Zeal Anyway

¹⁷“His disciples remembered that it was written, ‘Zeal for Your house will consume me’…²³Now when He was in Jerusalem at the Passover, during the feast, many believed in His name, observing the signs which He was doing. ²⁴But Jesus, on His part, was not entrusting Himself to them, for He knew all men, ²⁵and because He did not need anyone to testify concerning man, for He Himself knew what was in man.” John 2:17 & 23-35 [NASB]

In John 2, Jesus made water into wine in Cana of Galilee. His first sign had His disciples believing in Him. Next Jesus cleansed the temple of the sellers of ox, sheep, and doves, and the money changers. From this, people believed in His name. Jesus knew the hearts of the people. They followed the wonder and awe-factor, first one wonder-maker then another. They were fickle, yet Jesus loved His Father and them enough to cleanse and purify the temple with His overturning the tables and His death on the cross.

Jesus did not do these things to impress and gain followers who were looking for the fantastic, but to draw people to God, save them from their sins and death, and give God the glory. Jesus did these signs and wonders even when He people would persecute Him. Even though people called Him names, turned their backs on Him, judged Him, and would crucify Him, His zeal for the Father and His house, and the salvation of people overcame any human self-preservation instinct.

Is my zeal for the Lord this strong?

In Psalm 69, David begged God to save him from his enemies. He explained he bore the reproach for God’s sake. David then explained why he willingly bore reproach for God with verse nine. He said, “For zeal for Your house has consumed me, and the reproaches of those who reproach You have fallen on me.” David endured reproaching from people for God’s sake. He was zealous for God’s house (God’s house is a metaphor for heaven) so that God’s servants could live there and possess it, and so their children and descendants could inherit it.

Am I zealous for God when I know people will persecute,

despise, and reject me?

Am I zealous so I can have a home with God, and so others and their descendants can have a home with God?

Jesus knew the stakes. He willingly endured them all so all people would be saved.

Being zealous benefits more people than me.

When I am not zealous, it affects the salvation of other people.

Knowing the hearts of people, will I be zealous anyway so that people will be saved?

Phineas, son of Aaron, was zealous for the Lord despite the Israelites’ sinning and God wanting to avenge His wrath on them (Numbers 25:10:13). Because of Phineas’ zealousness, God turned back His wrath against the Israelites. For Phineas’ zealousness, God rewarded him.

There is a reward for being zealous!

What reward did God give Phineas? God gave His covenant of peace to Him. He said, “It shall be for him and his descendants after him, a covenant of perpetual priesthood, because he was jealous for his God and made atonement for the sons of Israel.” (Numbers 25:12-13 [NASB])

For Christians who stand for the Lord, fears arise from the animosity and evil coming from people. Yet, the benefit is great.

·         Christians zealous for the Lord will affect the salvation of people and their descendants.

·         God rewards zealous Christians by giving a covenant of peace, a home in His presence for the zealous Christian and his or her descendants.

Lord, forgive me for the times I was too afraid to be bold and courageous to stand for You. Please help me remember You are all-powerful God and You will make me strong, bold, and courageous when I call on and rest in You. Lord, You alone deserve all honor, glory, and praise, for You alone are God. Help me to stand for You despite my fear.

Inception: Working with Refugees, Stage Two: Founding a Faith-Based Ministry to Refugees

Founding a Faith-Based Ministry to Refugees

Introduction

Three articles on faith-based ministry to refugees precede this one. The article titles are The Warp and Weft of Life[1], Conception: Empowering to Serve Refugees[2], and Inception: Working with Refugees, Stage One: Getting to Know Refugees[3]. Besides these, other refugee articles of mine relate stories directly from refugees about their lives. These articles begin with the title In Their Words[4][5][6]. One other article on working with refugees deals with the importance of letting the person tell his or her story. The title of this article is Just Listen[7].

In the earlier articles of this series, we learned who refugees are, how many refugees are in the world, and that they come from many countries. For faith-based refugee work, we must receive our vision from God, so we are steadfast in the work when days are hard and long, and refugee stories are painful to hear. The primary part of any faith-based refugee ministry must be prayer-continual communication with God.

