Stuff like Bike Helmets and Salvation

A while back I was riding my bike to church and got stopped by some "bici-policias."

They pointed out that I didn't have a helmet on, but that I should've, because that's what the law says, and that by the way - since they are the enforcers of the law (and since I wasn't obeying it), they had all the right in the world to take my bike away.

I was like, "you gotta be kidding me right now," but they weren't, and so I told them that at least I had lights.

... Big deal. Pedro from Napolean Dynamite has shocks and pegs.

...The cops and I kind of stood around for a while, and I kept trying to tell them that I was a really great person... That I was on my way to church; that I worked with drug addicts and homeless people (which indirectly made their work easier); and that they should be grateful to me that I obviously respected them enough to at least stop for them when they told me to...

They weren't impressed; and they said that "law so-and-so" clearly states that all cyclists transiting the streets of Bogota must wear a helmet while doing so, and that clearly I wasn't (irregardless of all my good works, and despite having partially obeyed the law by carrying both front and back night lights).

...We kept standing around, and eventually they told me that I could go with a warning, but that if they ever caught me again, well, I was going to be in big trouble.

I was like "thanks so much," but in my heart I was like "for nothing," and I kept on my way, thinking about all the tons of other people that never wear helmets and never get caught; and yet here somehow I was the only unlucky one to get picked on by the police probably because I look American...

Juan wearing a helmet like he's supposed to

Ok, just kidding, I actually don't think I pulled that card at all; but I was still pretty frustrated with the whole law and the whole notion of helmets in general... and it was like, come on, am I really going to die for not wearing a helmet?                                                                                    ...It was like the very commandment that promised me life (protection in case of a serious accident), actually proved to be death (because I didn't want to obey it); and at the very moment the law came (the law that is holy, righteous and good); all kinds of rebellion and arrogance and restlessness took hold of me, and instead of wanting to obey the commandment - I rather wished it would cease to exist all-together.

...I wanted to go back to the days when I was blissfully ignorant of such ludicrous mandates, and I wanted to avoid getting caught ever again in my whole life.

In fact, the very next day I rode my bike again, and instead of riding on the bike path which is safer - I actually rode my bike on the right side of the road just so I could more easily elude and avoid the same old law-happy "bici-policias" if I ever saw them again, looming ahead in the distance.

...It was like something that was supposed to prolong my life (namely the helpful helmet law), was actually just producing in me a higher probability of death (because I was rebelling against it). 

I decided I hated the law, and it was right then and there that I remembered Paul's words in Romans 7 where he says, "we know that the law is spiritual; but I am unspiritual, sold as a slave to sin" (v.14).

So yeah, I know - wearing helmets or not wearing them in the grand scheme of things is a pretty trite issue, granted. But the example of what took place that day serves as a great illustration of every human being's struggle with sin at a deeper level... And as we see in the next few verses, Paul describes a vicious cycle in which we don't understand what we do... That the very things we want to do we don't, and the very things we hate, those we keep doing (v.15)... That we have the desire to do what is good, but we can't carry it out; and that the evil we do not want to do - this we keep doing (v.19). 

It's a really gnarly situation, and even the band One Republic knows about this very well as they explain it in their song 'Counting Stars' which you can see my friend Juanes and I dancing and singing along to in the video below haha:

       

So how do we escape this terrible tendency to always sin? ...To stop feeling something so right while doing the wrong thing, and to stop feeling something so wrong while doing the right thing? ...Well, in our own strength we can't, and so the only solution is to die to ourselves... We need to die to ourselves, because it is only through death that we may be released from the law... And once we are dead to the law through the body of Christ, we can now be united to another - to him who was raised from the dead, in order that we might bear fruit for God (v. 4). 

See, I think that Paul says it even better in Romans 5:20-21 when he concludes:

The law was brought in so that the trespass might increase. But where sin increased, grace increased all the more, so that, just as sin reigned in death, so also grace might reign through righteousness to bring eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

...The law had to exist so that we would understand sin, but understanding sin is pointless unless there were such a thing as grace... and let me tell you that there is! It exists in the person of Jesus Christ our Lord, and it reigns through righteousness to bring us eternal life.  

