Grace & peaceJeffUpdate on Haiti Earthquake—Week 3

Port-au-Prince, HaitiFrom General Superintendent J. K. Warrick in the Caribbean RegionWednesday, 27 January 2010

Dear Nazarenes:

I want to give you another update on Haiti while we are traveling on the Caribbean Region to conduct district assemblies. Haitians are never out of our hearts and minds, and they are always in our prayers.

Word has just been received from the General Treasurer’s Office at the Global Ministry Center that giving to Haitian Nazarenes for earthquake relief has reached $1.1 million (USD). Thanks be to God for your generosity!

After prayer, money is the most important contribution Nazarenes can make right now.

If you would like to give to the relief effort, you may do so through the Nazarene Compassionate Ministries website (www.ncm.org/haitiearthquake).

It is now three weeks since the earthquake measuring 7.0 on the Richter scale struck Haiti on 12 January 2010. According to the Associated Press, the death toll is currently estimated at over 150,000.

Nazarene Damage Assessment in Haiti

Reports from the Caribbean Region indicate the following damage as of 26 January:

Scores of churches in the South Central District have been ruined.

The churches in Boutin and Tabarre report that their buildings are destroyed and numerous members are injured.

Many members are dead or missing from our Bel-Air church in Port-au-Prince.

A great number of members of the Petionville church have lost their homes.

More details will be forthcoming as regional, district, and local church leaders continue to assess the extent of these tragic events.

The Nazarene Response

The denomination has 555 churches in Haiti and nearly 120,000 members. These are our brothers and sisters in Christ. There is great faith and strong spiritual leadership among the Haitians; there are no missionaries. The strength of our church in Haiti is the result of your prayers, the efforts of Work and Witness teams, and faithful giving to the World Evangelism Fund.

There are Nazarene responders on the ground in Haiti—primarily Haitian Nazarenes who are working diligently to provide relief and comfort to their own people. You are making this possible with your prayers and monetary gifts.

We know there is a strong desire in the hearts of many to go to Haiti and help. Nazarenes are people of action, but there is a need to keep order in the church’s response. Some volunteers from other organizations have arrived in Haiti with no supplies of their own and have had to depend on relief organizations to assist them. This consumes scarce resources needed for Haitians.

The church’s time in Haiti for further relief work, including reconstruction, is coming soon. Medical teams are already assisting; other kinds of help will be needed for the longer term.

In Closing

I leave you God’s Word:

"Because of the devastation of the afflicted, because of the groaning of the needy, Now I will arise," says the LORD; "I will set him in the safety for which he longs" (Psalms 12:5, NASB).

Prayer is the most important thing the church can do. Keep praying that the Lord will provide safety for Haitians in the midst of this devastation.

In and for Him,

J. K. WarrickGeneral Superintendent

bgs@nazarene.org

A couple of follow-up thoughts.

Steve Mattison shared Hebrews 9:22 with me and I thought I'd pass that along to you:

...the law requires that nearly everything be cleansed with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness. (Hebrews 9:22 NIV)

Seem strange to "cleanse" with blood, doesn't it? We typically think of blood as a stain we're trying to get rid of? We buy cleansers and bleach to remove blood from clothes and carpet.

So how do you think blood cleanses?

While you're pondering that one, let me share one other thing I came across. I was reading through the Book of Leviticus in my brand new copy of the Wesley Study Bible, New Revised Standard Version (NRSV). A note on "holiness" seemed relevant.

"Many of the rules and regulations about being clean seem complex and, perhaps, confusing; nevertheless, we can learn about holiness from them.

"Holiness is not merely an inner experience; it is a way of shaping every aspect of ordinary life to please God. Holiness involves all our habits, manners, and behaviors. Not only is holiness the offering of ordinary life to God but also it is a goal for ordinary people.

"One does not have to have extraordinary gifts to be a holy person, only a willingness to do everything in a way that shows reverence for God."

(The italics were mine.)

My prayer for you today is that God would unload a burning passion upon you to shape every aspect of your life to please Him.

My prayer for you is that the Spirit would give you the gift of a heart, mind, and body that are willing to do everything in a way that shows reverence for God.

Grace & peace

This is part of the end of the book of Exodus. The people had started out as slaves.

