Yesterday, Erline gave a message about the armor of God. She did a wonderful job on it. I hope to use it and steal it from her one day :) Today Blake spoke about boasting in our weaknesses. We learned about ethnomusicology. From psalm 150, we were able to see that all of the instruments that are used fulfill all the segments of ethnomusicology. Basically, we can worship the Lord with anything! Praise the Lord also means to rejoice.
Music is so important because it is mental, physical, emotional, and spiritual. The music we listen to is so important because of all of these elements. We need to feed ourselves with the right music.
We then watched a debate that Georges was in with Jay Smith against two Muslim scholars. It was cool to see that we could also tackle the arguments the Muslims brought up with truth. We can all do this, we just need to be rooted in the Word of God. The topic was salvation, and basically, the Muslim has no concept of Salvation outside of good works, which is the same as all other religions except for Christianity.
One other thing that stuck out was something our last teacher said we should remember in missions: Don't ask what I can do, ask what needs to be done. This basically means wherever we go, although God can use our strengths and talents and pass, we need to engage in what work needs to be done. We gained lots of good insights about how to get from the believer to the church.
Well, it is just about dinner time. We are all going out bowling afterwards! Should be fun.
Tuesday, July 31, 2012
Monday, July 30, 2012
The Last Monday
Today is the last Monday of the Sims training. It has gone by so fast. I am really thankful for everything that God has been doing in our lives through this, and encouraged about the future, not just ours, but in all the people we have met and the ministries the Lord has and is giving them.
This week, the focus is on discipleship and church planting. There are three stages of training. 1. Receiving food, helping them to feed themselves, and then teaching them to feed others. Just as Jesus looked at the people and said the field is ripe for harvest. He saw that among the harvest would be future harvesters. This is how we must look at the Church, our small groups, and the people we are ministering to.
We also learned about eastern discipleship, as in someone who is Muslim or from an eastern background. It is important to be honest. Suffering may come, and we cannot hide that. Jesus didn't hide that at all. Also, it is extremely important to be relational and share life with someone. People need to see us live the Christian life, be encouraged to do so, then duplicate that in the lives of others. This is what it means to make disciples.
There was more role playing. We saw Georges talk to Pierre (playing the role of a Muslim). It was very helpful. It is important to take control of the conversation, establish repore with them, and to leave room for mystery. Georges asked if he really wanted to listen or just argue. It is important to filter people who have ears to hear and ears to mock or to not listen.
Lastly, we are on co-mission with God. The great commission (get it, co-mission) means that we are joining in what God is already doing. It is a divine-human relationship. We must work like it depends on us, and pray like it depends on God.
Well, it's dinner time! Gotta run.
This week, the focus is on discipleship and church planting. There are three stages of training. 1. Receiving food, helping them to feed themselves, and then teaching them to feed others. Just as Jesus looked at the people and said the field is ripe for harvest. He saw that among the harvest would be future harvesters. This is how we must look at the Church, our small groups, and the people we are ministering to.
We also learned about eastern discipleship, as in someone who is Muslim or from an eastern background. It is important to be honest. Suffering may come, and we cannot hide that. Jesus didn't hide that at all. Also, it is extremely important to be relational and share life with someone. People need to see us live the Christian life, be encouraged to do so, then duplicate that in the lives of others. This is what it means to make disciples.
There was more role playing. We saw Georges talk to Pierre (playing the role of a Muslim). It was very helpful. It is important to take control of the conversation, establish repore with them, and to leave room for mystery. Georges asked if he really wanted to listen or just argue. It is important to filter people who have ears to hear and ears to mock or to not listen.
Lastly, we are on co-mission with God. The great commission (get it, co-mission) means that we are joining in what God is already doing. It is a divine-human relationship. We must work like it depends on us, and pray like it depends on God.
Well, it's dinner time! Gotta run.
Saturday, July 28, 2012
Olympic Thoughts
Last night, we watched the opening ceremony of the Olympics. It was amazing to see, not only the lights and shows and excitement, but the part when all the countries came in. Many countries I hadn't heard of, and wouldn't be able to tell you where it is on a map. Others were familiar to me. Some countries had high populations and oplympc participants, others had smaller numbers.
They all came in to the middle of the stadium. It was beautiful to see. It made me think of Heaven.
The Bible says that every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus is Lord to the Glory of God. God wants every people group represented, which is why we must make disciples of all nations.