Romans 7:24-25 says, "who will rescue us from this body that is subject to death? Thanks be to God, who delivers us through Jesus Christ our Lord."

Yes! 

And as the very next few verses in chapter 8 declare:

Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set us free from the law of sin and death (v.1-2).

Kawabunga dude!

...It would be as if the "bici-policias" who stopped me and told me about the law immediately provided a remedy to keep me from breaking that law by just giving me a helmet to wear free of charge. And if they did that, well, the only thing that I would have to do is just put it on, that's all... See, that's what the Holy Spirit does for us! He becomes a law to ourselves, and all we have to do is put him on and let him take control.

And as verses 10-11 say... 

If Christ is in us, then even though our bodies are subject to death because of sin, the Spirit gives life because of righteousness. And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in us, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to our mortal bodies because of his Spirit who lives in us...  

Do you understand that the very same power that rose Christ from the dead is now living in us so that we can have victory over sin?

Well it is, if in fact we have put our faith in Jesus as our Lord and Savior.

Now, in taking this illustration even further, want to hear something really awesome?

...It's that in Ephesians 6:17 Paul names off the different components of the armor of God, and it's precisely the helmet which we're supposed to put on that stands for salvation! 

So how do you like that?

I hope you like it; because salvation is what gets us into heaven... And I bet you're not even going to believe this - but about a week later I joined a bike-club of about 60 "bici-parceros" (in other words, "bike-buddies"), and they invited me to a bike-club party that they were going to put on, and can you imagine what they said the only requisite was that I needed to fulfill for them to let me into the gig?

... Mmm, if you imagined "wearing a helmet" you nailed it haha... [which is all we need to get into heaven as well (wearing the helmet of salvation that is)]...

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Picture cited "bici-policias": http://goo.gl/ZCgOJR

Sleeping Like I Mean It

One of the things that I really do well man, is sleep. You could practically say that I excel at it. I can sleep like nobody's business, and I can virtually sleep anytime, anywhere, anyhow, and anyway I feel like it... I can sleep in the sun or with a lot of noise; and I'm pretty sure that there's even been a few instances in which I've just barely fallen asleep while standing up on a crowded bus!  

Sleep is cool because it's refreshing and relaxing. And even though there are many times when I'm speaking or hanging out in public that I don't act like an introvert, I definitely am, and being with people can at times be so exhausting that the only real remedy for it is to take a nice, quick, rejuvenating, napperoo. 

Beauty sleep is what some people call it, and even though I don't think it makes me very beautiful by any means, I do think it helps in keeping the rest of the world around me pretty beautiful because when I'm tired boy, it's like nothing has any beauty to it whatsoever... nothing except a soft warm bed.   

There's this kid that I'm discipling, and his name is Juanes, and no joke - where this guy gets all his energy from I have no clue, but he's got tons of it. He's constantly WhatsApping me so we can go hang out or play basketball, or watch basketball, or talk about basketball, or eat basketballs (just kidding), or use basketball as a means of connecting with people and sharing the gospel with them etc... so yeah, I mean he's a wonderful guy to have around for sure, and I really appreciate his friendship a lot, but it's like man alive, sometimes I just wish he would chill out haha.

...It's actually kind of funny because we've come to a point now where he kind of knows that whenever I'm needing some alone time, I tell him that I'm going to go read a bit, and basically that's just become code for: "I'm going to go sleep for a while right now, so please just find something else to do, okay?"

Well, he goes ahead and does that, and he goes ahead and let's me fall asleep, he does. But of course, not without at least taking a couple selfies with me snoozing there in the background.

 ...So that's funny, but anyway, what I really want to get at with this entry, is my theological convictions regarding sleep, and how really, sleep is a wonderful gift from God that should be enjoyed fully.