They cried out to the LORD.

The LORD heard their cries, raised up Moses, and liberated the people from Pharaoh so they could worship God.

They began their journey into the wilderness, where God would make them a people...His people.

They disobeyed. They suffered. They repented.

The last few chapters tell us of their preparation for worship.

They collected materials, lined up tradespeople, made the Tabernacle, prepared offerings, made the alter, the lampstand, anointing oil, incense, and the table for the bread of the presence.

Only after they had done all they had been instructed to do, was the LORD ready to dwell with them. And after they had done all God instructed them to do, then the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle.

I've spent time this morning at the church, getting ready for Sunday. I have music ready for the praise team. I've been collecting announcements to be made to the congregation. I'm continuing to refine the sermon.

I'm in preparation mode. I'm praying that in the midst of all of this prepartion, God shows up.

What is it God would ask you to do in preparation for worship today? Or in anticipation of us coming together in God's presence this Sunday?

Would you join me in telling God you are willing to do whatever He asks of us?

Would you spend time praying, contemplating, listening, and responding to whatever the LORD asks?

Would you join me in asking God to "fill the tabernacle" where we will gather at 11AM?

Grace & peace

These are God's words to Moses on the heels of the golden calf idol in chapter 32 (which we referred to briefly on Sunday). If you haven't read it recently, check it out (and let me know what you think about verses 20 and 25-28).

The fact that God allows the nation to exist and the journey to continue is a reflection upon:

a. God's mercy. He could have wiped out the nation. They had just been given great promises and holy commandments. And then they disobey the very covenant to which they had agreed.

b. Moses' intercession. The notes in the Wesley study Bible on this subject read: "Is anyone ready to say intercession doesn't work? Moses has already stood between a God spoiling for a fight and a people asking for it in ch. 32."

This got me thinking.

What would God point to in your life and mine that would allow us to be described as "stiff-necked"?

How long has it been since you pondered the fact that such stubborn disobedience on our part is more than enough to justify God's consuming us or wiping us out?

In 34:6-7 God describes who he is to Moses by telling Moses The LORD's name. It includes visiting the iniquity of the parents upon the children and the children's children.

But it also includes

- merciful and gracious

- slow to anger and

- abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness

- keeping steadfast love for the thousandth generation

- forgiving iniquity and sin

If God is pointing out a place where you have been stubborn or guilty, I urge you to accept God's gracious invitation, confess your sin, and seek God's forgiveness. His very name states that this is God's desire.

Grace & peace

Have you ever considered your priesthood?

Not the priesthood? YOUR priesthood?

Didn't know you ARE a priest?

Reread the verses above.

Notice in his letter to the seven churches, John is not writing only to the leaders of the congregations. He is writing to the congregations. And John writes that Christ has made us...priests.

What does that mean? How does a priest act? What does a priest do?

As I was reading through Exodus 28 I came across a great passage that sheds a little bit of insight into our role as priests. This chapter shows God describing to Moses exactly what the clothing of the priests shall look like and how it shall be made.

The ephod, often thought to be like a large apron-type-garment, would have stones on it, representing the twelve sons of Jacob, the twelve tribes making up the nation of Israel. Those stones would be set on the shoulder pieces of the ephod, as a remembrance for the sons of Israel; and Aaron shall bear their names before the LORD on his two shoulders for remembrance (28:12).

Next the breastplate worn by Aaron and the priests is described. In the breastpiece of judgment you shall put the Urim and the Thummim, and they shall be on Aaron's heart when he goes in before the LORD; thus Aaron shall bear the judgment of the Israelites on his heart before the LORD continually (28:30).

The Urim and Thummim were used by the priests to discern God's will and judgment on the people.

Notice the priests bore the people on their shoulders and on their hearts.

As you consider praying today, who will you bear on your shoulders and on your heart? For whom are you praying, begging, pleading to God? Will you continue until God steps up and responds?

As you make decisions throughout the day, whose burden will you carry around on your shoulders? Are your decisions made only with you in mind or does God somehow want to affect the lives of others through you?

As you use your time and your energy, whose name and life will you carry close to your heart? Will their destiny change the way you spend your day or your resources?

