazil hosts an annual conference for pastors and leaders who want to learn how to develop churches that are guided by God's purposes instead of personalities or programs. It is an awesome conference and time of spiritual growth and formation.

This year it was my privilege to address the 1400 delegates from 26 Brazilian states concerning spiritual formation and discipleship. I spoke on "Discipleship 24X7--entering the second rest." Read Matthew 11:28-29 to see the first and second rest and you will get the idea.

The photos show the moments I had the privilege to speak to the delegates. Our goal of influencing 1000 pastors is helped tremendously by this kind of opportunity. From this group we have gathered about 50 pastors who have requested to become a part of our abide network here in Brazil.

Spiritual hunger

What is it that creates spiritual hunger? I think it is the emptiness that comes from trying to make life work apart from God. There is definitely a deeper spiritual hunger here in Brazil than I was accustomed to seeing on a day to day basis in the USA.
People here live lives that are definitely harder. It is much harder for people here to think life can be made to work apart from God.

There is a part of me that wants Brazilians to have easier lives, but there is a part of me that wants them to stay open to God as they are. Every time I teach here in Brazil I feel I am truly meeting people at a deep level of hunger. Living here day to day I sense that people must chose God or they must chose anger. I am so happy to report that many chose God!

The pictures are of a couples retreat Pam and I did recently. We have developed a marriage seminar called "Six Metaphors of a Happy Marriage." It has blessed many and we could literally travel every week to give the seminar. We are traing Brazilian pastors to give the seminar in our place.

april update

influence

A little over three years ago our sending pastor, Russell Johnson, gave me some materials from a ministry called ABIDING LIFE.
I immediately identified with the content of the material and sent for a set of CDs by Mike Wells. Little did I realize how those CDs would be used by God to open my eyes to the power of God's presence in our lives. Mike's unique ability to communicate the truth of the abiding life of Jesus blessed me in profound and permanent ways.

Later I discovered that Mike's ministry is already deeply rooted here in Brazil. His books and seminar lectures are in Portuguese and have opened many doors for the message of Jesus' satisfying presence in our daily lives.

After several attempts Mike and I have met personally and have ministered together here in our city. The harmony of what God has done in each of our lives is truly a testimony to God's grace and the teaching of the Holy Spirit.

The theme of Mike's ministry is "There is nothing the presence of Jesus cannot cure." Mike works with people across the world who have been ignored or forgotten. That includes the poorest of the poor and burned out Christian leaders.

It was a privilege to have Mike here with us accompanied by Oswaldo Paiao and Dr. Jim Herrin from Lake Conroe, Tx.

The pictures show the seminar we held here in the city.

small world

The world is shrinking! Recently we had firsthand proof that the world is smaller. A visit from Rev. Del Hooge to our city in Brazil gave us unmistakable evidence--the world is really getting smaller. Del is a 40 year missionary to the Phillipine islands. He was in Brazil connecting Brazilian churches to a worldwide literacy and educational movement that is leading thousands to Jesus.

Pam and I have known the Hooge family for many, many years. To think we would meet here is awesome. I like the smaller world!

Moving On

Leading a ministry that is called "Abide" has proven to be a wonderful way to test the depth of my conviction about the place of Abiding in the Christian life. The test is whether or not I will "stay on message" or "move on to something else."

It seems that many people eagerly embrace the message of enjoying a barrier-free relationship with Jesus as the only way to bear fruit and glorify God. They literally become joyful at the news that Jesus is with us 24x7 and is perfectly enough for our lives to be fruitful and glorify God. It is awesome to see the "light go on" in someone's eyes when the message of abidig takes root.

It also seems that many people who get excited at the start of the abiding journey seem to grow weary when I don't want to 'move on' to something else. It is almost as if they think I don't know anything else.