Granted, Proverbs 6:10-11 says, "A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest - and poverty will come on you like a thief and scarcity like an armed man," so I'm not suggesting we just sleep our whole way through life and expect everything to come to us without the slightest bit of effort; but I do think that when we do what we do, and we do it for the glory of God, and we do it to the best of our ability... well, at the end of the day when everything is said and done, and we gave it our best shot... the best we can do is sleep, and just rest in him who rested himself after he created the whole universe (Hebrews 4:9-11).

In fact, Hebrews 4:10 says, "for anyone who enters God's rest also rests from their works, just as God did from his."

See, Christianity at it's most basic and truly defined essence, is a life of faith. A life of faith that rests completely and unequivocally on Christ's work on the cross for us; both regarding our salvation (Ephesians 2:8-9), as well as our will and our working for his good pleasure (Philippians 2:13)...

Absolutely everything we are in Christ, and everything we do in him, is entirely by grace through faith, and not by works so that no one can boast.

And see, that's really comforting for me because how in the whole world am I supposed to save anyone from hell?

I can't, and yet somehow as a missionary I'm supposed to do that and start churches and stuff.

...In my last blog entry I talked about the 3 essential things that we need in any type of ministry for us to be effective as being: 1. a love for God and a love for people (Mark 12:30-31), 2. the power of the Holy Spirit working in and through us to be his witnesses (Acts 1:8), and 3. people to interact with and share the gospel to (Romans 10:14).

So what is the gospel?

Well, the gospel is the good news that Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners, of whom the apostle Paul and I are the worst (1 Timothy 1:15).

Where do we find that gospel?

We find it in the Word of God, and so that's why absolutely everything I preach on has to come directly from the Bible... I can't just come up with cleverly devised myths and eloquently try to convince anyone I can through interesting philosophical arguments that my reasoning is superior... all I can do is point to the living and active Word of God that is sharper than any double edged sword and is the only thing in the whole world that can truly judge and convict us of our thoughts and attitudes of heart and turn us back to the living God (See 1 Peter 1:16-21 and Hebrews 4:12).

I say this, and I do it, and in the middle of it all I sleep.

I sleep, because I know salvation rests in the message of Christ alone, and that this Message is always superior to the messenger (me).

To prove this, just look at the parable of The Growing Seed in Mark 4:26-29...

Jesus said that the Kingdom of God is like a man who scatters seed on the ground; and night and day, whether this guy sleeps or gets up, the seed sprouts and grows, though he does not know how...

Before this parable, in the Parable of the Sower, it is clear that "the seed" represents the Word... and what I love about the meaning of the Parable of The Growing Seed is that as long as we just sow the Word of God in people's lives... someway, somehow, this Word miraculously produces fruit without us even trying. We can sleep all we want, because the promise remains that at the end of the day when the Word has been sown, that Word that comes out of the mouth of God will certainly not return to him empty, but will accomplish what God desires, and it will achieve the purpose for which he sent it (Isaiah 55:11).

And that's really awesome, because it just goes to show that in the middle of sharing the Word to others, there's always ample room for us to take our fair share of naps and let the Holy Spirit do his work in the lives of those who are hearing God's Word.

...And you know all that stuff about snoozing and loosing?... well, in the sense that I've just been talking about - aaaaactually, that's complete nonsense because with God the truth is that we win.

How to Start a Fire

In the first chapter of second Timothy, Paul reminds Tim to fan into flame the gift of God, which was somehow imparted to him through the laying on of Paul’s hands (v.6)... What that spiritual gift was, I don’t exactly know, but the implication is that our passion for the Lord can either diminish or develop depending on whether or not (and depending on how effectively or not), we let this mysterious wind - fan into our lives.

So what is this wind? What is this fire?

Well, we'll get into that in a bit, but first let's talk about the basic definition of what a fire is.

So for starters, for a fire to exist you essentially need 3 things combined in the right mixture for it to happen. Namely, you need: heat, fuel, and oxygen. When these 3 things come together in the appropriate way, this "event" of fire, occurs. 

