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 

Bovine

As a kid I can remember learning the word bovine as a synonym for cow. My grandmother used it in a word game we were playing, and it stuck with me. It isn't a word that I use in normal everyday conversation, but at least I know what it means if I ever need to pull it out of my bag of tricks. Today, I am delving into my bag of tricks. Let me explain why with a story.

On Monday evening while driving back from the airport, we picked up three FMS engineers (which is what they call mechanics in Botswana) who were hitch hiking their way home. Hitch hiking is a common practice here, and the sides of the road can be lined with people either waiting for a combi, which is a little van that drives a route much like a bus would do in the states, or trying to catch a ride from passing vehicles. Instead of a thumbs up signal here, hitch hikers hold their hand out in one of three positions - pointing down, to indicate that they aren't traveling far, only a few blocks perhaps; pointing straight out, to indicate that they are trying to get a medium distance; or pointing up, which means they are going a pretty good ways. So, we picked up these three FMS guys, and they all piled into the back seat, grateful for a ride. As we drove along, the guy I was riding with (who is also the guy who is letting me stay in his house - another pilot waiting on government approval to start flying) was asking the engineers about themselves and trying to get to know them a little bit outside of the work environment. One of the questions he asked was whether or not any of them were married. None of them were. Going into more detail, they began to explain the Botswana custom of paying a bride price to the family of the woman you are going to marry. The price required in exchange for the family's permission to marry their daughter is paid in cows. They told us that the number of cows varies based on the part of the country where the woman lives. Anywhere from 4-10 cows can be demanded of the husband-to-be as the bride price. These men could not afford the cows necessary to purchase a bride or pay the expenses of a wedding and the parties that must customarily accompany it. It was a very practical reason for being bachelors but one that seems foreign to the American mindset of the twenty-first century. 

It is an interesting custom, this paying of a bride price with bovines (now do you see where my post title came from?). It got me thinking about the bride price that Christ paid for His bride. Psalms 50:10 says, "For every beast of the forest is mine, the cattle on a thousand hills" yet cows weren't the price that was paid for our redemption. To purchase our lives from the sin into which we were born God sent His own Son. We are His bride, and Jesus was the bride price. How humbling to realize that we were bought at a price, and that price was the sacrifice of a life and the shedding of blood. We are more valuable than any number of cows, and God proved that. So anytime Satan tries to lie to you and convince you that you are worthless, just remember and remind him that you were worth the cost of Jesus suffering and dying on your behalf. Remember that by His stripes we are healed. Remember that He is the only way, the only truth, and the only life. Give your life to Jesus because He gave His life for you!

"For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s." (I Corinthians 6:20 NKJV)

This is Africa

Nearly everyone knows what it means to have a deja vu moment, where it feels as if you are repeating a moment in time from the past by being in the same place or having the same experience that you did previously. Well today I experienced a different phenomenon that I'm going to call a surreal moment. 

It was around noon on a warm, sunny day. My mission was to drive from the house where I was staying to the Flying Mission Services hangar at the Gaborone airport. It was my first solo mission navigating around the capital city of Botswana, and without the map in the front console, it might have been a failure. However, armed with a map and my own memory, I climbed into the right seat of the car (or the wrong seat, depending on your perspective) and backed out into the street to begin my journey. What happened next, me making a few wrong turns and requiring the services of the map to determine my position in the city, isn't too important to the story, so we won't waste time on that. I had finally gotten my bearings and was on the right road. Things were looking up. Then it happened. The surreal moment struck.

I was driving the borrowed Toyota down the left side of the road from the right seat at about 60 kilometers per hour with the windows down and some African pop music coming through the radio when I had to brake for a herd of about a dozen goats that were crossing the road. BOOM! That's when the thought hit me. I'm in Africa! For the movie buffs, it was a "we're not in Texas anymore, Toto" moment. Sitting on the opposite side of the car, driving on the opposite side of the road, using the metric system for everything, listening to music in a language of which I could speak less than a dozen words, having animals roaming the streets, this was a whole new world. I had finally made it halfway around the globe to a completely different hemisphere, right where God had called me. I took a deep breath of African air, and pulled forward as the last little goat plodded off the side of the road.

