Category Archives: praise

Part 2: Do I really view God right?

Earlier I wrote a post about our potentially playing with religion. And I’ve been wrestling with my view of God and if it’s correct. Do I really view God right?

Do I ever entertain thoughts about God that are unworthy of Him? Probably.

I serve a God that is infinite, eternal and almighty, but do I really regard Him as such? I do think so. But, daily do I act as though that’s true for me?

I think we often times don’t act as though it is true, and I would argue that’s because we’re self-consumed, narcissistic, stubborn, and all-around imperfect. And fair enough, but how do we get past that?

I said in the other post, it’s easy to see that some of our culture and worldview has crept in, and possibly muddled our view of God. For those who might not know what I mean by “worldview”, our worldview informs our personal, social, and political lives. It influences how we perceive ourselves, how we relate to others, how we adjust to adversity, and what we understand to be our purpose. Our worldview helps determine our values, our ethics, and our capacity for happiness. It helps us understand where we come from, our heritage; who we are, our identity; why we exist on this planet, our purpose; what drives us, our motivation; and where we are going, our destiny. And so, a worldview is not a bad thing.  But if our worldview gives a poor and inaccurate picture of God and faith, then something needs to be done.

Too often, it is easy for us to view God through the same lens we view people or through the lens that we experience the world. Too many people have painful experiences in this world, and too many people make statements like, “If God is good, then why is there so much suffering and evil?” Or, “Where was God when _____ happened?”
 Or, someone may even acknowledge God’s existence, but make a statement like “I cannot believe that, if there is a God, he be interested in us, an insignificant speck in the massive universe.” 
They’re all missing the point, I think. But, I don’t want to get into this argument. It would take too long. 
I want to address Christians and their view of God. I want to consider my view of God, and begin to get it right.

Now, I don’t get it right. I’ll be the first to admit it, and many of you are probably thinking “well duh, Luke, you clearly don’t. We know you.”

A.W. Tozer said that what comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us.  The essence of idolatry is the entertainment of thoughts about God that are unworthy of Him.

“Amongst the sins to which the human heart is prone, hardly any other is more hateful to God than idolatry, for idolatry is at bottom a libel on His character. The idolatrous heart assumes that God is other than He is – in itself a monstrous sin – and substitutes for the true God one made after its own likeness. Always this God will conform to the image of the one who created it and will be base or pure, cruel or kind, according the moral state of the mind from which it emerges.

A god begotten in the shadows of a fallen heart will quite naturally be no true likeness of the true God…

…Let us beware lest we in our pride accept the erroneous notion that idolatry consists only in kneeling before visible objects of adoration, and that civilized peoples are therefore free from it. The essence of idolatry is the entertainment of thoughts about God that are unworthy of Him. It beings in the mind and may be present where no overt act of worship has taken place. “When they knew God,” wrote Paul, “they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened.”

Then followed the worship of idols fashioned after the likeness of men and birds and beasts and creeping things. But this series of degrading acts began in the mind. Wrong ideas about God are not only the fountain from which the polluted waters of idolatry flow; they are themselves idolatrous. The idolater simply imagines things about God and acts as if they were true.”  -AW Tozer

I’m inclined to believe that the most important thoughts people can entertain are the ones about God. Even if they are bad, or incomplete, or just completely wrong, I do believe they are the most important thoughts that the person can have and should be reflecting on. All the problems that we could face in the world, the most important thing that we should wrestle with is, who is God, what is He like.

Because this question is of most importance, a right view of God should inform everything else that we do. Prayer, worship, service, love, sacrifice, even the menial aspects of life: they all must stem from our view of God, practical Christian living is at stake as well as our theological understanding. If our foundation is not solid, then sooner or later is will all collapse. Where we see Christian leaders fall, our Churches fail to act Christ-like, or even our own sin, it can likely be traced to a imperfect view of God.

I’m not there yet. And I’m not sure I’ll get there on this side of eternity, but I know that by God’s grace that I have been saved. Whew! But how do I view God right and in a way that is worthy of Him? How do I practically (in this life) get to that point, and give him the adoration that is His due?

Interestingly enough, even though we do not understand how magnificent and glorious God is, we still must try. Even though we praise and worship God incompletely, we’re still compelled to, because of his love and grace we should be driven to our knees in worship. And while we do not understand the holiness of God in its entirety, we are imparted with a knowledge of the holy through the Spirit and by His grace.