Ok, now, the way I see it, is that just like fire, the 3 things we similarly need to have in our lives for us to engage in the Lord's service are as follows: we need to have love for the Lord and love for our neighbor (Mark 12:30-31)... (which would kind of be like the heat); we need to have people to interact with and share the gospel to (Romans 10:14)... (which would kind of be like the fuel); and we need the power of the Holy Spirit working in and through us to be his witnesses (Acts 1:8)... (which would kind of be like the oxygen).

And it's this last one - the power of the Holy Spirit working in and through us, that I especially want to expound on right now. 

A camp that I helped out at a month ago in which the theme was 'And You Shall Receive Power'

Because see, that's what Paul tells Timothy he wants him to do - to fan into flame the gift of God. 

In John 21:22 we read that when Jesus appeared to his disciples after he rose from the dead - the verse says that he "breathed on them and said 'receive the Holy Spirit.'

...Remember that to create a fire you need all 3 of the aforementioned elements present in the equation so that all of a sudden the act of combustion takes place... 

Well, up until this time in the New Testament, the disciples did not have the Holy Spirit. They did not have this one crucial element in the equation of creating gospel fire so that it would explode within them; and so here now, we see these disciples of Christ all huddled together and scared out of their wits in an upper room somewhere in the middle of Jerusalem... they're all huddled together worried about what might happen to them, and all of a sudden Jesus just walks in [and that - without even going through the door, mind you (v. 19)], breathes on them, and BAM! instantly this amazing gospel equation is completed, and BADABOOM!, the disciples start having this amazing Holy Ghost power working through them, and BIMBAZZLEWAMBOOGLE! their story (or our story) is dramatically changed forever [and yes, that took me a while to come up with all the right onomatopoeia to describe those instances, but I think I finally got it (just in case you were wondering)]. 

What's interesting though, is that in this passage when Jesus imparts the Holy Spirit to his disciples - he does so in the same way that I start a fire myself - he does so by breathing on these guys (and I think that there were probably a few girls there too), and in the same way, whenever I start a fire, what I do is that I get down real low on my hands and knees and get as close to a few dimly lit embers as possible; I place some small, nice, dry tinder in the vicinity of some kindling, and I just baaaaarely start to blow man... I just blow and blow. I just blow nice and steady for a while, until all of a sudden boom! the tinder lights up, spreads to the kindling, and suddenly the whole thing bursts aflame!

On a larger scale, this was essentially Jesus' master plan of evangelism. He came into this world (Phil. 2:7), he metaphorically got down on his knees in the sense that he humbled himself (v.8), he got real close to 12 men (Luke 6:12-16) and a few women (Luke 8:2-3), and he slowly and steadily started speaking truth into their lives (John 8:31-32).

A couple years later, he breathes on them to receive the Holy Spirit, and then a few days after that, "a sound like the blowing of a violent wind" came from heaven and filled the whole house where about 120 of them were staying (Acts 1:15)... Here we see that Jesus' small initial breath now turns into a violent wind! The Holy Spirit takes power! and the oxygen necessary for a fire to go wild envelops this relatively small group of ragtag followers of Jesus... Before you know it, people from all over the world are starting to hear the gospel spoken in their own language (Acts 2:5-11), Peter gets up and preaches (Peter! the same one that denied Christ just a few days earlier (v. 14)), and about 3,000 people are added to the church that very day (v. 41).

Awesome.

...Now jump about 34 years later to the time when Paul wrote his second letter to his most beloved disciple Timothy, and we get this interesting charge for him to "fan into flame the gift of God" (1:6)... 

How exactly do we fan into flame the gift of God? 

Well first of all, I think that we can start by constantly praying with other believers, because if we look back to the account of what happened on the day of Pentecost, what we see is that right before the Holy Spirit came down on them, this is precisely what the disciples and the women with them were doing (Acts 1:14)... They were praying.

Secondly, if we understand that what was behind Timothy's gift of God was the very working of the Holy Spirit (the pure oxygen as it were, that rouses the flame of the gospel), then we too should effectively fill ourselves up with this Holy Spirit.

