The Cure

It has been over 7 years ago now that we first were called to the mission field.  We went to Costa Rica to learn the language and the culture, but we learned so much more than that.  We had many people ask us what was it specifically that made us feel the called to missions.  I can honestly say before I lived cross culturally I did not really have a very good answer.  I could only describe it as a feeling like it was something God wanted us to do.  All of that changed when we found ourselves face to face with the people.  

Although the Latino people are very relationship oriented, many of them do not understand what a relationship with God looks like.  For them religion is a part of their culture and heritage.  They view the rituals and ceremonies as a means to an end, a way to earn their healing, meet their need, or even earn their salvation.  Grace and mercy are foreign to them as they have encountered so very little of that in their own personal lives.  This was never so apparent as when we experienced the day celebrating "La Virgen de Los Angeles".  Here are some insights from a post I wrote then.

"On August 2, 1635, Costa Rican folklore says that the Virgin Mary showed herself as a small, black doll to a young girl named Juana Pereira. After the doll disappeared and reappeared several times at the creek where Juana had found it, the Catholic Church agreed that the Virgin wanted a cathedral built on that spot. The Basilica is today considered the holiest church in Costa Rica, and every August 2, the faithful make their way from all over the country, many walking for days on the side of the road, to pay homage to "La Negrita", the little black statue of the Virgin Mary found by the little girl over 380 years ago. The statue can still be seen today on the same rock it was supposedly found on.

People come to the Basilica in hopes of redeeming their loved ones from purgatory. You can purchase gold charms in front of the church to receive a healing. You can purchase charms in different shapes like arms, legs, stomachs, hearts, etc... Holy water runs from a spring there at the church and many people believe that it has special healing powers. Just about anything can be purchased in front of the Basilica... charms, holy water, rosaries, toys, even lottery tickets. I wondered if Jesus would have cleared the place like the temple 2000 years ago."

Probably the most impactful experience for us when we visited years ago was that of people coming to the steps of the church and immediately dropping to their knees to begin the long slow procession towards the front of the church on their hands and knees. Many are petitioning for healing of an illness. Some are pleading forgiveness for past sins. Sadly, many are making this painful crawl for loved ones that have died in hopes they will be released from purgatory. All of this moved me to tears then, and still creates in me that urgency to go and share the true story of Jesus.  I remember explaining to my oldest, Connor, why over 1.5 million people each year made this pilgrimage to Cartago, and why they were crawling on their hands and knees to the front of the church, and how none of their sacrifices would bring them healing, remove their suffering, or save them and their loved ones. 

This video I made explains our answer of why we go. It is His grace, His mercy, His blood that saves, and we cannot keep it to ourselves.  To not go would be like being a physician with the cure for cancer, but never sharing it with others.  We bring with us the cure to all of their suffering.  We bring them the hope that is eternal, His name is Jesus.

"Crimson" by Nicole Nordeman

We cannot look the other way

For nine years I had the privilege of working at Sav-a-Life, a crisis pregnancy center in Birmingham.  Each month I would volunteer on the third Saturday in the medical clinic to counsel girls coming in for STD testing or a pregnancy test.  I would draw blood and help with the ultrasounds and just listen and hold a hand if needed.  I shared the gospel and I let these girls know that God loved them.  Their stories were often heartbreaking and difficult to hear.  I'll never forget the one woman who had had 7 abortions and was now pregnant with her 8th child.  But this woman was now different from the drug addict she had once been.  She was a new creation in Christ, and she was terrified that she would now miscarry this child because of all the damage done to her uterus during her many abortions.  I held her hand as the doctor did the ultrasound, something she had never had in any of her previous pregnancies.  Tears streamed down her face as she saw the life within her and thought about the lives she had chosen to end.  The doctor did not mince words, but told her that due to all the scarring from her previous abortions, she might not be able to carry this baby to term.  He prayed with her and set up an appointment for her in his office for the next month.   Her story left such an impression on me as I saw her have that moment when she now knew what life looked like inside of her.

This was 15 years ago with a 2D ultrasound.  Today we have 3D and even 4D ultrasound machines that can show us so much more.  I wonder sometimes if abortion clinics were forced to use this technology to show mothers the life inside of them, would they be so willing to end it?  As we are horrified at the videos that have surfaced in the news recently concerning Planned Parenthood (an oxymoron for sure), it makes us squirm to see the images of torn up pieces of a baby in a petri dish as a technician says, "Another boy!" and then  heartlessly points out the different organs and appendages they can salvage for research. And then there is the woman talking about the sale of these organs as she nonchalantly eats her salad and drinks her wine.  Or the lady who states callously she wants a Lamborghini as she negotiates price for the aborted babies and states she needs to find a "less crunchy" method of extracting the fetuses so there will be more viable tissue.  If there was ever any doubt about what level our country has fallen to, that doubt has now been erased.  In the words of William Wilberforce, "You may choose to look away, but you can never again say that you did not know."

When I think about the history of the people of Israel, God's chosen people, I realize little has changed in 2,000 years.  One of the gods worshipped by the Canaanites and taken up by some of the people of Israel was the worship of a pagan god named Moloch.  People would sacrifice one of their own children on a sacrificial altar of fire to assure a blessing of prosperity for the family making the sacrifice.  Taking their cues from the Canaanites, some would even place the skeletal remains of the burned child under the front doorstep.  As one writer put it, "In short, a child was murdered for the promised convenience and prosperity the family was to receive from Moloch. This sounds barbaric to those of us living in the 21st century. It seems barbaric until it is realized that since the Roe v. Wade decision, over 50 million babies have been murdered legally in the United States for the convenience or prosperity of their mothers and other family members. Abortion has the same intended outcome of personal and family prosperity as did the sacrifice of a child at the altar of Moloch." (Worshiping Moloch - The human sacrifice of children to assure prosperity, by W. J. Murray.)  As Murray later points out, the biggest difference was that the children sacrificed 2,000 years ago were at least buried.  Now we just sell the usable body parts and dump the rest of their bodies in the trash.  God have mercy on us.

The statistics do not lie.  There have been over 6.8 million abortions performed by Planned Parenthood since 1970, and they are the largest abortion provider in the country.  What can we do as Christians to stop this?

1.  Write or call your senators and congressmen now.  Here is a helpful link which gives you a letter you can copy and paste into your email.  It took me just 4 minutes to send this to both of my state senators.  How to Contact your Legislators  

2.  If you have a Planned Parenthood in your area, stage a peaceful rally at the PP location.  One group in Birmingham did this, and they spent time praying and sharing their desire to see the organization defunded, calling on their legislators to make it happen.  It made state news and will draw attention to the people's cause.  Hundreds of Alabamians Protest at Planned Parenthood Facility

3.  Pray for our nation.  This is imperative if we want to see a change.  A good place to start is with the prayer offered in Daniel chapter 9.  It is a powerful plea by Daniel to God for forgiveness and healing of their nation.  Daniel 9 prayer

4.  Support our Christian pregnancy centers such as Sav-a-Life and Wiregrass Hope and the National Right to Life.  These organizations are crucial to the preservation of human life.  As a former volunteer, I saw first hand the impact our counseling had on the lives of the women to which we ministered.  Our support of these organizations allows kingdom work to continue in an area that many people socially refuse to address. 

As William Wilberforce (the man most responsible for the abolition of the slave trade in Great Britain) also said, "A private faith that does not act in the face of oppression is no faith at all."  May we as a nation be found faithful.

Amazing Grace

It was our last day, our last patient, our last surgery.  The week had been long, but we were overjoyed at the amazing work God had chosen to do through his people with over 60 surgeries completed, and 85 decisions for Christ.  As I started cleaning up the anesthesia medicines and supplies, I was thankful that we were almost done.  I went to check on my friend and fellow anesthetist, Angi, who was working with our last patient.

When I went in I fully expected her to be waking the patient, but clearly there was something wrong. Looking back on it, Angi and I both believe that this patient had an undiagnosed clotting disorder which led to her great blood loss (I noticed several old bruises on her legs later during transport). Our GYN surgeon had been trying to complete the hysterectomy with the most minimally invasive procedure possible (via laparoscopy), but the continual bleeding made this very difficult and it was decided that they needed to convert to an open procedure to stop the bleeding.  Several people joined us in the OR to facilitate the change in plans and give the best possible care, but despite these efforts, we were dismayed to see the amount of blood she had continued to lose.  They were able to get the uterus out and stop the bleeding, but playing catch up with the fluids seemed to be an insurmountable task as we estimated over 65-70% blood loss when counting lap sponges and what was in the suction canisters, not counting what was on the drapes, surgical gowns and floor.  Our general surgeon started a central line, but we knew that without blood products in our facility (something that the Red Cross controls in Honduras) she would have to be transferred to Tegucigalpa for treatment. This meant 2 hours in the back of a Toyota Highlander over a bumpy, narrow 2 lane road with sheer drop offs...in the dark.

