Luke 12

There was a financially savvy investor whose portfolio returned a healthy profit. This man decided to take the profit and re-invest it allowing for a wider diversification. He called up his financial adviser, and after signing all the paperwork was at peace because he obviously had more than enough saved up for retirement. Unfortunately shortly thereafter he died, and everything he saved was given to those in his will. He had so much hope for his cash, but it accomplished nothing for him, because he never used it to invest in eternity. All his energy was spent saving for retirement, and it was all lost in a moment.
Life is more than a 401K, IRA, or a diversified portfolio. Can anyone really prepare enough to add an extra moment to their life? If we can not add a moment to any day, prolong our life for a split second, or even control the economy why do we spend so much time and energy filling our bank accounts? The moment you think you have it all together all of your Enron stocks will become worthless, your Wachovia, Citi, or Bank of America shares will drop 90%, your 19 years at Lehman Brothers will be insignificant, or Price water house will cut your department. Look at 3rd world countries, they are beautiful and happy. They have nothing. If God takes care of them why wont he take care of you? The Lord doesn’t need your 401K to provide for your needs oh you of little faith. Do not seek a new mutual fund, or whatever Reuters says will be the next best stock choice. Instead seek the Kingdom of God. Cash in your 401K, take the tax hit and give it to the salvation army. Invest in a heavenly fund that will always return a profit, where banks don’t close and stocks don’t fall. Whatever is in your checkbook there your heart is also. So be ready always because the day of the Lord is at hand.
Who is the truly wise investor? He is the one who is always ready to cash in his heavenly portfolio. You must be ready because the son of man is coming at an hour you do not expect.

We live in a unique time. I can look around and see people 40 years ahead of me in life. In 2008 they lost half (some lost everything) of everything they owned. They saved for decades storing their treasures in barns (401K, IRA, Funds Stocks etc.), only to have those barns burn down. And what is everyone’s response? Re-build and do it again. Jesus Christ teaches a different economy, one very contrary to capitalism. Yours didn’t work. The Economist Lied. Reuters Lied. Scottrade Lied. Warren Buffet Lied. The media Lied. None of the investments they pointed to gave us comfort or a life, happiness or contentment, or even stability and security. Hope in God.

(this doesn't mean don't save or invest. Do all things for his glory and keep it in it's place. Being safe and comfortable is not the highest good. Honoring Him is, and it might be at the expense of your safety or comfort).

Picture of Our Team

From left to right:

David, (in the picture in his hand- Sarah and Stephen) Kerry, Ken, Roland, Pam, Me, Pete.

Of course the week everyone wore a decent shirt I wore a Red Hot Chili Peppers T-Shirt. Classy.

traveling once again

It has been a year. goodness. I was just thinking today about all that has happened in the last 365 days. The Lord has been faithful to consistently conform my will to his even when I would kick [hard] against the goads. One good example is my car. I asked the Lord to show me somebody I could give my car to. I do not need to hold onto my possessions so tightly, so I asked him to show me somebody I can give my car to. The next afternoon it was stolen out of the parking lot at work. My brother was gracious enough to let me borrow his 1972 pink VW bug (one time I think I got it all the way to 65mph) which broke down and left me on the side of the freeway one afternoon on my lunch break. So I prayed and asked God to provide for my needs ( I never asked for my car back, but just that he would provide as he say fit), and by the end of the week the cops found my car. No damage, nothing stolen out of it. The Lord truly does give and take away-blessed be the name of the Lord. Things like this have happened over and over whether it as breaking up with my [almost] fiance, or having plans for grad school fall apart 7 times. As i look back I can honestly thank the Lord for giving me hands down the hardest year of my life. I would not trade it for anything.