From Inception: Working with Refugees, Stage One: Getting to Know Refugees, we learned again prayer must enwrap any ministry established. Prayer is important throughout all phases and stages of refugee work. With stage one of Inception, we learned once God gives us His vision for ministry, we must get to know the people with whom we will work. For refugee ministry, this is very important. Getting to know the refugees around you helps you determine to which group of refugees God wants you to minister. It reveals to you the leaders of the community, the history, culture, and religion of the refugees. You must talk to refugees to determine if ministry to all refugees at one time is impossible because of tribal, political, or national bias. As you listen to the refugees tell you of their needs, you recognize other areas in which they need help. From this understanding of the refugees’ needs and your acquaintance with them, different ministry areas enter your mind by which you can begin a program to help them. Prayer must continue to enwrap this stage and all phases of ministry to ensure you continue to follow God’s will for the ministry for which He gave you the vision.

Stage Two: Founding a Faith-Based Ministry to Refugees

In the next stage of Inception, which I have titled Founding a Faith-Based Ministry to Refugees, we will consider how to organize and establish a ministry program to help refugees. What does it take to constitute a ministry? Do we use common organization tools such as a mission statement, goals, objectives, actions, and steps? Why is it useful to write these? Will the organization be a Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) or Non-Profit Organization (NPO)? Again, we must realize this stage, like all other phases and stages, must be bathed in prayer-before, during, and after.

Prayer

As we seek to establish a faith-based NGO or NPO, prayer must be paramount to make sure we follow God’s will for the vision He gave. Prayer is one way in which people stay and grow in their relationship with the Lord and learn of His will. When establishing any work for God, continual communion with Him for His guidance on founding the ministry is necessary to ensure the vision remains before us. Continuing communion with God helps us determine and stay with His goals and objectives for refugee work. Additionally, it ensures the mission statement reflects His intentions. As we seek to realize which services/ministries to offer the refugees, we must go to God to make sure we are planning the activities He wants to be part of the ministry. Prayer is necessary to ensure we continue to walk closely with the Lord, grow more like Him, and have a heart like His for refugees.

NGO or NPO?

Before establishing a charitable organization, we must decide if it will be national/local or international in scope. If it will be international, then an NGO (Non-governmental organization) would be the charitable organization most likely needed for the work. An NGO may receive government-raised funding and funds from the private sector. Its board members are voluntary and have no affiliation with governments. An NGO operates independently from any government entity. It provides services to communities through analysis, expertise, and advocacy for the people. A few services NGOs offer are health education, managing health crises, and environmental issues. Some NGOs are for-profit corporations, but most are Non-profit organizations.

An NPO (Non-profit Organization) seeks to help people in their local (city, county, or state) or national community. NPOs have a specific mission to achieve. They hire management personnel and aim to raise substantial funds through endowments and donations. NPOs do not seek to make a profit and any profits made from investments go into its operations, not to its members, directors, or officers. Most NPOs are tax exempt and have legal responsibilities that include reporting income and expenses through accurate accounting processes and auditing, and supervision and management. Services NPOs offer are charitable, religious, educational, preventative, and scientific.

With prayer, the vision God gave you, the understanding you gained while getting to know the refugees, the decisions about the scope of the organization, and the base from which you want to get your financial support, you can decide which organization style best serves the people to whom you seek to minister. If you want your faith-based ministry to be separate from government influence, then an NGO and NPO are both suitable for your organization. If your ministry will deal specifically with local or national issues, then an NPO is more suitable for your organization. If your organization wants to redistribute profits to it leadership, members, board, or shareholders, then an NGO is the right organizational structure for your ministry. If your faith-based ministry wants to ensure no part of government dictates to whom or how you can use their funding, then an NPO with a specific funding policy would be best.

Prayer

You should seek the Lord’s guidance about which organizational structure your faith-based ministry to refugees should become-NGO or NPO. Because God gave you His vision for the ministry, opened your eyes to the people to whom you will work, and laid their burdens and needs upon your heart, you should return to Him in prayer asking His will for the organizational structure of this ministry. We each have an idea about our ministry we think is good, but God knows best which organizational form will enable this ministry to grow and be strong for the task He has ordained.

Mission Statement

What is a mission statement and why does the ministry need one? Do NGOs and NPOs need mission statements? Are they not just for for-profit organizations? The answer to the first question answers the latter questions. A mission statement is a brief description of an organization’s principal purpose for its workers, recipients, and for outsiders to understand and follow. To be clear, the mission statement describes what the organization does, and how and why it does it. All forms of organizations need mission statements. A ministry without a mission statement is like a car with a driver who has no purpose for being in the car.

Consider this closer. God gave you a clear vision to work with refugees. As you got to acquainted with the refugees to whom God led you to speak, you understood they have several primary needs-language acquisition, document obtainment, and accommodation and food procurement. Perhaps when you prayed over their needs, God showed you most of the refugees had a place to live, but they had no way to get jobs since they did not speak the language. Without jobs, they could not pay rent, buy food or clothes, or pay for transportation to get their asylum-seeker or refugee documents. Through prayer, you decide the most needed ministry now is teaching English as a Second Language (ESL) and then helping with other things as financial backing increases for the ministry. The organization will also be a resource connector and lead the refugees to the correct person or organization who can help them with other needs-food, clothes, rent money, document assistance, etc. 

