Mental Wanderings - Transporting

I have a dilemma which I hope a Trekkie can solve for me. In the act of transporting, one's body is transformed into an energy pattern (dematerialization), sent to a target, and then changed back into matter (rematerialization). Does this process not mean that an individual is, in essence, annihilated and then reformed? And if this is the case, is the individual not therefore killed by the act of dematerialization and a new individual, identical to the first, created on the other end?
Just wondering . . .

Changing the World through Love

This afternoon I walked through a G20 protest. I'm not certain what they were protesting (something about corporate clowns comes to mind) but what stood out to me was one young man's anger. He was hoping to take some photographs but the police officers would not let him cross the line they had created. "I know my rights!" he shouted. He believed that it was a grave offense to deny him access to the protesters in order to take his photograph.
Over the next several days there will be much anger in this city. People from all around the world will gather here at the newly erected fences and scream for transformation, for rights, for a difference to be made.
In my mind this type of protesting is limited in its effectiveness. It serves to inconvenience and anger the public (the traffic (including streetcars) was at a standstill) -- people they should be trying to win over. And it usually fails to open up a window of conversation with the leaders.
As Christians we also long for transformation in the world. How should we go about doing it? At the risk of sounding (or more likely being) idealistic, I believe that love is a significant part of the answer. If we sincerely show love to those around us then even our enemies will be rocked to the core. People will be drawn to the God who is at work in us. If we focus more on speaking the truth in love than on winning arguments people will sense that there is something different about us.
How are we doing at loving?

Thoughts on Missionary Prayer 6

"We usually limit ourselves to asking God in private that people will come to Jesus. This is important. We must go beyond this first step. We must discern what it is that they consider important and pray for that need to be met by God. When this happens, it acts as an eye-opener as far as the gospel is concerned."
Ed Silvoso in: Ralph D. Winter and Steven C. Hawthorne eds., Perspectives on the World Christian Movement: A Reader (Pasadena: William Carey Library, 1999), p. 155.

Thoughts on Missionary Prayer 5

"Prayer is the most powerful form of social action because God responds directly to prayer. Prayer is the most powerful part of mission to unreached peoples, because God does what only He can do. Even in the most hopeless of situations, He breaks through the false dominion of the enemy, bringing spiritual light and breathing life for lasting social transformation.
God uses the act of praying both to change us and to change the future. As Walter Wink puts it,
History belongs to the intercessors who believe the future into being. . .Even a small number of people totally committed to the new inevitability in which they affix their imaginations can decisively affect the shape the future takes. These shapers of the future are the intercessors who call out the future, the longed-for new present; they believe the future into being."
John D. Robb in: Ralph D. Winter and Steven C. Hawthorne eds., Perspectives on the World Christian Movement: A Reader (Pasadena: William Carey Library, 1999), p. 151.

Thoughts on Missionary Prayer 4

"I'm convinced that we are living in what appears to be the most cruel period of history. More people suffer for Christ's name than in any other generation. As Christians who are not under such persecution, we must find any way that we can to help our persecuted brothers and sisters. They need us more than ever--our presence, our encouragement, our support, our teaching, our fellowship, and perhaps more than anything else, our prayers."
Brother Andrew in: Ralph D. Winter and Steven C. Hawthorne eds., Perspectives on the World Christian Movement: A Reader (Pasadena: William Carey Library, 1999), p. 179.

Thoughts on Missionary Prayer 3

"Christians have been divided for years over the most effective means of transforming our world. Is it through verbal proclamation of the gospel or with social action? In truth, the two cannot be separated. Without both, there simply is no good news. One thing ties them together--prayer. When prayer to our God of temporal justice and eternal salvation is emphasized, evangelism and social action are linked in the most essential way. The God who inspires prayer for the world stirs the hearts of His people both to share His good news and to dispense love and mercy. When we see people coming to Christ, health improving, economic opportunity increasing, and kingdom values growing, we find that believers have been praying. Because of the nature of evil in the world, prayer is essential."
John D. Robb in: Ralph D. Winter and Steven C. Hawthorne eds., Perspectives on the World Christian Movement: A Reader (Pasadena: William Carey Library, 1999), pp. 145-146.