We have been invited to be priests who intercede between the people and God. May our lives, our words, our actions, and our attitudes reflect this high and holy calling.

Grace & peace

Several things struck me as I read this passage recently.

1. Sometimes we can do more with less. By being obedient to God in giving our time, our talent, or our tithe, we are often left with less. But the principle God's people have proved time and again is this: Give to God first. God will make up the difference. How does that work? I can't explain except to say....He makes it work.

2. Our obedience or disobedience of this command affects others. Our spouse, children, and people in the community are are either encouraged or discouraged from following this pattern by what we do.

3. This commandment is given just after a whole story has played out of what happens when we do not do things God's way. (Remember Pharaoh? Remember Egypt? Remember the decimation he brought upon his land, his people, his family, and eventually himself by refusing to do what God had commanded?) Our refusal to recognize God's design for life comes with consequences just as surely as Pharaoh's did. Is it possible that the stress and strain of time, finances, physical sickness, and toll this all takes on our relationships might be lessened if we would simply obey this command?

4. Sabbath is a reminder that the world can go on without me. Small business owners and workaholics know the temptation to forget this. But God's command offers me the grace to be reminded this doesn't all revolve around me. The world was here before I showed up and, Lord willing, it will be here after I leave.

5. I am not in the struggle alone. I've recently had several friends share the way the battle for sabbath time has been playing out for their family. Some have given in. Some have stood up and fought. Others have looked for creative, middle-of-the-road solutions. There may not be a "one-size-fits-all" way to answer it. But I am sure God did not give us this command to be ignored.

If this is an area you or your family are dealing with right now, why not take a moment and ask God for help. I'm sure God is as interested in delivering you and yours as He was the whole nation of Hebrew slaves. And I'm convinced he is able to do it too!!

Grace & peace

Easy to be shocked and stunned at Pharaoh's words, isn't it?

"Who is the LORD...?"!!!

Really?! Don't you know?! Haven't you heard?!

Exodus begins by telling us "a new king arose over Egypt, who did not know Joseph" (1:8).

Presumably the king didn't know about the God of Israel, The LORD.

Apparently he didn't tell the story to his children because his son didn't know either.

So poor old Pharaoh doesn't have any idea who God is.

And before we become too surprised, remember, Moses isn't sure who to tell the Israelite leaders has appeared to him either.

So God graciously tells Moses, "I Am Who I Am" (also translated "I will be who I will be").

Moses, finally, after some convincing, and causing God more than a little frustration, believes and decides to obey. He goes to the king of Egypt with a message from The LORD.

But rather than give Moses & Aaron the benefit of the doubt, Pharaoh does what a lot of us do...he continues on with life the way he was already going.

Mistake number one.

Moses and Aaron attempt to persuade him with an eye witness account:

"The God of the Hebrews has revealed himself to us; let us go a three days journey into the wilderness to sacrifices to our God, or he will fall upon us with pestilence or sword."

But the king wouldn't accept their testimony.

As a matter of fact, the king goes the opposite direction and flies in the face of the message the brothers bring.

Mistake number two.

And as I'm sitting here watching the story unfold, like a viewer who knows the result of a movie where the character turns the slowly turns the door handle, preparing to go into the room where there is trouble, I want to yell out,

"Are you crazy?! Don't go in there!! Don't do it!!"

But it's no use. The character on my screen doesn't hear me and neither does Pharaoh.

And, unfortunately, so often, neither do you or I.

How many times do you and I head down a road we know we shouldn't be on, and at the first sign of trouble, instead of repenting, asking forgiveness, and turning around, we put our foot to the accelerator and go harder to get what we really shouldn't be driving toward in the first place?

Maybe it's a relationship.

Maybe it's the way we spend our time.

Maybe it's a pattern or habit that we're doing.

Maybe it's something we're not doing we know we should be doing.

Whatever.

Both Pharaoh and Moses want to know who it is they're speaking to.

Moses chooses to obey after the encounter.

Pharaoh refuses to obey after the encounter.

One finds life and liberation after some trouble.

The other one only finds trouble.

"Who is the LORD that I should heed him...?"

Like the old saying goes, there are two ways to find out. The easy way and the hard way.

May we choose the easy way.

Grace & Peace.