Lately, I have been reading from 1 Peter, and in it we are called to “be holy, for I am holy”. I’ve realized that this call needs to strike me the way that Isaiah was struck. I need to have a pain-filled cry, of absolute trembling, “Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts!” (Isaiah 6:5). We need to be disturbed by this call towards holiness, because we cannot grasp the true meaning of divine holiness.
I don’t think it can come from studying or gaining more knowledge. We know that faith is a gift from God (Ephesians 2:8), and this knowledge of God and His perfection can only come from the Holy Spirit illuminating our hearts.

I just want to be cautious, because my tendency is to place other things before God and I have been wrestling with the fact that I do not view God right. Here is where I have landed so far:

1. First and foremost, I need to recognize my sin and repent. It is difficult (understatement) to draw near to God with sin. Until we can see ourselves like God sees us, we are not likely to be bothered by our sin. But once we realize our depravity, God goes about sanctifying us.
2. We need to have an outright committal to follow Christ completely. A whole life dedicated to Christ in faith.
3. We need to walk in the Spirit, and having died to sin we are now alive in Christ. We need to throw off the desires of this world and chase after those things which allow us to pursue righteousness. For me that means community and being vulnerable.
4. We need to practice thinking about God. It may sound funny, but we are so self consumed that I don’t believe we really consider the majesty and glory of God enough. At least I don’t. We need to form habits that allow us to meditate on Him and His word.
5. Finally, (like #4) we need to worship. Because It Is Finished. God the Holy One, has sent his Son, who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

And so when met with the reality of a holy God, and the fact that there are created beings which “day and night they never stop saying: “‘Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty,’ who was, and is, and is to come”, I want to begin to view God rightly. By faith and obedience, by prayer and meditation, by hating sin and chasing righteousness. Like Moses (in Exodus 33), I know that no man can see God and live, SO I cling even more desperately to Christ, whose sacrifice has given me life, and by whom I am counted righteous.

“The instrument through which you see God is your whole self. And if a man’s self is not kept clean and bright, his glimpse of God will be blurred”
― C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity

Home

For all who care, I’m alive.

As I’ve quickly become resettled, I can’t help but reflect on the last year. It has just been over a year since I first set foot in Uganda. I vividly remember stepping off the plane onto Ugandan soil for that first time, excitement and anticipation were overwhelming prior to landing, but they were suddenly gone once I took that first step. It’s hard to explain, but the warm, humid air that instantly enveloped me dissipated all worry and questioning of the unknown.

All that I was dealing with prior to arriving in Uganda was instantly replaced with an intense feeling of “home”. You might argue that the red dirt that instantly clings to your feet, or the absence of orderly lines, or even the equatorial sun, would all remind me of the place I called “home” for the first 18 years of my life. But to be perfectly honest, Cameroon and Congo-Brazzaville never truly felt like home to me. The memories of growing up in Africa I’ll always cherish and thank God for, I wouldn’t change my life for anything, but they were simply never truly home.

However, that first step onto Ugandan soil, strangely enough, home was the first thought to cross my mind. An inner “this is home”, and then an overwhelming peace and readiness to simply take the next step forward.

I can’t help but smile at how God has worked. I can’t even put into words the faithfulness that He has shown over the last year.

Today I went back to read through the first blog post (October 27, 2011) that I wrote about my initial visit to Uganda, all I could do was laugh. There it was in orange text, John 15, the exact chapter that I’ve been studying and reflecting on for the last two weeks. The exact chapter that I encouraged a friend with 3 days ago. The same chapter that I’ll open with when a bible study with a few men in Masese begins.

And I would just like to end with the same words that opened my first Ugandan blog post, because they are still ringing true for me. There is still plenty that is unknown and so…

“It is a beautiful thing to be at the mercy of God. It is absolutely wonderful. To lay everything at his feet. Abiding in and relying on him. There is nothing better than that.”

Moving to Uganda

I’m excited to let you all know that I’ll be leaving for Uganda on October 15. I’ve been released to go by my mission (Equip International) and have purchased a ticket. Even though I have been released to go, I am still a bit short of what I need for monthly support. Please pray with me that the rest will come in. I have committed to being there for two years. I’m not sure what God has in store for the coming months, but I’m excited to be on this journey. My prayer is that I would become more satisfied in all that God is, that I might be a servant of love, and that I would proclaim the gospel to those who haven’t heard.
The realization came to me the other day, “If Christ died for you and took your sin, the greatest thing ever done, won’t He also fulfill all His other promises?” So I am resting on His promises. 

