When we sing Away in a Manger, we still picture a crib for Jesus’ bed. This is perhaps because we don’t have anything to relate a manger to in our own experience. Laying a newborn baby down to rest in anything but a comfortable little bed is unimaginable to us.

One of the unique features of the Christmas story is that due to the intervention of history, a Roman Emperor’s call for a census, Jesus came into the world under circumstances that were far from ideal. Rather than preparing to give birth in the safety and comfort of her home, Mary embarked with Joseph on an arduous journey to Bethlehem in the final days of her pregnancy.

I recently taught a class at my church entitled For the Bible Tells Me So: A Discussion of the Bible’s Reliability and How and Why I Can Trust It. It is the second session in a program that we call FloodU or Flood University, consisting of foundational classes addressing spiritual questions, growth, relationships, and transformation. If you are part of Flood or live in the San Diego area, I’d encourage you to look into these three four week courses all offered free of charge.

I have provided a link to the PDF of the presentation that I gave and you are welcome to download it and take a look. For those of you who attended the session, it will make more sense since the talk filled out its contents further. I will be tweaking the presentation in the future and will update this link as I do.

If you are interested in further dialogue about this subject, I would be happy to correspond or meet up to talk about it in person. You can contact me through the site.

For further reading, a few books that I would recommend are:
- New Evidence That Demands a Verdict, Josh McDowell
- The Historical Reliability of the Gospels, Craig L. Blomberg
- The Case for Christianity, Lee Strobel
- Who Moved the Stone, Frank Morison

Click here to download the presentation.

I am encouraged tonight by II Kings 6:16 where we are reminded “Don’t be afraid…Those who are with us are more than those who are with them.” Here in Africa I am beginning to feel a little overwhelmed. The magnitude of the need here and the countless arms reaching for help make me wonder if anything I do here will ever matter. It is hard not to feel somewhat depressed by the violent oppression that so often ravages this continent. Yet, I am reminded by this passage that although I may be overwhelmed, I am not outnumbered.

Staring at the vast Syrian army, the man in this story also felt overwhelmed and that nothing he or anyone else could do would matter. When his spiritual eyes were opened, however, he saw that the power of God was greater than all of the violent oppression that the Syrians could inflict. I’m thankful for the reminder that God’s power is not only greater than my own weakness but also greater than all that oppresses East Africa. It is true that by myself I cannot change anything but I pray that God, through his power, might use me to help bring needed changed to this beautiful but needy part of the world.

I’m sitting in one of the most appropriate places to reflect on the power and influence of writing; under the shadow of two of the greatest writers of the last century, C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien. Overjoyed to find an empty table in the Rabbit Room at The Eagle & Child, I am enjoying a cup of tea and reveling in this place.

“For it hath pleased them of Macedonia and Achaia to make a certain contribution for the poor saints which are at Jerusalem.” (Romans 15:26)

The regions of Macedonia and Achaia, or modern-day Greece, were some of the most wealthy areas of the New Testament world. It is likely that many of the Gentile converts in these regions, as well as the Jews living there, were quite successful in the world of trade and business. The Christians in Israel, however, suffered under intense persecution. They lived in a society where leaving strict Judaism to convert to Christianity meant giving up your place as a citizen of society in good standing. The Christians in Jerusalem, in particular, suffered greatly at this time.

Learning of their Jewish brother’s sufferings, the believers in Greece decided to make a generous contribution to the church at Jerusalem. When the apostles and other traveling ministers brought news to them of Christians’ needs abroad, they opened their hearts and gave.

We have a similar situation today for in America we have more wealth than anywhere else in the world. Our Christian brothers and sisters abroad, however, suffer lack in many parts of the world. Somebody needs to travel like Paul did, seeing each situation first-hand and carrying word of the needs to the rest of the Church. Somebody also needs to be willing to give to the needs of those who are part of our own body, shared with Christ as the Head. Just like we would not ignore the needs of our own family, we must not turn away from the needs of our family in the Lord. At Mission Focus our desire is to bring not only the testimonies of the Church abroad, back to the West, but also the needs. We pray that God will open our own hearts and many others, to provide for His people.

I just noticed that Paul emphasizes the importance of “one” six times in Romans 5. He repeatedly affirms that it was the offence of one many that caused sin and death to come upon all. Contrasting Adam’s failure with Christ’s perfection, he also states that it was the righteousness of one by which all receive life. As I reflect upon what I’ve experienced and what I’ve seen on this trip, one thing that I want to make sure that I do not forget is the power of one. Short of placing ourselves in the unique position of Christ or of Adam, there is a principle that one life carries unlimited potential, for better or for worse.

