Wrestling

"For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places." (Ephesians 6:12 ESV)

Once upon a time not so very long ago, when I was a young boy, I used to be quite a prolific wrestler. I wouldn't go so far as to say that I was a good wrestler, just that I did it a fair amount. After so many wrestling matches with my brothers and my friends growing up, I probably should have tried out for the college wrestling team! Most of our bouts were all in good fun, with an occasional one spurred on by an argument gone sour, but what I liked about them was that I could actually grab hold of my opponent and use my appendages and body weight to pin him down into submission. It was a purely physical struggle. Since then, I have grown up. No longer do I wrestle against fellow humans using physical strength and size. No longer does the match end with a tap out or a cry of "uncle!" No longer are the stakes simply boasting rights or an elevated ego. The fighting I have to do now is much more serious, difficult, and real than any boyhood struggles. 

I was reminded by a longtime Botswana missionary the other day of the spiritual dimension to our current struggle to obtain permits and approval to stay in the country. It's easy to get annoyed or impatient when the speed of progress seems slower than dripping molasses on a freezing winter day. It's even easier to direct that impatience or frustration towards the government workers and blame them for all of your troubles. In general though, they are just doing their jobs. I'm sure it isn't easy to sort through forms all day and decide how to handle different applications. They are human beings too with their own difficulties to face at work and at home in their personal lives. The real enemy here is the same enemy that all Christians fight against. Perhaps the fights and struggles take on different forms for different people, but I believe we are all fighting against sin, the flesh, and the devil on a daily basis. Our flesh makes us impatient and prone to grumble at delays and setbacks. The devil works against our efforts to enter the country and bring the good news of the Gospel to its people. Sin surrounds us. And so we wrestle. Not with our hands as much as our prayers and not with our physical strength as much as our spiritual weapons. Botswana is full of darkness that we have to struggle against in order to be lights for Christ. There is much evil that needs to be countered with righteousness here, and I believe Satan is fighting to keep Christians out in every way possible - by legal, financial, and medical means to name a few. 

The most important concept to remember is that we have to fight back. The biggest assumption in Ephesians 6:12 is that we are actually wrestling against those "spiritual forces of evil." It doesn't say "For God does not wrestle against flesh and blood." Nope. It says that we are the ones wrestling. We have to take temptations and throw them over the ropes. We have to pin sin down in our lives and force it to tap out and leave the ring in defeat. This is war, folks. Everyday and everywhere we are engaged in the ultimate struggle between good and evil. Let us fight the good fight by taking up the full armor of God and standing in the ranks of His army! 

Please, pray for me and for the members of the body of Christ who are in Botswana. Pray that Satan will not be successful at keeping us out or keeping us from fulfilling the work that God has allotted for us here. Pray that we would stand strong, shine bright, and strive for righteousness. The book of James reminds us that the prayer of the righteousness man availeth much. It is one of our mightiest (but often underused) weapons! Let's use it in the fight!

Not Me, Not Mine

Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. - Philippians 3:12.

I was reading through Philippians chapter 3 before bed last night and was struck by the phrase "because Christ Jesus has made me His own" in verse 12. Eight little words, yet they grabbed my attention and drew me back like a magnet. Paul wrote that brief line as his reason for "pressing on" to attain Christ-likeness and righteousness through the death of his inner sinful self. Speaking for myself (and perhaps a few other people will agree with me), I can come up with a number of reasons that I am trying to become more like Jesus. I want to be kind and compassionate towards others. I want to live a life that leaves a positive legacy. I desire to be an example to other believers in my speech, conduct, faith, love, and purity. Stop right there. Yes, those are good and Biblical things to desire for your life, but the one commonality that they share and that bothers me is that they all revolve around me, myself, and I. 

What is the purpose of life? The Westminster Shorter Catechism says that "Man's chief end is to glorify God, and enjoy Him forever." Notice what that statement is not focused on - man. Man's purpose is God. It's not about us. We aren't here for ourselves. Life is not meant for us to become good or better or best. Our brief life on this earth is all about God, His purposes, His kingdom, and ultimately His glory. Bringing it back around to the reasons that Christians should want to be more like Christ, I believe that our focus should be on becoming like Jesus because God commanded us to do so, because God receives glory from that, because God sent His one and only son to die for us. Forget about becoming like Christ more so that people will like you more. I have meaning and purpose "because Christ Jesus has made me His own." And that should be the motivation for everything I do in my life. 

I am not my own. My life been bought with the highest price to ever be paid. Therefore, I am called to glorify God. Kindness, compassion, and a legacy can and do bring glory to God. My point, though, is that we (or at least I do) tend to focus too much on the intermediate goals of self-improvement and not enough on the ultimate goal of honoring God because He is worthy.

The fruits of the spirit are not meant to make us better people. Giving, sharing, and helping are not done to make us better philanthropists. It isn't about us at all. It is all about Jesus!

Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body. - 1 Corinthians 6:19-20.

The Delta

Delta is a letter in the Greek alphabet. It is the name of an elite special operations commando group, that nobody is supposed to know about. It is used to denote the fourth item in a group. And, it also means an area covered in diverging branches of a river. The Okavango Delta in Botswana is just that, an area of wetlands formed by the spreading out of the Okavanga River. It is an area that is rich with wildlife because of the abundance of water in the midst of an otherwise very dry area and hot climate. The delta region is an ideal place for many animals to live their lives. 

It makes me think of the importance that water has in regards to life. I heard someone talking the other day about how scientists are hoping to use some sort of chemical process to turn the dirt on Mars into water so that things can be grown on the planet's surface. When you are flying over the barren bush of the African plains, anytime you see a random hut and animal corrals in the middle of nowhere you can be sure that there is a well (or borehole as they call them here) on that little plot of ground. You can plant the best seeds in the most fertile dirt in the world, but if there isn't water, then the seeds will never sprout and grow. Why did God design things in the universe to work like that? Why does so much depend on little H2O molecules? I think He designed it that way to teach us something. He built this analogy into the workings of science and nature to illustrate that any form of life always requires one all-important ingredient. 

Jesus said to her, “Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” (John 4:13, 14 ESV)

The all-important ingredient in our lives is Jesus. He is the water that gives life. He is the water that causes seeds to sprout. He is the water that soothes a parched soul. Jesus is life.

Last week I spent 4 days up in Maun, Botswana where I will be based once I get approved to legally fly here. The purpose of my time in Maun was to do a little flight training in the FMS aircraft I will be flying and to pass a check ride to get my certificate of training saying that my flying meets the standards of a commercial pilot. In addition to that, I was able to ride along in the copilot seat on a number of tourist transport flights in a King Air 90 and the Cessna 207 that I flew for my training. The strips we went in and out of were all dirt and sand except for the main Maun airport, which was paved and had a control tower. On the legs where I wasn't doing any flying I watched for wildlife and was able to spot 30+ elephants, a zebra, possibly a herd of hippos, what I think may have been a roan antelope, and some herds of impalas. It was pretty exciting! The winds, airstrip length and condition, high temperatures, busy airspace, heavy payloads, and extensive wildlife activity will make the flying here challenging but definitely very exciting as well! 

The town of Maun

An airstrip we flew over but didn't land on

Passenger pick up and drop off

Lining up for takeoff