Enough of the past though. This November 4th-16th my mom (yes I did just say my mom) and I will be traveling to Liberia Africa with my church. If you are like me your first thought was um, I know where Africa is [but Liberia?]..... just look at the pictures below:





you can also see the google earth image of where we will be here:



View Larger Map


My church has committed tow partnering with Water of Life ministries to work with these villages for the next I dont know how many years (a bunch?). This trip is one of the first ones in which we will be 1) digging and rehabilitating wells to bring clean water to these villages 2) hosting free open air medical clinics (my mom is an RN, and there are is a doctor going as well) and 3) seeing how Southside can strategically partner with these people to serve them and bring them the Gospel.

Please pray for us, there is a financial need for some of us (I know me for sure, but I am not sure where exactly everyone else is at), $3,000. Also for goodness sakes none of us are good enough, or qualified to be Christ's ambassador Liberia. I often feel like Moses trembling before the burning bush, but the reality is (as it was with moses) that God made our mouths and he will be glorified in spite of our inadequacies. He has even ordained to use us to accomplish his purposes! Although I am not really sure what to expect or how he will be praised, I know for sure that he will be glorified. I want you to see that, and be apart of it through prayer.

Thanks in advance for your prayers, and I look forward to letting you know how He answered them. I will also post a picture of the team when I get one.

nerdy theology

So I am a nerd, it is true. However that has proven to be a blessing when it causes me to study scripture. Right now I am studying the theological significance of Jerusalem after Gen. 14. and before David conquers it from the Jebusites. Here is something that I thought was interesting.

1) Genesis 14- Abraham meets Melchizedek the king of Jerusalem (or Salem), and honors him (cross reference Hebrews 7). Melchizedek points to christ.
2)Genesis 22-Abraham almost sacrifices his son on Mt. Moriah (or the land of Moriah). The Lord used this instance to point to the coming sacrifice of his son.
3)The Israelites saw Jerusalem in a favorable light because they took Adoni-Bezek there to die (Judges 1), as well as the head of Goliah (I Samuel 17)
4) The angel of the Lord relented from destroying Jerusalem at the threshing floor or Arunah the Jebusite 2 Samuel 24:16, which is what david later bought, and ended up being the location of Solomon's temple. The threshing floor of Arunah (or Ornan), was the on Mt. Moriah (II Chron 3:1), which is where the messianic foreshadow of a perfect sacrifice was made during Abraham's time. God gave us an OT picture of his son's perfect sacrifice, on the exact spot that all the millions of sacrifices for the next 500 years would be made. I doubt that is a coincidence.

So prior to the presence of the Lord there, there already was some sort of significance to that city. I thought it was interesting. If that does not interest you I will fight you.

im in america

so im in America right now. I have been for awhile. im all healed. my mom got so mad at me because i started training for a 10K 4 weeks after surgery. i was supposed to wait 12. I decided im going to use this blog not just for traveling, but for other cool things. I dont think anybody reads it (i wouldnt), so its more for myself just to remember the Lord's faithfulness, and see how he has blessed me.

Stil here!

hi everyone! Sorry it has been so long since I posted anything. I have a really good excuse, but i will get to that later. As for my friend that I told you about, everything went very well, however repentance comes over time. The work is not instantaneous. The team all left 2 days ago, and in retrospect, I am so happy about they way it turned out. The team did great, and ALOT of work was accomplished.

Now you may have noticed that I said I was still here, and the team left. 6 months ago I had a pain on my right side. The pain eventually went away, so I never thought about it again. Naturally (at least for me) I did not see a doctor either. About 2 and a half weeks ago I got a stomach ache. I was expecting this, because everyone gets sick in this country. I was actually surprised it took so long, but either way I was not going to let it slow me down. One day I woke up and the stomach ache was so bad it was difficult to walk. Nevertheless I pressed on, and tried not to think about it. That night it got very very bad, and I was not able to sleep that night. The following morning, I was nearly screaming in pain. So we decided to go to the Emergency Room. My friend here is a medical doctor, so he knew where to take me and everything. Turns out I had a very bad appendicitus (sp?). My appendix was inflamed and spewing puss and nasties all over my other organs. So I went into surgery, got ripped out, and spent the next 5 days in the hospital. The team left while I was in the hospital. Here are the praises:

1)I was in the best hospital in Delhi
2)The entire bill cost only 1500. Everything is cheap here
3)I had great nurses, and doctors.
4)Because i was American they gave me the VIP suite, which was very nice.
5)The Lord is really using this to teach me.
6)I am alive, and the day of the Lord is at hand!