The mission statement for this NPO would be something like this. “XYZ Refugee Care Center shares the love of Christ and provides practical help to newly arrived refugees in the city of Toledo by teaching English as a second language and being a resource connector and provider. It offers these services as a testimony and in obedience to Jesus Christ to follow Him, share the gospel, baptize believers, make disciples, and love our neighbours as ourselves.” To be more succinct, this mission statement could say the following: “The XYZ Refugee Care Center provides practical help to newly arrived refugees in Toledo by teaching English as a second language and being a resource connector and provider as a testimony of Jesus’ love for all people.” Both mission statements answer the questions: What does your organization do? How will it do it? Why will they do it?

Prayer

After writing the mission statement for the new faith-based refugee ministry organization, return to commune with God. He led you to this task, introduced you to the refugees, and showed you their needs. God placed in your mind the services needed to help refugees you now know. He guided you as you wrote the mission statement. As you prepare for the next step of founding a faith-based refugee ministry, you need to pray over the goals and objectives for this ministry. Ask God to clarify the goals He has for the ministry and the steps/objectives needed to reach those goals by helping refugees.

Goals and Objectives

Goals and objectives are statements of what must be accomplished for the organization to accomplish its mission. Goal setting comes before determining what needs doing to achieve the mission statement. Objectives are specific actions and a timeline for achieving specific goals. They help guide and provide a measure of your progress toward your goals. After setting goals and objectives, decide on action plans with specific steps to reach specific goals and objectives. Without goals and objectives, no steering wheel exists to guide the ministry toward its vision and accomplish its mission statement. The driver is in the car and has a place to go but has no way to guide the car.

Goals are broader, more general statements of what you want the ministry organization to accomplish. They are longer-term than objectives. Objectives are short-term goals to get the refugee ministry toward its longer-term goals. Your organization fulfil its goals as it accomplishes its objectives.  Possible goals for your refugee ministry are noted with Arabic numbers and related objectives are noted with lowercase letters below.

1.      Establish relationships with key leaders in the refugee community

a.       Determine who is a pastor to the refugees

b.      Determine who is the trusted advisor in the refugee community

2.      Teach English as a Second Language

a.       Find a Bible-based English language curriculum

b.      Find a venue at which to teach ESL

c.       Teach 40 people English in the first year

3.      Distribute food and/or blankets to the refugee community

a.       Find a grant funder for food and/or blankets

b.      Find a vendor who will sell the food and/or blankets at a discount

c.       Determine which refugees need food and/or blankets

d.      Write a project proposal to an NPO/NGO to provide funds for food and/or blankets

The organization leaders will revisit the goals and objectives each year to determine what the organization accomplished, what was unfruitful, and what they should do next.

Prayer

Daily and continual prayer with God must be part of the organization. God will guide the ministry on where changes should occur, where additions should be made, and what people to include. Possibly He wants to expand the ministry into another community or city. Perhaps God wants to change the focus from English acquisition to emergency and material relief. Issues and needs change and any faith-based organization that seeks to help the community must poise itself to change or else become irrelevant. Prayer guides us to determine the direction for an organization, and to keep each person focused on God so the person grows in his or her relationship with God and in Christlikeness. Without this, the ministry becomes stale and risks losing its overarching goal-being a light for the gospel in that community.

Conclusion

The fun part of refugee ministry is seeing joy in a person’s eyes when he or she receives help. Not every part of ministry is fun. Some are hard, but very necessary. Faith-based ministry establishing requires activities other than giving tangible help. It involves writing a mission statement and setting measurable goals and objectives. Each of these comes because of God’s vision to you and to others to work for the good of refugees. When getting to know refugees, you learn of their needs. You must take these needs to the Lord. He will tell you for which ones He wants you to give help. The fulfilling of these needs become your goals upon which your objectives, actions, and plans are based.

Each of the people and their needs must be brought before the Lord. Each ministry possibility, ministry partner, and volunteer should be prayed over. The mission statement, goals, and objectives will all be focused on providing for the needs of the people to whom God calls you and for whom He gives you a vision. Without actual needs defined, no ministry will be focused. This makes the ministry irrelevant. All aspects of ministry to and with refugees must be brought before the Lord and bathed in prayer. We must seek God’s will in each facet of it. This will insure its relevance and greatest benefit.

