Crisis

   The hospital is facing a nursing shortage this year.  Early in the year we had to close one inpatient ward for a month or so.  We have continued adjusting and limping along all year.  Now we have had more staff resign (many of them new people who had come this year and probably just took a job until other applications they had sent out went through).  We came close to closing the medical ward again this month in order to cut our child and adult admissions in half  to keep our outpatient, surgery, and delivery services running.  We praise God that some of our tutors from the Nursing College and some from our Primary and Rural Health service nurses are filling in to keep the ward open.  We are actively advertising and trying to recruit people.  We appreciate your prayers.

    The crisis is largely due the government giving a 45% pay raise to nurses in government facilities and nothing to those in church-run facilities (the church health facilities get their pay from the government).  There has always been a discrepancy between the two systems but never anything like this.  Also many NGO's, and private health care are hiring even beyond what the government can pay.  There is a huge nursing shortage in PNG and the churches, who run half the health care in the country, have been left behind.  All the church run services in the country I have talked to are facing the same problems.  It is even worse for us because we are the biggest church run facility in the country with the most services offered, so losing so many staff has hit us very hard. 

    Yesterday we had a meeting with all the nursing staff to discuss these issues.  Many gave testimonies of their call to be here, how they experienced God's blessings here, and challenged others to stay.  After several of those one man reminded the group that they were basically preaching to the choir.  He said, "we are the ones that stayed".  He went on to point out many have stayed through other crisis of the past.   His statement of dedication got me thinking about the crisis we face.  I can't count how many times I have called it a crisis.  I said to the group, "Why do we keep calling this a crisis?"  Last year we trimmed the budget and gave a pay raise despite no more help from the government and everyone was happy about that.  If we were content last year that our pay was enough to take care of our families why is it not enough this year?  It isn't that we are making less - it is that we are comparing ourselves to others.  Now many think their pay isn't enough because they know someone makes more.  It is a natural human response but one we should be careful about spiritually.  The administration will keep knocking on doors of the authorities because this isn't fair but what about us as individuals?  I pointed out that the missionary doctors, the national administrators, and many of the nurses I know turned down high paying jobs jobs to  stay here or to come in the first place.  They knew what they were giving up - they gave it to God, so we never hear them complain now.   The crisis isn't that we are worse off than last year, it is that we have more people who compare themselves to others and lose their sense of call.  What we have is a crisis of contentment.

    It reminded me of one of our national leaders in a meeting recently saying he felt like a difficult thing in being in administration was always trying to change every little thing in response to complaints.  He asked, "Where is the contentment? - If we are a Christian group working together shouldn't there be a little room for contentment in our lives?"  That phrase was running through my head at the staff meeting - "a little room for contentment".  It is a good spiritual challenge to our lives as well.  Not that we shouldn't seek justice or fairness in our world but when trials come do we show a little contentment in our lives?  Do we really have a belief that God will work things out?  Do we compare our lives, our blessings, our pay, our work, our circumstances to others? 

    It seems to me that during this time of "crisis" the versus that keep coming to me are not ones about God rescuing us from danger, or looking to the hills for help.  No it is things like "Rejoice in the Lord, always", "Godliness with contentment is great gain." "The fellowship of sharing in His suffering." "Carry each others burdens". "Consider it pure joy, when you face trials." "Perseverance must finish its work." " A remnant chose by grace".... And so I realize maybe God is trying to teach me something about contentment as well.  No - I am not worried about my pay, but am I content in the work He has placed me in?  Am I content to serve Him in any difficult situation?  Is my call affected by what others do or do not do?  Do I show to others that God has given me a "Peace that transcends all understanding and guards my heart and my mind in Christ Jesus"?

    When people look at you during your trials do they see your life has a little extra space for contentment?

In Christ
Scott

Obey

It seems a bit strange to think about but I am finding that in administration signals can seems strangely mixed.  Even good news sometimes comes with an ominous shadow.  That is, things that you work to accomplish often come with a hidden price tag of creating more work, responsibility, or people to whom your good news doesn't seem good.  My bet is the onset of labor for a pregnant mom must come with a sense of both exhilaration and dread (it did for me and I was only watching!).  Today, I felt a little sheepish telling people good news, a major praise report actually, while simultaneously highlighting some words of caution.  Several other things our team has accomplished lately, that I am very happy about, also have produced more work to be done.  It seems like a lot of it has hit me simultaneously.  Maybe it is from my night of little sleep on call last night, but I felt timid today, hesitant.  That feeling made me re-evaluate my attitude.  Hesitancy is not a feeling I want to feel accustomed to.  