I am beginning to realize that abiding is in a different class from all other types of Christian learning. Abiding is foundational.
Here is how I am expressing abiding here in Brazil to those who seem to want me to "move on". I am telling to think of abiding in this way....
Abiding is to discipleship what reading is to learning. You never "move on" from reading.

Abiding is to discipleship what breathing is to singing. You never "move on" from breathing.

Abiding is to discipleship what drinking and eating are to strength. You never "move on" from eating and drinking.

For me, the greatest fault in today's churches is we have "moved on" from abiding and we are becoming spiritually illiterate,
short of breath and without spiritual strength. We dare not move on. That is why our ministry is called Abide.

The pictures in this blog are of our Abide team members here in Brazil helping Christians not "move on" from Abiding. The word "PERMANECER" seen in the first photo is the word for Abide in Portuguese. The young lady in the picture runs our Abide office in the city of Sao Jose. Her name is Ana Rute. Keep her and all of our volunteers in your prayers.

Time and friends

Pam and I have been travelling in the U.S. for the past three weeks. One thing we have noticed is the way the new is crowding the past across the country. America is a nation that is in love with building new things. The number of new homes under construction is amazing. The size of the homes makes some of them look like hotels.

One really nice moment in our trip was a stop at Riverdale Baptist Church with pastor Brian Mentzer and his wife, Jayne.
The Mentzers are wonderful hosts who live in a wonderful home on the church campus. The home is a restored home originally built in 1830. To be in the dynamic Washington D.C. area with such great friends in such a great home was the best of old and new. We were blessed!

Some things improve with time. Among them are great homes and great friendships. Brian and Jayne are great friends and their home was the perfect setting for a friendship that will last forever.

family

There is nothing more gratifying than to see your children walking in the truth. No other life achievement even comes close.
To be with your children and their children and hear them talking of their joy in Jesus is life's most amazing joy.

Certainly our heavenly Father feels this same joy when all of His children gather to celebrate their life in Jesus. When we worship together I know He must feel what I felt yesterday as our family gatthered together in Orlando, Florida. As the proud mom and dad, Pam and I were beyond happy. We experienced joy.

I believe heaven will be filled with such joy. Those who have never had the joy of family on earth can have it now in an abiding church. Certainly we will all have such joy in heaven.

Connections

I never cease to be amazed at how Jesus in us connects people instantly and over many, many years. The presence of Jesus is so powerful in one's life that the process of finding and keeping friends becomes a natural part of the abiding Christians life.
In this picture God's promise to make us one in Jesus has come true in my life once again.

I cannot even begin to understand how much poorer my life would be if the presence of Jesus had not been given to me at the moment of my new birth.
Friends found and kept in Jesus make us truly rich.

Abiding creates and sustains friendships. The ever widening circle of friends in Jesus is available to all who abide.


The picture is of two new friends who who joined John Harmeling and I for lunch to share the message of the joy of abiding. On the left is Mike Sallah an award winning journalist with the Miami Herald and and on the right is Dan Sessa pastor of the Church in the Glades in Pembroke Pines Florida.

The circle of abiding friends continues to grow.

February Update

The weak and the strong

Yesterday while in traffic here in our city, I witnessed a robbery. A man approached a young girl on a bike and stole the purse that she had hanging over her shoulder. I saw it happening but could do nothing.

I felt such a sense of anger and frustration watching a grown man take advantage of a young girl. Yet, such acts of the "strong" abusing the "weak" are daily realities in this world. On mean city streets, in corporate boardrooms and in families power is abused and people suffer. I, too, have misused power with words and deeds. Strength has potential for good and evil.

I wondered all through the day if I should have stopped and tried to offer assistance. Where I was at the time I could not stop without causing an accident. I spent the rest of the day praying for the young girl.

In reality, which of the two was the stronger in this scene of injustice? A man who would stoop to steal from a young girl or a young girl who will go on with her life in the face of such injustice?

