In Steve Jobs We Trust

I’ve been watching the events surrounding Steve Jobs death this week with interest. I didn’t know much about Jobs other than the fact that he was the charismatic leader and CEO of Apple. Starting with his death earlier this week, my Facebook page lit up with pictures of frowning Macintoshes and memorial web sites.

I admit that I was saddened to hear the news that I knew was inevitable when Jobs resigned from Apple earlier this year. But it seemed to me that the public response to Steve Job’s death seemed somewhat over dramatized. I decided to do some research on Jobs, here’s what I found out.

• Jobs was a multi billionaire who donated next to none of his money to charity, at least as far as anyone is aware. He also put an end to all of Apples charitable programs when he retook control of the company. He claimed that he could do more good for the world by making Apple the best company it could be.
• Jobs fathered a child out of wedlock and denied the mother, who was living on welfare at the time, paternity claiming he was sterile, then later admitted the child was his.
• He was known as an erratic and sometimes irrational boss.
• Jobs is the largest shareholder in the Disney Corporation.
• Jobs was a known political lobbyist.
• Jobs was implicated in a stock scam along with the Board of Apple that could have resulted in his indictment.
• Possibly worst of all, Jobs was a vegetarian (fish was the only meat he would eat).

Ok so all that said...my point here really is not to besmirch the name of the deceased. As the proud owner of an iPhone, two ipod touches, and several ipods I certainly have availed myself of the wonderful products that Apple has brought to the market over the years.

My point isn’t really about Jobs at all. I don’t even know if all those things I posted above are true, I read them on Wikipedia. My point is, why are we so grieved at his passing. Is it because we will truly miss this man? He doesn't SEEM like the kind of guy many would miss. Is it possible that we’re saddened because we fear that Apple’s products will somehow now not be as good, and Apple will diminish as one pf the most powerful corporations in America? If that’s your fear you’ll be happy to know that it is being reported this morning that Steve apparently left 4 years worth of ideas for Apple to work on.

I think when you get to the core of it, people overlook all those things about Steve Jobs, and likely never even knew them because of one reason; Steve Jobs was a winner. We love our winners here in America. We’re willing to overlook a lot as long as you produce. A few examples:

• We have a love hate relationship with corporations. We love them as long as they make lots of money and don’t get into trouble.
• Enron was a darling, till the scandal.
• Bernie Maddoff was a god, till we found out he was running a scam.
• Bear Sterns was widely lauded until the Wall street collapse.
• BP was considered a safe investment, till the oil spill. Now they are viewed as a global criminal.

Nothing changed in any of these circumstances. We simply learned the truth. We loved these people, these corporations…till they failed. Steve Jobs had his share of defeats and disappointments, but he went out on top of his game, so we love him.

So now finally, I arrive at my point. Jesus wasn’t a winner. At least not in the way that Steve Jobs was a winner. He was born in a barn and laid in a feeding trough in a backwoods part of Israel. He never really had much of a following, and every time the crowds grew large, he said or did something that would drive most of them away. He wasn’t a mover and a shaker. He wasn’t part of the ruling class. He wasn’t rich. As he said himself, “the son of man has no place to lay his head.” Jesus was a homeless man. In the end, he was beaten, berated and executed as a blasphemer and even the few who were close followers deserted him.

I wonder… if Jesus had come to earth in a flaming golden chariot wielding power and majesty; if he had destroyed the ruling class and set up his own monarchy, would the world feel differently about him today? Of course it would. He would be hailed. He would be loved. He would be worshiped. But he didn’t.

God’s economy is different from ours. We live in a consumption economy. We use things up and then throw them away. We use people up and then throw them away. If you want proof of that, you need look no further than the music industry. God doesn’t work like that. In God’s economy, people are valuable in spite of their failures because their spirits are immortal. Some of us may be winners in earthly terms, however in spiritual terms we are all failures.

Tonight I read on Facebook:

It’s correct that in a world without hope all one can do is put one’s faith in people, corporations, and stuff. But the truth is, they are always going to let you down. Every time…

As my favorite music artist once said…

The hope of the whole world rests on the shoulders of a homeless man. Put your hope in this homeless man. He will never let you down.