Just to bring you all up to date and to answer some questions you might have:
Why Jinja, Uganda and the Masese slum?  God put it on my heart and brought me there.  I have prayed for Uganda for a year and a half.  Some doors had closed to serving there.  Last October, I joined a short-term trip to South Sudan, but when we were unable to enter South Sudan, I ended up spending time in Jinja.  There were many confirmations there; one man from the slums in particular affirmed my calling to return and continue the work there.  I have a heart for the poor and oppressed and Masese has some of the worst conditions I have ever seen, even having grown up in Africa.  The people desire change, and they need the gospel.

What will you be doing these next two years?  A variety of things actually. What I’ll likely be doing mostly will include community health and education, medical assistance, business and micro-finance initiatives, discipling, and hopefully preparing for a church plant.

What is your team’s strategy?  To partner with and equip locals, eventually turning the work over to them.  There are a few young men in whom we see a lot of potential, and there is a small group of individuals that truly desire change in their community, so we will be discipling them and hoping to equip them as leaders.

What obstacles will you face?  Hardened hearts.  Some people see us as a means to an end.  The issues are so great (alcohol, prostitution, medical problems, etc.) that it feels like putting a bandaid on a severed arm.  There are 7 different ethnic groups in the slum, very little unity, backbiting, revenge-seeking, jealousy…so development work is very difficult.

So, why even try?  There is hope!  Jesus didn’t come to heal the healthy, but the sick.  The gospel will be and must be preached, and only in Christ will there be freedom.  There’s no greater message than that!  

 “Though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be white as snow.” ~ Isaiah 1:18

What a promise! That God would choose to redeem the broken and sinful, and bring them into His fold.

Thank you for your continued prayers as I go. 

Humility before Worship: Guilt before Grace

Why would a holy God, without sin and full of glory, choose to forgive, redeem, and sanctify a people who would never choose Him on their own? People who, if left to themselves, would chase their own desires?

Why would a holy God be willing to bring unholy people to Himself?
The Gospel story is amazing, ridiculous, and completely foolish to man. It doesn’t make sense. And yet, God sent his Son. God chose to display His grace, mercy and love through sacrificing the Son.
The gospel of Christ is enough. To live for and die for, and everything in-between. And therefore I am not ashamed of the Gospel. To live like nothing can shame me and yet nothing can stop me, because a just and gracious God has looked upon this hopeless and sinful man and all of my rebellion, and in spite of it, He has sent his Son to take my sin and bear the wrath so that I may be reconciled with God. So I can boast in God, and I am here to exalt His name and to bring the good news to the nations.
Life can no longer be about me. To borrow a statement that used to trouble me: “God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in Him.”
How can this happen?
When am I most satisfied in Him?
How can I glorify God and find JOY in Him?

I would argue that we are most satisfied in Him when we are most minimized, when we no longer focus on ourselves. The verse that always comes to my mind, John 3:30 “He must increase, but I must decrease.”

When we no longer focus on ourselves and are able to allow God’s will to be done in our lives, then we are surrendering ourselves and allowing Him to work. When our will is to do His will, suddenly He is glorified because we no longer interject our own desires. Complete satisfaction can only come through Christ and his redeeming power. This joy and satisfaction in God can only happen through prayer, and a humble reliance on God’s power and wisdom. When the faithful are able to tremble before God, grasping their insufficiency, then God can be truly praised, for it is in nothing that we do, but completely God’s doing.

1 Corinthians 10:31 states: “Do all for the glory of God”. Does it glorify him to make much of yourself? When Christ died on the cross, was it to make much of you? Well it was in a sense, it was meant to bring you into relationship and reconcile you with God, but ultimately it was to glorify God.

It is important, if your desire is to glorify God in all that you do, to question what is your current mindset: Is it to go to God first and foremost, or is it a focus on your wishes and desires first?
Christ died to free us from sin, but that was not the end goal. The ultimate goal of the cross is God glorified. We are now free so that we may glorify God. May my cause always be to give glory to God in everything, may I live for it and may I die for it.