How do we do that?

Well, Ephesians 5 gives us a whole bunch of clues as to how to go about it, and among the definite positive, and proactive things we can do to really let the Holy Spirit take control of us, we can: 

• love one another just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us
• be thankful
• do what is good, righteous, and true 
• expose the deeds of darkness 
• live wisely, making the most of every opportunity
• speak to one another with psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs; and sing and make music in our hearts to God.

...And along with this there is also another fairly significant list of other things that we should avoid so as to likewise stay filled with the Holy Spirit such as:

• not getting into sexual immorality, or any kind of impurity, or of greed
• not being obscene or talking foolishly and joking coarsely
• not having partnerships with disobedient people
• and not being foolish, getting drunk, or getting into debauchery 

...So if we avoid the things mentioned in the second list, and do the things mentioned in the first list, then I think we'll be on a pretty good track to getting ourselves filled with the Holy Spirit.  

I also think that reading and studying the Bible is a pretty important part of being filled with the Spirit because just as 2 Tim. 3:16 says, "All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness."

...There again, we get that word 'breathed'. Scripture is God breathed, it was written by the prophets as they were "carried along by the Holy Spirit" (2 Peter 1:20-21)... Jesus breathed on the disciples to give them the Holy Spirit... We receive the Holy Spirit when we put our faith in Christ (Acts 2:38; Galatians 3:3)... And I think we can also become more "filled by the Holy Spirit" when we read and meditate on the very Scripture that God himself breathed into.

Why?...because the very next verse implies that. It says "so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work" (v. 17).  

Who equips the servant of God other than the Holy Spirit himself?    

...At the beginning of this entry I was talking about the concept of "fanning into the flame of the gospel." I suggested that for this to happen, there needs to be an appropriate mix of 3 things: 1. a love for God and people, 2. people with whom we can share the gospel to, and 3. the power of the Holy Spirit working through us to reach these people. Clearly the power and presence of the Holy Spirit is something that is received, not earned (Acts 1:8; 2:38; 10:45), but apparently we can "fan into flame the gift of God" (2 Tim. 1:6), and we can also "be filled with the Holy Spirit" (Ephesians 5:18).

Interestingly enough, it's that very "filling of the Holy Spirit" (that extra dose of life-giving oxygen) that serves as the crucial conductor to augment the heat of our love in bringing about the flame in the fuel of all the men and women in the whole world so that many of them may come to know Christ.

...Starting fires like this is exactly what we are called to do, and letting the Scripture teach, rebuke, correct, and train us in righteousness along the way, is precisely how we can be thoroughly equipped to better engage in this type of service.

...To be better engaged in this type of service by more fiercely "fanning into flame the gift of God."

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This blog post is dedicated to the Velandia family with whom I've started a few fires, and with whom I'm also trying to start a new church (which, in a way, is kind of like starting a fire).

Camping with the Velandias in Villa de Leyva

Pictures Cited:

Fire Triangle

Wildfire Picture

Mouth Watering Reflection

Ajiaco Santafereño

Ajiaco is a savory and delicious soup made with potatoes, chicken, corn, carrots, guascas, cilantro, peas, cream, and capers; and it's one of my favorite meals in Colombia. It is considered "the typical dish of Bogota," and it's remarkable how just by eating a small bowl of it you definitely get your stomach's fill... It tastes especially comforting on a wet or cold day in the big city, and it's a great idea for something to serve at a large gathering of people at any type of big social event. The avocados and rice go on the side, but some people like to mix it in with the soup as well.

Bandeja Paisa

The Bandeja Paisa is "the typical dish of Medellin" from where Colombia's astute business people live, up in the mountainous coffee and flower growing region of this country. It's a rather heavy meal consisting of beans, rice, plantain, ground beef, pork cracklings, sausage, a type of thick corn based tortilla known as an "arepa," topped off with a fried egg and an avocado... If this meal won't fill you up, then nothing will; and if you are ever going to start a fast, then this would probably be the best "last meal to choose" before you do so. I say this, just because it goes against everything a fast usually stands for, since it's rather terrible for the arteries (but wonderful in the tummy). "Paisas" (the people from the Northwest of Colombia) are also really good talkers, so maybe this meal has something to do with that as well (I don't know).