Perhaps God allows this world to run along as it is to reveal that the truly strong only appear to be the weak and powerless.
That was certainly the case when Jesus suffered at the hands of the "strong" of this world.

Perhaps I should also pity the man who has been reduced to such a state of cruelty. He offended a child God loves and such an offense will not go unnoticed or unpunished. All abuse of power will be reversed in time.

I pray today for that young girl that she will get back on her bike and face the world without fear. I pray she will be drawn to trust in God through this pain. I pray that people of love will carry her through this time.

I pray the man who stole the purse will soon come face to face with what he has become and cry out to His Creator to remake him through daily contact with Jesus.

I pray for myself that whatever power I have in this world will be used to bless and not take.

simple

The longer I am a follower of Christ the more simple the Christian life is becoming. I believe that is a sign of the healing of my soul more than it is a sign of great learning. Things that are living as they were meant to always seem simple.

Following Jesus has been made complex by looking at it from the view of what we lack instead of what we have. What has helped my faith grow more and more simple is the growing conviction that the presence of Jesus--the true Vine---connected to my life is all I need.

I remember vividly when I accepted Jesus as my Saviour when I was sixteen. The message of the church where I trusted Christ was simple and unrelenting. JESUS IS ENOUGH! JESUS WILL SAVE! JESUS WILL KEEP YOU! The conviction of these things was so profound it was simple.

Unfortunately, soon after the simplicity of salavation came to me, things got complicated. I soon felt I needed about 10,000 things I did not have to make the Christian life work. Soon people where lining up with plans and products to help get these things I lacked. From cassettes (in those days) to books and courses, I was on my way.

Many of these things did help but there was one flaw in the whole process. It was filled with doubt and uncertainty. There was so much lacking! It made me feel the same way I felt before I knew Jesus was enough to save me. It seemed that only the super saints would make it in this discipleship thing. I worked hard to make it to super sainthood.

I thank God for all the effort that was expended for me by so many. I just wish that someone had told me with conviction that for discipleship and daily life JESUS IS ENOUGH! JESUS WILL BE THERE 24X7! JESUS IS THE VINE WHO WILL GIVE YOU ALL YOU NEED! HIS LIFE IN YOU IS PERFECT, TOO!

I am deeply concerned that we have built an entire Christian industry on what is lacking instead of building on what we have in Jesus. This may sound harsh, but I believe we are in need of a churchwide reformation in the area of discipleship. Just as salvation was once complicated by the church, so, too, discipleship has been complicated by the church. Those who live from this complexity and the insecurity of sincere believers need to reevaluate the starting point of their ministries.
That which does not start in the abundance of the Vine has started in the wrong place.

This may sound like we will not need bookstores, courses, etc. That is not true. Working from abundance will always be creative and fruitful. All that will go is the uncertainty and dependence on men and things instead of dependence on Jesus.


By the way, there are no super saints. It took me a long time to truly believe that. There are branches connected to a Vine. Some receive and release better than others. Even so, they know it is God's doing not theirs. How simple! It feels almost as good as getting saved.

Dreams

God brought Pam and me back to Brazil because He gave us a new dream. That dream was to spend the rest of our lives helping people understand the importance of living what Jesus called Abiding. It has been a powerful enough dream to move us 5000 miles from family and to cause us to change our way of living in dramatic ways.

I believe in the power of God given dreams to motivate and inspire. I think God wants us to be active with Him in His pursuit of men and women for Himself in this world. This week I believe Pam and I came a step or two closer to the dream becoming more of a reality.

First, I believe we have found a location in a mountain city where we can begin retreats with leaders and with Brazilian young adults who will soon be the leaders. The camp can house 180 and it has homes that can be rented for couples. It also has a piece of land that might be available for sale or longterm leasing. (The first view is from a vacant piece of land above the camp where a building for Abide Brazil could be built--a dream!)
The camp sits in the middle of a mix of upper middle class homes and deep poverty. It would be a perfect place for groups to come from Brazil or the States to see the reality in which people can abide. Our idea would be to have people do a one week course on Abiding. Mornings and evenings would be for teaching and the afternoons would be spent blessing the people of the city. The city has about 45,000 permanent inhabitants who are mostly very poor.