Amazing Prayer of Faith

My pastor told us a story in Church last week about a man named Dr Francois Ngoumape who is from the Central African Republic. I had head Dr Ngoumape tell the story in person two years ago in my Sunday school class while he was on a missionary furlough. I thought I would share it with you.

Dr. Ngoumape has served as dean of the Biblical Brethren Seminary and Bible Institute in the Central African Republic (CAR) since 2004. In November of 2004 he was at home in Bata preparing for guests who would arrive following the Sunday service. Needing sugar and tea, he boarded his motorcycle for the six-mile trip to the village of Bozoum to get the necessary supplies. But less than a mile outside of Bata, he met bandits coming into the village.

They stopped me him and took what valuables he had, forced him off the bike, and onto the ground. One of the bandits kicked him on the chest. The man began to kick a second time, but Ngoumape remembers the attack was obstructed. “It seemed like an invisible hand blocked him.”

As he lay on the ground, Ngoumape remembers praying, “God, if there is anything left that you want me to do, let your glory be shown.”

Finally, the robbers forced Ngoumape back into the village. As the group approached, people began running away, thinking the bandits were coming to raid the town. Then someone realized that Ngoumape, their beloved pastor, teacher, and friend, was being held hostage, so they did the unexpected—they ran toward the eight captors and their prisoner.

A circle began forming around the group—first 20, then 50, then 100 people.
In Bata, the bandits continued to attack. “They started shooting in the air [with their machine guns] to intimidate the people and scatter them,” Ngoumape remembers. “While the bandits were shooting, the people would lie down. When they stopped shooting, the people would get up and keep coming.”

Unnerved, six of the bandits began to walk away. But two continued to hold Ngoumape at gunpoint. Again, they forced him to the ground. Ngoumape recalls thinking, “This is my last day. I’m going to die.”

One drew a sword from his side and raised it over Ngoumape’s head. As he swung it down, the African pastor realized the bandit’s hand was being pushed aside by an invisible force and the blade struck the motorcycle beside him.

“I heard him hitting the motorcycle with the sword and he hit it the second time and the third time,” says Ngoumape.

Bewildered, the man drew his gun, took five or six steps back, and aimed. “I thought, ‘Okay, he missed me with the sword, now he’s going to kill me with the gun.’” The rounds from the machine gun struck the motorcycle. Again, on three separate attempts, an invisible force moved the weapon away from Ngoumape.

Stunned, the bandit turned to walk away.

The crowd began to wail because they thought Ngoumape had been killed. “I felt I had to stand up to let the people know that I was alive,” the professor remembers. Thinking the bandit was gone, Ngoumape rose to his feet.

“I started to look to my left.” He felt something turning his head to the right. “I see he [the bandit] has a gun pointed toward me. At the same time, I was pushed down, and while I’m falling, he shoots. He shoots a second time, and finally runs away. This is how God intervened in a miraculous way to protect my life,” he concludes. “I’m thankful for it and as I had prayed, He has something for me to do.”

As the man ran into the jungle, the crowd swarmed around Ngoumape, certain he had been injured. “I had to convince them I was not wounded,” he remembers. Then, the group moved into the seminary chapel, where they gave thanks to God for all He had done in protecting Ngoumape during the two-and-one-half hour attack.

Now that’s an amazing story to be sure, but what I can’t get past, what I’ve been thinking about for the last week was this man’s prayer.

Lord, if there’s anything left for me to do, let your glory be shown.

Not, Oh God please protect me

Not, Oh God Strike them down

Not, God if it’s your will save me

This prayer is an amazing prayer of faith. This is not the prayer of a man holding to his life, or his safety. He holds on to God and His will. God, if there’s anything left for me to do… This prayer showed that paramount is God’s will. He’s submitted to it, and not just at this moment, because you don’t pray a prayer like this on the spur of the moment. A payer like this gets prayed at a moment like this because it was prayed MANY times before. In times when there was not trouble and danger. This prayer is the prayer of a man sold out to God. This is a prayer of a man who no longer fears what man can do to the body because his life is already forfeited to God.

Let Your glory be shown

Not, crush my enemies

This is the prayer of a man whose natural inclination immediately moves to those who might be saved by witnessing God moving. This is the prayer of a man more interested in God’s fame than his own.