Requests:
1) I missed my flights, so now i have to rebook everything, and it is very expensive.
2) Because I wait tables, doc said it might be up to a month before I can work again. So pray that I find a job or something, as I now owe over 3,000.
3) in a few hours I am going to the office to rebook my ticket, please pray that It goes smooth. Nothing goes smooth here.

I really appreciate the encouragement from all of you that had already heard, thank you so much. Please let me know how I can lift you up, and serve you as well.


Robby

PS Ca. friends, i will be in town for a few days, we can try and catch up.

Outreach this weekend

This morning was straight out of a movie. I woke up, and went to the fresh fruit market down the road. It is mango season, so i bought 3 different kinds of mangos, a pomegrantte, and a coconut to drink. I also had guava juice, it was quite possibly the best breakfast I have ever had and it was just over a dollar.

After my breakfast from heaven, we set off to Delhi Universtiy. We invited 200 students to come to a progam we are puting on this Saturday. There will be singing, dancing, food, and Americans. Everyone was very excited, and we are expecting a large turn out. We are also continuing a conversational English class in the evenings, which has opened up opportunities to share with people. Please continue to lift up both of these programs.

We also have another person staying at our flat. He is a brother and has had to move home to Bangalore for financial reasons. His parents are very prominent in the community, and his choice to repent and turn from sin has caused his family shame. Therefore they have told him that he must choose between HIM and between his family. Please lift up this brother, as he is going through a very difficult time.

Also please remember my friend. I met him on my first trip 5 years ago, and we kept in contact. I have told him many times about HIM, but it is a very slow process. This sunday we are going to get coffee together, and he has said that he will come to our sunday meeting, please lift him up as well.

My spell checker isnt working so please disreegard the spelling errrors.

Robby

A 3 day trip down south.

This last week we went to the south end of the city, for a blvrs conference. I lead a small group, and Doc (Dr. Tom Halstead is the head of biblical studies at The Master's College, but we just call him doc) taught through the book of Daniel. We leared about the future God has for Israel in the Millennium....... It was very encouraging to spend time with relatively likeminded brothers and sisters from all parts of the globe. The best part of the whole trip was the resort we were staying at.

There are no American toilets in this part of India. You must merely squat, aim and hope for the best. However in my time of greatest need I found one. As I proceeded toward my bounty, I steped in a large puddle around the toilet that splashed my ankles. I decided that i would rather not think about it, and just lift my legs straigh out as i sat. Once i finished i proceeded to the "paper work," only to find that there was no paper to use.... Upon I overcoming this hurdle, I flushed. Now must toilets have a pipe behind them that connects to a sewage system of some sorts. This however was armed with a pipe that was connected to nothing. So as soon as I flushed, the toilet drained onto the floor around my feet. All I could do was mutter a HOLY FREAKING CRAP (no pun intended), and jump onto the toilet seat. As I stood there surrounded by "surprises" i reminisced of my childhood when my favorite pasttime was trying to avoid the imaginary hot lava all over the living room floor. The stall filled up, and overflowed into a community puddle of old shower water in middle of the bathroom. It was literally a cesspool of filth. Everytime I took a shower, or I should just say, the one time i took a shower, I the drain backed up old shower water, and i had to finish before the water went above the rubber part of my sandle.

