“To those who are elect exiles of the dispersion…” (1 Peter 1:1b)

“Whoever loves his life loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life” (John 12:25).

“If you were of this world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you“ (John 15:19).

“These all died in faith, not having received the things promised, but having seen them and greeted them from afar, and having acknowledged that they were strangers and exiles on the earth” (Hebrews 11:13).

“They were stoned, they were sawn in two, they were killed with the sword.  They went about in skins of sheep and goats, destitute, afflicted, mistreated — of whom the world was not worthy — wandering about in deserts and mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth” (Hebrews 11:37-38).

Where is this Christianity (which is Biblical Christianity) in South Africa?  In America?  In my own life?  I fear we deceive ourselves.  We read verses like John 12:25 — “Whoever loves his life loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life” — and I fear we say in our hearts, “Yes, but Jesus didn’t really mean that.  He doesn’t really expect me to live as an exile in a foreign land, longing for His return.  That’s just too… that’s just too… that’s just too, um, Biblical?”

The common form of “Christianity” in South Africa (I’m reading it all over Facebook) is a Christianity of this world, which is no Christianity at all.   It doesn’t acknowledge our true identity as exiles in this world.  It has no place for waiting and longing for the age to come.   It’s a religion that encourages the worship of created things — chasing after fancy cars, beach houses and cushy corporate jobs, all in the name of Jesus.  It must be a different Jesus than the one who was crucified on a Roman cross and calls us to follow Him (Mark 8:34-38).

Christians, we are exiles.

One of my fears has been to marry a woman whose heart is in love with the present world.  I’ve wanted to marry a woman who is other-worldly, a woman whose treasure is in heaven (Matthew 13:44), a woman who is truly spiritual.

Thankfully, God’s Word sheds light on what authentic spirituality looks like worked out.  The Holy Spirit, through James, warns against worldliness and contrasts it with what a genuine expression of active, lively faith in Jesus Christ (“pure religion” in one’s heart) looks like — “to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world.”

By the providence of God, I met such a woman almost two years ago in Orlando, Florida at training for Pioneers.  Her name is Amy Renée Rambikur.  Anyone who knows Amy will agree with me that James 1:27 describes her, both in her compassion towards those the world ignores (especially orphans) and in keeping herself pure from the world with its selfish ambition ( James 3:14).

Amy Renée Rambikur, disciple of Jesus Christ and…

lover of orphans.

I love Amy’s heart — she is a truly spiritual woman.

So I was humbled and delighted when, on Christmas Eve, I asked her if she’d marry me…

And she said… “Yes!”

“Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights…” (James 1:17a)

Please join me in rejoicing in God’s amazing grace towards Amy.  She is His workmanship.  “Of His own will he brought us forth by the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures” (James 1:16).

Please join me in rejoicing in God’s amazing grace towards me through Amy’s friendship.  “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change” (James 1:17).

And please join us in praying that, whether in South Africa or elsewhere in the world, our lives would reflect the glory of Jesus Christ — that we’d act justly, love mercy and walk humbly with our God (Micah 6:8).

I particularly enjoyed his encounter with his Buddhist language teacher.  Where is this boldness among modern-day missionaries?

Excerpted from To the Golden Shore, pg. 185…

“The conversation had begun one day when they were working together at the book-piled study table on the veranda.  Always alert for an opportunity to bring up religion, Adoniram remarked that a man they both knew had died.  The teacher [a Buddhist] had admitted that he had heard so.  “His soul is lost, I think”, said Adoniram. 

Buddhist teacher:  “Why so?”

Judson:  “He was not a disciple of Christ.”

The teacher was skeptical.  “How do you know that?  You could not see his soul.”

Judson:  “How do you know whether the root of the mango tree is good?  You cannot see it, but you can judge by the fruit on its branches.  Thus I know the man who died was not a disciple of Christ, because his words and actions were not such as to indicate the disciple.”

Buddhist teacher:  “And so all who are not disciples of Christ are lost?!”

Judson:  “Yes, all, whether Burmans or foreigners.”