So…bewildered by this stunning act of faith I am left wondering…would I have prayed that prayer?

Would you?

Letter from Cambodia

I got a letter from Ry Vith today. For those of you who don’t know about Ry please read my last post. In short Ry is the little girl Diane and I sponsor through Asia’s Hope. This seriously about ripped my heart out.





Ughhh!!! I have to get over there. January can not come soon enough!
Update on our trip to mission trip to Cambodia in January 2012…Thank you so much for those of you who have sent donations for our trip, you are very much appreciated. We are still several thousand dollars short of our goal of $6000.00. If you’re willing to contribute and have not received a letter, please contact me at tirakis@hotmail.com and we’ll gladly send you a support letter. If you have received a letter, I’m asking that you would please prayerfully consider supporting our effort to bring hope to these orphans. As you can see from Ry’s letter, it’s very important to them.

Thanks so much
Ed

You’re going where? To do what?

Ok I’m going to come out of left field with something that might surprise some of you. But it’s on my heart today so here it is. I’m very excited to let you know that Diane and I are planning a short term mission trip to Cambodia and Thailand. Why in the world go to Cambodia of all places…

It’s a funny thing the way God works. If you would have asked me three years ago would I want to go to Cambodia on missions I would have said unequivocally, no! That’s where I was the first time I heard about the orphan situation in SE Asia. I sat in the church that morning and couldn’t help but shed a tear as I heard about the desperate situation that many live in as the result of many years of oppression, genocide, and corporate abuse. I learned about how children were bought and sold like cattle to be used in the sex trade. I learned about how many LIVE in the landfills of the cities scraping for enough rotten food to survive.

But I also learned about one organization that was trying to help. Asia’s Hope was started by a couple of guys that lived here in Ohio. Asia’s Hope identifies children at risk for being victims of the sex trade among other atrocities and places them in safe orphan homes where they are cared for, taught English, and about Jesus. Asia’s Hope now has orphan homes all over Cambodia, Thailand, and soon in India.

Diane and I immediately decided to sponsor an Orphan. This is Ry Vith:




Ry Vith is our little girl. I feel like I know her, but we’ve never met. I have sponsored other children in the past through World Vision and the like. This is different. See here’s the thing. Ry knows about Diane and I. Not just that she has a sponsor. She knows about US. She has our picture. She’s waiting for us to come and visit. Cambodian orphans are a bit unique. Because Cambodia does not allow international adoption the vast majority of the kids in these orphan homes will never be adopted. They know this. So they are each other’s family. We are their family. They love it when their American family comes to visit, they are devastated when we leave. I have heard many stories from those who have gone about the gut wrenching departures from these homes. But what I hear more is the amazing love that these children have for us. They know us, they pray for us. When we don’t visit, they long for us.

I have been an outspoken critic of the missions tourism industry that exists here in this country. When I first learned about people going to Cambodia and Thailand to visit the kids I was skeptical. My first question was, what are we going to be doing? It seemed like there needed to be some purpose, some project, something to accomplish to justify our going, our asking others to help sponsor us to go. But it’s been a couple years now and a lot has happened.

The biggest thing that has happened is the birth of Team Hope. Team Hope was a vision that God gave Diane one day while she was running shortly after we learned about these orphans. Diane and I had been focused on and praying about making everything we do, about God. Diane was trying to figure out how her love of running would fit into that. While she was out running God said, why not run for me? So she has. It just didn’t seem like enough to write the check every month to Asia’s Hope and somehow think that was enough. We needed to do more. Team Hope encourages people to participate in races and raise funds to help support the needs of these orphans. To date, Team Hope has raised over $70,000 for our kids. The money has gone to meet several wonderful needs. A big one was the construction of a pavilion where the kids from all the orphan homes in the area could meet together and have church. The pavilion has become a focal point in the town where it was built and now many curious locals have begun to come for church on Sunday morning where they hear the gospel for the first time. We bought a van so the orphan home could get the kids to school and around town safely. Currently we’re funding a construction project to renovate their kitchen. Team Hope also pays the sponsorships for two other boys to live in the home. We want to do a lot more. That’s why we are in the process of incorporating Team Hope as a not for profit organization. If you want to see what we’re up to right now you can learn more here:
http://graceteamhope.org

It’s been very exciting to watch God turn this thing into what He wants it to be and it has been fun coming along for the ride. But once again God has asked us to go deeper. That’s why in January Diane and I plan to go to Cambodia and Thailand. We will be meeting with those who run the orphan homes, getting a feel for what their needs are, learning about the culture of these people, and the conditions that they struggle in. There are a lot of questions. How can I arrange to be gone for so long with my new job? What will we do with the kids, and how will they handle our being gone for so long? Where are we going to come up with the nearly $6,000 to fund the trip? I was worried about all this. I’m not worried any more. God has done so much all ready, he can work out these details with ease.