All of these things mingled with 100 degree +humidity heat, bugs in our beds, and many other things lent to me developing an attitude of ungratefulness, and a complaining spirit. I read Psalm 103, and the Lord changed my perspective. Even if i stayed at this "resort," for the rest of my life, i stil had no reason to complain. The rest of the master's team, was a great example to me as to what it looked like to have a grateful spirit. The girls even had a flooded room, and yet still praised the Lord. The trip down south was truly a blessing in many ways, and I would gladly do it all again if the Lord would allow.

I do apologize for the slightly crass post, and I promise all of my stories will not be centered around the bathroom! I will also post some pictures in the next day or two.

This is India

We are officially here! 4 airports, and 36 hours later, we finally have arrived in Delhi! We are very grateful, because the flight was very easy, and I actually got a significant amount of sleep. During the last leg of our flight however, we awoke to a "pleasant" surprise.

We got off in Delhi, flew through customs, grabbed our bags, and jumped in the van. Our driver assured us that he knew where our hostel was...... We learned quite quickly that he had no idea where to go. After driving the wrong way down one-way roads, multiple 5 point turns into on coming traffic, a few stops on the side of the road to ask for directions, we began to assume that he did not in fact know where we were going. Then we ran out of gas. The funny thing however was that our driver tried to play it off like nothing was wrong. We were in neutral slowing down (AC died), and he promptly assured us that we were just "going slow." Then we stopped, and he just sat there as if nothing was out of the ordinary! We finally convinced him that something was wrong, and he set off to retrieve some diesel. We all got out of the van, and experienced Delhi's monsoon season, as it began to POUR rain... on top of my bags that had been placed on the roof of the van. 30 mins later he returned and we went set out on our way. This is India, and I love it.

Please continue to "remember" us, as we are overseas. I will be preaching this Sunday, which will be completely worthless if he is not with me. Thank you for all your support!

Robby

The summer

Well, It is 4:15 in the morning. The best time to finish studying for an 8am exam! In about 6 hours I will be officially done with college. It is kind of hard to believe. As for team India we recently put on a huge garage sale to raise money for the trip. A very generous lady named Midori offered to donate 50% of the profits of her garage sale if we did all the work. The Lord truly blessed our efforts and allowed us to raise well over $500! It was also a great experience as a team that served to crystallize what exactly it looks like for us to work together. 2 women in our group thankfully took it upon themselves to market the garage sale at a very busy nearby intersection. Arrayed in quite possibly Los Angeles' most flamboyant hats they danced (or swayed rhythmically if you are from Master's where dancing IS in fact the unpardonable sin) the day away demanding the complete attention of everyone passing by. There is no doubt in any of our minds that this was the foundation of our success!

Within the next few weeks, 2 people from our team will be going over early to begin serving with Peter and Heather. They will be there all summer so please remember to "lift them up."

In short the semester is over, as well as most of our preparation. We are only waiting to actually go!

Little Delhi

Yesterday was interesting. The team caravaned down to South LA and found ourselves in a little neighborhood affectionately called 'Little Delhi.' After driving for an hour through the heart of Los Angeles soaking in some of the finest Stop-and-Go traffic, we finally arrived. I personally hadn't eaten all day, and with every bump and jolt of the LA freeway my hunger grew ravenously. (You know I am an American when missing breakfast constitutes 'ravenous hunger'). We all piled into the Little India Grill, and between the 7 of us, we took up no less than half the restaurant. Clearly American (the white skin is a dead giveaway) we resolved to eat 'Indian style.' This means right hand only (the left hand is used for 'cleaning') and no silverware. Thankfully though we were served things like rice, yogurt goat curry, Dal-Mahkani (thats Hindi for messy food). Although each one of us seemed to be taken aback by the extent of our abilities, the Indians didn't seem as impressed. Our turban clad Sikh Chef would continually provide Naan (a heavy tortilla style bread used for picking up the food) fresh off the Tandoori Grill. As soon as it was on the table I would grab it while it was still warm....and consistently burn my fingers. By the time the spices began to set in we were finally given our tea. This is not sweet tea, but hot Chai. Although it was very different, each person seemed to enjoy, or at least pretend to enjoy, the experience.
Our first authentic Indian meal whet each of our appetites for this summer. Although Little Delhi was still vastly different from New Delhi, it is a perfect bridge between American and Indian Culture