As we continued to treat her low blood pressure with 2 different medicines and multiple lines of fluids, the patient was moved to a stretcher and transferred into the back of the truck, intubated, paralyzed, and sedated.  It was determined that I would go since I speak Spanish and could give report to the medical team at the hospital where we were taking her. The whole team in the room wanted so much to come with us and care for our patient, but there was only room for one surgeon and myself in the back, so we loaded up with the patient and prepared to go.  I remember telling everyone that it was a 2 hour ride to Teguc, and I expected they would be having a 2 hour prayer meeting, but honestly I was amazed that our patient was still responding to our medications to maintain her blood pressure. As we pulled away I thought of all the things I wished I could have brought with me to use, feeling woefully unprepared for the trip.  My nerves sometimes get the better of me and I did what I often do when I am nervous, I decided to sing.  I wanted to sing one of the praise songs we had been singing all week, "Holy Spirit, You Are Welcome Here", but what came out of my mouth unbidden was "Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound, that saved a wretch like me.  I once was lost, but now I'm found.  'Twas blind, but now I see."  I couldn't understand why I would sing this song, however after singing that one verse I felt a peace come over me.  I knew without a doubt, "God has this.  I don't need to worry, because He has this."  The rest of the trip was actually pretty uneventful, at least whenever Dr. Keith didn't look out the front window to see a car passing into our lane and narrowly missing us.  I told him not to look up front any more!

My previous problems with her pressure seemed to subside and stabilize, and I continued to give her medication to keep her sedated and paralyzed as the doctor and I took turns ventilating her with the ambu bag.  When we finally arrived in Tegucigalpa at the hospital, we were somewhat dismayed to realize that although we had called ahead to tell them we were coming, they were not really prepared to receive our patient.  We continued care as we asked about a ventilator, blood for our patient, an ICU bed, warm blankets, and lab work.  I drew the lab work as we found out they didn't have blood either, but had to get it from the Red Cross as well.  Dr. Keith found a warming lamp, a kind nurse found a comforter (the patient's temperature was 95 degrees), and it became apparent that the ventilator was not going to come, so we took turns ventilating the patient by hand.  After over an hour of this I was considering the fact that coma and organ damage can occur with only a 40% blood loss, and wondered about our patient's neurological status.  That is when Carol opened her eyes and looked straight at me.  I spoke to her in Spanish telling her that she was OK, that her surgery was over, but because of a large amount of blood loss, we had to take her to Tegucigalpa.  She closed her eyes.  For the next 15 minutes as her sedation and paralyzing medicine wore off, I reassured her that Jesus was by her side the whole time.  She nodded a yes in response. I'm not surprised she knew that, because I felt His presence the whole trip.

When she was strong enough and breathing well, I finally removed the tube.  It had been almost 3 1/2 hours since we had left Guaimaca.  She still had not received any blood products, and the labs showed the exact same values we had before we left Guaimaca 4 hours earlier despite the 4 additional liters of fluids I had given her.  As I removed the tube I heard her say over and over, "Gracias, gracias, gracias!" but I knew that her gratitude was to the Lord.  Her eyes were full of tears as she asked me which hospital she was in, and if she could see her husband.  The blood arrived and I hung it up with a pressure bag telling the nurse she could keep the pressure bag and use it for all the blood they would give her.

The 2 hour ride back to Guaimaca seemed so much shorter, and I enjoyed getting to translate between our driver, Leo, and Dr. Keith.  I looked forward to getting what I knew would be a good report the next afternoon.  The next day a few people were sitting with me waiting for the group and asked about the trip, what it had been like, how I felt.  I told them how nervous I was, but that I decided to sing a praise song and although I was surprised at the one that came out of my mouth, I felt peace when I had finished the first line.  They asked me what song.  When I said "Amazing Grace", everyone's mouths fell open.  When I had been pulling out of the hospital compound the night before, the medical team had gathered in a circle holding hands and someone had started to sing as everyone soon joined in..."Amazing grace, how sweet the sound, that saved a wretch like me.  I once was lost, but now I'm found.  'Twas blind, but now I see."...then they began praying.

Carol was discharged from the hospital after only 2 days.  She is home now with her family recuperating.  This patient should not be alive today but for His Grace, which is truly Amazing.

Rebellion Loves Company

I will be honest with you and tell you I really don't want to write this blog.  It has been causing me some sleepless nights in prayer.  To be truthful, it would be so much easier to ignore it (if I could) and go blithely on like it wasn't even happening, but alas, I have come to the point that as the great reformer Martin Luther said, "...to go against conscience is neither right nor safe.  Here I stand, I can do no other, so help me God."  So here goes...

The other day as I was scrolling through Facebook, I noticed several photos of a woman who appeared rather photoshopped, but she was gracing the cover of Vanity Fair.  On further inspection I realized "she" was actually Bruce Jenner, now known as Caitlyn Jenner.  You would have to live in a vacuum not to know what has been happening in this country over the last 5 years regarding "gender neutrality" and the transgender movement, but this entire photo spread was put out there by many credible news agencies for all the world to see.  Something they seemed to be screaming from the rooftops, "Look, here is the new normal!  Come celebrate this man's multiple gender changing plastic surgeries, injection of chemicals, and schizophrenic use of referring to himself in the third person with us!"  Just reading an excerpt of this article you find out he has contemplated suicide since making this decision to change his identity.  Sadly enough, one of Bruce's estranged sons even said, "I have high hopes that Caitlyn is a better person than Bruce."

It made me ponder, why would the media and many people want to celebrate a man who is obviously confused and disturbed?  Why do people want to tell a man who admittedly never was a very good father to his kids or husband to his wife, "You are courageous" with the ESPN Courage Award? Why is gender mutilation applauded by the masses?  Some people seem to think that changing your gender is your free choice, much like the "It's my body and I should be able to do what I want with it" party line of pro-choice activists and not a sin at all.  But then you would have to deny the truth found in scripture from Genesis 1:27 "So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created them; male and female He created them."  One physician from Johns Hopkins, Dr. Paul McHugh, said, "The transgendered person's disorder is in the person's "assumption" that they are different than the physical reality of their body, their maleness or femaleness...  It is a disorder similar to a "dangerously thin" person suffering anorexia who looks in the mirror and thinks they are overweight."

What the people who celebrate the destruction of someone's life are doing really comes down to rebellion.  What authority is governing people's lives?  When it is human invention, the end is always destruction.  Just ask Bruce Jenner in a few months when all the attention and fame goes away, will he really feel healed and whole now?  I doubt it.  But when we chose God's design for humanity, the end is eternal life.  The biggest mistake I see coming out of many churches today is that they cannot separate love from acceptance.  The scripture clearly says we are to love the sinner, but nowhere in the Bible does it say we are to accept the sin.  Jesus himself confronted sin and hypocrisy.  He told people to "go and sin no more."  The lie from Satan in the American Church is that love does not require repentance or sacrifice.  Perhaps the most distressing aspect of this is how our children are

now being pulled into this debate.  I read an editorial from a small college newspaper that was celebrating the addition of gender neutral bathrooms stating, "Students should not have to identify in order to be easily accommodated, and that's the way it is at Western."  Even Canada is beginning to teach an aggressive sex-ed curriculum to it's students.  Starting in third grade their curriculum introduces to children the idea that gender is fluid, that little boys can decide to be girls, or vice versa. (from Same-sex "Marriage" and the Persecution of Christians in Canada by Lea Singh)  Right now the Human Rights Tribunal in British Columbia is reviewing the case to remove identification of sex on birth certificates because critics say it it discriminatory for doctors to assign a baby's sex "based on a quick inspection of the ...genitals at birth." Nevermind the fact that most everyone is born with either 2-X chromosomes, or 1-X and 1-Y chromosome (less than 0.2% are born XXY), but somehow it is discriminatory to call the baby with xy a boy and the baby with xx a girl.  And before someone thinks this wouldn't occur here in the US, look no further than the Fairfax County Public School System which is considering a new sex-education curriculum for 7-12 graders stating that there is no such thing as "100% girls or 100% boys" but that instead that there is a broader, boundless, and fluid spectrum of sexuality that is developed throughout a lifetime.  (Fox News- Parents furious over school's plan to teach gender spectrum, fluidity by Todd Starnes).