God has brought me a long way, opened a lot of doors, and taught me many things in the last several years. From dreaming of attending the Air Force Academy, to planning a career in corporate jets, I had all sorts of plans in my own mind about what my future in aviation would be like. It wasn't until about halfway through college that I even began to imagine my future looking like what it is today. And what exactly is going on in my life right now? It's a valid question. Here is an update for those who haven't heard.

I left the good old U.S. of A. On September 3rd, flew across the pond to London, spent my 9 hour layover in London riding the tube (subway system) and seeing some sights, caught a 10+ hour flight to Johannesburg, barely made it to the gate for my connecting flight to Botswana on time, and ended up arriving in Gaborone right on schedule on September 5th. I was met by a group of Flying Mission Services personnel, many of whom were familiar faces from back at Liberty University. In the past week or so since my arrival, I have been given a tour of the city, an overview of Flying Mission's entire organization, a pile of documents to study in preparation for an exam, gotten to experience a number of restaurants in town and eat some authentic African food as well as some fast food, been invited to numerous BBQs (or braais as they're called here), attended a Baptist church service, gone for runs outside the city and inside it, met a lot of people, and more. Currently, I am in the process of buying a car and slowly learning a few more words and phrases in Setswana. Within the next week I will begin ground school for the Cessna 200 series fleet I will be training to fly in and then once the paperwork for my work permit, immigration, and license validations gets approved I will commence getting checked out to fly! I will continue living in the capital city until I start flying, and then I will move some 800 kilometers north to the city of Maun, where I will be based. 

More updates to follow as things move forward... Cheers!

Hopping across the pond

Westminster Abbey

Monkeys hanging around outside the FMS hangar

Faith

"Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen." - Hebrews 11:1

A bookmark that I have stuck in my journal has Hebrews 11:1 designed onto the front of it as a reminder to me as I sit here in the Bush Intercontinental Airport waiting for the first of my flights to Africa. I always say that I have faith in God, faith in His perfect will, faith in His guidance, and faith in His promises. What exactly does that entail in its entirety? Does that mean I never have doubts or worries? Does it mean I always obey God without fail or without qualms? I hardly think so. But I must admit, as I read this verse it seems almost contradictory in its word choice. In my interpretation of the sometimes confusing English language I think of "assurance" as being a word that means certainty or without doubt. Conversely, to "hope" for something means to want it to be true but to not be sure if it will actually be that way or not. So, is the verse saying that we are sure of uncertainties? That seems non-sequitur to me. After puzzling it through for a time, here is what I came to understand the verse to mean. 

All humans have things that they "hope for." All of us hope for the best, hope we live happy lives, or hope that we can accomplish certain goals. Christians hope that the Gospel is true, that the Bible is accurate, and that God really will protect, bless, and guide them. Here is where faith comes into play. As we believe God more and commit to truly trust Him in all things, we receive assurance of the things that we had always hoped were true. Having faith in God turns our hopes into beliefs, our probablys into absolutelys, and makes everything in God's word a certainty for us. 

A good example I thought of as I pondered this subject can be found in Mark chapter 9 verses 20-27. This is where Mark wrote of the boy who was possessed with demons that the disciples were unable to cast out. They tried unsuccessfully until Jesus came back down from the mountain where the transfiguration had taken place, and then He had to do it. The desperate father says to Jesus, "if [I nope] you can do anything, have compassion on us and help us" to which Jesus answers that "all things are possible for one who believes [has faith]." The father of the boy cried out "I believe! Help my unbelief!" My paraphrase of that desperate plea would be "give me assurance of what I came here hoping would be true." The man wanted faith to trump the doubts that had formed in his mind since the disciples had not been able to cast out the demons. He hadn't seen any evidence that the reports of Jesus' power to heal demon possessed people were true, but he wanted to believe it was as he had heard. 

God can give us peace that passes understanding when He transforms our hopes into assurances. When we absolutely believe Him and stop listening to any doubts or worries that whisper in our spiritual ears, then we are exercising our faith.

I have faith that God is on my side, He is leading me to Africa, and that He will provide for and protect me as I obey Him. I don't just hope so - I know so. He has promised as much in the Bible, and He is God. He never lies. He never fails. He has all power and authority. I'm in good hands - no, I'm in the best hands.

The 777 that will take me on the first leg of my journey of faith.

