Love One Another

“Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor. Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality.”
ESV Romans 12:10;13.

Love one another; show honor; show hospitality. How often these words are ignored even in our Christian community, yet to love one another in this manner is one of the marks of true Christianity. Our mission team experienced the kind of hospitality Paul is talking about here while we were in Peru. Let me give you some examples.

One evening we had some fantastic coffee. It was so good that I wondered how far we were from the home of Juan Valdez! Having experienced such good coffee in the evening, I was sure it would be available at breakfast so I didn’t think twice about uttering one of the few Spanish words I had learned; café’?

The cook smiled and eagerly nodded yes, but this is what it entailed. First, someone had to walk about 150 yards to the stream coming out of the mountain and haul back drinking water. All the while, another person built a fire and readied the kettle. Some twenty or thirty minutes later, and after way too much effort, we had a full gallon of the brew. The all out effort to honor my request embarrasses me now. It was the last time I asked for coffee.

After the first day, the church leaders felt that the smoke from the kitchen fire might be bothering our sleep in the church (barn) loft. The next morning at the first light, the kitchen got moved; stone by stone, stick by stick, to a shed across the road.

Every day we were honored with the very best food available. While 93 other people ate a rice-based soup, the 7 of us had grilled chicken and fresh fruit. I laughed and told one of my companions that we were really suffering for the Lord; eating fresh fruit for breakfast and organic, free-range chicken for dinner every day. In truth, every meal was special, but one meal was extra special.

The mid day sun was extra hot and people were seeking shade and a place to have lunch wherever they could. They mostly sat on the ground or on a log in the best shade they could find. But much to my amazement, the shed attached to the side of the church was empty except for one small table and two benches brought out from the church. The table was adorned with a white lace table cloth and 4 people stood ready to honor our every whim. That’s when I realized that these Christians were trying to “out do one another in showing honor” to their guests from the states.

Do we ever honor one another here in the same manner? Give it some thought this week. See if you can imagine a way to honor a Christian brother or sister in Christ.

Ken Askew

Dying for the Word

“All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, ¹⁷ that the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work.” ^ESV 2 Timothy 3:16-17

This week a friend of mine asked about my recent trip to Peru. He was most fascinated with my account of their hunger for bible study and worship. As we continued to talk, we compared their hunger for God’s word with the general complacency I see here at home. Maybe complacent isn’t the correct term. But we at least suffer from information overload. Because of this overload I fear that we become numb to the word or at least sometimes take the bible for granted.

Compare the information overload of our culture to what I witnessed in the high jungle of Peru. No internet. No television. No plumbing. No electricity. Now, before you start pitying the folks, let me say that they were some of the happiest people I’ve ever met. Now, let me recount some of the things I observed about their hunger for God’s word.

Our services began at 7:00 AM and ended (with intermittent breaks) sometimes as late as 10:30 PM. There were many nights that we stayed up past midnight fielding questions. One morning I arose before dawn to see the compound sprinkled with flashlights as people sat on the ground in front of the church reading their bibles. I witnessed the same phenomenon at night way past the last sermon. When the church filled up, people gathered at the front door or climbed the outer walls to look in the windows. Sometimes we had as many people listening in the courtyard as we did in the building. One man I met had traveled many miles in a taxi to the nearest town and then walked the final two and one half hours to the church. Had I not been there myself, this sort of story would be hard to believe; as it was for my friend.

As I recounted these things to my friend, I was reminded too of the steep price that men have paid in order to deliver the Bible to us in the format we have today. Most of the Apostles (all except John as I recall) met untimely deaths because of their faith yet their martyrdom only served to further the good news of Christianity.

In more recent times, John Wycliff did pioneering work in translating our bible into English and he was persecuted dearly for it. William Tyndale is another pioneer. He was convinced that the common man should have a printed copy of scripture in his own language for study. So, Tyndale labored under constant persecution and in hiding to bring us a printed copy of an English New Testament. Tyndale was strangled and burned at the stake for his actions yet his famous last words were: “Lord! Open the king of England’s eyes.”

Now I ask, how do you regard the Bible? Do you study it like I witnessed the people doing in Peru? Do you appreciate the fact that men throughout the ages have been killed because of their zeal for the truth it contains? And from our verse today, do you take advantage of its availability by studying it in such a way that you are equipped for every good work?