Take joy in and be filled with worship that in the death of Jesus we can see and begin to know the unfathomable, that our finite minds can begin to contemplate an infinite God. That God forgives sins is not meant solely for me and my finite self to enjoy eternity, but it is deeply-rooted in the infinite worth of God — God’s unswerving allegiance to uphold and vindicate the glory of his name, that ultimately God is for God. He is for the praise of His name; God is for His glory.

Read the Bible and you will see that the point of the Bible is God; it’s not about us. God’s motive is that He is great, He is glorious, and therefore God is about God. When God works, He is working for Himself. When He’s forgiving you of your sins, it is for the praise of His glorious name and grace.

I want to reemphasize this: Knowing you and me, knowing our motivations, our hearts, God nevertheless sent His Son to die on the cross. Anyone can approve and accept you without any knowledge of your motives or desires. God knows that wicked heart, and still Christ died on the cross. Your and my approval with God can only take place with the sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross.
Joy in God and true worship only occurs when you are honest about your failures and humbly delight in God’s grace. To grasp your guiltiness and then find that you’re forgiven is crucial in regards to igniting worship and giving glory to God.

Psalm 86:12-13 (NIV)

12 I will praise you, Lord my God, with all my heart;
I will glorify your name forever.
13 For great is your love toward me;
you have delivered me from the depths,
from the realm of the dead.

“I Will Glory in my Redeemer”  by Steve and Vikki Cook

I will glory in my Redeemer
Whose priceless blood has ransomed me
Mine was the sin that drove the bitter nails
And hung Him on that judgment tree
I will glory in my Redeemer
Who crushed the power of sin and death
My only Savior before the Holy Judge
The Lamb Who is my righteousness
The Lamb Who is my righteousness

I will glory in my Redeemer
My life He bought, my love He owns
I have no longings for another
I’m satisfied in Him alone
I will glory in my Redeemer
His faithfulness my standing place
Though foes are mighty and rush upon me
My feet are firm, held by His grace

My hopeful return to Uganda

After three months in Uganda, I recently returned to the States for some required training (just completed) from Equip, Inc. in North Carolina, and am planning to be in the States for the entire summer, which I’m looking forward to. With weddings, family reunions, and a boundary waters canoeing/camping trip, things will be busy. I hope to catch up with many friends and family, so if you’re available, please let me know – I would love to get together. I am planning to return to Uganda, hopefully in September, to minister with Equip International in Masese for two more years.

On the long flight home, I had plenty of time to reflect on all the experiences I had in Uganda, and I tried to think about how to best relate those stories to others. But in reality, most of the time I couldn’t focus on the past or the future. Instead, I kept wondering what was currently happening in Jinja while I was sitting cramped in my seat on the plane. What were the Boones up to? How was the women’s beading group going? What’s happening for the CHE (Community Health Evangelism) group tomorrow? What are my friends there doing right now?

And that’s when it hit me. I was already feeling “homesick”. It was surprising. Why? Well mostly because I’ve never felt at home so quickly. My entire life has been transition, and it still is. But this time, well, this time I want to be settled. I know where I’m supposed to be. And that surprised me.

So I couldn’t help but think about a question asked of me just before I left Uganda, “Do you have a love for the people in Masese, or do you just know that God has called you to Uganda?” During that conversation I gave a response, but on the plane ride over the Atlantic, I had my answer. YES! An unequivocal yes to both questions.

I cannot really explain it, but yes, I know I’m called, and yes, I have an unexplainable love for the people in Masese. God has placed them on my heart, there is nothing in me that would necessarily feel this way on my own doing. God is so gracious – I can’t even begin to relate to you all the ways.

The last three months in Uganda have not been all fun, easy, clean and without trouble. There were situations that were incredibly hard, frustrating and heartbreaking. More about that is written in my blog, http://morethanhoping.com. But through it all, God has been faithful and will remain faithful, and He’s been incredibly good. I wish that I could tell of all the blessings He’s given.

 Oh, taste and see that the LORD is good! Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him! ~Psalm 34:8

 The pictures in this newsletter are from an Immunization Clinic that we organized and ran in Masese slum where a number of children had already died from a measles outbreak. It took place just two days before I left – I’m thankful I could be there to help. We partnered with another organization and enlisted the services of the government in order to pull it off. Thankfully there was also a short-term team visiting who helped with “kid crowd control”. By the end of that long day, we had immunized over 450 kids for Measles and Polio and had also administered Vitamin A and de-wormer.