So, when someone asks me why go, that’s a pretty loaded question and as you can see it’s a pretty long answer. But it doesn’t have to be, because in spite of all of this, there’s really only one reason we’re going; one reason that matters anyway. There’s a little girl named Ry who currently is 8000 miles away from me but her heavenly father desires that she get a hug and he would like me to be the one to give it to her. So I’m going.

You’ll hear more about this in the days and months to come. The plan is to use this blog to chronicle our journey. We would love to have your prayers. If you would be willing to do that, I would love to hear from you. Just send me a quick e-mail and let me know. I’d really appreciate it.

Thank you.

Our Choice...Obediance or Idolatry

1Sa 15:2-3 This is what the LORD Almighty says: 'I will punish the Amalekites for what they did to Israel when they waylaid them as they came up from Egypt. Now go, attack the Amalekites and totally destroy everything that belongs to them. Do not spare them; put to death men and women, children and infants, cattle and sheep, camels and donkeys.'"

I have to be honest. Sometimes when I read the bible, particularly the Old Testament, I find myself asking why. Why so much death, why so much destruction? I know that this was the way of the world at this time; however in this situation as in many others God decrees this death and destruction. For those who have trouble with the concept of election, I’m not sure how you can read the MANY sections of scripture like this one and reconcile this in your mind. In any case, my point in asking why is not to question Gods motives. I believe in election, and because of this, I don’t struggle with God’s decisions to bless some and curse others. He’s God, He made us, He gets to do what he wants; its one of the benefits of being God. What I’m questioning is simply God’s reasons. What is he trying to teach me through this story?

At this point we find Saul, acting like a typical child of Israel and doing the exact opposite of what God had commended.

1Sa 15:7-9 Then Saul attacked the Amalekites all the way from Havilah to Shur, to the east of Egypt. He took Agag king of the Amalekites alive, and all his people he totally destroyed with the sword. But Saul and the army spared Agag and the best of the sheep and cattle, the fat calves and lambs—everything that was good. These they were unwilling to destroy completely, but everything that was despised and weak they totally destroyed.

1Sa 15:10-15 Then the word of the LORD came to Samuel: "I am grieved that I have made Saul king, because he has turned away from me and has not carried out my instructions." Samuel was troubled, and he cried out to the LORD all that night. Early in the morning Samuel got up and went to meet Saul, but he was told, "Saul has gone to Carmel. There he has set up a monument in his own honor and has turned and gone on down to Gilgal." When Samuel reached him, Saul said, "The LORD bless you! I have carried out the LORD's instructions." But Samuel said, "What then is this bleating of sheep in my ears? What is this lowing of cattle that I hear?" Saul answered, "The soldiers brought them from the Amalekites; they spared the best of the sheep and cattle to sacrifice to the LORD your God, but we totally destroyed the rest."

So the obvious lesson here is that God desires total obedience. But I was still left with the nagging doubt about God’s reasons for decreeing the total destruction of a people group including women, children, and all animals. At this point I did something I’m ashamed to say I haven’t done much. I just stopped reading and started praying. I figured, God’s a big boy, he should be able to handle my questions. I simply asked God why, and waited for His answer. To my surprise, the answer immediately came.

I’m not going to claim special revelation from God; but the bible says that the Holy Spirit will reveal the truth in the word to us so I’m going to go with that. Now I didn’t hear a voice from heaven. I simply all at once understood the passage. Here’s what I’ve got.
The story of Israel in the Old Testament is the story of deliverance. It’s the story of God’s choosing his people from among the peoples of the earth. It’s the story of His saving them from slavery in Egypt. Finally, it’s the story of His keeping them both through protection and punishment. As you probably know, the story of the children of Israel is analogous to our own journey with God. God calls us, draws us, saves us, and keeps us till the day of Christ.