This all reminds me of what was prophesied in Isaiah 5:20-21 "Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; Who substitute darkness for light and light for darkness; Who substitute bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter!  Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes and clever in their own sight!"  Just as Satan was not content to rebell alone but also brought a third of the angels with him, these people who seek to pervert the truth will take everyone they can with them, especially the low hanging fruit of the mentally and emotionally disturbed.

So how do we respond to this shift in culture?  First and foremost we must not be deceived.  As Galatians 6:7 states, "Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap.  For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life."  Knowing that Paul said that the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, we must be vigilant through reading God's Word and in prayer to be sensitive to what the Spirit is telling us so that we can know right from wrong.  Secondly, we must obey God rather than man.  Many times this means that we will be hated by the world, even when we speak the truth in love. Jesus himself said, "If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first.  If you belonged to the world, it would love you as it's own.  As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you." (John 15:18-19).  Lastly, and most importantly, we must pray. Pray that as John 8:32 says, people might know the truth and the truth will set them free.  Only Jesus Christ can change a rebellious heart. 

Be Still

Be still.  This is a command children rarely are interested in obeying (my 9-year-old in particular).  It’s also something adults in our society seem somewhat incapable of doing either.  I have reflected on a verse in Psalms which gives this very command over the last few weeks as I have been forced to “be still” in recovering from foot surgery.  “Be still and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.”  Psalm 46:10. 

My busyness and desire to spend time doing often impedes my spiritual walk.  I have been very conscious of this fault of mine over the years, but the last 4 weeks of convalescing has made me more cognizant of my need to do precisely the thing I struggle with the most…. to be still.  It is often times in that still, quiet moment that I can truly feel God’s presence and hear His voice.  I have had a daily quiet time, daily family devotional and prayer time for years, but this is not what this verse really spoke to me.  I realized that I spend a great deal of my time consumed with making lists in my head, lists of what I need to do next; who I need to call, what chore I need to complete, what item I should pick up from the store.  I even make prayer lists.  These lists are important for my daily survival with three kids, but when do I take time to just be still in God’s presence?  Is there anyone else out there that struggles with this? 

Recently I was reading a book on prayer and felt so convicted as I read about a missionary who spent 4 hours a day in prayer each morning with the Lord.  My first reaction was to say to myself, “I bet that guy didn't have 3 children”, but then I realized that wasn't the point.  The point was, where were this missionary’s priorities?  God was using this missionary to reach so many people for Christ and I want so much to be used of God like that, but how can I be used effectively for Christ if my prayer time is spent more often giving a quick thank you list and a long list of needs with no time to just worship and reflect on who He is?  Am I spending too much time trying to fight some of these battles myself instead of just giving it to the Lord and trusting that He will take care of the outcome?

  

And so I am working on learning to “Be still” and know that He is God, because ultimately He will be exalted among the nations and in all of the earth as Revelations 5:11-14 reveals; "Then I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and on the sea, and all that is in them, saying: "To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be praise and honor and glory and power, for ever and ever!"  The four living creatures said, "Amen," and the elders fell down and worshiped."

So today I will spend more time in the quiet and less in the frantic.  I will spend more time trusting that He has this, and less time worrying what will happen.  I will sing more praises to Him and less time repeating the same list of prayer requests so that I will be prepared for that day when all nations will exalt Him.  When we will all fall down and worship the Lamb who sits on the throne!

A Heart Filled with Treasure

It is that time of year again, time for Bible Drill!  The culmination of 8 long months of pouring over 30 different passages, memorizing them, and then unbelievably learning how to find them in only 8 seconds.  That is what my daughter and her 2 friends (Aubrey and Jessica) have been doing since August of last year.  Kayleigh and her friends have participated in the children's Bible drill at church for the last 3 years (4 for their friend Jessica).  This year they wanted to advance to youth, so I dove right in there with them, along with Jessica's mom, Stacy, to learn the scriptures and help them practice every Sunday evening for an hour and the occasional Saturday afternoon or Friday evening sleep over just to get some extra practice time in.

The students have to find random books of the Bible and then name the book preceding and the book after the book called.  They also have to locate random scriptures called out (they do not know which ones will be called) in 8 seconds.   But the most amazing thing of all is that they can answer some pretty deep theological questions with scripture such as, "What does Jesus require of me?"  Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone wants to come with Me, he must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow Me.” Matthew 16:24 , "How can I minister to others?"  Based on the gift each one has received, use it to serve others, as good managers of the varied grace of God. 1 Peter 4:10 and "Who did Christ Jesus come to save?" This saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance: “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners”– and I am the worst of them. 1 Timothy 1:15.  They know 7 other passages answering other questions as well.  The have to know Doctrinal verses on Stewardship 1 Corinthians 16:2, Evangelism and Missions, Roman's 10:15, The Church, Hebrews 2:12, and 7 other Doctrinal subjects.   There are also 10 Identifying passages, some 2-3 verses each that they must memorize and find as well.  Frankly, I am in awe of what these girls have learned and readily admit that I could not locate these passages in 8 seconds in the privacy of my home, much less on stage in front of an entire congregation of people.

So please forgive me for bragging about these girls, but they really are pretty special.  They have competed at church, moved on to the associational drill, competed at the regional level, and now two of them will be competing in state drill next Saturday.  I am so very proud of these young ladies and can truthfully say that the last 8 months have been the best investment of my time that I could ever make.  When I think of one of my favorite verses from Bible drill in years past, I think about these girls:

All Scripture is inspired by God and is profitable for teaching, for rebuking, for correcting, for training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.  
2 Timothy 3:16-17

So thank you, Jessica, Aubrey, and my sweet Kayleigh for giving your all to God and treasuring His Word in your hearts.  May His Word be a lamp unto your feet and a light unto your path.

March Madness

Well, it is that time in March where there is a flurry of activity with numbers bantered around like basketballs on a court.  What will the percentage be?  What is the final score?  Are we talking NCAA?  Nope.  We are talking about our own version of March Madness here in the Nelson house!  For us, March Madness is when we see how close we are to our March goal of 60% funded.  We are right now just 7% short of that goal as we go into the final stretch.  All of our partnerships are vital for us to reach the 100% needed to go to Honduras.

Just these last two weeks I have been contacted by 3 different teams wanting to know when I would be able to come down to Honduras so that I can help them provide anesthesia for vital surgeries being offered to the people of Honduras.   Until we reach our goal, I am heartbroken to have to tell these doctors not yet.  Ken too, feels the urgency to get to Honduras so that he can minister to these young pastors and Bible Institute students, and to make vital connections between Honduran and US churches so that they can work together to reach the lost.

So have you found your team yet?  We would love to have you on ours!  With God as our coach we can guarantee that you will definitely be in the winners bracket!  Just check out the information to the right of this page on how you can partner with us or email us at kennethnelson@bmdmi.org to answer any questions you might have and let you know how you too can be on our winning team!

It's a New Dawn, It's a New Day, It's a New Life....

You ever have a song that just won't leave you?  Every once in a while I will get a tune stuck in my head that I just can't seem to shake.  Well, that happened to me this week with a classic song that popped into my head earlier this week.

See, the last several weeks we have all been passing around a virus at the house and we have been a bit out of sorts.  We've taken turns with sleepless nights, coughing, sore throats, etc...  Overall, just feeling a bit yucky in general.  Sunday morning we got up to go to church and Ken and I prepared to talk to another Sunday school class at our church.  We have had the privilege of speaking to an adult class each week at our church, Ridgecrest Baptist Church.  We have about 20 adult classes with class sizes anywhere between 15-50 people in each class.  Well, we were running late (I really should have had some caffeine), and in the midst of rushing around we forgot some papers, and then I felt a bit flustered just trying to get ready.

We got up and spoke to the class, and feeling a bit off our game, Ken and I just shared our hearts. We talked about what God is doing in Honduras and how people at our church could be a part of that work.  When we were done with the presentation, we went to the service and I really got a lot out of the topic Pastor Ray was preaching.  He spoke about endurance and commitment and how important it was to our spiritual health, even when we felt those hardships and struggles that would certainly come.