Believing that God has gifted, blessed and wired me for working overseas and within this type of context, I have committed to serve at least two years with Equip International in Masese and Jinja, Uganda. In order to fulfill this calling, I need to partner with His people because your partnership through prayer, communication and giving are crucial to my ministry. I am unable to do this on my own. I desperately need your prayers, I covet them. Nothing I hope to accomplish will be done unless God is in it. Please join me in prayer for Masese.

Please also prayerfully consider joining me in this journey financially. I have about 30% of my monthly support raised. I need to be receiving at least 90% before I can return to Uganda. I still have almost $1,000/month more to raise. If only 10 people commit to $100/month (or 50 at $20), this will become a reality.

If you would like to join me in ministry, there are a few ways in which you can – either by sending a check to Equip, Inc., or by setting up Bill Pay with your bank to donate directly to Equip, Inc. or by Credit Card at NetworkForGood.org. If you have questions about any of this, please feel free to contact me or write Kathe at Equip. If you plan to give, please make all gifts designated to Luke Anderson.

As you support me in prayer and perhaps also financially, know that you are supporting God’s work to further His kingdom globally and are touching the lives of His children as you enable me to work as His hands and feet in Masese. It is only together and through the grace of God that we can make any impact in the lives of hurting people and offer them the hope that we have in Christ.

For the beauty and glory of God’s name,
Luke

Jet-lagged realities, the beauty of being up early.

I’ve arrived. I’m up early this morning, sitting in my bed, enjoying jet-lag.

First, I’ve never really struggled with jet-lag before, even with all my travels I haven’t had a major problem. But this morning, I’m up at 4am. And I’m sitting here knowing full well that I’ll be out running a few miles with Jeremy soon to start off my day.

How can I be enjoying jet-lag? Well it’s been a wonderful 2 hours of sitting in thought and enjoying my Savior.

Enjoying the undeserved gift of salvation, and the undeserved blessing of sitting here in Uganda knowing that God is good and faithful to act. Excited to see how He continues to work and I pray that I can be a conduit of His love and glory here.

Knowing full well that I deserve judgment, and that without the cross there is only condemnation. But I’m celebrating in the fact that with Jesus’ sacrifice these are no more. So in the times that are good (like now) and the times that are bad, I will boast in the cross. I will boast in His wonderful name, I will boast in the Son and that He reigns. Who am I that you would choose me? And what is my life if I’m not praising You. So Father, please keep me faithful to your call, continue to work in me, allow me to count my life as loss for the sake of Christ, that I may know You more.

Philippians 3:8-10

8 Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ 9 and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith— 10  that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, 11 that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead.

Blessed are you, O Lord, forever

“Blessed are you, O Lord, the God of Israel our father, forever and ever. Yours, O Lord, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the victory and the majesty, for all that is in the heavens and in the earth is yours. Yours is the kingdom, O Lord, and you are exalted as head above all. Both riches and honor come from you, and you rule over all. In your hand are power and might, and in your hand it is to make great and to give strength to all. And now we thank you, our God, and praise your glorious name.
“But who am I, and what is my people, that we should be able thus to offer willingly? For all things come from you, and of your own have we given you. For we are strangers before you and sojourners, as all our fathers were. Our days on the earth are like a shadow, and there is no abiding. O Lord our God, all this abundance that we have provided for building you a house for your holy name comes from your hand and is all your own. I know, my God, that you test the heart and have pleasure in uprightness. In the uprightness of my heart I have freely offered all these things, and now I have seen your people, who are present here, offering freely and joyously to you. O Lord, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, our fathers, keep forever such purposes and thoughts in the hearts of your people, and direct their hearts toward you.
- (1 Chronicles 29:10-18 ESV)

Unbelievably thankful for the undeserved blessings I have received throughout my life. One of which is family.
Reflecting on my Christmas spent in Georgia. It was extraordinary. My time with family there was some of the best I’ve had and it is wonderful and encouraging to see God working in their lives. I marvel at His sovereignty and love.

Life is hard and our family is far from perfect but I am so thankful that God placed me into your lives. I love you and am praying for you all.