I imagine every people group coming in, but not waiving their countries flag, but waving the banner of Jesus Christ. There may be many from some countries, and few from others. But every nation and tounge will be represented. We will all gather around the throne and worship the Lord. What a beautiful sight that will be!
Missions exists because worship doesn't. The Lord is being so patient because He wants so many to be represented around His throne. Unlike with the Olympics, we do not have to be professionals to participate. We may need to work hard, to train, and to remain disciplined. But above all, we must need to be willing to go.
They all came in to the middle of the stadium. It was beautiful to see. It made me think of Heaven.
The Bible says that every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus is Lord to the Glory of God. God wants every people group represented, which is why we must make disciples of all nations.
I imagine every people group coming in, but not waiving their countries flag, but waving the banner of Jesus Christ. There may be many from some countries, and few from others. But every nation and tounge will be represented. We will all gather around the throne and worship the Lord. What a beautiful sight that will be!
Missions exists because worship doesn't. The Lord is being so patient because He wants so many to be represented around His throne. Unlike with the Olympics, we do not have to be professionals to participate. We may need to work hard, to train, and to remain disciplined. But above all, we must need to be willing to go.
Friday, July 27, 2012
T.G.I.F
This is a very early post, because we finished early today. The day ended with an exam (open notes :) which was a good way to review all that we have been learning the past three weeks. Emily, one of the other students, gave an excellent devotional this morning on prayer. God answers prayer in extraordinary ways. He answers the big prayers, and even the small ones.
After that, we had some more role playing, in which we had certain scenarios that we had to respond to. We had our teaching from Tat Stewart a bit earlier today. We learned about discipleship with Muslims, and practical things that can work for anyone. For example, since most muslims come from a shame and honor culture, it is very hard for them to forgive. They are used to sweeping things under the rug and just waiting a while to get over issues. They may offer a gift, or out of the blue start talking in order to establish peace, without ever talking about the issue. Actually, that sounds like most men. Maybe it's not so foreign after all.
He said a quote that I thought was memorable. : Unforgiveness is like taking poison and waiting for the other person to die.
It is important to be transparent in discipleship, and also to approach it as a team instead of just a one-on-one discipleship. We should also focus on the attributes of God in Bible study and discipleship. The many attributes of God are usually not given much attention, and it is important to. Another quote: Worship is not about singing, it is about knowing the God we are singing to.
I am very encouraged by all we have been learning, but also ready for the weekend. Last night went well. Erline and I talked to an Indian couple, and were able to give them the Gospel of John. They are from Kansas, and live in one of the places we will visit when we go. Maybe the Lord has something more in store. We'll see.
Well, now off to relax and watch the opening ceremony with the Johnsons! Today is my dad's 50th birthday by the way. I wish I was there with him, but I'm very happy to be here.
Until next time...
-Tony
After that, we had some more role playing, in which we had certain scenarios that we had to respond to. We had our teaching from Tat Stewart a bit earlier today. We learned about discipleship with Muslims, and practical things that can work for anyone. For example, since most muslims come from a shame and honor culture, it is very hard for them to forgive. They are used to sweeping things under the rug and just waiting a while to get over issues. They may offer a gift, or out of the blue start talking in order to establish peace, without ever talking about the issue. Actually, that sounds like most men. Maybe it's not so foreign after all.
He said a quote that I thought was memorable. : Unforgiveness is like taking poison and waiting for the other person to die.
It is important to be transparent in discipleship, and also to approach it as a team instead of just a one-on-one discipleship. We should also focus on the attributes of God in Bible study and discipleship. The many attributes of God are usually not given much attention, and it is important to. Another quote: Worship is not about singing, it is about knowing the God we are singing to.
I am very encouraged by all we have been learning, but also ready for the weekend. Last night went well. Erline and I talked to an Indian couple, and were able to give them the Gospel of John. They are from Kansas, and live in one of the places we will visit when we go. Maybe the Lord has something more in store. We'll see.
Well, now off to relax and watch the opening ceremony with the Johnsons! Today is my dad's 50th birthday by the way. I wish I was there with him, but I'm very happy to be here.
Until next time...
-Tony
Thursday, July 26, 2012
What an insult!
The Lord is gracious to us. He goes above and beyond to show us His love. There was an excellent devotional this morning by Jordan.
After that, we learned more about folk Islam. Muhammad was posessed by a demon, and so are other muslims. For many, it is second nature for them to acknowledge that. What darkness! Even when Muhammad received that command from the Angel Gabriel (so he thought) he acknowledged that he believed it was a demon, until his wife told him otherwise.