I remember that Bill McCoy, a spiritual mentor here on the field, used to have a quote up in his office (which is now my office) about "a long obedience in the same direction".  The quote is originally from Friedrich Nietszche and the discussion of a discipleship book with that name by Eugene Peterson.  Sometimes showing up for work is a simple act of obedience -many things in life are.  I have been thinking about obedience lately.  I think the essence of it is found in Christ, our example - Philipians 2:8 "And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death— even death on a cross!" and Hebrews 12:1a-2 "And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart." 

If I can mix those two up and re-translate those for myself today it would be "think about Jesus, finding he was human like me, humbled himself and didn't hesitate to do what he knew needed done, even willfully submitting to opposition from evil people and a painful death because he knew God's redemption plan and glory were the only thing that mattered and would bring real joy.  Be like that."

Obedience is really a constant reminder of death - a constant resubmission to the self-sacrifice we chose when we made Jesus Lord of our lives.  I remember a fiery African-American preacher preaching on "living the death walk".  It is such a contrast to our society, which teaches us the importance of individuality, self-awareness, self-expression, and the pursuit of happiness.  Does this job/personal relationship/situation make you happy/fulfilled?  If not it must be wrong or must be changed. A TIME article a couple months ago highlighted the billions Americans are spending on trying to find spiritual self-fulfmillment in self-help books, ancient yoga, and new age philosophy.  More people than ever are trying to find fulfillment in pick and choose style spirituality, alternative life-styles, ancient religions, cults, etc... despite this "self-fulfillment" and "self realization" divorce rates are skyrocketing, children are abandoned, babies destroyed, the mid-life crisis is considered normative... all because this philosophy is just a manifestation of the self-centered carnal nature.  

The believer is free to realize that the world does not revolve around me and my small plans.  There is an mighty God to be served, one with infinite wisdom and foresight, and plans beyond our wildest imagination.  The question is not does this _______, make me happy?  The question is, is this God's desire for my life?  Am I bringing God glory?  Am I loving others in a way that releases God's love in my life?  Do I forgive as I have been forgiven?  Am I humbling myself as an obedient servant and becoming obedient to a life of self-sacrfice?  Ironically much of our spiritual and emotional pain in life is in resisting our own self-sacrifice.  When we obey we receive those fruits of the Spirit "love, joy, peace,...", we find healing in our relationships, we see God work in our attitude as much as in our circumstances,... all because only when we align our priorities to God's does the world make sense.  Only in relationship with our Creator are we fulfilled and joyful and we receive a peace that "transcends understanding". 

Has God called you to a hard task today?  Are you struggling to feel fulfilled in a relationship?  Don't hesitate - obey!  Plunge in with joyous abandon.  Don't be afraid to make the sacrifice of time and opening yourself to hurt and struggle.  Don't assume obstacles are "closed doors" - keep asking God for direction, strength, and perseverance.  It is the long obedience that sees the fruit of all God has planned and obedience can become real joy and not drudgery.

Allison is starting to learn Hebrews in Bible quizzing, I hope someday she can look at our lives and learn Hebrews 10:39 "But we do not belong to those who shrink back and are destroyed, but to those who have faith and are saved."

In Christ

Scott

New Website!

Thanks to the help of many people, and especially Chris Chaffin, our webmaster, the Nazarene Health Ministries has a new website.  This will be a great resource for people to see all of our health ministries in PNG.  There is Nazarene Hospital, Nazarene College of Nursing, Rural Health Services, and Community Based Health Care.

From this site you can get stories, prayer points, and find ways to join in the work here through prayer, volunteering, donated goods, and financial giving.  Let people in your churches know.

Here it is!

www.nazpng.org

Suffering

I have been thinking about being called to be like God and how we should experience things the way He does... gaining a more eternal perspective of temporary problems, loving the unlovable, showing peace amidst turmoil, love in a world of hate,.... In this I was thinking that God has trusted us to be His ambassadors on earth and that in doing so our sufferings are a participation in the divine suffering.

Kind of a strange thing isn't it?  Can an almighty God suffer?  (I believe the answer is "yes" but an interesting article involving Divine Impassibility can detail the history and theology better for you at:  www.theologicalstudies.org.uk/article_god_bauckham.html )

I believe in the same way what we see of God is as but a shadowy reflection, His suffering must be immeasurably more than ours.  The pain of Christ bearing not just the physical cross but the burden of sin, the pain of separation, .... not to mention God letting us destroy not only His creation but marring His image placed in us.... Of course he doesn't experience suffering as a "helpless victim" (but then maybe we ourselves play that role too much in our suffering).