Consider what David said in Psalm 127:1. He said, “Unless the LORD builds the house, they labor in vain who build it.” Jesus taught in Matthew 7:24-25, “Therefore, everyone who hears these words of Mine and acts on them may be compared to a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house, and yet it did not fall, for it had been founded on the rock.” Two principles arise from these two passages. Make sure what you build is built because God told you to build it. Ensure every part of the refugee ministry is what God wills and is founded on Him. Both require constant and repeated prayer.

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[1] http://tcmhome.blogspot.com/2018/04/warp-and-weft-of-life.html

[2] http://tcmhome.blogspot.com/2018/05/conception-empowering-to-serve-refugees.html

[3] http://tcmhome.blogspot.com/2018/07/inception-working-with-refugees-stage.html

[4] http://tcmhome.blogspot.com/2018/05/in-their-words.html

[5] http://tcmhome.blogspot.com/2018/05/in-their-words-mataas-story.html

[6] http://tcmhome.blogspot.com/2018/06/in-their-words-petras-and-fabrices.html

[7] http://tcmhome.blogspot.com/2018/05/just-listen.html

The King of Glory

The King of Glory

                                                                       Psalm 24

“The earth is the Lord’s and the fullness of it, the world and they who dwell in it. For He has founded it upon the seas and established it upon the currents and rivers. Who shall go up into the mountain of the Lord? Or who shall stand in His holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who has not lifted himself up to falsehood nor sworn deceitfully.” (vs. 1-4 [NASB])

We could top there and just praise, confess, and repent. David takes us through the first two parts of prayer-adoring and confessing. David wanted to be in the Lord’s presence. He wanted to praise God, but recognized his own sinfulness. Yet, that did not get David down. He knew God had the power to make him clean so he could be in the presence of God as He sat on His throne in His temple. David recognized he needed clean hands, hands that had done no sin, and a clean heart, one that had not contemplated evil thoughts that led to evil actions or words. Remember, from the heart comes the evil a man does or the good he does. Jesus said this when he said it is not what a man puts in his body that defiles him, but what comes out of his heart and mouth that makes him unclean (Matthew 15:11). David came to the Lord and said he had confessed and the Lord cleansed him. Have you confessed and allowed God to cleanse you and make you pure so you can be in His presence to worship Him?

David did not stop with just praise, confession and repentance. He gave us something for which to thank God in verse five. He said, “He shall receive blessing from the Lord and righteousness from the God of his salvation.” David understood the greatest reason for him to thank God after his confession and repentance. Once a person genuinely comes before the Lord confessing and repenting, God will clean him or her. With this newly received forgiveness and salvation, the natural response is thanks and praise. David did that here. He said we must thank God for his blessings and the righteousness He gives us through the salvation Jesus provided through His death and resurrection.

With verse six, David explained who would receive this blessing and salvation. He said, “This is the generation of those who seek Him, who seek Your face, O God of Jacob.” [AMP] David used the name Jacob to refer to all the Israelites in the Old Testament. For Christians today, this means all who have believed in Jesus for salvation as the Son of God and have received His forgiveness and mercy. No one will be left out. All people are called to believe in Him and receive salvation, being made righteous-cleansed from our evil thoughts, words, and actions. Any of the people of Jacob can go up the mountain to the temple of Zion, go into God’s great heavenly throne room and stand in His presence adoring, thanking, praising, and confessing to God.

After adoring, confessing, and thanking God, the One who made heaven and earth and all that is in it, the One who makes us clean and pure, the One who gives blessing and righteousness, and will be found by His people, David brought us back to why we should worship the Lord with verses seven through ten. He said, “Lift up your heads, O you gates, and be lifted up, you age-abiding doors, that the King of glory may come in. Who is the king of glory? The Lord strong and mighty, the Lord mighty in battle. Lift up your heads, O you gates, yes lift them up, you age-abiding doors, the King of glory may come in. Who is the King of glory? The Lord of hosts. He is the King of glory!”[AMP]  We should worship the King, the Lord Jesus, because He is mighty and victorious in battle. He took on the powers of hell and defeated them for each of us. Open up, you gates of heaven and let your King enter and take His place. He is mighty and strong in battle. Again, David explained who the King, the One we should worship? He is the King of glory, Jehovah, our righteous and all-sufficient Savior.

Just as the angels in heaven bowed down when Christ returned to sit on the right hand of the Father, He calls us to open our doors and let Him into our hearts and lives. Do you know God? Do you recognize Him in creation on earth and in heaven? He is the One who created all things and deserves adoration and praise.