Second, I am nearing completion of a book on the Abiding life. I feel that God is giving me this book to use as he basis for a course I can teach to those who are interested in learning what Jesus meant when He said "Abide in Me" and "Without Me you can do nothing." I hope to have the book published in Portuguese and English at the same time--a dream!

The attached pictures are if the two dreams taking shape. For those of you who pray for us and support us. Dream with us!

A Taste for doubt

One of the things I most enjoy about Brazil is the abundance of fresh fruit. Brazil is blessed with an incredible, rich soil where fruit of all types grows quickly and easily.

As I had breakfast this morning I had this thought as I tasted the fruit and heard the birds singing outside.

"How can anyone who has ever tasted fruit while hearing the birds sing doubt that we live in a Universe that is for us not against us?"

Try this sometime to strengthen your faith. Get some fresh fruit, turn off the airconditioner until you can sense the world around you. Eat the fruit until its taste gets a good grip on you. Now, try to convince yourself the Universe is a rotten place to live. If you can hear birds singing at the same time, you will feel what I felt this morning-- A complete absence of doubt about God's good intentions toward me and the world. It felt great!

January update

Disciple 24/7

One of the greatest discoveries of my spiritual life has been discovering the fundamental difference between Jesus and me. Once I began to see what was the root of the gap between my humanity and His, I could then dream of seeing that gap closed forever. To help me remember the difference, I created a statement to remind myself. It goes like this....
"The difference between Jesus and me is simple. He was 100% satisfied in God 24 hours a day and seven days a week.
I am not."

Jesus' entire human experience was a manifestation of complete rest in God's perfection and abundance. It simply did not enter Jesus' mind, heart or soul to begin any thought or action doubting God. Temptation never took hold in His life because temptation can only take root in a space where there is doubt about God's perfect ability to satisfy.

As a child of Adam my entire life was birthed in dissatisfaction with God. My only hope is to be "born again" out of God's satisfaction provided for me by the death, burial and ressurrection of Jesus. Now that I am "born again" I can learn to be satisfied in God like Jesus which is the essence of discipleship.

Discipleship is being 100% satisfied in God 24 hours a day and seven days a week. The fruit of this satisfaction is love of God and love of neighbor-24/7. The fruit of this satisfaction is my ability to glorify God by making God's nature visible and available just as Jesus did.

The other day I was talking to a church leader here in Brazil who was questioning the need for another ministry like Abide Brazil. Truly, Brazil has been blessed with many great discipleship courses and ministries. Using the statement about the difference between Jesus and me as a basis, I asked him how many followers of Jesus he knew whose lives seemed to be a manifestation of satisfaction in God? I asked him how many pastors and leaders he knew who seemed to be governed by a 24 hour 7 day a week satisfaction in God. As he reflected on the "bottom line" of 24/7 he could see that many of our current discipleship methods are teaching discipline for satisfaction, not satisfaction for discipline. There is a huge difference. Jesus said "Without Me you can do nothing." He is the satisfaction that preceeds and provides the ability to be a disciple.

What we have done is make salvation an experience with God's grace 24/7 but sanctification (satisfaction in action) an experience with programs and plans whenever they are offered by the church. We have made salvation (justification) a permanent 24/7 reality while we have made discipleship an activity we sometimes engage in as needed rather than a life we live.

Picture yourself signing up to follow Osama Bin Laden. I know that is a huge imaginary challenge, but try. Do you suppose he would accept anything less than 24/7? Do you think he would accept anything less than hate? Why is it we think Jesus is less serious than Osama? How can we even begin to compare the loyalty Jesus asks for to the loyalty Osama asks for? Is hate more serious than love?