Well, we went home and I laid down for a few minutes just trying to rest and find some energy to teach youth Bible drill that night.  I decided to check email and what I found got me good and energized!  I received an email from the Sunday School teacher from the women's class we had spoken to that morning.  She had written me that the class had really been inspired to partner with us in the work in Honduras.  Apparently after we left the class, they had a discussion and every single one of those 20 women said they wanted to be a part of the work God was doing in Honduras!  And even more amazing, they wanted to start right that minute!  Altogether these precious ladies have committed this year to investing in what amounts to 8% of our overall need.  Amazing!!!  The teacher was overwhelmed.  Ken and I were overwhelmed.  God really showed up and showed out for sure!

And so this song by Nina Simone has been stuck in my head.  The lyrics may be familiar to some of you.

Birds flyin' high, you know how I feel
Sun in the sky, you know how I feel
Breeze driftin' on by, you know how I feel
It's a new dawn, it's a new day, it's a new life for me.
Yeah, it's a new dawn, it's a new day, it's a new life for me, ooooooooh...
And I'm feelin' good.

So I'll leave you with this song, and hope and pray that even in the midst of struggles and hardships, that the Lord reminds you in Him there is a new dawn, and a new day, and a new life!  And that you are feelin' good!

Boots on the ground

Over the last few months since we started seeking partners in the work in Honduras, I have had several people tell me they couldn't imagine speaking to groups and doing fundraising.  When we first began this process I wholeheartedly agreed with them on the concept of "fundraising".  It was terrifying!  God has really opened my eyes though, to the fact that He is the one who is providing for our needs.

There are so many wonderful stories in the Bible where God provided for someone's needs so that they could do His work.  The story from Matthew 2, God's own Son comes to mind. When Joseph and Mary discovered they would have to flee Bethlehem and go to Egypt, they probably realized exactly why the Magi brought the gifts of Gold, Frankincense and Myrrh.  They were Jesus' first ministry partners!

Two other names that come to mind are Aquila and Priscilla.  They were tent makers just like the apostle Paul, and as a couple living in Corinth, they opened up their home and provided for the needs of Paul and Silas, using their home as a point of outreach in the community to share the gospel of the risen Christ.  They too were used by God to provide for the ministry of Paul and Silas in the work to which God had called them.

What does any of this have to do with boots?  Well,  many people do not have the ability to go and live in foreign lands to share the gospel, and not everyone is called to move to another country.  But God has called all of us to be "on mission" for him.  As a former Army Reservist, I can say that we consider ourselves our partner's "boots on the ground" in Honduras.  Our partners are joining us in this work with their resources and prayers, and we are the extension of our partner's ministry. Through their investment, they too will reap the eternal returns.

So, we are seeking ordinary people who want to partner with us to serve an extraordinary God!  Will you consider partnering with us to reach Honduras for Christ?

Partner with the Nelsons in Honduras

You Might Be a Missionary If....

10.  You bring a novel and a sack lunch to the bank.

9     You have purchased lunch or snack items at the stop sign in    town.

8.    You point with your lips.

7.    You are surprised the electricity has stayed on all day.

6.    You have 6 different types of ants in your house and you ignore them all.

5.    You miss getting junk mail.

4.    You think a 2 hour church service is too short.

3.    You read a National Geographic and realize that you know some of the          people in the picture.

2.    You have eaten food that would be a pet in the USA.

1.    You have to stop and think about what to do with used toilet paper.

Redefining Hate

It's been a while since I blogged.  I recently changed location where I work with my employer which has meant different hours and a new way of doing things.  Needless to say, the blogging had to be put on hold.  We have continued to seek partners with the work God has called us to in Honduras.  We are so thrilled for our current partnerships and pray that we may be as much of a blessing to them as they have been to us.

Recently I had someone from church say they hoped we didn't leave any time soon for the mission field.  They said that they would miss our children too much.  Now I understand this was meant as a compliment, and I thanked them for teaching our child in their Sunday school class, but I have heard that myself at work, from family, and from friends as well.  

This always reminds me of what Jesus said in Luke 14:26 “If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his own father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters—yes, and even his own life—he cannot be My disciple. Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple." Is the Lord really saying we should hate everyone that is important to us? No, He is saying our love for Him and our desire to do His will should so far surpass our love for others that in comparison it seems like hatred. And Jesus knew exactly how that felt. His own brothers did not believe in him. Even James did not put his trust in the Lord until Jesus was raised from the dead. The people in Nazareth could only see the son of a carpenter and did not even recognize Him as the Messiah. I can only imagine how Christ longed to perform miracles among them, but their own lack of faith in Him prevented it.

The Lord has to remind me that He has called us to serve Him among the people of Honduras, and although we will miss our friends and family of course, our desire to do His will and to love Him above all others must always win out.  This is no easy task by any means, and so I ask each of you to pray for our children, for Ken and me to be strong.  I ask you to pray for the people of Honduras that are dying daily without ever hearing the gospel.  I ask that you pray we may be able to go soon to serve the Lord among the Honduran people and that we might be a light shining brightly for Jesus.  Most of all, please pray that we may be found faithful to Him who has called us for His purpose.

When the rain won't come

It has been pretty hot here lately.  It always seems to be that way the end of the summer when school starts.  I have been lamenting the lack of rain lately here where we live, especially in light of our most recent water bill.  Ken and I were out on the back porch the other day eagerly anticipating a good soaking rain as we watched the storm clouds go to the north and south of us with not a single drop on our lawn.  What a downer.

Today I reflected a bit on the lack of rain we have had as I surveyed the dying lawn crunching under my bare feet.  I remembered the drought that Elijah lived in for 3 years.  He lived in a land that was suffering from the drought (a drought brought on by Israel's disobedience) and depended on God for his food and water.  God sent ravens to give him his food and a small brook for water.  When the water there dried up, God sent him to a widow for his food.  So even though there was a drought, God supplied Elijah with exactly what he needed, from unlikely sources even; ravens, and a poor widow that had a son to care for in the midst of the worst drought they had ever seen.

The photo above is of an area in Honduras facing one of the worst droughts they have seen in over 20 years.  Needless to say, my lawn is nothing compared to what these poor people are facing.  My heart breaks for them as next year there is expected to be a great deal of starvation due to decreased food stores there. In fact a recent article in Yahoo news stated, "Extremely poor households across large areas of Guatemala, Nicaragua, Honduras, and El Salvador will experience a rapid deterioration in their food security in early 2015. High levels of humanitarian assistance, possibly the highest since Hurricane Mitch in 1998, will likely be required in order to avoid a food crisis,” said a recent report by the Famine Early Warning Systems Network (FEWS NET), run by the US Agency for International Development (USAID)."  

I know some people who would tell us that we should not go to Honduras if they are preparing to face a famine due to the drought.  They are concerned about the physical needs of our family being met.  I understand that concern, but I also think of Elijah.  Did God not meet his needs when Elijah followed the Lord in obedience?  Didn't God provide for him and even for the widow and her son? What if Elijah had not trusted god?  What if he had refused to follow God's instruction, especially when the widow made it clear she only had enough food for herself and her son to eat one last meal before they both died?

So many times we only look at our current circumstances instead of looking at the bigger picture.  It is hard right now for Honduran farmers to look outside of their own needs for themselves and their families.  They see the lack of rain and know that they will not have crops to store and feed their families.  But I see an opportunity for God to get the glory.  I see that there are feeding programs like the one our mission has to feed the poor in Honduras.  People from BMDMI are sharing the love of Jesus with people who have never heard the gospel now because they need food and water for their families.  These people will have not just bread to eat, but now they will have access to the Bread of Life.  They will not just have water to drink, they will drink from Living Water that never runs dry.  I love what Jesus said to the woman at the well, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” John 40:13-14.

So what do we do when the rain won't come?  We pray.  We trust.  We look for God to move and to meet the needs of His people.  We give glory and honor to the One who created the rain and the heavens, and we wait for the life giving water that He provides to quench our thirst.



If you are interested in joining us in sharing The Living Water with the people of Honduras, we would love for you to partner with us.  Click the link below to become a partner with us as we share the Bread of Life.

Partner with the Nelson Family/ Ministry Donations

Q&A with the kids

Support the Nelsons

Amazing

This blog will be a bit shorter than the normal because I wanted to share a video of what I have been up to the last couple of weeks.  I was privileged enough to be a part of a large team, mostly from Lake Charles, LA that went down to Guaimaca, Honduras for a week.  We had over 65 members of the team performing surgery, dental clinics, veterinary care, construction, VBS, evangelism, feeding and clothing programs, and worshiping with praise music alongside the Hondurans in a service each evening.  It was a busy week, but we saw 126 people give their lives to Christ, and many people's needs met in a very tangible way.  Amazing is probably the best way I could describe it.  I hope you enjoy the video.