Pierre Housney helped us to role play in speaking to Muslims. I went today. It went pretty well, and it was cool to use what we've been learning. It is so complex. Their world view is so different from ours. We have to trust the Holy Spirit in those situations for the words, and for Him to move in the heart of whomever we speak to.
I was able to use the illustration about the spit in the cup. If someone spit into a cup of coffee and offered it to you, would you drink it? Really, you wouldn't? What if I added some sugar and cream (o leche si tu quiere)? No you wouldn't, because it would be an insult to drink that. Well, our sin is an insult to God. We cannot expect God to accept our lives with sin in it. We can't expect to just add good works to cover it either. Only Jesus can do that.
We learned more about how we can witness to them, and stories to illustrate different things, because they love stories. It would be complicated to explain through writing, so just take my word for it. In Islam, Allah is the source of all evil. Can you believe that? Scary thought. Muslims even believe that they cannot control their sin or lusts, therefore women need to be veiled, or they can have multiple wives in order to not have to control themselves. What a contrast from one of the fruits of the spirit of self control.
One thought that stuck out to me today was that in the Old Testament, God was very specific with the sacrifices that needed to be made to atone for sin. The animal had to be of a certiain age, and without spot or blemish. He determined the terms, and He determined whether the sacrifice was acceptable or not. In Jesus, God has offered a sacrifice to us for our sin. He was spotless and without blemish. Yet now, God wants us to accept the sacrifice that He is providing to us for our own sin. What an insult to deny His sacrifice.
Anyway, we are going to have dinner and then off to Pearl Street. Please pray for us.
After that, we learned more about folk Islam. Muhammad was posessed by a demon, and so are other muslims. For many, it is second nature for them to acknowledge that. What darkness! Even when Muhammad received that command from the Angel Gabriel (so he thought) he acknowledged that he believed it was a demon, until his wife told him otherwise.
Pierre Housney helped us to role play in speaking to Muslims. I went today. It went pretty well, and it was cool to use what we've been learning. It is so complex. Their world view is so different from ours. We have to trust the Holy Spirit in those situations for the words, and for Him to move in the heart of whomever we speak to.
I was able to use the illustration about the spit in the cup. If someone spit into a cup of coffee and offered it to you, would you drink it? Really, you wouldn't? What if I added some sugar and cream (o leche si tu quiere)? No you wouldn't, because it would be an insult to drink that. Well, our sin is an insult to God. We cannot expect God to accept our lives with sin in it. We can't expect to just add good works to cover it either. Only Jesus can do that.
We learned more about how we can witness to them, and stories to illustrate different things, because they love stories. It would be complicated to explain through writing, so just take my word for it. In Islam, Allah is the source of all evil. Can you believe that? Scary thought. Muslims even believe that they cannot control their sin or lusts, therefore women need to be veiled, or they can have multiple wives in order to not have to control themselves. What a contrast from one of the fruits of the spirit of self control.
One thought that stuck out to me today was that in the Old Testament, God was very specific with the sacrifices that needed to be made to atone for sin. The animal had to be of a certiain age, and without spot or blemish. He determined the terms, and He determined whether the sacrifice was acceptable or not. In Jesus, God has offered a sacrifice to us for our sin. He was spotless and without blemish. Yet now, God wants us to accept the sacrifice that He is providing to us for our own sin. What an insult to deny His sacrifice.
Anyway, we are going to have dinner and then off to Pearl Street. Please pray for us.
Wednesday, July 25, 2012
God does the impossible
Ryan did the devotional this morning. What stuck out to me was a question: do I trust in God to do the impossible? I do. And now that I think about it, I'm sure He is testing me on that as I write this.
We learned about folk Islam this morning. Islam is so complex. There's a lot of mystycism, veneration of saints, and other things that we would not expect. Also in Islam, Allah is nowhere. He is not even good. He does good and evil, and is even manipulative and decieving.
A young lady from Saudi Arabia gave her testimony after that. It was very encouraging. Her parents basically told her that they are dead to her for becomeing a Christian. Her mom is coming around, and the dad loves to skype with the grandbaby.
Later on, we learned from Tat again. He spoke of the importance of being relational with Muslims, but being open and clear about our faith. It is easy to be relational, and expect them to ask about Jesus, but we need to also be up front about our faith in Jesus, while loving them in sincerity all the way through. We should get them to taste and see that the Lord is good.