Abiding is a metaphor of discipleship 24/7. Branches don't live unless they live from the Vine 24/7. Branches don't bear fruit unless they live 24/7. As satisfaction in God comes to us by the presence of Jesus in our lives we should not be surprised to see the fruit appear that proves we are 24/7 disciples of Jesus.

When it comes to discipleship, throw your watch and schedule away. Discipleship based on 100% satisfaction in God is
24/7 and you should not expect it to be or want it to be anything less. Increasing satisfaction received from Jesus is what makes me like Jesus. Nothing else can.

I have developed another statement to remind me not to make excuses for the difference between me and Jesus. When I feel discipleship 24/7 is out of my reach, I say "He who has Jesus lacks nothing." Since He abides in me I need not make excuses just confessions. I sin because I am not 100% satisfied in God. I need no other explanation or excuse. I did not take advantage of what Jesus offers 24/7 and that must be confessed.

I can't picture Osama Bin Laden yawning and being soft on his disciples. I can't picture him forgiving either.

I can't picture Jesus yawning and being soft on his diciples. I can picture Him forgiving. Forgiving but never excusing. How can you excuse someone who has all they need?

Now that Jesus is in me I can become a 24/7 manifestation of God's grace and truth. I simply must abide and God will take care of the clock and the calendar for His glory.

Success

One of the most redeeming values of the Christmas season is the reviewing of the past year and the thinking some people do about life's true meaning. For pastors who preach the annual Christmas sermons this is especailly a time of reflection about the year gone by and life's true meaning. For me it has always been a wonderful time of year for thinking about life as revealed in Jesus.

This year's Christmas sermon here in Brazil I entitled "Success or Failure?" That was the thought that was on my mind as i reviewed 2005 and thought about the birth of our Lord.

One's definition of success or failure is critical to one's ability to evaluate reality. We all have a definition of success in our minds and that definiiton is powerful. We use it not only to judge ourselves but we use it to judge others as well.
Having a flawed definition of success is no small error. It has huge implications for how we feel about our lives and what we do to correct what we see as failure in ourselves and in others.

One interesting thing about the Christmas story is the way the angels viewed Jesus' birth. They put a choir together and sang to God's success in Jesus' presence on earth among men. We would be wise to follow their lead. I believe angels have a pretty good grip by now on what success really is. After all, they have been around since before the beginning of human life on earth and have seen and heard a lot about success and failure.

Was Mary a success? Was Joseph? Was Jesus? After 2000 years we should be able to say they were successful or they were failures. It depends on our definition of success.

The definition God has given me for success over the years is this. Success is being what I was created to be and doing what I was created to do. I also call this "Taking love's next step". By that standard Mary, Joseph and Jesus were 100% successful that first Christmas. Day by day they simply took love's next step no matter where it led, who criticized or who tried to stop them.

That first Christmas everyone played their part in God's orchestrated plan for salvation and it worked perfectly. Interestingly, even Ceasar played the part of corrupt politician perfectly. God used his corrupt political goals to call for a census just when Jesus needed to be born in Bethlehem. Just like Judas would later in the redemption story play his part as traitor, so God has used even evil people to make His plan work successfully. By letting people be what they are and do what they do God works things out successfully. The next time you are about to oppose a Ceasar or a Judas keep the Christmas story in mind for maximum success.

We need to be very careful to check our definition of success and match it against God's definition of success. By the way that definition is forever set for humanity--Success is spelled JESUS. He was 100% what He was meant to be and he did 100% of what He was supposed to do. Now the standard is set for us--"it is enough that a disciple be as His Master." Matt.10

Be careful about letting the world or even religious leaders define success for you below the level of Jesus. We have a perfect example of success in Jesus and the farther we move from that standard the less success we will have.

I believe every Christian can live successfully. I believe every church community can live successfully. We can abide in Jesus and let His life be our life. When we do, we will bear the fruit of success. God guarantees it! Read John 15 for the details.