All In

Today is a milestone day for us.  After much prayer, planning, work and waiting, we have officially begun the process to return to Latin America.  Four years ago this month we landed in the States with more questions than answers as to God's direction for our family and how we could best serve Him.  It was a very bittersweet time when we returned from the mission field.  We were not sure when, or even if, we would return to overseas work.  Ken focused on completing his seminary degree with Liberty before returning to work, and I focused on the kids and work.  It was a time of waiting on God and soul searching. One thing seemed to remain, our hearts' desire to work among the Latinos and share God's love.

Ken is not really much for sharing his feelings with strangers, or even in a small group setting.  I, on the other hand, have a tendency to just "put it all out there" with the friends I am close to.  I did this last summer in a small group of ladies from the church that would meet for a Bible study on Sunday afternoons.  I distinctly remember getting teary eyed as I told the ladies that I couldn't bear the thought of never returning to serve the people for whom God had placed such a burden in my heart.  

Just a few short weeks after disclosing this to my friends, Ken told me that there would be some missionaries from Honduras visiting our church that our friends, Scott and Elaine, wanted us to meet. For me it was difficult to even think about.  I envisioned myself sobbing as I listened to the story of their work among Hispanics, wishing that I could stow away in their luggage, so I told Ken that I didn't feel up to meeting them. I suggested we miss the Sunday school hour (when they were supposed to speak) and only go to the service where chances were low we would even see them.  Of course God would have none of that!  As I tried to sneak out the back door our associate pastor, Chuck Locke, asked me if I had met Mike and Marty, the visiting missionaries from BMDMI as he ushered me over to meet them.  Instantly I felt that connection that I think a lot of missionaries have when they meet, kind of like meeting a member of your extended family. What really struck me as Marty shared her story about what God was doing through her at Nena's Place was how she was so passionate about the people that God had called her to serve.  I remembered that God had placed in me that same burning desire, especially during my time at La Casa de Restauración. But I knew this was a calling where Ken and I both had to be led by the Holy Spirit, not our emotions.  Little did I know that Ken too felt this same tug at his heart.

And so we prayed, and we waited.  We waited three months to really even talk to anyone about it, and then we planned a trip to Honduras to see the work there.  I told Ken that I would not do this unless the children too felt the calling.  I have heard too many sad stories of families torn apart because their children resent being moved overseas as they become young adults.  So again, I prayed that God would call each of us individually if that was indeed His will.  It is no small thing for God to call a teenager or even a very social preteen, but that is exactly what happened.  When we went to the Good Shepherd Children's Home just a few hours away from where we would live, it became apparent to me that God was calling our kids too.  It was wonderful to see how our children longed to minister to the children there, even seeing the needs and trying to figure out how we could be used by God to meet them.  God used that trip to confirm not only in Ken's and my heart, but also in our childrens' hearts the call to serve Him in Honduras.

We are super excited about what God is doing in preparation for us as we begin the journey to return to the mission field.  God has been in the details of this entire process.  Ken has always had a burden for discipleship and sound Biblical teaching. This is the very opportunity that Mike approached Ken with that Sunday evening, as pastoral support for the many Honduran pastors trained at the Thomas Herrington Bible Institute where Ken will also serve as BMDMI Missionary Director.  And not to be outdone,  we knew that God set the whole thing up when it just so happened that they needed an anesthesia provider to live at the hospital, so I will serve as the anesthetist in residence for the Hospital Bautista.

We covet everyone's prayers as we begin the process of seeking out ministry partners to come alongside us and support the ongoing work in Honduras.  We are reminded of what our Lord did in Luke 9:2 - "And He sent them to preach the kingdom of God, and to heal the sick."  We know that many of you would like to be a part of the work God is calling us to do, and we would love to share more with you.  BMDMI is a faith-based missionary sending agency, which means that all missionaries serve through the ongoing financial support of ministry partners. We want to make sure that everyone we know has the opportunity to be a part of this ministry as we serve the people of Honduras.  Will you prayerfully consider partnering with us to reach the Honduran people for Christ?

We would love the opportunity to speak to your church, your small group, or with any individuals who would like to know more.   Please email us at kennethnelson@bmdmi.org or kirstennelson@bmdmi.org and/ or click on the link below to learn more and to become one of our ministry partners.  We thank you all for joining us on this amazing journey and can't wait to see what God will do!

Baptist Medical Dental and Mission International

"For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in." Matthew 25:35

Weary

     People say, “The Lord never gives you more than you can handle.”  I believe that is a platitude at best, and at worst might even be used by Satan to discourage a believer when they are at their lowest.  I have most recently contemplated this saying in light of several changes taking place within our family.  As we prepare for the call we know God has placed on our lives to serve Him among the Latino people, we deal daily with stress from work; an upcoming major job change for me and an increase in Ken’s work load, the difficulty of trying to sell a home in a flat market, and unsupportive remarks from people as to why we would even consider returning to the mission field now.  All this to say, we feel well past the breaking point.
But these feelings of being overwhelmed can be seen throughout the Bible.  Consider the author of Psalm 88:14 when he said, “Lord, why do you cast off my soul?  Why do you hide your face from me?”  I confided in Ken recently that even as a believer of 40 years now I still wonder when there is a great burden upon me, “Does God care?”  I think sometimes the weight of our burden we so desperately want to cast off on the Lord seems too difficult to just forget and move on.  We know God can handle the situation fully, but we struggle to understand His timing.  We grow tired and weary under the stress as we cry out to the Father we begin to wonder, is He as sick of hearing our pleas as we are of repeating them?  Even Jesus when He was weary with weight of our sins uttered the words, “If it is possible, let this cup be taken away from me.  But I want Your will, not mine.”  Matt.26:39
The Lord reminded me of some words penned by a prophet during a dismal time in Israel’s history.  Isaiah said to the former Babylonian captives in Isaiah 40:28, “Do you not know?  Have you not heard?  The Everlasting God the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth does not become weary or tired.  His understanding is inscrutable.”  We serve a God who never tires, and perhaps in His infinite wisdom He allows us to come to the end of ourselves in total exhaustion.  It is at that time that He can fulfill His purpose in us.  I love how the Message puts it:  If you only look at us, you might well miss the brightness. We carry this precious Message around in the unadorned clay pots of our ordinary lives. That’s to prevent anyone from confusing God’s incomparable power with us. As it is, there’s not much chance of that. You know for yourselves that we’re not much to look at. We’ve been surrounded and battered by troubles, but we’re not demoralized; we’re not sure what to do, but we know that God knows what to do; we’ve been spiritually terrorized, but God hasn’t left our side; we’ve been thrown down, but we haven’t broken.   2 Cor.4:7-11
Just in my experience as an anesthesia provider I see three to four times as many patients being treated for depression and anxiety now than I did just 10 short years ago.  I can understand why people are weary and exhausted in this world and our society especially, but I know we must allow God to take control of the situation and our feelings. We must refuse to give into the despair and become despondent recalling as Isaiah told the Israelites. He gives power to the weak, and to those who have no might He increases strength. But those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint.  Isaiah 40:31
“They shall mount up with wings like eagles”  Eagles are not born with the ability to fly.  In fact, the Bald eagle takes over 12 weeks to go from the downy fluff at birth to the strong feathers that serve a young eaglet to fly when they finally leave the nest.  But the mottled brown plumage does not fully develop into the majestic crown of white on the adult Bald eagle’s head for 5 years.  Scientists believe that this serves as a camouflage from predators for the young eagle until they are mature.  This is also true in our faith.   Our relationship does not mature over night.  We must grow daily and trust in the Lord and His ways before we can fly.
“They shall run and not grow weary”  I remember “hitting the wall” as I ran my first marathon back over Red Mountain at mile 21 of the Mercedes Marathon.  I was certain I could not take another step and then I heard the beautiful sound of my family cheering for me.  I had asked them to be there because I knew that would be where I faced my greatest challenge.  They helped give me that second wind so I could finish the race.
“They shall walk and not grow faint”  Sometimes we cannot soar.  We cannot even run.  All we can do is merely walk.  A wise person once said, “The real test of faith comes, not when he flies or runs, but when he must plod along.”  Walking daily with God is the true test of our faith, and often where nonbelievers genuinely see Christ in us.  How do we respond to trials and tribulations?  Do we blame God?  Do we whine about our circumstances, or do we praise God for all the blessings He has given us?
This is the crux of the matter that I find most challenging in my walk.  Remembering the words of the apostle Paul to the church in Corinth, I am inspired.  So we’re not giving up. How could we! Even though on the outside it often looks like things are falling apart on us, on the inside, where God is making new life, not a day goes by without his unfolding grace. These hard times are small potatoes compared to the coming good times, the lavish celebration prepared for us. There’s far more here than meets the eye. The things we see now are here today, gone tomorrow. But the things we can’t see now will last forever.  2 Cor.4:16-18.  
So, does God ever give me more than I can handle?  Yes. But He never gives me more than He can handle, because in the end it’s not about me.  It is about Him and His glory revealed in me.