Buddhist teacher:  “This is hard.”  (He then thought upon the idea for awhile).

Judson:  “Yes, it is hard, indeed;  otherwise I should not have come all this way, and left parents and all, to tell you of Christ.”

Today at The Bible Talks in Pietermaritzburg, two Rastafarians reviled me as an evil “Colonialist”, mocked Christianity, and called upon “Jah” to send fire from heaven on me.  (He didn’t answer).  Then, they quoted Scripture and argued some ridiculous interpretations, my favorite being the first one listed below:

“The hairs of his head were white, like white wool, like snow” (Revelation 1: 14a) .  They misquoted this verse, focusing on the wool.  “The hairs of his head were like wool!” one of them exclaimed.  Simultaneously, he removed his red, yellow-and green knitted cap (mind you, it was ~70 degrees F) and whipped out his dreadlocks.  “His hair was like wool!” he shouted, pointing to his dreadlocks.  (At this point, he was talking to some of my African Christian brothers).  He then pointed at me (the one white guy) and said, “Not silk!” (like Jeremiah’s hair), but “wool.”

They also abused Genesis 2:13, focusing on the “land of Cush” but, of course, ignoring the references to the Euphrates and Tigris Rivers.  They claimed that the tree of life is marijuana, that they offer daily burnt offerings to God (smoking marijuana), that the burning bush that Moses encountered is still burning in Ethiopia, that a dead king of Ethiopia (he is yet to rise from the dead) is the Lion of the tribe of Judah, they interpreted 2 Samuel 22:9a – “Smoke went up from his nostrils, and devouring fire from his mouth…” in reference to smoking marijuana, and pointed out the references to “God Most High.”

Sickening stuff.

Up until today, I thought the Shembe Cult and Trinity Broadcasting Network led southern Africa in Scripture-twisting, but I think the Rastamans have them beat.  What’s amazing is that the Rastafarians I met today seemed to really believe what they were saying. 

Here are some reflections on my Rastafarian encounter:

1)  Anti-Colonial resentment runs deep in Africa.  (How else could one believe such things?  Well, #7 and especially #5 might explain their beliefs, too).

2)  Sound Bible teaching is vital to the growth of the Church in southern Africa.  Ministries like ENTRUST are critical.  (If you don’t know about ENTRUST, I’d encourage you to learn more about them.  The Lord is doing great work through some South African ministers who trained under Dick Lucas and David Jackman).

3)  Biblical Theology is very important.  Most of the southern African false doctrine comes from twisting the OT Scripture.  At The Bible Talks (Pietermaritzburg), a group of us are reading God’s Big Picture (by Vaughan Roberts) together.  Great stuff!

4)  The Church in Southern Africa desperately needs African men who love and cherish his Word.  (God has granted me the privilege of learning from dear African brothers, both from South Africa and Zambia).  May God raise up many more who will boldly proclaim Christ and Him crucified and Risen!

5)  The heart is desperately wicked (Jeremiah 17:9).  Fallen man, by nature, chooses to believe lies.

6)  I was reminded of God’s amazing grace in my life.  (Eph. 2:1-10).

7)  Marijuana is bad for your health.  

Please join us in praying for these two guys and the many others on the University of KwaZulu-Natal campuses — that God might open their eyes to the glory of Jesus Christ.

God speaks today through His Word and exposes the foolish teaching of “spiritual fullness now!” broadcast by the self-proclaimed “anointed” men on the television and in pulpits throughout southern Africa for what it is — empty, deceitful lies — false spirituality.  Thankful for the timeless truth of God’s Word!

Here are some thoughts and observations from this amazing, little letter:

1.  The gospel in Colossians is primarily described as a word of hope (1:4, 1:23, 1:27).  The emphasis is on the future glory that believers will experience when Christ returns.  “When Christ who is your life appears, then [and only then!] you also will appear with him in glory” (3:4).  For now, the believer’s life is “hidden with Christ in God” (3:3b).

Paul emphasizes the “future glory” to be revealed when Christ returns for good reason.  The false teachers were claiming (perhaps “naming and claiming”?) a “fullness now” spirituality.