In Charge

I am not "in charge" anymore. For the first time in over 25 years I am no longer the "Senior Pastor". Some days, like today,
it strikes me powerfully that I am not "in charge". When I am struck by this thought it makes me aware of one of life's greatest discoveries. We are never really "in charge." We were not meant to be. We are branches and branches are not "in charge". Managing our lives or the lives of others is truly an illusion.

I rememeber as our children became teenagers this same truth began to take root in my mind. I remember thinking as they revealed their own ideas and will "I am not 'in charge' of these kids anymore!" Each day that passed I was less and less in control of them. Was I ever really in control of them? Was being in control of them what God intended? Being in love with them and being there for them was what God intended. Being in charge of them ended as soon as they realized I was not "in charge" of them. Loving them and being there for them need never end. Thank God it has not.

As a pastor I was not to be "in charge" of anyone. As a pastor I was to be "in love" with them. It is one thing to no longer be "in charge." It is another thing to no longer be "in love."

Thank God I am still in love with my children and they are in love with me. Thank God I am still in love with those I have loved and those who truly loved me still do.

I think we only come to know who we really are when we let go of things and still find we are whole and well. Over the years as I have let go of being "in charge", I have found I don't want to be "in charge" of what I love. I want to be there for them and I want them to be there for me. What I want is oneness not control.

Perhaps this is why the greatest in the kingdom is not the one "in charge" but the one who serves. Being there for those I love is something I do not have to give up along with my "in charge" title of Senior Pastor.

How can I miss being "in charge" when I really never was "in charge"? I can still love those I have loved and be there for them in hundreds of small, yet significant ways. I still have much to learn about the Kingdom and its values. It is a good thing God loves me and is there for me as I let go of things a little at a time. It is a good thing the way God influences me is by loving and being there for me. It is His love that has captured me and holds me in his joy. Love doesn't need control.

Mentoring

One of the most significant moments in our lives is when we are needed. To know our presence makes a difference meets a very deep need God has placed in our nature. We were created by God to be satisfied in God in order to give that satisfaction away as fruit. When we know what we have is from God and someone wants it, it allows us to work with God.

This past weekend a 40 year old pastor (who looks 25!) asked me repeatedly to be his "mentor". I was embarrassed at first but then I realized God had orchestrated this moment so I would know that what God had given to me was ready to be given away.
I think the passionate request was what took me by surprise. This pastor was ready and willing to receive. Was I ready to give?

At first I was hesitant. Was he saying this because I was an american with financial contacts? Was he saying this only to take something from me? I have been used before so I was hesitant to say "Yes, I will mentor you."

As I saw this young pastor with his congregation of 150 people who are mostly new converts he has personally won, my heart began to relax and I could hear God saying "This is why I brought you back to Brazil."

The weekend was wonderful and I am humbled by this young pastor, his wife Rose and his two sons Peter and Paul. I pray Pam and I will give them all God would have us give.

We are satisfied to satisfy. I want to give Marcos and Rose all that God has given to me. Somehow I know that is what humans were designed to do.

abundance

A dear friend of mine named Tibor Feldmar once described our Creator God as "Source of Source." Tibor survived the Holocaust and is a lifelong student of the Hebrew scriptures. When I asked him why he used the expression "Source of Source" he said it was what the name "I AM THAT I AM" communicates in the book of Exodus.

As I have meditated now for years on Tibor's explanation I have come to understand that our Creator God never begins any thought or action in anything less than perfect abundance. By that I mean our Creator only knows how to think from 100% satisfaction. Our Creator has no lack and therefore no fear ever enters His decision making process. To be godly we must learn to think and act from perfect abundance.

How different that is from much of my thinking! How different from many of my responses to life. I am only just beginning to think fully with such abundance. I am only just learning to abide. I am still learning to be like my master Jesus.