Emmanuel, God Is With Us

Here is a video I made afew years ago of the Casting Crown's song Emmanuel, God Is With Us.

I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day

My heart has been so heavy these last few days. I did not really know how to grieve children and adults I had never met. This is a video that I made as a tribute to the victims of Sandy Hook Elementary. Feel free to share this.  I pray it gives healing to others, but most of all I pray it leads others to pray for the families of the victims.
 
Written by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, and music by Casting Crowns, I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day is not a Christmas Carol.  It is a song of grief and loss.  Longfellow's son fought and died in the Civil War shortly before he was to come home.  Longfellow had hoped to repair the rift that had come between them by his enlistment in the Union army. His wife then died in an accidental fire. The double loss was too much for him, and about to end it all, he heard the bells on Christmas day took up his pen instead.
   
Then pealed the bells more loud and deep
God is not dead nor does He sleep
The wrong shall fail, the right prevail
With peace on Earth, good will to men.

 

The Biblical Basis for Civil Disobedience

Ken wrote a paper for one of his seminary classes this summer and I thought the topic was very appropriate to the current situation in our country.  This paper is entitled:

The Biblical Basis for Civil Disobedience

The practice of civil disobedience is morally acceptable, and even prescribed in the Bible, when religious liberties are under attack by an oppressive government. The Scriptures have much to say about the practice of civil disobedience, its justification, limits, and practice. The recent law passed in our nation regarding the requirements for the provision, or payment for the provision, of abortifacient medical treatments by faith-based organizations has created a firestorm of indignation over the diminution of religious freedoms, with many religious leaders urging open defiance of the new law.  This paper will explore the biblical teaching on civil disobedience using relevant biblical texts as well as scholarly sources from within Christian thought. Examples of proper biblical civil disobedience will be examined from both the Old and New Testaments, with particular attention paid to the God-ordained role of earthly governments.

 

The Meaning of Civil Disobedience

If disobedience in general is the failure to follow a command or observe a prohibition, then civil disobedience is the same failure with regard to the law as codified by the state.[1]  Civil disobedience, however, is not to be equated with lawlessness, or mere refusal to submit to legal jurisdiction.  On the contrary, the practitioner of civil disobedience voluntarily submits himself to the proper punishment accorded his acts as a show of fidelity to the rule of law. In civil disobedience the resistance is not against the rule of law, but rather against laws in particular, laws that are deemed unjust.  Thomas Aquinas argued in his Summa Theologiae that all law is derived from eternal law.  He believed that unjust laws are not laws at all because they were not rooted in eternal law and natural law, writing “in temporal law nothing is just and legitimate which men have not derived from eternal law.” [2] William Blackstone, a renowned eighteenth-century English jurist, wrote “The law of nature is dictated by God himself…is binding in all countries and at all times…No human laws are of any validity, if contrary to this; and such of them as are valid derive all their force and all their authority mediately or immediately, from this original.” [3]

The purpose of civil disobedience is to achieve justness in law. The Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary defines it as “refusal to obey governmental demands or commands especially as a nonviolent and usually collective means of forcing concessions from the government.” ^[4] According to Duane Heffelbower, for a Christian, civil disobedience is the “purposeful, nonviolent action, or refusal to act, by a Christian who believes such action or inaction is required of him or her in order to be faithful to God, and which he or she knows will be treated by the governing authorities as a violation of law.” [5] 

Martin Luther King, Jr. recounted the origins of civil disobedience as dating back to Old Testament times – to Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who disobeyed the law of the Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar for the sake of their conscience. He wrote of Martin Luther, his namesake, who declared to the authorities “Here I stand; I can do no other.  God help me.”

He also wrote of John Bunyan, who suffered lengthy imprisonment for his beliefs vowing “I will stay in jail to the end of my days before I make a butchery of my conscience.” [6] And King spent time in jail himself for his beliefs, using the occasion to pen a letter to area pastors appealing to their consciences for support in his quest for racial justice.[7]

As successful as King’s crusade would later prove to be, the principle upon which it was founded was just as important, for this principal of eternal law was the basis upon which our United States government was founded. Decades after its founding, the greatest moral struggle of its history – the campaign to end slavery – turned on this same principle.[8] 

 

The Role of Government as Ordained by God

As Christians we walk among two kingdoms, possessing full citizenship in both.  We are, of course, citizens of a nation-state here on earth that is governed by some form of civil government; and whether that government is free or not is immaterial.  We are also by adoption through the blood of Christ citizens of the eternal Kingdom of God.  As Christians we have the hope and assurance that in time we will be subject to the Kingdom of God alone, but while on earth we cannot deny our earthly citizenship and the responsibilities that come with that citizenship.  Along with enjoying the rights and privileges of such a membership, we also must live up to the responsibilities and obligations that both demand. As dual citizens of two very different realms of governance, it would seem apparent that at times one will be at odds with the other. In those moments we are faced with the question of whether or not it is proper to hold one kingdom in deference to another with regard to the obedience of the laws which prevail and at times contradict each other. Both the Old and the New Testaments have made it very clear that God has ordained civil government for the proper order and justice of the human race. As soon as sin made its appearance on earth, restraint of evil became necessary.  The Bible records the first “crime” against another human being in Genesis 4, wherein Cain murders his brother Abel, bringing upon himself the penalty of death, his life for Abel’s.  However, it is not until Genesis 9:6 that the actual establishment of the means and institution for carrying out such justice is given to Noah, and henceforth, the institution of civil government.  The power to wield the sword in meting out justice and providing for the protection and civil order of all citizens was from this point on placed in the hands of government representatives, where the actual form of government was not a determining factor, but was deemed as the ruling authority over its citizenry.

When the question of submission to civil authority was put forth to Jesus by Jewish religious leaders in an attempt to trap Him into saying something seditious against the government regarding the paying of taxes, He responded with the words “Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” ^[9]  When Jesus was arrested and asked by the Roman governor Pilate to give an account for His words and deeds, Jesus answered “My kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, my servants would have been fighting, that I might not be delivered over to the Jews. But my kingdom is not of the world.” ^[10]

Ryrie posits that a failure to distinguish the civil government from the religious hierarchy of the day caused many to actually see Jesus as an example of civil disobedience, but a more studied approach to this pericope makes it quite evident that Jesus had no aspirations of making civil change, only spiritual revolution.[11]

In the New Testament, the apostles spoke extensively on the importance of obeying the civil rulers, as they have been placed in their positions by God’s sovereignty and His will.  Romans 13 opens with “Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God.” ^[12] Paul warns that whoever fails to obey government is in effect resisting God. Here again, there is no mention of obedience based on the form or quality of the governing system.  Even after years of persecution, including beatings and imprisonment for preaching Christ, Paul did not waver in his convictions on this matter. In a letter to Titus, he instructs him to remind Christians to “be submissive to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready for every good work…” ^[13]

The apostle Peter was not quiet on this topic either. In I Peter, he wrote “Be subject for the Lord’s sake to every human institution, whether it be to the emperor as supreme, or to governors as sent by him to punish those who do evil and to praise those who do good. For this is the will of God, that by doing good you should put to silence the ignorance of foolish people. Live as people who are free, not using your freedom as a cover-up for evil, but living as servants of God. Honor everyone. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the emperor.” ^[14]

Both Peter and Paul wrote their teachings while living under the despotic rule of the Roman Emperor Nero, who delighted in persecuting Christians and defiling all that is right and good in society.  Nevertheless, these servants of Christ never relented in their firm convictions on the necessity of submitting to the ruling authorities.  Paul even reminded us that “supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in

every way.” ^[15] In summary, the entire Bible is consistent in teaching complete civil obedience to government by Christians with no exceptions in principle.[16]

 

Prevailing Views on What the Bible Says Regarding Civil Disobedience

            There are three basic views on the interpretation of the Scriptures with regard to the issue of civil disobedience for the Christian church.  One stance is similar to the radical patriotism associated with the issue of war. The government, being ordained and established by God, must be obeyed in all instances and in all ways.  To the radical patriot it is never acceptable to wage resistance against a government de facto, even one that governs unjustly and brutally.  Their example to be followed is that of Peter, Paul, and the other disciples, especially those martyred for their faith.  As Nero was burning Christians to light the streets at night, those same Christians were being admonished not to resist, even unto the point of death.[17]

            Contemporary notable proponents of this view are scarce in number.  Few influential theologians and leaders within the Christian church continue to hold to this view within evangelical circles, and that is especially so within the United States.  The situation in America is unique in that it is born of a cultural inclination towards freedom, democracy, and self-determination.  The individualism and sense of self-governance characteristic of American culture dominates thinking in this area, as witnessed by the appeal to higher law in justifying forceful liberation of peoples around the world through military and coercive diplomatic actions on the part of our government.

