Hope

1We who are strong ought to bear with the failings of the weak and not to please ourselves. 2Each of us should please his neighbor for his good, to build him up. 3For even Christ did not please himself but, as it is written: "The insults of those who insult you have fallen on me."[a] 4For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through endurance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope. 5May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you a spirit of unity among yourselves as you follow Christ Jesus, 6so that with one heart and mouth you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ......May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. - Romans 15

I forget so many times that this is a broken world and that I'm apart of it. Coming from a solid family and having friends with families that are all together I forget that in the real world there is so much brokenness in family. Satan attacks and breaks up the family as much as possible because the scars and pains that a broken home leaves can stay with someone for their whole lives. Ever since Costa Rica i've been thinking a lot about families and this morning I read an article on DJ's blog about the rise in Korean suicides in the US.

Some experts trace the increase in the suicide rate, in part, to the nation’s rapid transformation from an impoverished agrarian society to a booming industrial power. Traditional family support systems have fractured, age-old value systems have dissolved and materialism has flourished, they say. And those changes continue to steer the lives of recent emigrants to America. - New York Times

 In this article parents of a 20 yr old daughter covered themselves in gasoline and burned themselves to death in their own apartment while their daughter went to a friends house, leaving a note saying “I love you, my daughter. I’m very sorry to leave you alone. It would’ve been much better if you had a wealthier father.”, and left her $40 dollars in the envelope. I spent the other night sleeping over and spending time with the orphans from Korea. I asked many of them, "What's your hope? What's your dream? What do you want to do when you grow up?" and sadly many of them didn't seem to have much hopes or dreams. Most were lonely. Even when in a big group they had a "I'm alone" mentality.

 We need to wake up and understand that there is a problem out there. That the devil is at work mightily to break God's people. To take away their Hope. Take away their joy. Take away their peace. But we turn our eyes from these things. The devil turns our gaze to the riches of this world and behind our backs destroys our families and crushes our foundations. I wish. I just wish that I can help people understand the hope that comes in Jesus Christ. That they are not alone. The Bible says, "We who are strong ought to bear with the failings of the weak and not to please ourselves". This is my prayer today, that God would make me strong, strong enough to be the bringer of Hope to those who are broken.

Compassion

Jesus had compassion on them and touched their eyes. Immediately they received their sight and followed him. - Matthew 20:34

Sometimes I forget this word, "Compassion". I'm so busy running around that I forget that things aren't just skin deep and that everyone has hurts and pains that don't come through unless you really observe. In the Bible the word compassion is used over and over again. Jesus when he heals or teaches doesn't teach because He just wants to give good information or show His power. He has compassion. Jesus sees us and has compassion on us that there are hurts, scars, and emptiness in our hearts that sometimes we ourselves don't even realize but He comes and slowly starts to mend this brokeness in us so that we may be whole in Him.

I hope that God grows my gifts further and further so that I may be able to see this world the way He sees it. That I may be able to discern the hurts and pains of the people around me and have compassion for them rather than just superficial relationships. There is apart of me still that is still cold and still want people to be the way I expect them to be and I don't take the time to look further into the persons individual life and experience which has grown them to be the way that they are. God give me the eyes to see, the heart to feel, and the mind to understand as you do.

Joy of the Redeemed

Strengthen the feeble hands,

steady the knees that give way;

say to those with fearful hearts,

"Be strong, do not fear;

your God will come,

he will come with vengeance;

with divine retribution

he will come to save you."

Then will the eyes of the blind be opened

and the ears of the deaf unstopped.

- Isaiah 35 3-4

This passage is titled the Joy of the Redeemed. The whole chapter is amazing and inspiring but I picked these two short verses because it captured my heart the most. I think back to the days before Christ. So much fear, so much pride, and so many protective walls that I built up for myself. I even forgot how to smile and my reputation was built to guard my heart from an unforgiving world that would attack any weaknesses in me.

But Christ comes and he saves us. He comes and strengthens our trembling hands and our shaking knees. He makes us stand up straight, not out of arrogance or false pride in ourselves but because of the understanding of the love that He has for us, because of the fact that we know that God is with us, we stand firm. He comes and opens our eyes and ears to things that we never knew existed. We once thought we knew it all. We thought by reading, studying, and experiencing we were above it all but He comes and shows us that the knowledge that comes from this world is foolishness and the scales on our eyes is lifted and we are renewed through the mind to see the things of Him. There is no more fear. There is no more doubt. There is only strength and confidence. Boldness that only those who are called can have. Boldness not in ourselves but in the fact that God has promised us that where ever we go whatever we do He will be with us and He will come and rescue us. This is the source of my confidence.

First will be Last

"I tell you the truth," Jesus replied, "no one who has left home or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or fields for me and the gospel will fail to receive a hundred times as much in this present age (homes, brothers, sisters, mothers, children and fields—and with them, persecutions) and in the age to come, eternal life. But many who are first will be last, and the last first." - Mark 10: 29-31

I have not written in so long! Being on vacation then mission trip really got me off track with this thing. Anyways. Yesterday I had lunch as a group with the CEO of all of Colgate and being that he's a leader of this huge company I wanted observe everything I can about him and learn from his leadership how subtle that it may be. There is one particular thing that I noticed and its something that unless you were watching you may have missed, and its this, He is always served Last.

Most people would expect since he is the CEO and at the head of the table he would be served first and start to eat first but its the contrary. He is always the last in line on the buffet line to get lunch, he is served his drink last, he is served his dessert after everyone else has gotten their dessert. Some may say "oh its a coincidence" or "he's late so he has to be last in line" but this is my third year in a row having breakfast or lunch with him and its always been the same so I believe that its very intentional on his part to show a culture of Servant Leadership.

In the Bible, Jesus says that those who are First shall be Last and those who are Last shall be First. Servant Leadership. The world tells us that Leaders have power and strength but the Bible teaches us humility and servants heart and many of us forget this and fall over to the secular mindset of what a leader should be and this leads us into arrogance and pride. I'll be leading small groups once again startin in the next few weeks and I pray that God will make me a leader in this company one day as well. As God puts us into positions of influence I hope that we can remember how Christ has served us so that we can serve others as He has.