India's infanticide

NEW DELHI - The Indian government plans to set up a series of orphanages to raise unwanted baby girls in a bid to halt the widespread practice of aborting female fetuses, according to a senior government official.
Dubbed the "cradle scheme," the plan is an attempt to slow the practice that international groups say has killed more than 10 million female fetuses in the last two decades, leading to an alarming imbalance in the ratio between males and females in India, Renuka Chowdhury, the minister of state for women and child development, told the Press Trust of India news agency in an interview published Sunday.
"What we are saying to the people is have your children, don't kill them. And if you don't want a girl child, leave her to us," Chowdhury told the agency, adding that the government planned to set up a center in each regional district.
"We will bring up the children. But don't kill them because there really is a crisis situation," she said.
On Sunday, police arrested a gynecologist and janitor at a hospital near the central Indian city of Bhopal after the discovery of nearly 400 bones from fetuses and newborns in a pit behind the hospital. It is believed they are the remains of unwanted baby girls.
Many districts in the country of more than 1 billion people routinely report only 800 girls born for every 1,000 boys. According to the latest census figures in India, the number of girls per 1,000 boys declined from 945 to 927 between 1991 and 2001.
Asked if the scheme would not encourage parents to abandon female infants, Chowdhury said: "It doesn't matter. It is better than killing them."
Discrimination against girls stems from the low value attached to females in Indian society. Girls are seen as a burden on the family, requiring a large dowry which many poor families cannot afford. Females are generally the last to be educated or to get medical treatment.
Tests to determine the gender of a fetus are outlawed in India and the government says it is clamping down on doctors who break the law.
But social activists say there are many loopholes which allow those who provide tests to remain free. Since the law was enacted in 1994 only one doctor has been convicted.
Chowdhury did not say how much the orphanage plan would cost but said money had been allocated in the next budget for it. Officials in her office could not immediately be reached for comment Sunday. It was not clear when the first orphanages will open

I just copied this from the associated press and pasted it here.

PGO retreat

PGO stands for Preparation for Global outreach, only the 'P' is silent. Last weekend was our PGO retreat. The term "retreat" is far beyond misleading. We began by sharing our stories of how we came to know HIM, while eating rice with our hands Indian style. Later that night as a team we went to a local movie theater to share "our story" with anyone who would listen. The outcome was very encouraging. Although nobody made any form of a profession, it was a blessing to begin to see how this team functions.

By the time this was all over, I was tired and very excited to get to bed. However this excitement disappeared when the security guard woke us up and made us move to another place.....immediately. I didn't care I just wanted my precious sleep. We were transferred to another classroom, and to my great surprise a bored student earlier that day had decided to pick his toenails where I was now trying to sleep. I began to brush away about 12 clippings, but with each stroke it seemed the nails would only cling tighter to the stain ridden carpet. I was at a crossroads. "Should I put my bedding down, hoping they don't poke through to my chest? Or should I continue in futility trying to move them?" My body was too tired to continue, so I placed my thin bedding down, and began to sleep.

The next morning we had a gourmet breakfast of peanut butter and jelly burritos. After looking in the box, and finding no utensils, we unanimously decided to use the 10 gifts God gave us (fingers) . Just as we finished making our burritos, we found the forks, knives, and spoons. Stupid stupid stupid. 1 hour later i found myself licking the skin between my thumb and pointer finger, trying to finish up the last remains of jelly residue. mmmmmmm.

This is only the beginning.

Revelation 21:8

the first one listed to be thrown in the lake of fire is the cowardly...