Have you looked into your heart and mind and recognized you are not innocent; you are unrighteous? Jesus died so you can be clean from your sin. Confess and repent now and the Savior, the Lord who died and won the victory over death and sin, will clean and save you.

Are you one who has tasted the victory Christ gives, but have forgotten to seek and praise Him? We are of the house of Jacob and we have oh, so many reasons to thank and praise Him. He is our Savior. He died because of His love for you even while you were a sinner and far away from Him. For this, we should heartedly and with humbleness thank and praise God.

Have you wondered who this Jesus, the Son of God is? Do you need a reminder why you should praise Him? He is the mighty warrior who defeated sin and death. He died and rose again to walk into the throne room of the temple in heaven. He is the King of glory. Jesus is the One to whom the angels and all the heavenly hosts bow down and the One to whom you bowed when you confessed, repented, and accepted Him as your Savior. He is the Lord of hosts and is your Lord.

If you have not believed in Jesus Christ as the Savior, the One who lived a sin-free life and died an innocent death, who rose back to life three days later and then ascended back to heaven, He waits for you to believe in Him, and confess and repent of your sins so He will clean you from your evil thoughts, words, and actions. Jesus loves you and wants you to receive salvation so you can be free of sin and death and live in an eternal relationship with Him, receiving His blessing of eternal life. Will you come before the Lord now opening your heart, adoring God for who He is and what He’s done? Will you believe Jesus Christ is God’s Son, the One sent to be the Savior for all people so you can be cleaned from your sins and receive eternal life? Will you come before Him thanking Him for all He’s done for you and what He will do for you? Will you come before Him praising Him because Jesus, Jesus alone, is the King of glory, mighty in battle, and victorious over sin and death?

Christian, will you come before God adoring Him? Will you come confessing and repenting so God will cleanse you from your sins? Come before Him thanking Him and confessing Him with all the hosts in heaven and on earth. All creation will rise up and praise His holy name.

“All the earth shall bow down to You and sing praises to You. They shall praise Your name in song.” Psalm 66:4 [AMP]

Lord, God almighty, we get caught up in doing life and forget about you. We do, think, and say evil things. Without you we are powerless over sin and death. Jesus, you give us this power because of your innocent death and resurrection. Please forgive us now, we pray. Bring us back into a right relationship with you so we can praise and thank You with our whole being-heart, soul, mind, and strength. You, O Lord, deserve all praise, glory, and honor. Thank you for dying and defeating sin and death for us. Thank you for Your love.

Inception: Working with Refugees, Stage One

The first two articles of this refugee ministry series are called Warp and Weft of Life[1] and Conception: Empowering to Serve Refugees[2]. In them, we learned who refugees are, how many refugees are in the world, and that they come from a multitude of countries around the globe. For faith-based work with refugees, we learned prayer must enwrap any program, and God must be the One who gives the vision so steadfastness occurs when days are long, times are hard, and refugee stories are painful to hear.

With this article, we begin to understand how to start a ministry to refugees. The process of starting a ministry to refugees includes five or six stages. This article will introduce stage one-Getting to Know Refugees-of Inception: Working with Refugees. Please remember, this article is not written from an authoritative point of view, but from an experiential basis. Circumstances differ around the world and different methods, ministries, refugee nationalities, and workers will arise that need consideration when beginning and maintaining any ministry to refugees.

Stage One: Getting to Know the Refugees

God puts within all people a heart to care for others. This innate compassion is part of being created in His image. Because of this compassion for other people, we often want to help when difficulties arise in life. This is normal. First, though, we should seek God’s will to determine if we should help this person/people. After that, we must meet them to determine their real needs, not assuming we know their needs. These things comprise the subject of stage one of Inception: Working with Refugees. Within stage one are five steps with several sub-steps.

Prayer

If you are a Christian, prayer should happen before, during, and after any task. It should lead, correct, inspire, and encourage you. Because prayer with God is about relationship, this step should be natural to all Christians, just as breathing is natural. Prayer at the beginning of a task or ministry should seek to bring God into our minds and our lives as the leader of the ministry. It leads us to remember from Whom we received our innate compassion and that we received God’s compassion when Jesus died on the cross. Prayer also reminds us from Whom we get resources for ministry, Who protects us while we minister, and in Whose strength we work. Without prayer infusing the ministry to which God calls us, we grow weary, lack mental strength to continue the task, become cynical, seek glory for ourselves, and leave God out of the equation. Because of these and much more, prayer must undergird any ministry we seek to do.