“Then the disciples, every man according to his ability, determined to send relief unto the brethren which dwelt in Judaea: Which also they did, and sent it to the elders by the hands of Barnabas and Saul.” (Acts 11:29-30)

From the earliest times in the history of the Church, the precedent has been set for churches to care for another, particularly in time of need. Recognizing that the persecution and resulting distress of the church in Jerusalem was stronger than elsewhere, the churches of other cities resolved to send support to them.

Certainly these other churches had their own needs. It would’ve been easy to justify that they could not afford to take any of the money out of their own collection to help anyone else. The attitude of Christ’s Church, however, is to be one of generosity. One which looks to discover and meet the needs of other believers who are in need.

As I travel throughout Eastern Africa and see the desperate needs that Christians have here, I am convicted by how complacent I have been about the needs of Christians abroad. Its much easier to simply give my tithe to my local church and not to think about anything else. How could I be so blind to the enormous needs in other countries? Christians are working extremely hard in critical situations both physically and spiritually all around the world, but we in the West frequently don’t even take the time to learn about them, much less care.

I truly hope that Mission Focus enables a change of perspective that results in more giving, praying and going to support God’s people abroad. May that change start with me.

I was reading Acts 1 this morning and found a story that pertains to what we are doing as Mission Focus. The story is of Matthias, the man chosen by the eleven disciples to replace Judas as an apostle. Many preachers have assumed that it was not God’s will for the disciples to choose a replacement. They generally base this argument on the fact that we hear nothing further about Matthias in the biblical record. It is as though his value as a disciple is dependent on how much we know about him.

The worth of God’s servants is not measure by how much we know about them but by everything that God knows about them. There are countless obscure and unknown followers of Christ’s whose works will live on in heaven although we may never know about them. I think of the Indian pastors who live on $12 of support a month and in poverty level homes, yet labor tirelessly to lead people to Christ. I think of the many women who devote themselves to the needs of children, both their own and others. We may never know about them but God does and their love will not go unrewarded.

Our goal at Mission Focus is to tell the stories of God’s servants. We want people to know what God is doing abroad in order to enlarge their hearts and to expand their sights into areas they’ve never considered before. We think Christians ought to focus on missions and that God’s servants are worthy of our recognition, appreciation, prayers and support. We will never be able to tell every story and discover every servant of God, but for those we have the opportunity to find we pray that the intersection of our paths will have a last impact not only for them but for the kingdom of God.

We don’t know much more about Matthias but let us never assume that the only things relevant to God’s kingdom are those we know about. His work is so much larger than our field of vision. What is relevant to God is far beyond what we value or appreciate. Lord, open our eyes!

In a tiny little mountain village, outside the town of Paderu, I saw a modern illustration of Jesus’ words. The members of the church had just brought their tithe, consisting not of money but of a portion of their crops. The people of this area earn a meager wage of about a dollar a day. Among the bags of rice there was a tiny little sack sitting on top. It was a small tithe from one of the poorest members of the church.

As I looked at the sack I could not help but remember the story of the widow’s mite. Jesus saw the large gifts made by the rich but when he saw a widow give the small amount that she had, He said that she gave more than the rest. This small sack of rice came from people who have nothing. Wouldn’t it be tempting to think that having so little would make it not even worth it to give to God? Imagine the rewards in heaven for those who have so little but love Christ so much. This sack of rice is so little but it says so much.

“And he said unto them, The kings of the Gentiles exercise lordship over them; and they that exercise authority upon them are called benefactors. But ye shall not be so: but he that is greatest among you, let him be as the younger; and he that is chief, as he that doth serve.” (Luke 22:25-26)

One of the beautiful things about Jesus is that He values those whom others overlook. Within Jewish culture, the older children in the family were more noticable and recognized. This was not the case with Jesus, however, for He said that the greatest should be as the younger children. It is the chief, manager or top ranking executive that the world notices. Through Jesus’ eyes, it is those who serve others, rather than being served, who are the greatest.

What is even more wonderful about our Savior is that He not only talked about this seemingly upside down concept, He lived it. “…but I am among you as he that serveth.” The King of Kings and Lord of Lords humbled Himself to serve. We have heard this many times before but somehow we need to picture it in terms that make sense to us. Think of the youngest child in a family seeking to serve his siblings. Think of the lowest position in your company and those whom everyone tends to overlook. This is Jesus coming to serve us.

Jesus coming to us should put us in the servant’s role but He did not come to us from the top but went to the very bottom of humanity as a newbord baby in a peasant home. He is the clasic example of service. If we are going to be like Him, we must live a life of service to God and others.