Picada

Picadas are the perfect party dishes consisting of medium sliced pieces of grilled beef, chicken, and pork; as as well as ribs, blood sausage, pork cracklings, yucca, potatoes, and either aji (hot sauce), or guacamole and hogao for dipping. Hogao is a deliciously condimented mixture of sauteed onion and tomato, and while not extremely spicy, it makes for a really yummy kick on top of either potatoes or yucca... You'll often eat picadas while watching a soccer game on a weekend cookout, or on the side of the road when you go out with your family on a 'paseo,' which is kind of like a short road trip. One of the greatest things about this type of meal is that it requires absolutely no utensils to eat, and everyone usually shares and picks and chooses what they like best from each dish... Personally, my least favorite item from this meal is the blood sausage, which in Spanish is called "morcilla," but I usually just give that away to other people anyways, so that I don't have to eat it myself.

Caldo de Costilla

Lastly, Caldo de Costilla is my personal favorite breakfast dish, and it's essentially a soup consisting of beef broth, potatoes, cilantro, and a huge chunk of rib. Most people just eat it like that, plain and simple; but I especially enjoy it in the mornings with slices of avocado mixed in, along with freshly squeezed lemon juice.

... And so if any of you haven't opened a new tab on your computer yet to book a flight to Colombia so you can come try some of this amazing food for yourselves, but are still reading this entry - I just want to mention another type of food that keeps me going as well. It's known as doing the will of God, and Jesus talked about it in John chapter 4 to his disciples when they urged him to eat after he had spent some time hanging out with, and talking to, a Samaritan woman at a well. Essentially, Jesus catches his disciples off guard when they see him with this woman, and later tells them that he had food to eat that they knew nothing about... that Jesus' food was to finish the work of him who sent him, and that physical food was relatively unimportant comparably speaking.

...For me personally, I know that it's true that I can sometimes get so caught up in physical things such as food and clothing and entertainment and money that I forget what I really need to be about... I need to be about doing God's business to such an extent that if I don't, I would feel the same affects as one who would try to survive for an extended period of time without eating... That by not doing the will of the Father, I would get restless, weak, and sick; or that I would eventually even die as a result of undernourishment... That that's how important it is to obey what God has called us to do!... So important to serve God in fact, that our very bodies would start negatively reacting against the lack of doing so.

I usually eat like 3 to 7 times a day... Is that how many times in a day that I intentionally serve God as well?

What's interesting is that Jesus told his disciples that he had food which they knew nothing about... and that too is a pretty crazy thing that I need to keep in check as well.

See, as a missionary, one of the main things I do is that I tell just about everyone I know, what it is I'm doing. I do that mostly, just so that people would better know how to pray for me or even so that in some cases perhaps, there would be some who would be more compelled to give financially towards this work that I'm involved in... I hope that in most cases my motives are pure, but I don't deny that sometimes I may even start telling others about what I'm doing in Colombia with that subtle longing mixed in it of just wanting to be recognized for doing so... What's really sobering though, is that for people who have these types of motives, Jesus says that "they have received their reward in full" (Matthew 6:1-16).

Rather, the right attitude is that of those who are "careful not to practice their works of righteousness in front of others to be seen by them" (v.1), because if we have this attitude, then one day we will truly be rewarded by our Father who sees what is done in secret (vs. 4,18).

...Jesus didn't do stuff in front of people to be recognized by them - he did it only out of love for those whom he was serving; and especially out of obedience to his Father.

May we all have that same disposition as well.

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This blog post is dedicated to Nataly Rojas who lives to serve the Lord, and finds her nourishment in doing so, just as how our bodies find nourishment in the various types of foods that we eat.

Nataly sharing from John 4