Important Questions

I have been struggling along with some of our friends here in Panama over truth the last few months.  I think I have always felt that truth was more important than anything else, and sacrificing truth for the greater good wasn't really a concept that could exist.  I have been challenged over the last months and wanted to pose the question to all of you that read my blog.  I am thinking in more of a Evangelism, Bible-understanding point of view, but please feel free to answer the questions I pose with world examples as well.  Also, the questions may seem simple but to me they are very deep and pivotal to how we live our lives day to day.  Please answer with care.

What is more important?

Telling truth vs. keeping the peace

Telling truth vs. maintaining hope (possibly false hope)

Telling the truth vs. Getting people in the door however you can with the intention of telling the truth later. (evangelism idea, but can be applied elsewhere, like politics)

When does telling the truth become an UN-loving thing to do?  I believe truth is absolute.  Do you?  Is truth the end or the means?  Where do you find truth?  In God's word?  Inside yourself?  What's your foundation of truth?

I would love to have as many responses to this blog as possible!

In Christ,

 

Jon

First Time Back Since June

Well, here I am back in Peru for the first since we finished up the Water Project in June.  I am currently in Lima, but will be heading to Lucumo and Lunahuana tomorrow morning sometime.  I find myself anxious and happy at the same time to be reunited with the friends I came to know and love while I was here working the whole month of June.  Due to the limited ability to communicate and lack of those same types of communication tools, the times I have been able to get in touch with the people of Lucumo have been few and far between.  They know we are arriving there tomorrow to see them and talk about the future!  Such an exciting time to see what God has done over the last few months.  I pray that he will give us (Jorge, Olga and Me) the words necessary to encourage them in the faith.

Lord, you allowed for many people to be touched by your Word in June, both Peruvian and Americans.  I ask that you would bless our time together this week and that we will find amazing ways to serve you together as we continue down this road.  I thank you for bringing Anthony into the team and I pray that you will guide his time of preparation in Panama over the next few months.  Lord, use us to your benefit, to share your gospel without leaving anything out.  Let us be beacons of your truth. Amen!

Amazed

I hope that you will take the time to watch the videos that I posted below. There are 5 clips that are about 10 minutes long. Start with the post that has 3 clips in it and then move up to the post with two clips.

We watched this the other night during a Bible Study and it's just amazing how involved and concerned for our lives that God is. He has created us and the whole universe. I especially love the 3rd video in the first post about our conception and creation. So amazing.

We've really messed up, we humans, and don't deserve the love and grace that he pours out on us. We think we are so big in our own lives and we do whatever we can to lift ourselves up and get what we want, while in the whole scheme of things, we are these puny little nothings. We think that we can save the world...we think we can change the order of things in this life on our own. We are such a silly people.

We are totally at the disposal of God. He could crush us in a second. But he won't. He crushed someone else in our place; His Son, Jesus Christ, so that we don't have to bare the weight of God's wrath, because we repent of our sins and believe in him as our Savior. Where are you in the grand scheme of things?