Perhaps we are called to willingly accept suffering and turn it into something that redeems ourselves and others. Could we really consider it "pure joy" to "face trials of many kinds"?  God willingly chose to suffer the destruction of his creation by sin, as well as suffer the cross to redeem it, all for the sake of the ability to offer free choice and a people who would truly love Him. If we are to represent Him, we will be called to experience His heartbreak for a broken world.  We will be asked to "share in the sufferings of Christ."  Of course it only becomes redemptive if we can suffer well - that is if when we are tempted and tried - we rely more on God and what we produce is the fruit of the Spirit that tells others that God is at work.

Discussing this with pastor friends, Rev. Scott Marshall summed it up well:  "That means more suffering is to come and the suffering I've endured to date is part of my sanctification and is to be seen by me as being allowed to share in Jesus redemption. "

Have you ever seen God turn suffering into a way to strengthen or save you or others? Can God trust you with His suffering?

Body

I am going to go ahead and make a literary faux-pas by recommending a book I haven’t read (but plan to read).  I have heard it was good from others and then former PNG missionaries sent me this quote. 

“Sometimes I would like to ask God why He allows poverty, suffering, and injustice when He could do something about it.”

       “Well, why don’t you ask Him?”

“Because I’m afraid He would ask me the same question.”

    -The Hole in Our Gospel, by Richard Stearns, President, World Vision U.S.

It is really profound when you consider the implications.  God has chosen to work through us - His body, the church.  It appears God is not addressing the serious issues of the world only to the degree that we are not fulfilling His call.  God’s heart breaks for the suffering - He wants it to break through ours.  God’s hand’s yearn to reach out and touch, but he does it through ours.  We are His hands and feet.

God is doing something about poverty and injustice - we are what God is doing - changing our harden hearts into His heart of love.  He is teaching us to love a fallen, broken world.  He is teaching us the joy of sacrificing ourselves for others.

God is addressing poverty, suffering, and injustice.... that is if we answer the call to be about our Father’s business.  Every day is a chance to change the world we see in front of us.  You are Christ’s ambassador to the hurting world around you.

“Now I rejoice in what was suffered for you, and I fill up in my flesh what is still lacking in regard to Christ's afflictions, for the sake of His body, the church.” -Colossians 1:24

Lord, I see the cross,
the place of suffering.
Where grace flows red and guilt erased
teaches me to join,
the pain of sacrifice.
My life, my plans, laid down for Yours,
the joy of sacrifice-
till my life spills love like Yours.

Praying for all the Jesus-followers helping in Joplin after the tornado. Thanks for being Christ to the hurting!
In Christ
Scott

Rock

    Our ministry had some rough times last year and it seemed better times again more recently - the last few days there have been whispers of various troubles brewing.  I was in our Palm Sunday evening service praying about this tonight - not knowing what the future holds.  I realized that our ups and downs are really minor in the big scope of things.  This week (2000 yrs ago) was truly dramatic for the disciples.  They went from the Triumphal Entry to the Crucifixion to the Resurrection in a week - talk about your ups and downs! 
    I am certain the disciples were giddy with excitement when the crowds welcomed Jesus as the rightful King of the Jews.  I am sure that along with the crowds, they were hoping that Jesus would drive out the Romans and right everything that was wrong.  Perhaps that made it that much easier to run away when Jesus was arrested and tried.  Why was he just letting this happen?  From mountain top experience to the valley of the shadow of death in a week - it was more than they could handle. 
    Not so with Jesus, he was as steady as a rock.  Jesus was not caught up in the hype of the elevation coming from a crowd that would bless him one day and condemn him another.  He accepted the praise of those who were genuine but it didn't change his direction and plan.  In fact, just before this welcoming, he is weeping over Jerusalem - knowing that they didn’t really get it.  He even tempers their celebration of waving victory palms by riding in, not a horse - a sign of a conquering king, but instead a meek colt of a donkey.  In the same way, later, in the greatest trial he did not despair but set himself on God’s will even when it meant betrayal to a terrible death.
    Many times in the Old Testament God is referred to as the Rock- a fortress, unmovable, unshakable.  It is a divine attribute of God - He doesn’t change.  He is above time and circumstance- everything is under His control.  He isn’t waiting for things to get better or wondering when they might get worse.  Peter tells us that Jesus is the Living Stone and we too are to be living stones built to be God’s house (1Peter 2:4-5).  Jesus tells us to build our lives on this Rock in talking about the wise and the foolish builders (Mat 7:24).
    It is easy to ride the waves of good times and then be crashed down by the next trial.  When we build our lives on Jesus, the Rock, we will not be so easily taken up and down by the waves of life.  Jesus kept the goal of God’s will steadily in mind.   Yes, we rejoice in God’s blessings but our faith is not built on them and can’t rely on them (just look at Job).  Similarly, when we have trials we cry out to God, but it doesn’t shake our faith - we just hold tighter to the Rock. 
    So there in the quite of that service I just prayed, “God - I am small.  I don’t know what will happen in the next minute, let alone tomorrow.  Whether it is a time of refreshing or time of trial - I trust it all to you.  Help me show Your character no matter what comes and through it all may You be glorified and people see who You are.  You are the Rock - the unchanging one.  Let my life be built on You.” 
    I don’t know what is happening in your life today, but I trust that you are building your life on the one true foundation - Jesus the Rock of our Salvation.  Have a great Palm Sunday!