The People

From the article, Conception: Empowering to Serve Refugees, we learned through prayer God will open our eyes to the people to whom He wants us to minister. For this article series, we speak about serving refugees. In a world where refugees come from around the globe, we should decide which refugees are to be the focus of the ministry in which we seek to develop and run.

Why differentiate? Because each people group has a different language, culture, history, and religion. What works with one group may not work with another. For example, many more Somalians than Congolese are Muslim. This would require different English curriculum if you were thinking of using Bible-based English lessons. Additionally, many Somalian women have never been to school so you would need to start with Pre-school or Kindergarten level language classes that tell you what an A or B is. For most Congolese, learning the alphabet first is redundant because most of them attended school during their lives.

Besides this, working with refugees requires knowing their cultures. In some cultures, women absolutely do not teach men. Doing so would disrespect the stature of the man. Besides this, in some cultures, women cannot wear pants or dresses/skirts above mid-calf or show their upper arms and shoulders. These things are indecent to them in certain cultures.

Because of these and other things, we must seek the refugees to whom God calls us to minister. At the start, if you are doing an ESL (English Second Language) course, differentiating among refugee cultures is not as important. What is important is giving them a life skill that will enable them to get jobs. Yet, quickly different cultures, religions, and languages will cause you to need to adapt even the basic English curriculum. It will make you return to God to determine upon which people group you need to focus.

Seeking from God the people group you need to focus on is important. Working with refugees is an admirable thing. Maintaining communion with God so He can continue to lead you in ministry is most important. He may have called you to work with a specific refugee people group, not to refugees in general. Stay in constant contact with God during your ministry with Him.

The Needs

This part of stage one is very important. To have a desire to help people and to follow through with that is admirable. To do what is necessary, not what you think is needed, is paramount. Good deeds to the wrong person or people group is not helpful. To impact refugees practically requires knowing them. Getting to know them requires conversation and investment in their lives. It means speaking to them, gleaning information, and coming to care about them as individuals. Learning about these refugees’ history is important, too.

Talking to refugees has four main purposes-to build trust, to learn of their real needs, to learn to love them, and to glean from them which people in the community holds certain roles. Conversing with refugees is the first and biggest part of working with refugees. Through it you want to ascertain at least fifteen things.

1.      Build trust by asking about:

a.       their family, interests, religious background

b.      where they live at that point in time

c.       their contact details

d.      their country of origin

e.       the languages they speak

f.        what life was like in their home country and the job they had there

g.      their family still in their home country

h.      why they left their home country

i.        how living in their host country has been for them so far

2.      What are their perceptions of their needs?

3.      What you your perceptions of their needs?

4.      What is a good day and time of the week to meet with each one and the people as a group?

5.      Determine who is the gatekeeper of the groups of refugees. Who are the leaders whose permission or acceptance of you and the program you are doing will affect attendance and benefit to the refugees you seek to help?

6.      Determine who is the activist of the group of refugees you seek to help. They, too, determine if people will attend the ministries you will offer. This activist will be a voice for the people and for the ministry you will give their community.

7.      Determine who is the caretaker of the community. This person is the one who cares for the wellbeing of each person and the group. They have no agenda in the group other than the care of the people. This person wants what is best for their people, not what is easiest or most expedient. The caregiver, gatekeeper/chief, and activist can be a supporter of the work you seek to do and receive training to do it.

Once you build trust within the community, people will realize you actually care for them and are not necessarily seeking numbers to qualify your search for legitimacy and funding. The refugees will then accept you and bring their real needs and their sorrows to you. They will begin to see you as family. Once you get to know the people from their conversations, you can research their countries and people groups, and learn their historical background. Doing all this enables you to become interwoven in their community. You become warp to their weft, and then you can minister more usefully to them. At this point, too, you can give a bolder testimony about Jesus to them and they will listen attentively because you have shown you truly care about them.

Prayer

After speaking to the refugees, gaining their trust, getting to know their needs, and getting to know their leaders, you must return to prayer. With the information you gleaned from the refugees, you bring their needs before God asking Him to tell you if these people and their needs are the ones to whom He calls you to work. Added to this, you ask God to tell you where you should begin work with the refugees. What is truly their greatest need at the moment? Where do you get help? Where can you get funding for the ministry needs? Where do you set up the ministry in the community? God knows the answers to each of these questions already. He waits for you to turn to Him and seek His will. By doing this, you acknowledge Him as Lord who knows all and you as finite in knowledge. You recognize your dependence upon God.

