...all things new

HT: Z

It all happened while we watched and gasped. Never before has the world been exposed to such vivid and comprehensive footage of a disaster of this magnitude.  The Japanese Tsunami is unique among all natural catastrophes in its power and exposure to the world. The images have been riveting but it is critical for us to remember they are indeed real. Real people were consumed. Real people were scrambling from those horrifying waters. Mothers, fathers, daughters, and sons spent their last moments in abject terror and were washed away in an instant. And because we watched it happen on computer and TV screens, it seems distant and unreal.  And the pain and suffering will continue. Radiation leaks, homelessness, disease, mourning, rebuilding and the fear of recurrence  - these will be the new normal in these coastal towns. It is right for events like these to completely rock our sensibilities. It is right to mourn, normal to question, and good for us to respond in tangible ways. The following articles and links are provided for us to enter in to this tragedy in a way that is honest, human, charitable and hopeful.In the end, comprehensive answers may elude us. But we can draw comfort from the God who holds our tears in a bottle (Ps. 56:8) and who was willfully crushed under the full weight of the world's sin and agony to deliver all of those who would trust Him into a place where tsunamis happen no more.Who has believed what he has heard from us? And to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed? For he grew up before him like a young plant, and like a root out of dry ground; he had no form or majesty that we should look at him, and no beauty that we should desire him. He was despised and rejected by men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief; and as one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not. Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all. (Isaiah 53:1–6)From The Boston Globe's The Big PictureNews Stories - What happened?Powerful quake, tsunami kills hundreds in Japan - An AP article summarizing the eventsUpdates and Video of Japanese Earthquake’s Aftermath The latest news updates from the New York TimesQuake moved Japan coast 8 feet, shifted Earth's axis From CNNStone In The Pond: Charting The Path Of The Tsunami - animation of the NOAA modelThe Japanese Tsunami - The Big Picture Japan Floods Nuclear Reactor Crippled by Quake in Effort to Avert Meltdown - from the New York TimesNuclear Experts Explain Worst-Case Scenario at Fukushima Power Plant This is provides a solid explanation of the possible meltdown (HT: my buddy Doug Dale) In Minamisanriku, Heartbreak as 9,500 Remain Missing - Time Magazine. This is a town of 17,000.Human Reaction and Biblical Answers - What are we to think?Sympathy for Japan, and Admiration by Nicholas KristofA Prayer for Japan by John Piper. Here is a moving excerpt from that prayer:O God, we humble ourselves under your holy majesty and repent. In a moment—in the twinkling of an eye—we too could be swept away. We are not more deserving of firm ground than our fellowmen in Japan. We too are flesh. We have bodies and homes and cars and family and precious places. We know that if we were treated according to our sins, who could stand? All of it would be gone in a moment. So in this dark hour we turn against our sins, not against you.And we cry for mercy for Japan. Mercy, Father. Not for what they or we deserve. But mercy.Have you not encouraged us in this? Have we not heard a hundred times in your Word the riches of your kindness, forbearance, and patience? Do you not a thousand times withhold your judgments, leading your rebellious world toward repentance? Yes, Lord. For your ways are not our ways, and your thoughts are not our thoughts.From The Boston Globe's The Big PictureNPR Interview w/ Piper regarding the 2004 Tsunami in the Indian Ocean This is a remarkably helpful piece and one I have gone to time and again when faced with the inevitable questions that accompany profound suffering. Charities - How can we respond?Crash Japan A dear friend of mine in Hamamatsu City and Makoto Fujimara both mentioned this organization as a great place for disaster relief donations.UPDATE 3/17/11Thursday, 17 March 2011JAPAN DISASTER APPEALIn the days following WWII General Douglas MacArthur appealed for 1000's of missionaries to come to help rebuild the devastated nation. Unfortunately only a fraction of that responded to the call. Today we are appealing once again for Christians to come help Japan rebuild. These are some of the things that CRASHJAPAN, a national network of churches, missions and ministries is prepared to facilitate in Northern Japan in response to the disaster.1.2 Water Supplies 2.2 Bulk Food/Meals3.1 Provide Shelter for Victims/Evacuees3.2 Provide Shelter for Relief Workers/Volunteers4.1 Medical Equipment and Supplies4.2 Basic Medical Care or First Aid4.3 Non-Prescription Medicines5.1 Provide Clothing, Bedding, Blankets6.2 Personal Hygiene Items7.1 Trauma Counseling7.2 Spiritual Support8.1 Debris Removal and Cleanup8.2 Construction and Repair9.1 Transport / Shipping of Goods and Supplies9.2 Point of Distribution / Final Delivery9.3 Provide Storage Space, Warehouse Facility9.4 Transportation of People10.1 Web Development, Web Support12.2 Fund Raising12.3 Financial Management12.4 Volunteer Management12.5 Manage/Mobilize Volunteer Networks13.5 Language InterpretersIf you are able to help in any of these areas - please contact us at 213-457-3154 in the US at 050-5534-5729If you are able to donate funds please contact pnethercott@crashjapan.comIf you are able to send a volunteer team please contact bthompson@crashjapan.comIf you are able to send relief supplies please contact yhari@crashjapan.comChurches Helping Churches - these folks have done an excellent job leveraging relationships between churches to mobilize relief efforts in Haiti and now they taking what they have learned to Japan.World Vision - World Vision is assessing the role they might have in aiding victims and is planning to create child-friendly space for children to play as a first step.American Red Cross From the website of the American Red Cross:Since early Friday morning, we have been in close contact with our colleagues in the Pacific region to offer our support and learn more about the humanitarian needs. The Japanese Red Cross has indicated that it would accept financial support from the American Red Cross for its role providing first aid, emotional support and relief items to those displaced.On Sunday, the American Red Cross will deploy a disaster management expert from its Washington, DC headquarters to Japan for a week-long mission. She will serve on a seven-person, international team focused on providing high-level support and advice to the Japanese Red Cross, which continues to lead the local earthquake and tsunami response.You can donate $10 to the Red Cross by texting "redcross" to 90999 as well.God have mercy.How should we respond to the tragedy in Japan? from Summitview Community Church on Vimeo.

Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. (James 5:13) Any other response to our troubles is functional atheism. Because the Gospel begins with our utter dependence on God, a church that isn’t praying earnestly is really guilty of hypocrisy. A self-reliant church will, at best, glorify itself and, at worst, it will burn out. Recognizing our constant drift toward self-reliance, the first emphasis in Summitview’s 2011 Vision is a greater dependence on God as evidenced in our prayer. Specifically, we want to grow in understanding prayer biblically and in praying together. But this emphasis on prayer is not about self-righteous, religious performance. Instead, it flows from our firm belief that God has a mission for the church that is purposely outside of her ability. By design, our cries for God's support are answered in ways that bring us joy (John 16:24) and reveal His greatness to the world (John 14:13 and 15:16). This is the purpose of our redemption:But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. (1 Peter 2:9, emphasis added)Our prayer then, in content and in God’s answer, is for our good and the good of the world. Beyond IntentNow nearly everyone agrees that prayer is good and, most believe, it should be a greater part of their lives. It’s what sets prayer apart from the other disciplines: inherently we know we need it and, inherently, our self-sufficiency makes it extremely difficult. To go beyond intent to intentional practice requires overcoming the great inertia of our pride.The posts over the next couple of days are offered, not as a sure-fired prescription for that effort but, as possible means of grace in what Jude calls “building yourselves up in the most holy faith.”But you, beloved, building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ that leads to eternal life. (Jude 1:20–21)1) Pray “according to God’s will.” Being a good Father, God listens to all of our prayers and, being a good Father, He doesn’t answer every one (Luke 11:13). Developing a biblical understanding of what is actually according to God’s will (1 John 5:14) is a great aid in prayer. Many people have fatigued in their requests because they asked for things that God has never promised. Here is a pretty thorough collection of New Testament passages on prayer. A.W. Pink’s book “The Ability of God” is a fantastic resource on the prayers of Paul as well. This message from Faithwalkers 2010 includes a section that addresses “praying for what we already have” in His promises.2) Pray through a list. There is a certain sense of futility in a big, unorganized mess. Our minds can be so cluttered with possible prayers that it can be overwhelming to even begin. Start with a list. In the battle for our attention, the best weapons are often a pen and paper. Write down what comes to mind. You will see categories emerge within the list (family, work, neighbors, the city, the church, etc). Group your prayers in these categories and assign certain things from each category to each day of the week. This will give you a “well-rounded” list of things to pray every day. I have found that this kind of list allows me to stay on track and the categories themselves will remind me of time-specific things that I can pray for each day.You can then take these daily lists and throw them on index cards or create a reoccurring appointment for each day in your electronic calendar (Google Cal, iCal, Outlook, etc) including your list in the “Notes” section of the appointment.I generally work to refresh this list 3-4 times a year. This keeps me engaged and able to adjust to new needs and responsibilities.(more to come in the next post)

