Blog with Matthew

Welcome FEEL to the UK and Europe

 We are very pleased to announce the publication of FEEL from Monarch for the UK, Europe and the Commonwealth.  I have been very excited to see their enthusiasm and believe this to be a great match. 

Check out their edition here.

Now about that cover - we like it.  But we have lots of opinions on what this squishy feely thing might be.  Opinions have included, sea sponge, seed pod, squishy toy, and Asian fruit.  The point is, don't you just want to touch it and feel what it is like?

So we are asking God to use this edition to touch lives and encourage people across the world!  And thanking God for such a strong partner across the pond. 

From the forward to the Monarch edition: "I am very pleased that this edition for the United Kingdom, Europe, and the Commonwealth is being published by friends.  After working with us and blessing our work in Africa over the last years, it feels good that Monarch is publishing Feel.  Thanks to Tony Collins for believing that the message is something the church really needs to hear.  I have spent a number of years living and working in the UK, first in Eastborne as a boy when my dad worked at Kingsway, then in London as assistant to George Verwer, and finally in Aberdeen during graduate studies.  I have so many wonderful memories from those years and learned much at each place, your island has been my second home.  Laura and I are thrilled that Feel, the work birthed at Aberdeen, has found a proper British home with Monarch! "

Fear or Faith OR Fear and Faith

I heard from a friend that in their small group study they were discussing fear. Some strong discussion was had and some opinions were expressed that if you have any fear, you are not having faith.  Fear is the opposite of faith, any fear is selfishness.  Now that is bad news for me, as I battle fear regularly, I doubt a lot, I do not understand things and have lots of what if questions that can all too easily lead to fear.  Is fear the opposite of faith or can you have fear and faith together?  I had to take another hard look at myself and what God has to say.

First off, we are never told that Jesus feared, it seems to be something he did not experience.  Anger, yes; sorrow, yes; joy; yes but not fear.  Jesus knew all things and knew the future.  I am glad that Jesus was God and could live like that.  Would I want to believe in a Jesus that had fear?  Now don’t I want to be like Jesus, aren't we supposed to follow his example? 

In light of that and my own struggles, I was glad to have read my devotions this morning which included a reading from Dale Davis’ great commentary on Judges (Christian Focus – thanks to my friend William for keeping this in print!).   I am reading about Gideon and let me quote freely if you do not mind.

“Here is not your conventional, crusty, immovable man of steel: Gideon is no fearless all-pro linebacker, no General Patton.”  Gideon was afraid of the invading hordes and God, instead of criticizing, provides amazing encouragement - in a bizarre way trough dreams and spying and so forth - from the mouth of one of his enemies who is afraid of Gideon.  Davis writes, “The Lord knows the fears of his servants, knows how scared we can be in our various circumstances.  ‘He [emphatic] knows our frame’ (Ps. 103:14).  Yet God is not so strict to be harsh when we tremble; He does not ridicule us for our fears; He never mocks us because we are fragile.  In light of that we need to alter our current stereotypes of what a servant of Christ is (or, is like).  We sometimes dupe ourselves into thinking that a real servant of Christ is only someone who is dynamic, assured, confident, brash, fearless, witty, adventuresome, or glamorous… don’t think you are unable because you don’t have that air about you.  Christ takes uncertain and fearful folk, strengthens their hands in the oddest ways, and makes them able to stand.” (pg 105-106).

Thanks God for that this morning, I needed it.

I am also comforted greatly in my own fear by the life of Paul.  If Paul struggled with it, perhaps I am also OK in the life of faith when I do.  In Acts 18 and 27 Paul is so fearful, God has to send visions to comfort and encourage.  Just a note OK – God I could use one of those vision things right now.  And what I find the most encouraging is in 2 Cor. 7:5, “For even when we came into Macedonia, our bodies had no rest, but we were afflicted in every way – disputes without and fears within.”  Wow, and Paul talks about his body.  Did he have a wrenching stomach and sleepless hours when his body needed rest sometimes just like me?  Where is that vision God just for me?  Paul also fears and worries over the state of his converts (Gal 4:11, 1 Thess. 3:5).

But God has spoken today to me.  I didn’t just open to these words about Gideon that were medicine to my soul by chance after hearing the opinion that any fear was not faith, was not spiritual maturity, was all selfishness, was not right.  God sent me to places in the Word that say just the opposite.  Yes, Jesus did not fear, but I am not God and it is OK.  But that does not mean I should allow myself to stay there, I need to move beyond it and get to work however I can and whenever it comes.

As I think about my friends small group, I think this is the greatest tragedy: When we are so hard on fear we shut off authenticity and true relationship – we play at appearances.  The greatest comfort to me is that both Gideon and Paul were open about their fears.  Paul writes about it without shame, and Gideon takes his servant on his quest.  With Paul in 1 Cor., God sends Paul a friend - Titus.  A big part of getting through fear is sharing honestly with others that care and love you.  So instead of thinking we need to battle fear as a lack of faith, being strong and courageous, it might be better to call a friend and pour out your doubt, struggle and uncertainty about the future.  God will come to you in your fear, he will.

Buddy and God’s Love

Laura and I have talked about getting a dog from time to time for years.  We have always come down on the side of the dictates of logic: Evan has allergies that set off asthma attacks, we travel and cannot be tied down, we have no extra time…

About three weeks ago, I had a weird thought out of the blue.  It was almost a statement of fact in my mind, “It is time to get a dog.”  About the same time, unknown to me, Laura felt the same way.  After a conversation where we both found to our surprise that we both thought it was time for a dog, she began looking for rescued dogs on the internet.  She found a dog that was supposed to be the least likely breed to cause allergies to go into overdrive, just over one year old – completely trained, right size and look for her.  

Out of the three hundred dogs she looked at that needed rescued, she only wanted one – Buddy.  She requested information only to find that Buddy was already adopted.  It has not been the easiest couple of months for us, not much is working like we would like it to.  She closed her laptop, went upstairs, and thought “Okay, Lord, not even a dog.  But I guess if that is how you want it to be then so be it.  I don’t understand all the no’s recently but alright.”

So three days later, she gets a call that Buddy has been returned and out of the more than a dozen people that were still lined up to bring Buddy home, they had chosen  to call us.   Somehow they felt we were the right family for him. Two days later, we welcomed Buddy into our home for a “test run.” 
That was over a week ago, and Evan has no symptoms of allergies and Buddy has found a home.  From day one, it was like Buddy was always here – I never expected such a thing.  He is totally obedient, totally at home with our kids, totally good with not destroying anything, totally trained, and totally content.  If I were to send him back , still being in our trial period from the dog rescue, I think my wife and kids might never look at dad the same way again.  They would always be thinking, “that is the guy that made us give Buddy back.  We had a chance for happiness and he ruined it.” 

Buddy is “the best Christmas present ever,” a great lover of tug-of-war even at his small size for our boys, adored by Cailin, and loves Laura – she is not the world’s biggest dog person.  Now I have no idea why God wanted us to have a dog, but I cannot get around the fact that He did.  The creator of the universe, somehow, wanted to bless this family and these precious kids with the cutest, most lovable, least trouble dog imaginable – and we did not even need to train him to be like this.

Maybe God gave us Buddy because we needed some more laughter and fun, maybe our kids needed to learn some responsibility – probably not, maybe it was for some reason in the future we cannot possible understand today.   What I do know is that Buddy is a sign to me of God’s provision and care in every little area of our lives.  A very special “Merry Christmas.”  God shows love in some of the same ways that we do – in the little things, by reaching out a hand to touch and say I care about you in the very details of your life and will provide all that you need.  Thanks God for Buddy!