2.  Paul prays that the Colossians would be filled with “the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding” (1:9b) and that they would be “strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might” (1:11a) but why?

He prays for knowledge (which, 2:3 says, is found in Christ alone) so that they would “walk in a manner worthy of the Lord.” (What that looks like in day-to-day life is explained later in 3:1 — 4:6).

He prays for power (again, found in Christ alone) “for all endurance and patience with joy” (1:11b).  Nothing glamorous, nothing flashy — day-to-day Christian living.

3.  True ministers of the Gospel (like the Apostle Paul) suffer to preach Christ (2:1-3) so that the people they serve would grow to maturity in Him (1:28).  False teachers base their authority on dreams and visions (2:18) and attempt to capture people (Colossians 2:8) for themselves.

Experience-based authority (sadly, authority based on dreams and visions is common in Africa) is a sure sign of false teaching.  It’s striking how many cults have started (Mormonism, for example) because someone claims to have had a “vision from God.”

4.  Super-spirituality (like that of the false teachers in Colossae) undermines the assurance of genuine believers.  Hence, Paul assures the believers in Colassae that they are genuine (1:1-14) as evidenced by the work of God’s Spirit in them.  The Spirit’s work is evidenced, not by signs and wonders, but through their faith in Christ (1:4) and love for other believers (1:4) because of the certain hope laid up for them in heaven (1:5).

5.  The doctrine of election (1:3) provides assurance to genuine believers.  It’s a wonderful truth.  Paul thanks God for the Colossians (1:3) because of the Spirit’s gracious work in them.

6.  Paul charges them to “stand firm” in Christ (2:6-7).  They (and we) must not shift from the hope of the gospel (1:23).  The world wars against the idea of loyalty, and especially wars against loyalty to old ideas — especially the offensive truth that Christ died on the cross (1:20b) to rescue us from God’s wrath and give us peace with God.  We’re called to remain loyal to Christ.

7.  Jewish laws such as circumcision, food and drink laws, the festivals, new moons, and Sabbath-keeping are all shadows that find their fulfillment in Christ.  “These are a shadow of the things to come, but the substance belong to Christ” (2:17).  (Christ + observing rules from “shadow-land” does not make one extra-spiritual).

8.  False spirituality looks very appealing in the eyes of the unbeliever, but in actuality, it’s completely powerless to affect any change in someone’s life.  “These have indeed an appearance of wisdom in promoting self-made religion and asceticism and severity to the body, but they are of no value in stopping the indulgence of the flesh” (2:23).

True spiritual life comes from union (by faith) with the risen Christ and creates inward change.  “Put to death therefore what is earthly in you…” (3:5a, emphasis added).

9.  True spirituality (living under the Lordship of Jesus) is very practical… it involves day-to-day life.  Being a submissive wife (1:18), a loving husband (1:19), an obedient child (1:20), a patient father (1:21), a loyal servant (1:22), all done from a heart that aims to please the Lord (1:23).

10.  A mark of genuine Christian spirituality is submission to God-ordained authority.  (The unbelieving world hates the concept of submission to authority, as does our flesh).  Paul is writing under the authority of God (1:1) and encourages the believers to submit to God-ordained authority (3:18-25).

11.  The gospel centers on the person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ (1:15-20).  He is supreme Lord and all-sufficient Savior.  He has made “peace by the blood of his cross” (1:20), reconciling rebellious sinners (1:21) to God the Father.  The “record of debt” that stood against us has been “nailed to the cross” (2:14b).  What glorious grace in Christ!  How thankful (3:15) we ought to be for this truth!

12.  True Christian spirituality has one source — the Lord Jesus Christ.  “For in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily” (2:9a).

I’m thankful for Rev. Dick Lucas’ commentary (BST) in helping me to better understand the message of Colossians.

Two years ago today, my grandfather on my mom’s side “Pop Pop” died.  It was the first time anyone in my family died.  I remember how time stood still and the trivialities of life were seen in light of eternity.

