Early Morning Rescue

My phone rang at 4.36 AM. My colleague, Roger Kuykendall, was on the line. "We need you here at the guest house and we need you fast.....and make sure you pick up two taxis on the way."

In an early morning state of delirium I flew down the road in my vehicle veering towards the taxi stand at break neck speed. In jumbled "I should still be in bed" Swahili I barked orders for two taxi drivers to follow me to the guest house.

We made it to the guest house in an astounding 10 minutes. The team was there scrambling around with luggage. Their bus to take them to the airport had broken down minutes before. Several were still sweating from trying to push the 21 seater. However, this bus was going nowhere fast; but, they had a plane to catch! Roger did his best to keep people calm and give them direction.

We quickly loaded up the 19 members of the team and their luggage in 4 vehicles- including the two taxis. Roger had a plan- "take the short-cut; save time. drive fast- follow me!" Sounded good to me. I relayed the plan to the taxi drivers. "READY?" I almost shouted feeling the adrenaline of a high speed drive to the airport!

Their faces told me everything. "We can't go that way." "WHAT!?!" I almost screeched. I had come to far to fail now in helping Roger get this team to the airport on time. "We don't have any fuel in our cars." It slowly sunk in as only things can do at 4.53 AM. "You're a taxi driver for crying out loud- how can you not have any fuel?!?" I stammered incredulously.

"We have to go the other way rafiki (friend)....where the station is located" I just blinked off into the humid Dar darkness. "uhhhh....yah......okay" I mumbled. So instead of a break-neck speed early morning adventure to the airport following Roger, we instead crept along back to the station following the taxi drivers. Then we proceeded to pain-stakingly watch precious minutes disappear as they filled their tanks.

As I sat there it hit me. These guys just weren't prepared for a 4.36 AM airport run. They failed to be ready when they were needed the most. The funny thing about the whole story is that taxi stand where I first picked them up is 30 feet from the petrol station. So close; so far. I continued to ponder the situation as only one can do at 5.10 in the morning.

It hit me again- this is just like so many Christians. God has a plan. There is a specific purpose and agenda that He is accomplishing in our lives. He has everything set. The way is marked out. The steps are ordained. "Ready?" he asks. "Ummm........not really God.....you see......" and then come the excuses fast and furious.

Here at our church we are in a 40 day Prayer Initiative where we are seeking God for His direction and purpose for 2010. I challenge the people often: "Prayer is preparation!" "Prayer is positioning your heart to be ready!" "Prayer is saying 'HERE I AM'"- even when God calls at 4.36 AM. May our hearts be filled to overflowing with a determination to do His will no matter when, where, or what He calls us to.

(In case you are wondering the team made it to the airport thanks mostly to the fact that I still had my early morning break-neck speed adventure through the streets of Dar.)

God's 3 Favorite Words

Hebrews 10:9 "Then he said, 'Here I am, I have come to do your will"

At the beginning of 2010, I've been thinking about what kind of attitude it takes to make a difference for the Kingdom of God. It seems to me that all too often Christians approach God with a hidden agenda. We want God to bless our plans, goals, and dreams. We think that our walk with the Lord is all about us and our comfort. Rather, I think the Lord looks for people who pray: "God I want to be a part of what you are doing! I want to accomplish your agenda, your plan, your dreams, and your purposes."

Instead of saying: "God bless what I'm doing" we need to pray "God how can I be apart of what you are already blessing". God has 3 favorite words that He loves to hear: "Here I am!" If you look through scripture at the great heroes of the faith- people like Abraham, Moses, Samuel, etc.. there seems to be at least one common denominator. They all had experiences where God called them and they said: "HERE I AM!" Their lives were full of great acts of faith, great testimonies of God's power, and great accounts of God's faithfulness. Their attitude in serving God was simple: "HERE I AM"

The Hebrew equivalent of "Here I AM" is "Na'am". It's the same in Swahili. In Swahili culture when someone is called by their first name they drop everything they are doing and come running. At the same time they respond saying: "Na'am". This is especially true of an employee or a domestic servant at a house. The idea is that they are totally available and willing to be apart of whatever plan, agenda, etc.. the boss has in mind.

The same is true for us in our service of the Lord. Too many people come to God and say: "Let's make a deal God". "I'll serve you if..... I'll go if...... I'll share with that person if..... I'll make myself available if....." God is looking for people to stop trying to make a deal with Him; He longs to hear His 3 favorite words- "HERE I AM LORD".

In Hebrews 10 Jesus models this for us so beautifully. He comes to the Father and says: "HERE I AM" He never expects anything more from us than He has already modeled. He willingly gave His life on the cross. No one forced Him. He knew it was the will of God for Him to come to earth and redeem our fallen race. So He stood before the Father and spoke the Father's 3 favorite words- "HERE I AM- I've come to do your will". His willingness opened the way for us to be redeemed. His attitude of surrender opened the way for the purposes of God.

I want to be the kind of person whose life becomes a vehicle for the purposes of God to be accomplished. HERE I AM! How about you?

Fishing in the Sewer

Driving along the road near my house I was startled- not so much because of the usual traffic jam on the busy road, but because of a solitary fisherman.

He was totally oblivious to the hundreds of vehicles barely scraping by him on the side of the road. Leaning over the main drainage canal, he had his pole dangling in the water. I was shocked. The drainage water is nasty- full of garbage bags, plastic wrappers, chemical run-off from urbanization, human waste etc... African urbanization at its worst. Yet, none of this seemed to affect him in the least. Diligently he tried to hook some puny fish that wouldn't have filled up a cat.

As I considered how preposterous his efforts seemed, an even more ludicrous thought suddenly crossed my mind. Dar es Salaam is built on the edge of the Indian Ocean. A body of water that is teeming with fish. This fisherman was standing no more than 1/2 mile from the beach at his current location. Rather than enjoying the white sandy coast lines of Tanzania with the possibility of some wonderful catches like tuna, red snapper, etc... he is fishing for minnows in a polluted urban drainage ditch.

I don't know about you- but fishing in the sewer has never really been my forte.

Yet, it occurs to me that this is a brilliantly clear picture of where many Christians find themselves in 2010. For many, 2009 was difficult at best and they have contented themselves with fishing for God's purposes, plans, and direction in the murky waters of life. A drainage ditch congested by vehicles and plastic bags occupies their pursuit. Meanwhile, the Ocean of God's immeasurable grace, unfathomable goodness, and relentless love is nearby.

I recently preached a message with 3 points that brought out this idea. "NOW IS THE TIME"- to get over our disillusionment with other people, to reject the devil's lies, to let go of the hurts and wounds of the past, and to embrace the Lord's purposes and wonderful plans. "THIS IS THE PLACE"-to allow God to move in our lives, to give Him free reign to accomplish His will, to receive everything He has for us, to make a difference for God. "I AM THE ONE" - to do something for the Lord, to experience His grace and mercy, to touch other for Christ, to enjoy the Ocean of His presence!

I don't know about you- but I'm done fishing for minnows in Dar sewage water! I want the Ocean!