Change

I don't like change. Do you want to know why? It's because it is always falling out of my pockets when I try to sit down. When it falls out of my pockets, dimes, nickels, and pennies roll across the floor or drop down into the couch cushions and get lost. I don't like that. Surely some of you can understand where I am coming from here. That's why credit cards have become so popular.

In all seriousness though, a different kind of change that we all have to deal with is the change that constantly occurs in life. It's unavoidable. Some of the changes we like, some we don't, and there are always those that we don't even care about or notice. My life is in the midst of some pretty big changes at the moment. Not only have I finally finished school after 18 years and no longer have classes, homework, or grades to worry or stress about, but I can also finally enter the "real world" with the prospect of 40-hour (or more) work weeks, bills to pay every month, no summer or spring breaks, and the countless other changes that accompany the switch from school to full-time career. That is the kind of change most people have to deal with and work through after school, but I decided that wasn't enough for me. I needed something more drastic than that. So, I decided to move to Africa. Well, that isn't quite how it went, but I am going to move around the world to Botswana as part of my post-school changes to life. It's a pretty big deal. 

What are the good parts about change that we can learn from and look forward to? There is more to it than just moving on in life and leaving the old things behind, whether good things or bad. Change brings with it a fresh start. We have a chance to start better routines, begin new habits, and set updated goals. In our relationships with God, we can begin to spend more time reading His Word, meeting with Him in prayer, and serving Him through our actions towards the world. In our physical routines, we can begin to eat healthier or exercise more regularly. In our work or school, we can become more dedicated to studying and learning the material both in and out of the actual classroom. We can change in all sorts of ways at anytime that we choose. But there is a catch. Sometimes we change when we don't want to, mean to, or even realize that it is happening. It isn't always a conscious choice but can often be a unnoticed slippage. We slip out of our good habits and new year's resolutions. We stop reading the Bible as much because we are getting so busy. Our healthy eating habits go out the window because it's the holidays and they only come once a year. Before you know it, you are no longer where you want to be in life. You need to reset your habits once again, start better routines once again, and refocus on your goals once again. Change can be a vicious cycle.

For me, the changes that I am in the midst of have been brought into my life by God's hand. I can see that quite clearly. I know that when He calls me to anything in this life He will equip me to accomplish it, lead me through it, and get the glory from it as long as I stay submitted and obedient to Him. Life will be full of change. I just want to always make the best of it.

Countdown

Today marks the one week countdown until I graduate from Aviation Maintenance Training School. It is incredible to think about just how fast the past year has gone. It seems like just the other day that I was buying books for school and dreading the 8 hour class days that I knew were on the horizon. Now, I can see how blessed I have been over the past year to get to go through this program, learn so much, meet so many great people, and spend another year in preparation for the future God has for me. 

1 week: AMTS Graduation

2 weeks: leave Lynchburg

4.5 weeks: leave America

A lot of change will be occurring in my life over the next few weeks and months. It's always comforting to know that God never changes and is always faithful through it all. Each day is a blessing, a new opportunity, and an adventure! I've got some serious blessings, opportunities, and adventures just around the corner!

Sent

John 20:21 says, "So Jesus said to them again, 'Peace be with you; as the Father has sent Me, I also send you.'"

This verse seems like one of those that is fairly short but can be dissected down deeply and would produce much more meat than might be initially expected. Here is my take on it. Feel free to add or argue with my views. When iron sharpens iron, there is friction, but the end result is a keen edge. I definitely don't mind alternate viewpoints being expressed to challenge my view and cause me to see things in a different light. So, feel free to disagree with any opinions I put out there (I just thought I would throw a little disclaimer in here). 

The first thing that gets my attention in this verse is that Jesus is bidding peace to be with them "again." Clearly, this isn't the first time He has told them to remain calm, don't be scared, and trust in Him. How often, I have to ask myself, does God teach me the same thing over and over again. Surely if He wasn't a perfect God then He would want to yell at us, "Don't you get it yet?! It's not rocket science! How many times do I have to tell you?" Fortunately for me, God has a lot of patience, mercy, and forgiveness. So He tells me again and again in His still, small voice, "Trust me." 