Before he died, God had been helping me to view life from an eternal perspective.  During that time, God moved my heart to leave the US and serve in South Africa.  When I told this to Pop Pop a few months before he died, he told me with much joy, “Jeremiah, you’ll never regret it!”   Looking back, his words were (in a sense) prophetic.

I am so thankful to God for bringing me to South Africa.  I am not on a long-term field trip, or a “gap year” or a spiritual journey to find myself… I am a sinner who has experienced the grace and mercy of God in Jesus Christ.  Serving in South Africa is just the overflow of God’s grace to me.

On this Thanksgiving, I thank God for “Pop Pop’s” words of encouragement, that I will indeed never forget.  In the words of John Newton (Pop Pop loved the hymn Amazing Grace…. so do I!), “let me dwell on Golgotha.”   O, how I thank God for the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ!

2.  Your favorite adjective is “lovely” and you use it to describe pretty much anything — sunsets, steaks, songs.

3.  Your second-favorite adjective is “dodgy.”  (American equivalent = “sketchy”).

4.  You think Australians sound like they’re from Boston… especially when they say, “Mark’s gospel.”

5.  You no longer do double-takes when you drive by the many mosques (it still upsets you, though!)

6.  Your jaw no longer drops upon seeing half-naked Zulu women on post cards (though you are still surprised to see them walking around at petrol stations).

7.  You call gasoline, “petrol”; cookies, “biscuits” and biscuits, “scones”

8.  If you need to give someone driving directions, you reluctantly refer to traffic lights as “robots” to point them in the right direction.  (Deep down, you think this is an insult to robots).

9.  You slow down at green lights to check for Kombis (taxis) coming the opposite direction.

10.  You don’t use your blinkers to change lanes… you just “glide.”

11.  You no longer get frustrated to encounter trucks driving 10 mph on the highway… except when they drive in the fast lane.

12.  You don’t fret when you hear loud banging on your roof and the dogs start barking crazily (it’s just the monkeys).

13.  Car alarms and sirens sound as natural to you as hadedas (African birds).  (Just part of the background noise).

14.  You can put your gear shift in reverse, pull the hand break, clamp on the burglar lock, and get out of the car in one motion.  (Takes about 1.5 seconds).

15.  You use the word “rubbish” in most of your sermons to describe something that’s not true.

16.  You say, “yah” instead of “yeah.”  (Think Germany).  When you are disgusted by something, you say, “aeeesh!”

17.  When you’re running late, you tell people, “I’ll be there just now” (and don’t give them a time).

18.  You are familiar with “walkie talkies” and “bunny chow” — you’ve never tried the former and enjoy the latter.

19.  On occasion, you say “bru!” (instead of “bro”) but feel very awkward doing so.

20.  When people hear you talk, they think you’re either from Canada or England.

21.  You miss your family and friends in the States very much, but don’t want to leave Africa.

This afternoon, Ayanda invited me to meet his girlfriend’s family and to see the new baby girl.  So, we were upstairs with the extended family, and Ayanda and Amanda were filling out the paperwork for the new baby…  As they were filling out the paper work, someone said, “We need an English name for the child.”  And then, seemingly all at once, they looked at me.  There was a mixture of Zulu and English, but it suddenly dawned on me that they were asking me to give the child an English name to accompany the Zulu names.

Alwande Thandeka Grace

I was in shock (but very honored!) that they were asking me to name the baby… I imagine a big smile came upon my face, as I thought to myself, “Are you serious?”  Talk about being put on the spot.   So, I took a few moments to think, and told them the first name that came to my mind.  I smiled and said, “Grace.  Her English name is Grace.”

In the car ride back to Pietemaritzburg I explained to Ayanda what “grace” means and pointed him to Ephesians 2:8.  When I told him, “Ayanda, the whole story of the Bible is about God’s grace,” his whole face lit up with joy.  In his thick, African accent he rejoiced that I had chosen to name his new daughter Grace.