Ken Askew

Don’t Hinder The Children

And they were bringing children to him that he might touch them, and the disciples rebuked them. But when Jesus saw it, he was indignant and said to them, “Let the children come to me; do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of God.”
ESV Mark 10:13-14

Peru 2008. The trip has been forever etched into my mind. Please allow me to share more about the trip. Last week I mentioned being moved by the extraordinary measures people had taken to travel to the remote church conference that I was able to attend. What’s more remarkable as I look back through my journal is the frequent notation in my journal: “Kids are everywhere.” Indeed, entire families had come to worship together.

As I scan through my photographs, another remarkable truth emerges; bibles are everywhere. You might ask, why would the presence of bibles at a church conference be an odd thing? Well, several reasons come to mind, but the most striking may be the fact that the conference was held in a remote village, many miles from the closest electricity. Remember, we were in the jungle. Yet everyone old enough to read was carrying a bible. And we were worshipping with people of meager financial means. I’m convinced that owning a bible indicated that these folks made a financial sacrifice elsewhere, yet it was obviously important to young and old alike.

Which brings me to my point today. Even more moving than the adults that traveled many miles packed like cattle in the back of a truck was the thought of the children. Who will teach God’s word to the children? What about all these kids in the village; who will tell them about Christ? What about the children back home? As I contemplated the question, I was struck by the awesome responsibility adults have to see that our children hear the truth of God’s word. It is a responsibility that should not be taken lightly.

Our society would have our kids believe that the world was created for their pleasure. Society will teach our kids, “if it feels good, do it.” Society will prey on the innocence of our children and teach him to indulge and gratify themselves today. Society will teach them to live for the present. But who will teach them the things of Christ?

Are you hindering the children? Does your life and do your actions reflect society or Christ? Are you proactively bringing your children to Christ? As I think back to the village, I’m moved by the innocence I saw in the eyes of the children. What did they see when they looked at me? Did they see a gray haired man on a Christian field trip? Or did they get a glimpse of Christ?

Take up the challenge. Live your life so as not to hinder the children. Live so that the love of Christ shines through you. More so, teach God’s word to the little ones.

Ken Askew

True Joy

“You have put more joy in my heart than they have when their grain and wine abound.”
ESV Psalm 4:7

Last week I mentioned that for some time I’ve desired to teach in a place where the people had not been bombarded with the gospel; a place where the never changing gospel message could be presented with a sense of freshness to eager ears. I found that place last week in Peru. I was privileged to be part of a team of seven who spent last week in the high jungles of north eastern Peru preaching and teaching at a church conference.

The conference church was located several miles from the nearest town. The final leg of our journey required that we travel by pack horse, foot, or four wheel drive vehicle. For the record, we hired a truck. But even by truck, it took just over an hour to get to the church. To put the remoteness into perspective; we were 1 hour by truck to the nearest plumbing or electricity; 2 _ hours to the nearest paved road; and depending on the weather, almost 4 hours from the nearest police or hospital. You might say that we were in the boonies. (For the record, I felt safer there than in the nearest town.)

The story of how a church was established in this remote location will have to wait for another day. But last week, it acted as the host church for many congregations situated in the surrounding countryside. Pastors, men, women, children, even entire families traveled as much as six hours in order to attend. I met one man who hired a car to the nearest town and then walked the final 2 _ hours on the jungle trail.

Just after dark that first night, I saw headlights coming down the trail above. It was a four wheel drive truck bringing in more people for the conference. And had I not witnessed it, I might doubt what I’m about to say, but 25 people climbed off or out of a Toyota Tacoma pickup truck. I knew where they came from; I knew where they were going; I knew what the road was like; I knew they came to hear the God’s word. I cried.

When services finally began that first night, the humble sanctuary (which sat about 80 people) was full and faces glowed down each wall as people stood on logs and boards outside in order to look through the open windows, and 50 more people stood outside the church doors with ears tuned to the message from inside. And these people were happy. No, they were more than happy; though short on earthly treasures, these people had the joy of the Lord in them!

Charles Spurgeon says this about our verse (and I found it to be true during my trip): “Christ in the heart is better than corn in the barn, or wine in the vat. Corn and wine are but fruits of the world, but the light of God’s countenance is the ripe fruit of heaven.”

-Ken Askew