According to Jesus, birds, flowers and healthly branches are the examples of living from God's abundance. Jesus told us to take no thought about tomorrow. Why? Abundance takes no thought about what cannot be taken from it. Jesus said anyone who leaves houses or family for His sake cannot end up having less. Why? Abundance can never end up less than it began or it is not an abundance begun and sustained in God.

How different would our lives be if every single thought or action started in abundance and not lack? How different would our marriages be if both husband and wife saw every challenge through the lens of joyful abundance in God instead of what we might lose if our mate does not shape up?

When Jesus suffered, He suffered for the joy set before Him. That joy was the abundance of the Creator that is never truly taken from us. When Jesus cried "My God, My God why have you forsaken Me?" I believe He was cut off from the abundance of God for us. For Him that must have been the very deepest essence of His suffering. For a moment in time He was empty of the very abundance He had known forever. No wonder the sky went black and the earth shook.

When your mind, heart, soul or body is challenged in the world, remember that nothing can separate you from the abundance of God's love in Jesus. Abide in the abundance of God. Act in the abundance of God. That is the fruit coming from the Vine.

Intentional friends

I have just returned from a trip back to the USA to participate in a memorial service for a dear friend named Terri Davis.
Terri left our presence and entered the presence of God after a four year battle with cancer. Terri was a testimony of grace and faith to all who knew and loved her. Her husband Larry and her two sons, Jared and Justin,celebrated her life with the hundreds who came to her memorial service. Terri was a woman who learned to abide and as a result her life was filled with friends.

A part of the abiding life is having a friendship with Jesus.
"My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command. I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master's business. Instead, I have called you friends, fo everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you." John 15:12-15

I have struggled with this passage over the years. The part about needing to obey His commands in order to be His friends was not clear to me. I reacted to this idea with a sense that this was not what friendship should be. As usual, I was not seeing clearly and Jesus has patiently waited for the time when He could open my eyes.

Friendship in God's kingdom is based upon a kind of abundance we do not know on earth. Kingdom friendship is based on a total relaxation in the intentions of God. It is simply knowing that any command given from Jesus is flowing from such a pure source so it can be obeyed with joy and with no reservations.

The key to friendships is the blending of intentions. For instance, two people who love fishing will find it easy to connect whenever they are planning to fish or actually fishing. When two people who love fishing are getting to fish together, one can "command" the other without any offense because fish are being caught.

This is why Jesus told His disciples everything He had learned from the Father. Until they could relax in the good intentions of the Father like Jesus did, no true friendship would occur. Abiding in the Father's love like Jesus did requires a kind of abandoning ourselves into the good intentions of God. As author Henry Scougal once observed "To love is to wander out of ourselves" We do this "wandering" only if we trust the intentions of another.

People who have few friends have not connected with others at the level of their intentions. People who have no friends probably have very deep doubts about the intentions of other people. They may have reason to doubt others, but they have no reason to doubt the intentions of Jesus. Starting a friendship with Jesus will give them friends unless they doubt even Jesus' intentions.

People who have trouble obeying Jesus are still on the fringes of God's intentions. Until they learn to relax and rest in God's good intentions they will struggle when they read the sermon on the mount or any of Jesus' other commands.

As I visited with friends while in the States I realized that it is the intentions of Jesus that I share in common with my closest friends. We are able to sustain and enjoy our friendship because we are all relaxing more and more in the intentions of Jesus. As we do, we relax with each other and our friendships become easier and easier to sustain.

The intentions of God as revealed in the life of Jesus are clear proof that we can rest and relax in the Vine--Jesus.
If a command comes from Him we can obey with a smile since we are such good friends. How could we not do what He says for us to do since His intentions are flowing from the source of all good intentions?

Look for people who trust God's intentions in Jesus and you will find Kingdom friends. They are the kind of friends whose intentions you can trust. When intentions begin in God, you can feel free to "wander" into any relationship.