Why does Jesus say "Peace be with you"? In the context of the verse I believe it's because He probably scared the disciples a little bit when He suddenly appeared before them. It reminds me of what the Angel of The Lord usually says to people when he appears to them. Seeing an angel pop up right before your eyes is probably pretty startling, and I think it was the same way for the disciples in this instance when Jesus showed up again. But in the broader sense, God is always telling us to have peace in our hearts and minds through Christ Jesus because we have assurance that our lives are not our own, that He takes care of our every need, and that He knows the future and what is in store down the road. There is nothing that should make us fearful, cause us to question God, or make us worry about the future. He truly does have the whole world in His hands. His peace is with is.

"As the Father has sent me..." How did the Father send Him? It wasn't as a rich ruler or power-mongering leader. Jesus came down humbly as a little helpless baby. But, He was also sent purposefully. God sent Jesus to earth with a mission to accomplish - a mission that no one else could complete or fulfill. I believe God also has specific purposes and missions that He wants us to complete. He gave us life for a reason. "As the Father has sent me...I also send you" means that we are sent out to the world helplessly, relying completely on God and His power to be able to survive, let alone accomplish anything useful to His kingdom. Yet, we are sent with all of the power, ability, fortitude, resources, and knowledge that we need, if we just go to our provider for them. 

I am being sent. All of us who belong to Christ are sent to the world in some capacity. Jesus says so! I can have peace about going to Africa for a lot of different reasons. God is in control of my life, and He is absolutely trustworthy. Since He told me to go and He is the one who gives me all of the strength I need, then it is clear that it is all going to be okay. He has given me peace. We can all have peace in The Lord! 

Say the Words...

How many different people did you see today? Whether you saw a huge crowd gathered at some large event or whether you stayed at home and only saw one or two family members, chances are pretty good that you saw some other human beings besides yourself in the past 24 hours. Of the people you saw, how many of them are important to you? How many have been a part of your life or influenced the person that you are today? How many of them do you love? Perhaps an even better question now that you're thinking about it is this: how many of them have you told that they are special to you or that you love them? If you don't tell them, they may not know.

Here is the reasoning behind this post. I just watched a slideshow of old photos of my family and friends from the past 15 years - talk about nostalgia! It reminded me of the great times we have all had together. It brought to mind the things I have learned. It saddened me to think of the things I have missed in the lives of people who mean so much to me during my time away from home for school. I hate missing piano recitals, weddings, holiday dinners, family outings, and so much more that goes on in my absence. It is saddening to think of people who choose work over family and spend their lives traveling to cool places, making a big paycheck, or gaining notoriety and fame all at the expense of their family. I grieve for the children and the wives who have to learn to live on their own because of their workaholic father or husband. It breaks my heart to see people neglected, mistreated, or ignored by those that they love. I have made mistakes, wasted time, and missed many chances to be at important events, to say a kind word, or to simply spend time with someone that I care about to prove their importance to me. That is unfortunate, but the future isn't always dictated by the past. My failures should only motivate me to not fail in the same way again. As they say, live and learn.

Why are we here on this earth? It has to go beyond ourselves. There must be more to this life than meeting our fleshly desires, catering to our selfishness, and trying to be the person who ends up dying with the most toys. I believe that our purpose is ultimately to bring glory to our Creator, but I think that one of the most important ways to do that is to be a blessing to other people. God created man in his own image, and He cares deeply about all of us. How can we mistreat another human being, and then expect to live a life that glorifies God? It doesn't work that way. There's a song by The Afters that says, "this is what we're here for; to show the world how You love it." If we are to demonstrate the love of God to the world, what better place to start than with your family and friends? It should be fairly easy to love them compared to a complete stranger that you know nothing about and with whom you have never spent any time.

This, then, is my proposal. As my fortune cookie from a few weeks ago said, "Let someone know how special they are to you." I grew up listening to a song by Paul Overstreet that said, "What's going without saying should be said." We may think we've made something evident (like our love) to someone through our actions or hints over the years, but we shouldn't assume such things. It's too important to overlook because of assumptions. Tell your family and friends how much they mean to you. Tell a stranger how much they mean to Jesus. Our lives are full of people. We need to stop letting those people walk through our lives untouched by us. One kind word, one selfless deed and you could make a lifelong impact on somebody. Just do it.

"Say the words, say the words, say 'I love you.' Say the words I long to hear..." -DC Talk