            A second view of biblical interpretations of civil disobedience, albeit one this writer considers irrational and self-destructive, is the idea that government must be resisted in all instances wherein one’s rights and conscience are threatened.  This view espouses the disobedience and resistance of any law or action of the government that does not square with one’s Christian beliefs. This view borders on revolution, as it reserves the right to outright reject the authority of the government. Some believe Henry David Thoreau’s essay, “On the Duty of Civil Disobedience,” professed the belief that he was for a complete refutation of the authority of government.  Thoreau wanted government to “treat him as a neighbor” and to see the individual person as a “higher and independent power.”[18] Secular philosopher and author Carl Cohen writes that “Thoreau’s act may have been noble but in seeking to place himself above the law, or outside its jurisdiction, he acted as a rebel and strictly did not engage in civil disobedience.” [19]

            The third view, dubbed Biblical Submissionism in Christian Ethics, by Norman Geisler, argues that disobedience to governmental authorities is permitted, and even obligatory, given certain conditions and motives. As Frank Stagg describes it, Paul instructed all believers to willfully and obediently submit to governmental authorities and to do so out of conscience.  That same conscience, in a different scenario, compelled John the Revelator to refuse submission to the state and to disengage from the civil religion which gave its stamp of imprimatur to the beastliness of the state. Under Nazi totalitarianism, Niemöller, Barth, and Bonhoeffer had to make the same calls.[20]

 

Examples of Acceptable and Required Civil Disobedience in the Bible

            In Scripture, as early as Exodus, the Bible illustrates an example involving the refusal to kill male babies of the Israelites by the Hebrew midwives Shiphrah and Puah as ordered by Pharaoh.  The midwives were said to have “feared God and did not do as the king of Egypt commanded them, but let the male children live.” ^[21]

            After the exodus of the Israelites, and their subsequent wanderings in the wilderness, they arrived at the point of entering the Promised Land and readied an attack on the fortress city of Jericho. The Israelite spies in Jericho found a harlot named Rahab to take them in and hid them from the king of Jericho, a clearly treasonous act on her part. Joshua 2 records that she feared the Hebrew God more than the king, and chose to act on that authority above her own civil government.[22]

            In Daniel 3 the story is told of the three young Israelite captives who would not bow to Nebuchadnezzar’s golden image, resulting in being thrown into a fiery furnace for their disobedience.[23] God delivered them as a testimony of His saving power and approval of their actions in obedience to Him.

            In the New Testament, Acts 4 recounts the arrest of Peter and John for preaching the gospel in Jerusalem.  The religious leaders, though they did not represent civil government, had the power to arrest and prosecute Peter and John.  They demanded that the men cease and desist at once this seditious teaching and submit their authority.  Peter and John replied “Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you rather than to God, you must judge, for we cannot but speak of what we have seen and heard.” ^[24]

            Also in the Bible, in reference to the end times to come, Revelation records in John’s vision the scene where believers will refuse to worship the antichrist at the pain of death. The 12^th chapter of Revelation foretells that they “conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, for they loved not their lives even unto death.” ^[25]

 

Criteria for the Biblical Practice of Civil Disobedience

Theologian Norman Geisler qualifies civil disobedience as being acceptable and incumbent upon a believer only when the government usurps God’s authority. Geisler lists a set of circumstances for qualified civil disobedience against the government that includes seven points:

1.      When it does not allow worship of God.

2.      When it commands believers to kill innocent lives.

3.      When it commands that God’s servants be killed.

4.      When it commands believers to worship idols.

5.      When it commands believers to pray only to a man.

6.      When it forbids believers to propagate the gospel.

7.      When it commands believers to worship a man.

 

Geisler sees a commonality in these seven circumstances: They all involve government taking the place of God versus taking its place under God.  Governments can enact laws permitting evil, but cannot command citizens to commit that evil.  While it is acceptable to engage in civil disobedience under the above criteria, it is not acceptable to do so simply in response to injustice.  The Bible gives us no sanction for acquitting ourselves of the responsibilities as earthly citizens.[26]

            Additionally, it is helpful to delineate between laws that sanction injustice and/or evil, and laws that mandate injustice and/or evil. It is one thing to be subject to the allowance of these things, but the compulsion to submit to them must be resisted. Geisler is careful to word his criteria in such a way as to avoid the tacit approval of civil disobedience for the former.

            The passage in the beginning of Exodus 5 provides an excellent example of the first criterion; not allowing one to worship God.   In this pericope, Pharaoh forbids the Israelites from going into the wilderness for a time of special worship of God. It is important to note here who the combatants in this confrontation were.  Rather than viewing this as a personal and political conflict between Moses and Pharaoh, it should be seen as a clash between the God of the Israelites and Egypt’s gods.  As Pharaoh, the Egyptian leader was considered a god himself, and thus part of the Egyptian pantheon.[27]

Pharaoh’s reply to Moses was: But Pharaoh said, “Who is the Lord, that I should obey his voice and let Israel go? I do not know the Lord, and moreover, I will not let Israel go.” [28] Pharaoh’s determination and rash response was indicative of this spiritual conflict.  As a consequence of Moses’ persistence, Pharaoh increases the workload of the Israelites and demands that they make the bricks for his building projects without the benefit of straw.

            In the above example involving the Egyptian midwives in Exodus, a clear command was given to kill innocent lives by the “king of Egypt.”  This was a violation of the second criterion, and rightfully should have been disobeyed.  This conviction is further affirmed in verse 21, wherein it states that because they feared God, He gave them families as well.

            The midwives had a sense of who God was, and they feared Him sufficiently to risk the consequences of disobeying the king’s order to kill the male children born of the Hebrew women. They were not, it seems by verse 19, highly religious, however.  They had no problem lying to and deceiving the king as well.^[29]

            In 1 Kings 18, an example of the third criterion can be found.  Obadiah, a servant of King Ahab, and a God-fearing man, upon learning of the killing of God’s prophets by the queen Jezebel, took and his 100 prophets in and hid them in caves.  He provided for their food and water as well, in order to spare their lives from certain annihilation. It is apparent in verse 4 that Jezebel was determined to exterminate the worship of Jehovah, and sought to carry out this plan by executing the prophets of the true God.

As a Jew, it is interesting that King Ahab, who by now worshiped foreign gods, would keep an adherent to the old religion in his court.  It was for Obadiah’s faith, a faith that assured Ahab of his faithfulness and trustworthiness that he was allowed to continue to administer for the king.  This trust was built on many years of faithful obedience and observance of the prevailing government.  Without this earned credibility and favor of the king it is highly doubtful that Obadiah would have been in such a place to save the prophets.^[30]

The first commandment given to Moses and God’s people on Mount Sinai was that “You shall have no other gods before me.” [31] It is made very clear that we are not to worship any God but Jehovah.  Herein lies the basis for the fourth criterion; a command to worship idols.  In the third chapter of Daniel three young Hebrew men, captives in Babylon since the conquest of their homeland by Nebuchadnezzar, defied an order by the king to bow in deference and worship before a huge golden image. It is not clear if this image was of the king himself, or one of their gods. Also, they were not explicitly asked to deny their God, only to bow before the king’s image. Nevertheless, the purpose became clear once the herald made the proclamation that anyone who did not bow would immediately be cast in to a fiery furnace. Bowing before the image was a display of total allegiance to the king, and that they could not in good conscience do.[32]

 Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, privileged as they were among the remnant of Israel, would not submit to this decree.  However, they did willingly submit to, without trying to flee, the punishment set for them.  Death was better than betraying their God. When given one more chance to comply they bravely stood their ground, placing all confidence in the one true God, whether or not He chose to rescue them.  Their story could have ended there, but God chose to spare them for His glory.