Feb 13, 2011: How Much More from Summitview Community Church on Vimeo.God is familiar with the density of the human head and, at times, He remedies the situation with a rhetorical hammer. One such hammer is the "How Much More?" device used throughout the bible. The argument goes like this..."if we see this good result from these limited conditions, how much more should we expect a great result under better conditions." "If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!” (Luke 11:13)"But if God so clothes the grass, which is alive in the field today, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, how much more will he clothe you, O you of little faith!" (Luke 12:28)In Genesis 14, we begin to see Abram's distinctive life emerge from the soil of God's promises. His reckless love for Lot, his willing proclamation of God's ownership and his rejection of greedy and self-sufficient ways stand out like a redwood in Times Square. But, here is the kicker, he had less than we do. He heard mysterious promises and we've see their fulfillment. Abram knew God was up to something big and we know it was the redemption of His people through the slaughter of His Son. Abram witnessed God's faithfulness in his circumstances and we have seen it demonstrated on the Cross.And, so, here comes the hammer... if Abram was motivated to such great love, worship and rejection of sin by these mysterious promises (Genesis 12:1-3), how much more should we be, knowing their fulfillment in Christ?Thankfully this hammer, like all hammers, has a purpose greater than noise (or guilt). It's purpose is to drive a nail and that nail, it seems, is a life driven deep into the world proclaiming that, by God's grace, "things can be different."how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living God.  (Hebrews 9:14)Additional ResourcesMessage NotesDiscussion Questions

Sin is a least five things. First, it is common among every living person (Romans 5:12).Second, we cannot be naive or overly "spiritual", it is attractive. I wouldn't exist if it wasn't. We do what we want to do and when we sin there is a part of us that wants it. Sin's promise of satisfaction is real and it delivers temporarily with horrible repercussions to our consciences, our faith and our loved ones. Third, it is self-fueling. The tiny drop of pleasure provided by sin leaves us craving for more. Without an alternative, our thirsty souls will return for more. We trifle with this self-fueling to our own peril. Tolkien's Gollum aptly pictures the progressive implosion of our souls. Eventually, our attention will be adhered to the object of our sinful (read God-less) desire.Fourth, it is, then, horrible. It strips a person of their dignity and it leads them to despise God and use others - the very opposite of the Great Commandment (Matt. 22:37-40). Sin destroys. Idolatry destroys. Unbelief destroys. There is no avoiding the destruction of God's image when we sin. It is anti-God and His purposes. We tend to see only the vilest and fullest expressions of sin as horrible but that is a deceptive device of the devil. Every rape began with a rogue sinful idea. Every murder's root is an undercover bitterness. Fifth, it is NOT the Christian's master. In Christ, we have been delivered from bondage to sin (Romans 6:6) to walk in "newness of life" (Romans 6:4). But, just as soon as the celebration of our freedom begins, we find that a battle still rages in our soul (Romans 7:14-20). Is this freedom real? How do we experience it? Peter gives us a glimpse in 2 Peter 1:3-4:[3] His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence, [4] by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire. Here Peter tells us that an intimate knowledge of the one who saved us and what he has promised us in salvation is God's means of deliverance.This session of "How The Gospel Changes People" (Summitview's Leadership Training) entitled "How the Gospel Addresses Sin" unpacks this idea to provide hope for those who are tempted to feel that sin has won and there is no longer any use in trying to resist it (Jer. 2:23-25).Additional ResourcesTeaching Notes"Kill or Be Killed" - a series of supplementary messages to "The Mortification of Sin" by John OwenLeadership Training Resources from SummitviewNotesMessages