When the children of Israel left Egypt they encountered many obstacles on the way. God’s only expectation of His chosen people was that they would simply trust Him, obey Him, and allow Him to fight their battles. These obstacles represent the things in our lives which can become idols for us: possessions, people, security, money, predictability, etc.

As the children of Israel made their way to the promised land, God protected them and provided for them but then they reached the promised land. God’s requirements changed at this point. Now God wanted them to go back and destroy those things which presented as obstacles. God knew that if they weren’t completely destroyed they would rise up and destroy His children.

Of course His children repeatedly messed up. In this case Saul sinned against God by keeping the king of the Amalekites alive as well as many of the cattle. It’s VERY interesting to me to see what happens next. When Samuel catches up with Saul, he as erected a monument in HIS OWN honor. In other words Saul has committed idolatry. He took God off the throne of his heart and placed himself on that throne. His sin is summed up in verse 23.

1Sa 15:23 For rebellion is like the sin of divination, and arrogance like the evil of idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the LORD, he has rejected you as king."

Saul’s mistake eventually cost him the kingdom.

God expects that once he has established us in His grace that we will fight with all that is in us to kill off every THING that stands as an obstacle to God being our one and only love. He doesn’t leave us alone to do this. He helps us in this battle, indeed he is really fighting on our behalf. If we however fail to completely put to death these things which vie for our affections, then we have given ourselves over to idolatry and we will eventually be overcome by that thing we have chosen to be our god. God allows this pain in our lives because eventually when we reach the bottom, he hopes we will cry out in repentance and make Him king once again.

Pray for the Persecuted Church in India

Persecution in India: Francis' Response from Cornerstone Church on Vimeo.

Unified in Our Division

1 Corr 1:10 I appeal to you, brothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree with one another so that there may be no divisions among you and that you may be perfectly united in mind and thought.

This verse struck me tonight. I started reading this chapter and in the first nine verses I decided the following:

1. Verse 7 says Therefore you do not lack any spiritual gift as you eagerly wait for our Lord Jesus Christ to be revealed. The Greek word translated into “Spiritual Gift” is actually the word “charisma” from which we derive the word charismatic however the translation of Charisma is actually “deliverance” it is not at all intended to allude to the Spiritual gifts commonly associated with the charismatic movement.
2. Verse 9 says God, who has called you into fellowship with his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, is faithful. Barnes says “The word “called” here does not refer merely to “an invitation” or an “offer of life,” but to the effectual influence which had been put forth; which had inclined them to embrace the gospel.” Therefore Paul was a Calvinist.

Now those of you reading this may be getting a bit uneasy at this point which is why I would like to digress to the first sentence of this post. Verse 10:

1 Corr 1:10 I appeal to you, brothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree with one another so that there may be no divisions among you and that you may be perfectly united in mind and thought.

Paul begs the Corinthians to be PERFECTLY UNITED in mind and thought. Man, we have fallen so far from that standard. I have fallen so far from that standard. We spend so much time and energy trying to be right, and in the process we are wrong automatically because we become disunified.

I’m thinking about all the believers who feel the need to meet separately because of the charismatic issue (on both sides of it), all the believers who are disunited over the Calvanism/Arminianism issue. And then there are a million other stupid things we fight about. It’s no wonder many look at the church and just laugh and turn away. We can’t even agree about what songs to sing in our churches let alone what we believe.

Sure I believe that arriving at truth is important. I believe that driving out heresy is important as well, but we have gone way beyond that.

Paul offers us the answer in verse 17:

For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel—not with words of human wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power.

He says, God sent me to preach the gospel to you, but not with human wisdom. Why…because we are dumb, and when we try to understand an infinite and holy God who is WAY bigger than we can imagine we get it wrong…every time. When we try to do this with our own wisdom we empty the cross of its power and THAT is where our unity must lie…in the cross. That’s the one thing we can all gravitate to and be united around. It’s the only thing that really matters.

God takes our unity very seriously because it is partially through the unity of believers that he calls the lost. My prayer tonight is that God would help me to be more concerned with the unity of His church than with being right.