In seeking the Lord in prayer at the end of this stage, the person who seeks to minister to refugees deepens his or her relationship with God, the One who sustains, emboldens, upholds, and enables each person. Ministering with the Lord can deepen one’s relationship with Him. Without prayer, the ministry can draw you away from God. Praying before, during, and after each stage deepens a person’s relationship with God and acknowledges Him as Lord of his or her life and the ministry.

Conclusion

When considering starting a ministry to refugees, one must seek the Lord’s will first. That is paramount. After that beginning, conversations with refugees in the community are very important. By doing this, you will establish trust by developing a relationship with them. When you speak with them, you will get to know the refugees-their history and needs-and then will know how best to help them. Added to this, when you talk with them and develop a relationship with them, you show your love for them as people, not just as a group of exiles. Doing this enables you to put yourself in their shoes and your compassion becomes empathy. This kind of relationship is what God wants from us. While talking with the refugees, you can find out who the gatekeeper/chief, activist, and caretaker of that group are, and for the whole population of refugees in your community. You will be able to decide if you can offer ministry to all refugees or if you must divide them geographically, politically, linguistically, or theologically.

Remember, more than any of these steps or stages is the need for you, for each of us in ministry with the Lord, to seek God and His will. He knows what is best for each situation, each people group, and each person. God will guide you to the ministry the people need. He will open doors for funding, volunteers, and other resources when you continue a close relationship with Him. Remember, growing in relationship with God is the most important part of our lives. Working in ministry with Him is a way to grow in our relationship with Him. Our obedience to God’s commands and teachings shows our love for Him. No matter what else you do in ministry, prayer must be paramount. It must enwrap the ministry from beginning to end and be interwoven throughout each step and stage.

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[1] http://tcmhome.blogspot.com/2018/04/warp-and-weft-of-life.html

[2] http://tcmhome.blogspot.com/2018/05/conception-empowering-to-serve-refugees.html

Cleansed Conscience

I remember the first time I came across Hebrews 10:2. I had been a Christian for just a little while and understood Jesus died my sin penalty because of His love for me so I could live with Him in heaven. I remember how excited I was about being a Christian, to be able to live forever in heaven with the One who loves me. What joy this gives to a child’s heart! What joy it should give to everyone who believes in Jesus. I thought life just couldn’t get any better than that.

And yet, I remembered things I had done wrong. You know what mischief a child can get into–lying, disobeying, swearing. The child thinks these are not big things. I won’t have to go to jail for these so why not do them, everyone else does? Still, after I gave my life to Christ, I felt pangs of conscience. I felt remorse and fear. What, over lying and swearing? Yes, because God instills in us a conscience when He creates us. That conscience is the moral code from God Himself about what is right and wrong. Whether we want to admit it, even these little things are sins. Why? Because they were disobedience and disrespect to God and my parents. Remember those commandments in the Ten Commandments?

So, one day not long after becoming a Christian, I read Hebrews 10:1-2. It says,

“For the Law, since it has only a shadow of the good things to come and not the very form of things, can never, by the same sacrifices which they offer continually year by year, make perfect those who draw near. Otherwise, would they not have ceased to be offered, because the worshipers, having once been cleansed, would no longer have had consciousness of sins?”

Now, two things can happen when one reads this passage. The first response to this reality is, “Hallelujah!” When a person fully repents of all his or her sins, God removes the guilt of those sins from His judgment book because Jesus paid the price. He removed the burden of guilt from the person’s conscience, too. That means it no longer holds a sting from the sin, the sting of guilt. You realize by now the possible other reaction from reading this passage. The second possible reaction to reading this verse is surprise and then repentance. When a person sins before or after becoming a Christian, he or she must repent of each sin to receive forgiveness and cleansing of heart, mind, and soul. That is the cleansing from the stain and guilt of sin. This is of what Hebrews 10:2 speaks. The worshiper, once he or she received God’s forgiveness and cleansing, no longer has consciousness of sin. The guilt of that sin in the conscience does not linger and cause further pain like a sliver Satan might put under your fingernail to remind you constantly of how sinful you are. That power of the sin to cause guilt is gone. Jesus paid it all, and that covers the stain and guilt/consciousness of sin.

Before the writer of Hebrews arrived at this point in his teaching, he spent chapter 9 leading to it. Let me briefly outline for you what he taught before and after Hebrews 10:2 about conscience and consciousness of sin.

With Hebrews 9:9, the writer of Hebrews said the gifts/offerings and sacrifices established as rites of worship by God under the first covenant cannot perfect the conscience of the worshiper. That means it cannot make a person perfect, totally clean. This means he or she cannot be in the presence of the Lord eternally.