Also, we need to trust the work of the Holy Spirit to move in the heart and mind. In the end, it is He who will draw them to Jesus, and regenerate them.
As another speaker said this morning, when we recognize the depths of our own sin, it is easier to have compassion towards others.
Dinner will be starting soon. I'm looking forward to it :)
-Tony
We learned about folk Islam this morning. Islam is so complex. There's a lot of mystycism, veneration of saints, and other things that we would not expect. Also in Islam, Allah is nowhere. He is not even good. He does good and evil, and is even manipulative and decieving.
A young lady from Saudi Arabia gave her testimony after that. It was very encouraging. Her parents basically told her that they are dead to her for becomeing a Christian. Her mom is coming around, and the dad loves to skype with the grandbaby.
Later on, we learned from Tat again. He spoke of the importance of being relational with Muslims, but being open and clear about our faith. It is easy to be relational, and expect them to ask about Jesus, but we need to also be up front about our faith in Jesus, while loving them in sincerity all the way through. We should get them to taste and see that the Lord is good.
Also, we need to trust the work of the Holy Spirit to move in the heart and mind. In the end, it is He who will draw them to Jesus, and regenerate them.
As another speaker said this morning, when we recognize the depths of our own sin, it is easier to have compassion towards others.
Dinner will be starting soon. I'm looking forward to it :)
-Tony
Tuesday, July 24, 2012
God goes before us
This morning I was privileged to do the morning devotional. It was called "John the Baptist: The Jesus Driven Life." I think it went well. I hope it encouraged them.
Andre taught us about contextualization. This is very important that we have a Biblical view of this. Contextualization is fine, as long as it does not change theology. Our approach in missions needs to be Christ centered, not culture centered. For example, some who air on the side of the C6 spectrum basically are telling Muslims who come to Christ to remain Muslims. The whole C1-C6 spectrum is based on a broken model. It is really compliated. Those who took the Perspectives class have heard of this. It is important to make a Biblically informed decision instead of culturally informed. Christ transcends culture.
We did some role playing about talking to Muslims with Georges' other son, Pierre. That was fun and interesting. It is important to have a diagnostic approach when approaching anyone, including Muslims. They are more diverse than we think.
Lastly, we had more teaching from Tat Stewart. He spoke of the many ministries that the Lord uses to reach Muslims, suuch as planting the seed of the Word of God, prayer, Christian witness, etc. He also talked about the means that the Lord has used to draw Muslims to Him, such as dispersing Muslims out of their home countries, disillusionment with Islam, suffering, etc. God is also using dreams. When we approach any person, ministry, or situation, we need to know that God has already gone before us.
In between all of that, it has been fun connecting with people. I even got to throw water balloons at Rylan (they were in swim gear, and really enjoyed it). God has really blessed us by bringing us here, especially for the month. I didn't know if we could even go, but once again, the Lord went before us and placed it on your heart to give or pray. I can't express how much that means to us. We are still early on in this process, but we trust that the Lord is already going before us.
-Tony
Andre taught us about contextualization. This is very important that we have a Biblical view of this. Contextualization is fine, as long as it does not change theology. Our approach in missions needs to be Christ centered, not culture centered. For example, some who air on the side of the C6 spectrum basically are telling Muslims who come to Christ to remain Muslims. The whole C1-C6 spectrum is based on a broken model. It is really compliated. Those who took the Perspectives class have heard of this. It is important to make a Biblically informed decision instead of culturally informed. Christ transcends culture.
We did some role playing about talking to Muslims with Georges' other son, Pierre. That was fun and interesting. It is important to have a diagnostic approach when approaching anyone, including Muslims. They are more diverse than we think.
Lastly, we had more teaching from Tat Stewart. He spoke of the many ministries that the Lord uses to reach Muslims, suuch as planting the seed of the Word of God, prayer, Christian witness, etc. He also talked about the means that the Lord has used to draw Muslims to Him, such as dispersing Muslims out of their home countries, disillusionment with Islam, suffering, etc. God is also using dreams. When we approach any person, ministry, or situation, we need to know that God has already gone before us.
In between all of that, it has been fun connecting with people. I even got to throw water balloons at Rylan (they were in swim gear, and really enjoyed it). God has really blessed us by bringing us here, especially for the month. I didn't know if we could even go, but once again, the Lord went before us and placed it on your heart to give or pray. I can't express how much that means to us. We are still early on in this process, but we trust that the Lord is already going before us.
-Tony
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