Trust

Have you ever thought about the importance of trust? On a large scale, and a small scale, trust is one of the most foundational in any relationship, and it is very difficult to form a successful group/society/civilization without trust. Honesty is one of the biggest values that I have, and it has a good basis. Many of us have been burned before (betrayed by a friend, acquaintance, or even salesperson). Most of the time, that causes us to become a little more skeptical the next time. As the saying goes, "Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me." I see our society falling apart right now, and many reasons have to do with a lack of trust of other people (not that this is not rightly-earned skepticism). Yet it is still very sad indeed.

For example, the Bible commands us to give to the poor and needy. I naturally want to meet the need of the grungy man in tattered clothes in downtown Houston asking me for some money. But do I trust him? All of us have heard that right after they give money to that person, he or she goes and buys booze or tobacco to feed their addiction rather than buying clothes or food. I, myself, have offered some food I had with me to a person asking for money for food, and they weren't interested. Thus, our hearts are hardened towards the needy. Likewise, as my dad recalled the story of a van that was stuck in a pothole in Uganda. People around in the market saw the situation and helped lift it up out of the pothole. In America, we would have to call a tow truck. Why? Because anytime we see a car with an issue on the road, we are afraid to stop to help because it could be someone trying to rob us and take advantage of our kindness.

Even our signature every time that we sign a credit card charge receipt isn't really worth anything. It is worth whatever the signer deems his/her signature is worth. You could put a smiley face on the line (and some of my friends do that). A credit card thief could sign his own name or forge your name on a credit card stub and it wouldn't matter at all. The signature is basically useless, which is why I imagine some places stopped requiring it after the credit card swipe. And yet, our entire monetary system is based on debt that we assume is going to be payed back with interest... eventually. I honestly don't trust the very dollar that I use as my primary currency because the United States could never pay back its debt. But I trust it more than any other common currency. The European countries are even less likely to pay back their debts than we are, and Japan's debt is over two times their GDP. If you think you can handle the truth, check out the stats at http://www.usdebtclock.org/

So what is my point? My point is that these days, it is difficult for us to process what it even means to trust completely. When many of us don't even feel like we can trust our own family members because of past scars, how can we even contemplate trusting completely again? Yet God asks us... demands us to be able to trust in Him with the faith of a little child. The faith of a little child that does not know how cruel and untrustworthy the world is.

If you have a lot of difficulty trusting other people completely from wounds in your past when your innocent complete trust got you hurt when it was taken advantage of, re-examine your own heart. It won't be easy, but you must work through these trust issues. The reason is that many people go through life not trusting completely in anything or anyone. How then can that person say they trust completely in Jesus Christ--who allowed it all to happen? Yes, God is good all the time. Not good as in lacking pain, but good as in what is best for us, which is becoming more like Christ.

Trust in Christ with the last bit of childlike trust you have left. Do not trust in the Christ in your head--who will take away all of your problems--but the true person of Jesus Christ, who has the plan for your best life possible (which includes the completely fulfilled life in Him forevermore). And if you complain to God that life just isn't fair, you may hear Him reply, "I know... but it was because Jesus loved you so much that He took all of the punishment you deserve. Justice is fair: the justice that you deserve would destine you to an eternity in hell. But through Jesus, eternal life is offered to you as a gift of grace."

Godspeed,
JMission

Back from Uganda and back to work

I know that many of you still haven't seen me though, but that is not because I haven't been avoiding/ignoring you. Actually, it has been all that I can do to drive home after work each day. To say that my sleep schedule is still messed up from the jet-lag is an understatement. Wednesday (the day our plane landed) I went to sleep at 6:30 pm and woke up at 2:47 am. Unfortunately, Thursday was even worse with going to sleep at 6:30 pm again, but waking up at 1:00 am. However, I at least forced myself to go back to sleep again and again until 7:30 am (my usual waking time... sorry if you are jealous). I don't know what time I'll be getting so exhausted I pass out tonight, but we shall see. It seems the older I get, the less my body tolerates adjustments to my sleep schedule. From what I've heard, it only continues to get worse. I remember coming back home from Uganda about 6 years ago and playing Halo on the PC until 1 am and sleeping until 9 am the next day. My parents didn't believe it, and now I see why.

Thankfully, I am not completely overwhelmed playing "catch-up" at work, although I'm definitely staying busy. I still have yet to really go through all of my emails as I have been going straight home to bed after work. Would you believe that before today I had yet to start my PC since I got home? I know I also need to go through hundreds of Uganda pictures and videos as well. Many people at work are asking about it, so I hope to have some sort of picture book put together to show for them on Monday.

Please pray also that I can prepare well for the upcoming Houston Project (mission trip in town through Houston's First Baptist) where I will be giving a message to the youth that come to Iglesia Bautista Grace next week in the evenings. Also pray that my sleep schedule will adjust so that I can be awake and alert by Monday evening (and onward).

Godspeed,
JMission

Welcome to whoever you are!

This will be my second blog, and first in a while (did Xanga back in the day). I can't say it'll be all that often that I will post, but it is what it is.

Jesus is the reason that I continue breathing (and I guess my brainstem too when I'm not thinking about it), but seriously, He is everything to me! Most people know about Jesus but don't really know Him. The Bible says that to know God and Jesus is eternal life (1 John 5:20, John 17:3). I like to think of it as the difference between the two words for "to know" in Spanish. "Saber" means to know information, but "conocer" means to know a person or place. The difference is an intimate acquaintance, or an experiential knowledge. God wants us experience Him, and He wants to experience that close relationship with us as well. My end goal in life is to be just like Jesus. I know I'm not even close to being there, but I try to imitate His love and humble leadership through His power.

For all those interested in my upcoming trip, visit the blog tomball2uganda2010.blogspot.com and drop me a note as a comment there from June 24th-July 8th. I'm so excited about the trip and seeing all of my old Ugandan friends and the kids I've watch grow up at the orphanage!

I just got a new point-and-shoot for the trip that should be the best one I've ever had (hadn't opened it yet). It is a Canon PowerShot 1200 IS but I got it refurbished for about $120. I used to have a good little Nikon but I took it to Galveston and it got sand all in it. Photographer FAIL... But at least I didn't lose my keys in the ocean like my friend did (who had driven down there), but I did lose my glasses in the ocean. It wasn't the best weekend, LOL.

Anyway, I'll be packing for the two-week mission this weekend and going to the wedding of my "son." Garrett went with me to the EZTag store and the lady working there asked me if he was my son, and the rest (as they say) is history. I'm excited about that celebration, so if you can pray for he and his new wife, that would be awesome.

Godspeed,
JMission

P.S. Pride is saying that we are first. Pride ignores God. Pride seeks self. Pride is the poison that led to satan's rebellion. Pride is why we feel we don't need God. Pride is idolatry. God hates idolatry. God hates pride. "But he gives us more grace. That is why Scripture says: 'God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.' " (James 4:6)