Later, in verse 14, the writer said the blood of Christ offered to God without blemish through the eternal Spirit purifies our conscience from dead works.  Now, that’s a big jump to make. Why is Jesus’ sacrifice better than those set up by God with the first covenant? The writer explains this in verses 11 and 12. He said, Christ came as a high priest of the good things, those things that originate with God, and He entered the holy places, those not made with human hands, once for all by His own blood, not that of animals. By doing so, He secured eternal redemption from slavery to sin for everyone. That’s a lot to take in, so go read it for yourself. Since Jesus did this, He is the Mediator of a new covenant for those who answer God’s call and receive the promised eternal life. Anyone who answers this call of God gets eternal life because Jesus’ death redeemed them from transgressions committed under the first covenant. The writer of Hebrews spends the next thirteen verses explaining this to us, his readers. He tells of three things Jesus did.

·       He has entered heaven to appear in the presence of God on our behalf    (vs 9:24). This is a past tense action. He never has to do this again    because Jesus died once for all.

·       Jesus appeared once for all at the end of the ages to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself (vs. 9:26). This is also a past action with a future assurance.

·       Jesus will appear a second time to save those who are eagerly waiting for Him (vs. 9:28). This is a future action.

The next point the writer of Hebrews made about consciousness of sin comes in the first verses I mentioned above, in 10:1-2. He said, the law, which is just a shadow of the good things that come from God, can never clean consciences of sin. If they could, there would be no need for continual offerings every year as established in the rites of worship God gave the Israelites in the first covenant. The writer went onto say these yearly sacrifices remind the people of their sins, instead of removing them from their consciences. He said Christ came to do the will of God (vs7). Jesus did away with the first covenant to establish the second covenant. Through the offering of the body of Christ, we receive sanctification once for all (vs. 9-10). With Jesus’ single sacrificial offering, He perfected for all time those who are being sanctified (vs. 14). God says, “I will remember their sins and lawless deeds no more (vs 17).

Listen carefully to what the writer of Hebrews says in the next six verses. Since we have this confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, what are we to do? Being cleansed isn’t just a receiving transaction. Covenanting is a two-way promise, a bond. The writers said next, with your hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and your bodies washed with pure water (vs. 22), you must do three things.

·       Draw near with a true heart in full assurance of your faith (vs 22). This is for you now and in the future. It is a present action with a future benefit. Note it is not just present tense, but present continuous. Draw near and keep drawing near. This command benefits you.

·       Hold fast the confession of your hope without wavering because He who promised is faithful (vs. 23). Once again this is a present continuous verb that carries on into your future. Hold and keep holding fast. This command benefits you.

·       Consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, but encouraging one another (vs 24). Notice this command benefits you and other believers as you congregate together to worship, pray, and fellowship. It is a command that holds a communal aspect. Recognize this command also is present continuous. Consider and keep on considering how to stir up one another to love and good works.

These commands are not just things on your to-do list you get to cross off once you’ve done them. They are to stay on your daily list. Why? Because God calls you to relationship with Him because of His love. His love showed itself with the ultimate sacrifice of His Only Son, Jesus, for your sin penalty so you could be with Him in an eternal relationship. Your love for God will show in your obedience of His commands and laws. Your obedience to His commands and laws will show itself in love to other people. The three commands at the end of Hebrews 10 are an extension of loving God and people. You will do these because you are growing in relationship with God.

Now, to get back to Hebrews 10:1-2. When I first saw this passage, I received such vast relief. The burden of the guilt of sin I had carried, I realized, was for the first time off my back. Still, I realized I had not repented of all my sins and I had sinned since I became a Christian. I wanted the cleansing from the stain of my sins and the guilt of my sins. Jesus’ is the way to have that. No other way exists to remove the consciousness of sin. Only through Jesus’ death and resurrection can a person gain the removal of the stain and guilt of sins from him- or herself. All the ways people devise to remove the stain of sin reminds them of their guilt. The trying of these other means allows Satan to push that sliver deeper under your fingernail. You experience that guilt continually. Daily come before the Lord repenting of your sins so you will receive forgiveness and cleansing from the stains and guilty conscience of your sins. Hear the words of the writer of Hebrews again.

“Let us draw near with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.” Hebrews 10:22 [NASB]

Lord, God Almighty, lead me to recognize Your great love for me and the cost You paid to redeem me from sin. Forgive me of my sins, I pray. Thank You for removing the stain and the guilt of my sin. Thank You for removing the burden of guilt. Help me to love You more and grow closer to You daily. Help me show You how much I love You by my obedience to You. Amen.