Victory Over Sin, Part 1

We’ve recently been studying Hamartiology (the doctrines of sin) in our GAP class with Dr. Bob (one of our SCORE missionaries). It’s a good place for us to be because it allows us to grapple with our humanity, but to be honest I’m looking forward to the end of this class so that we can move on to “happier” subjects. For example, in only a couple months I will be leading the students through two weeks of Soteriology (roughly 16 hours of class on the doctrines of salvation). Please pray for me as I prepare to teach that class.

Nevertheless, this class has been helpful to me. I’ve discovered that whenever we genuinely think about our sinfulness, we should arrive at only one conclusion: we are awful.

Of course, if we lend ourselves to such serious introspection of sin, we must also lend ourselves to an equally serious consideration of the divine grace which redeemed us from our unworthy state and transformed us not simply from bad guys to good guys, but from death to life and made us heirs of the Kingdom of God!

Unfortunately, it is very easy to dwell on our sinfulness. After all, our sinfulness has permeated all of society. In Genesis 3, we see the Fall of mankind and the corruption of all of creation. But to bring it closer to home, sin has permeated into every nook and cranny of who we are; it is part of our being.

Since sin is inescapable, the only solution is to turn to Christ. He too is present everywhere and He alone is more powerful and more beautiful and more exciting and more satisfying than sin.

I recently listened to a sermon online where the speaker expounded on I John 3:9, “No one who is born of God practices sin, because His seed abides in him, and he cannot sin, because he is born of God.” This means that our ability to not sin comes about at regeneration (being born of God). We don’t have to be identified or characterized by sin any longer.

This also means that we can’t afford the luxury of shifting our blame on to anyone else. We are often prone to blaming the church for our spiritual deficiencies. We pretend our shallowness is a result of the pastor’s shallow preaching.

Sometimes we even blame the Holy Spirit for our spiritual deficiency. We rationalize our sinfulness by realizing that we are just not full enough of the Holy Spirit. And being filled with the Spirit is important, but it’s not what makes us spiritual. According to I John 3:9 it is regeneration.

 

Regeneration leaves us without excuse. We sin not for lack of power, but simply because we desire to sin. Our desire for sin sometimes deliberately trumps our desire for God. This is often when we start to feel like spiritual losers, and guilt creeps in.

Robert Murray McCheyne recommends that, “For every one look at our sin, take ten looks on Christ.” Our regeneration comes about only by grace. And it is only by grace that we can overcome our penchant for sin and loosen the chokehold of guilt on our lives. To be able to see grace all you have to do is look to Christ. Take ten looks on Christ.

The following message was brought to you today by Connecting with the Carters. Please stay tuned for Victory Over Sin, Part 2.

Echoes of Eternity

I’m not going to lie, this has been a hard week for us. Sunday morning we found out that fellow missionaries, and friends of ours, “lost” their little girl.

 Giovanna was born in the Dominican Republic with a heart condition 19 months earlier. And we, along with many others, donated funds and other resources in an effort to get her to the States for a costly and difficult operation. It was a worthy investment. The operation was successful. Then, this Sunday, she passed away.

Neither Ashley nor I had been to a child’s funeral before, and this was our first funeral in the Dominican Republic too.  The viewing is the same day as the passing, and the burials are typically within 24 hours of the person’s passing. During the burial, I translated for two different speakers. The following night at her memorial service, I translated for four different speakers. None of this was easy for me; it’s hard to speak while choking on tears. We prayed and wept often during the days that followed.

At the same time, my sister arrived from Uruguay to be with us during that same week. She had gone to a conference in Honduras and on her way through, she stopped by to spend a week with us here in the DR. We hadn’t seen her in over three years! It was great to let her tour our ministries and favorite places. We loved spending time together with her.

The sad tears for Giovanna’s passing were soon mingling with the happy laughter of being with my sister again. And life is like that sometimes. There is both sorrow and laughter involved. Yet there is something in us that knows that it shouldn’t be like this.

Thankfully, right now, things are this way, we have a capacity for sorrow and joy. Our tears are a valve for us to relieve some of the stress of grief; they are an outlet for emotional expression. But although we appreciate them, we do not enjoy them. We know that this is not the way things should be.