When I woke up this morning I certainly wasn’t planning on naming a Zulu child.  It was a real gift from God, and I pray that God’s saving grace would be upon her on life.

entering Pietermaritzburg

downtown Pietermaritzburg

_

Edendale Township

Edendale Township

I pray the God would grant us to love and treasure the Lord Jesus more dearly, and that in loving Him, we would hate Islam and all other false religions that deny the message that Jesus Christ is Lord.  I also pray that He would grant us hearts filled with broken-hearted compassion for the unbelieving world that is perishing.  1 Corinthians 1:18.

Last week I had the joy (and it was truly a joy) of serving at a Holiday Club in nearby Mphopemeni.  Each day, more children arrived than the previous day, and by the end of the week nearly 100 children heard the Word of God taught, were fed, and were loved by the volunteers.  Here are some of my thoughts…

The children are drawing self-portraits at one of the sessions.  Some of the children are drawing faces with smiles, and many of them are drawing sad faces, like this one below.

“God loves me”

I think back to my childhood — how I was unconditionally loved by my two Christian parents…

When I was 12 years old, I was standing on the mound of a Little League baseball field, throwing cut fastballs and circle change-ups, as my Dad encouraged me from the dugout — “Thatta boy!  Nice pitch, Jeremiah!”

I am now surrounded by children whose lives have been ravaged by sin and suffering.  I think about the average 12-year old at this Holiday Club.  Her parents are dead.  She takes care of her younger siblings.  She has been raped or sexually abused.  She probably has HIV/AIDS.

I look at the boy drawing the sad self-portrait and God breaks my heart open.  I leave the main hall (where the children are drawing) and let the tears flow.  “O Lord, this is horrible.”

As the week moves on, many of the children seem incredibly happy.  Their smiles bring me great joy and, at the same time, convict me of my sin — how incredibly unthankful and selfish I am.

I put my arms around Sthe (in the photo), and with bittersweet tears (more sweet than bitter) welling up in my eyes, I ask him, “Do you know?… Jesus loves you.”  He nods his little head up and down.

I consider “suffering” a bit more, and think of the amazing love of our Lord Jesus, “Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness… he humbled himself and became obedient to death — even death on a cross!” (Philippians 2:6-8).  Jesus of Nazareth suffered worse than any of these children, as He died on the cross and was forsaken by His Father.  “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Mark 15:34). And because of His death and resurrection, there is so much hope for these children, and for the millions of other orphans in KwaZulu-Natal.

As demonstrated at the cross where Jesus died, the LORD God loves humanity with immeasurable love.  From the hymn, And Can It Be? — “He left His Father’s throne above, so free so infinite his grace, emptied himself of all but love, and bled for Adam’s helpless race.”

“This is how we know what love is:  Jesus Christ laid down his life for us.  And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers” (1 John 3:16).

God has given us an incredible chance to lay down our lives in South Africa.  There are approximately one million (1,000,000) orphans in KwaZulu-Natal — what an opportunity to glorify God by loving these children — to love them by caring for their physical needs and to love them by proclaiming the saving gospel message that Jesus Christ is Lord.  (These children are cute, but, apart from Christ, they remain under the wrath of God.  Their greatest need is to have their sin forgiven).

What makes the opportunity to pour oneself out for the sake of gospel even more attractive is that, while in one sense, there is “sacrifice” involved, the reward far exceeds the pain.  As I’ve been experiencing more and more lately (I think I’m just starting to get a taste of this), “whoever loses his life for Jesus’ sake will find it.”  The path of suffering is the path to eternal joy.  So LORD God, please help me to die to my small, vain plans, and take up my cross and follow you.

I pray (please pray with me and for me — that God would make me one of these) that God would raise up people whose lives are gripped by the Gospel, and are filled with His gracious love towards fellow mankind.  And that He’d call some of these people to South Africa.

“We profess to be strangers and pilgrims, seeking after a country of our own, yet we settle down in the most un-stranger-like fashion, exactly as if we were quite at home and meant to stay as long as we could.” -Amy Carmichael

]]> http://jvonkuhn.wordpress.com/2010/07/12/reflections-on-holiday-club/feed/ 0 jvonkuhn mphop sadface sthe sthe2 mpho3 uthanda mpho4 littleboy