Thoughts on Missionary Prayer 2

"So, why, then, don't we pray as persistently as we talk? The answer, quite simply, is that we don't believe it will make any difference. We accept, however despairingly, that the situation is unchangeable, that what is will always be. This is not a problem about the practice of prayer, but rather about its nature. Or, more precisely, it is about the nature of God and his relationship to this world.
"Unlike the widow in the parable, we find it is easy to come to terms with the unjust and fallen world around us--even when it intrudes into Christian institutions. It is not always that we are unaware of what is happening, but simply that we feel completely impotent to change anything. That impotence leads us, however unwillingly, to strike a truce with what is wrong."
David Wells in: Ralph D. Winter and Steven C. Hawthorne eds., Perspectives on the World Christian Movement: A Reader (Pasadena: William Carey Library, 1999), p. 144.

Thoughts on Missionary Prayer 1

"What, then, is the nature of petitionary prayer? It is, in essence, rebellion--rebellion against the world in its fallenness, the absolute and undying refusal to accept as normal what is pervasively abnormal. It is, in this its negative aspect, the refusal of every agenda, every scheme, every interpretation that is at odds with the norm as originally established by God. As such, it is itself an expression of the unbridgeable chasm that separates Good from Evil, the declaration that Evil is not a variation on Good but its antithesis.
"Or, to put it the other way around, to come to an acceptance of life 'as it is,' to accept it on its own terms--which means acknowledging the inevitability of the way it works--is to surrender a Christian view of God. This resignation to what is abnormal has within it the hidden and unrecognized assumption that the power of God to change the world, to overcome Evil by Good, will not be actualized."
David Wells in: Ralph D. Winter and Steven C. Hawthorne eds., Perspectives on the World Christian Movement: A Reader (Pasadena: William Carey Library, 1999), p. 143.

Donated Junk

Several weeks ago a friend visited a poorer Eastern European country. There she entered certain people's homes and saw varying degrees of poorness first-hand. However, when she visited the church she saw top-of-the line furniture.
When she asked about this strange distinction she was told that God's house deserved the best. I'm not one for saying that churches should demand money from the poor so that they can fill their buildings with expensive luxuries. However, there is a point to this story that many of us in North America do not take to heart. God certainly does deserve our best, but does this include buying quality products for ministry use?
When we walk through our churches we can often find piles of donated junk. Someone decides to buy a 50-inch plasma screen television and then drops off their old 19-inch black and white for the church to use. Or someone buys a new basketball and gives the church their old one. We buy a new computer and donate our Vic 20. We've all done things like this. But does it honour God?
Just something else to think about.

The Hound of Heaven

D is one of the sweetest men you could ever meet - except when he's been drinking. The change that comes over certain street people when they are intoxicated is drastic. Several days ago D was climbing a building across the street from the church. He lost his balance on the roof and tumbled two stories onto Queen Street. Thankfully he did not land on anyone. And thankfully his life was spared - but not his legs. Both of D's legs were broken and it appears that he will be laid up for quite some time recovering and relearning to walk (he will likely be in the rehab hospital for 4-6 weeks). His body will likely never be the same.
One of the amazing things about God is that He will go to any length to seek and save his chosen ones. In the rehab clinic D is now safe from the temptation of alcohol and is being visited by members of TAC. May God break through and bring complete healing from D's drug of choice. And when D emerges from rehab, may he be a completely transformed individual; may he be a sharp tool God uses to bring healing to others.

Fear

The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge - Proverbs 1:7a

Several years ago my son, Elijah, did something that upset me. In my anger I yelled out his name. Often when we are afraid we run or try to hide. It is a natural human reaction to flee from what scares us. However, Elijah did something I did not expect. After hearing my shout Elijah did not run away from me; rather he ran to me.
The Christian life begins with fear. The proper response of a sinner with the knowledge of a holy, righteous God is complete and utter terror. We can do two things with that terror. We can try to hide our sin by justifying our own actions, imagining that we are innocent, ignoring our condition or by trying to keep certain things from God (as foolish as this is). Or we can run to Him admitting our brokenness and wrongdoings and throwing ourselves on His mercy.
It is the one who runs to God who finds His mercy. And in that mercy our fear evaporates.