Rotten

A few weeks ago we went to a new church with some volunteers.  A lady told me the name of the church was Rabi.  Most churches are named by the village name.  The lady said, “Our village name was 'Kilong' - in the tribal language that means 'rotten' or 'smells bad'.  A long time ago some men were killed here and left to rot in the open without burial.  That became the name of this place.”

Some months ago a circuit (zone) Nazarene Missions president met some people at Kilong and began to pray with them in their home.  They started a church.  Later God gave a man a vision to change the name from Kilong to Rabi (the Pidgin spelling of Rabbi, or Teacher).  They then changed the name to show the change God had made in that community.  God took a place that was rotten, that smelled, and made it a place to proclaim and teach about God.

We believe in a God who changes names!  A God who calls us not by what we have been, but what he can make us to be.  Abram was an old man without children but God called him "Abraham" - a father of many nations.  Simon was a fisherman, prone to errors in his thinking and actions, and a disciple who would deny Jesus,  but Christ called him "Peter" - the rock.  God saw in them what He would change them to be with His power. 

We have seen evil, violent men changed by God’s power and become leaders who show righteousness and great patience in trials.  We have seen people with no position and no training be raised up to lead the church in exciting ways.  We have seen illiterate people become pastors.  We have seen womanizers become model husbands that challenge others to change their marriage.  We see a God who has the power to change lives!

Sometimes we get a bad name from our past mistakes and current inadequacies.  People think bad of us and we think bad of ourselves.  But God wants to call each of us by a new name, a name that reflects His righteousness and His power to change our lives from what has been to what He will make us. 

In Rev. 2:17 Christ tells us that he has a new name for each of us no one else even knows.
Don’t be drug down by past problems and failures.  Don't discount what God wants to do in your life because you don't think you are prepared for what He calls you to do.  God wants to call you by what He sees He will produce in you.  So the question is, “What name does God want to give you?”

Call

A friend just wrote and ask me what it means to have a call.  Here was my reply:

Our first call is always to Christ and who he makes us to be as believers (ie produces the fruits of the Spirit in our lives to make us more like Him).  That is the real call to all Christians - to be changed by Christ and to be involved in making disciples, which is helping others become more like Christ.  All believers are to be involved in discipleship, it is not a job delegated to pastors or a special few in the church - go make disciples, we are a nation of priests, bearing fruit, taking up our cross daily,  letting our light shine, etc.... Scripture is full of that sense of call that we all have.

Of course, when people talk about "being called" they often mean a more specific call to a certain place or a certain ministry.  But I think those specific calls come from our primary call. 

I believe God guides us through the desires and talents he gives us.  Here is the catch - I feel many Christians never seriously ask.  My life changed my first year of college taking a missions class (when I didn't consider myself to have a "specific call").  The parable of the Good Samaritan was discussed - the idea of call was presented as "seeing a need, having the resources to meet the need, and being moved with compassion to do so."

That phrase stuck in my mind.  It seemed to me to be a model of the ministry of Christ himself -who saw lost crowds and had compassion on them, and stopped for hurting individuals along the way.  This idea of call as seeing a need and letting God move your heart to help, made sense to me.  So I began to pray, "God, I am yours - make me into a resource you will use to meet real needs in a hurting world."  Looking back, it was that prayer that changed my life - it led me to getting involved in inner city ministry in KC whenever I could, then a camp counselor for mostly inner city kids, it opened the door to thinking about helping people in a practical way, and ultimately led me into a "specific call" to medical missions.

I wanted to practically help people, I loved science, was fascinated by medicine,.... therefore becoming a doctor made sense to me.  I think it is the same with other areas of a "call" - if you love working with young kids - you don't need God to write it on the wall to volunteer to teach a Sunday School class or reach out to kids in your neighborhood.  If you are an accountant your ministry might be helping with church finance or starting a ministry helping poor people do taxes, or tutoring kids in math,... if you also were an accountant who also feels a tremendous burden for missions and the developing world, then maybe God is calling you to do those types of things in other countries.

I think any Christian who prays that prayer and means it, God will lead them by their talents and desires to find needs around them and meet them.  It will lead them to seek more opportunities to build God's kingdom.  That is the call of all Christians - let your primary call to serve God lead you to secondary or specific calls to what types of ministries you do and where you do them.