The echoes of eternity resound loudly in our hearts. We know that there needs to be more to life than what we have at the moment. Saying goodbye to Giovanna was so hard, and eventually we had to say goodbye to my sister, after dropping her off at the airport. Once again, the tears were there and again, it was extremely hard to say goodbye. As a Missionary Kid who’s spent most of his life traveling, I’ve had to say goodbye for more than my fair share: and it’s not gotten easier. It never will – not in this life, anyway.

Those echoes of eternity seem to ring loudest when we have to say goodbye because we know that we were never created for goodbye. Mortality is a terminal disease that affects us all, and although you can live your life any way you choose, you know that you can only live it once.

Right now we may have to grieve, but we do not grieve as those without hope (I Thess. 4:13). Instead, we look forward to Heaven knowing we’ll never have to say goodbye again. Why? Because our hope is built on nothing less than Jesus’ blood and righteousness. Or, as the text tells us: For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who have fallen asleep in Jesus (I Thess. 4:14).

But the text continues and at the end of I Thessalonians 4; it exhorts us to encourage one another with talk of Heaven.  So please be encouraged by these words and set your heart on home – because Heaven is right around the corner! Peter tells us that we are sojourners in this land. In other words, just passing through. Heaven is our home. “And though you have not seen Him, you love Him, and thought you do not see Him now, but believe in Him, you greatly rejoice with joy inexpressible…” (I Pet. 1:8). We have authentic hope even in our grief. We also have great joy even in our limitations.

We talk about Heaven being so far away.

It is within speaking distance to those who belong there.

(D.L. Moody)

           Picture below: Us with Carter's sister (Abigail)

Hidden Servants

Our missionary corps is comprised of an elite task force of Hidden Servants. Here on the ground, we have those who take center stage to preach the Word of God before an entire congregation – but will then be seen sweating with other local workers to untangle branches and roots from the electric power lines along the road. That’s my pastor.

Then we have the one that runs the ship here, the “big guy.” He does everything, with a true servant’s heart, yet possessing the authority to lead. One of those perplexing paradoxes you hear about but don’t get to see too often – a genuine servant-leader. He coordinates all the short-term trips from the US with their corresponding ministry visits here on the island. Anyway, yesterday he dropped everything to help move a mattress from one room to another – on the other side of the complex!

These are the men (and women) we are proud to serve with in the DR. They are Hidden Servants. You may see them around, they may even have a title or a role of authority, and perhaps you’ll even know their name. But what you and I will never be fully aware of is how much they do “behind the scenes.”

They do what they do, whether great or small, because they indiscriminately welcome every opportunity to serve. They see the need, and they see it as important. More importantly, they see the Saviour, and they see Him as supreme.

Our service here is done, yes, to reach out to others, but ultimately it is done to glorify God in all things. Our service flows not from a sense of duty, but from a sense of delight in the God whom we serve above all else.

Richard Foster said that, “Nothing disciplines the inordinate desires of the flesh like service, and nothing transforms the desires of the flesh like serving in hiddenness. The flesh whines against service but screams against hidden service. It strains and pulls for honor and recognition….If we stoutly refuse to give in to this lust of the flesh we crucify it. Every time we crucify the flesh we crucify our pride and arrogance.” (his emphasis)

We are truly blessed to have such a great team to work with, but I want to expand this idea a little more. You are a part of our team. That elite task force that I mentioned at the start – you form an integral part of that same elite task force. Whether by your prayers, encouragement, or donations, you are acting as a Hidden Servant.

People may not be aware of just how much you mean to us, but in a very real sense you help keep us going. We don’t always know what you have to do to set aside time to remember us in your prayers. We don’t know what you do to send down an encouraging note or package, or even the somersaults you have to go through to come down her and be encouraging to us through your visit. We don’t know what you give up to make your donations possible, perhaps you sacrifice something once-in-awhile to make a one-time gift possible or maybe it’s a monthly commitment and you sacrifice that gift every month to help us stay on the field.

We don’t know. It’s hidden from us and from those to whom we minister. But we do appreciate it. That may not mean much right now, but this should:

…your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you. (Matthew 6:4)

Above: Part of the SCORE missionary team.

Bienvenidos!

Welcome!  This is our attempt to create a better way to connect with you.  We hope that through this medium we can connect you to the things that God is doing in our lives and in our ministry here in the Dominican Republic.  We have lots to share, and we know that we could never do what we do without you.  So, as we connect with you, please feel free to connect with us by leaving a comment or through e-mail.  We can't wait to keep up our connections with you!