This fifth criterion empowering a believer to operate in civil disobedience is when one is commanded to pray only to a man. In a conspiracy to destroy Daniel and his influence with King Darius, certain government officials advised the king to sign a decree disallowing anyone to make an appeal to any god but Him for thirty days.  It was seen as a sign of adoration to the king and the officials appealed to his own pride and arrogance in making this proposal.

            But Daniel did not alter his prayer practices, and continued to call out to God from his upper chambers with the windows thrown open. The conspirators, of course, knew this would be the case and caught him in the act. Though it pained the king greatly, the punishment of being thrown into a den of lions was carried out.  Here again, it could have ended there, with a martyred Daniel remaining faithful to God.  Once again, though, God saved him for His own glory, and Daniel’s enemies, along with their entire families, perished in their own trap.  Darius then issued an official statement praising Daniel’s God as the sovereign Lord of the universe, who miraculously delivers His servants.^[33]

            In Acts 4, Peter and John are hauled before the Sadducees by the “temple police” and forbidden to preach the gospel of Jesus and His resurrection from the dead.  When a court was gathered to try them for their religious crimes, they replied with a forceful testimony of the gospel that astonished the learned group, as they knew that these men were not educated and had no experience addressing such an august audience.  Furthermore, once they had testified of Christ, they responded to the command to cease preaching by saying “Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you rather than to God, you must judge, for we cannot but speak of what we have seen and heard.” [34]

            This example in Scripture of the sixth criterion for biblical civil disobedience is perhaps the most quoted justification for resistance to government authority in the Bible today; albeit the officials persecuting Peter and John were not government representatives per se, but rather enforcers of a highly legalistic form of Judaism. The Sanhedrin were attempting to prevent the apostles from propagating the gospel by forbidding any speech regarding the resurrection of Jesus, the resurrection being a belief not held by the Sadducees in general, and specifically with regard to Jesus.  In Peter and John’s reply to this sham of a court, they boldly make their appeal to the highest authority, one that governs both the members of the Sanhedrin as well as the apostles. They appeal to God, challenging the court to examine its verdict to see whether it conforms to God’s law. ^[35]

            Lastly, the seventh criterion, when a believer is compelled to worship a man, can be seen in Revelation 13.  In verses 7 and 8, the Antichrist is pictured as one who seeks to imitate Christ, who purchased his people from every tribe, language, people, and nation.  This person will receive the adulation of all the people on the earth, except the saints. John clearly divides humanity into those who worship the beast and those whose names are recorded in the book of life. ^[36]

            Those whose names have been recorded in the Lamb’s Book of Life will resist this Antichrist, will be persecuted severely, and many will die defending their faith.  However, they will win in the end, having been faithful even unto death.

 

Conclusion

            Following the above guidelines of Geisler, it is interesting to examine past events in our own history to determine whether or not these criteria were met. Would the American Revolution or the lunch counter sit-ins of the Civil Rights Movement pass muster? Would the Civil War, insofar as it was fueled by the anti-slavery struggle, be justified by these stringent qualifiers?

Throughout history civil disobedience has been practiced in some form or another.  For the Christian, it is of utmost importance to be able to discern righteous and justifiable civil disobedience from that which the Word of God labels as no more than rebellion and a bad witness to the world.  Though Scripture lays out clear criteria for practicing civil disobedience in keeping with our Christian mandate to obey the governing authorities as servants of God, it is this author’s opinion that the majority of acts labeled civil disobedience down through history did not meet those qualifications. A careful analysis of Scripture reveals a much higher bar than has historically been accepted among believers.

            It is incumbent upon us as disciples of Christ, and charged with the spread of the gospel, to act in obedience and humility before our earthly leaders, so that our witness will not be compromised.  This discernment will be especially important as we see the signs of the times approaching, and the reign once again of injustice and governmental challenges to the authority of God and his eternal law.

 

Bibliography

Blackstone, William. Commentaries on the Laws of England, vol. 1. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1979.

 

Chisholm, Robert B. "The Major Prophets", in Holman Concise Bible Commentary: Simple, Straightforward Commentary on Every Book of the Bible, ed. David S. Dockery. Nashville, TN: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1998.

 

Cohen, Carl. “Civil Disobedience and the Law.” Rutgers Law Review 21, no. 1 (Fall 1966).

 

Colson, Charles. How Now Shall We Live? Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., 1999.

Davis, Nancy J. “Rejoinder to Hunter: Religious Orthodoxy – An Army without Foot Soldiers?” Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion 35 (Fall 1996): 249-251.

Ferguson, Everett. "Early Christian Martyrdom and Civil Disobedience." Journal of Early Christian Studies 1 (Spring 1993): 73-83.

Franklin, Robert Michael. “An Ethic of Hope: The Moral Thought of Martin Luther King, Jr.” Union Seminary Quarterly Review 40 no. 4 (Fall 1986): 41-51.

Gamble, Richard C. “The Christian and the Tyrant: Beza and Knox on Political Resistance Theory.” Westminster Theological Journal 46, no. 1 (Spring 1984): 125-139.

Geisler, Norman L. “A Premillennial View of Law and Government.” Bibliotheca Sacra 142, no. 567 (September 1985): 250-266.

Halsall, Paul. “Internet History Sourcebooks Project.” Fordham University.

            www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/aquinas2.asp (accessed  May 9, 2012).

 

Heffelbower, Duane. “The Christian and Civil Disobedience.” Direction 15, no. 1 (Spring 1986): 23-30.

Keil, Carl Friedrich and Franz Delitzsch, Commentary on the Old Testament, 1 Ki 18:1–19 Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 2002.

 

King, Martin Luther, Jr., Letter from a Birmingham Jail, University of Pennsylvania African Studies Center, http://www.africa.upenn.edu/Articles_Gen/Letter_Birmingham.html.

King, Martin Luther, Jr. Why We Can’t Wait. New York: Harper & Row, 1964.

 

Kistemaker, Simon J. and William Hendriksen, vol. 17, New Testament Commentary: Exposition of the Acts of the Apostles, New Testament Commentary. Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1953-2001.

 

Lederach, Paul M. Daniel, Believers Church Bible Commentary, Scottsdale, PA.: Herald Press, 1994.

 

Lovin, Robin W. “The Christian and the Authority of the State: Bonhoeffer’s Reluctant Revisions.” Journal of Theology for Southern Africa 34 (March 1981): 32-48.

Merriam-Webster, Inc., Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary. 11th ed. Springfield, MA: Merriam-Webster, Inc., 2003.

 

Ryrie, Charles C. “The Christian and Civil Disobedience.” Bibliotheca Sacra 127, no. 5 (April 1970): 153-162.

Spence-Jones, H.D.M., ed. The Pulpit Commentary: Exodus Vol. I Bellingham, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc., 2004.

 

Stagg, Frank. “Rendering to God What Belongs to God: Christian Disengagement from the World.” Journal of Church and State 18, no. 1 (January 1976): 217-232.

Stuart, Douglas K. Vol. 2, Exodus. The New American Commentary. Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 2006.

 

Thoreau, Henry David. On the Duty of Civil Disobedience, in Walden and Other Writings of Henry David Thoreau, Edited by Brooks Atkinson. New York: Random House, 1992).

 

Vos, Johannes G. “Christian Missions and the Civil Magistrate in the Far East.” Westminster Theological Journal 3, no. 1 (November 1940): 1-24.

Yoder, William. “Do “Iron Curtains” Happen More than Once?” Religion in Eastern Europe XXXI, no. 4 (November 2011): 24-31.

 

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[1] Charles C. Ryrie, “The Christian and Civil Disobedience,” Bibliotheca Sacra 127, no. 5 (April 1970): 153.

[2] Paul Halsall, “Internet History Sourcebooks Project,” Fordham University, www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/aquinas2.asp (accessed  May 9, 2012).

[3] William Blackstone, Commentaries on the Laws of England, vol. 1 (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1979), 41.

^[4] Merriam-Webster, Inc., Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary., 11th ed. (Springfield, MA: Merriam-Webster, Inc., 2003).

[5] Duane Heffelbower, “The Christian and Civil Disobedience.” Direction 15, no. 1 (Spring 1986): 23.

 

[6] Martin Luther King, Jr., Why We Can’t Wait (New York: Harper & Row, 1964), 84-85.

[7] Martin Luther King, Jr., Letter from a Birmingham Jail, University of Pennsylvania African Studies Center, http://www.africa.upenn.edu/Articles_Gen/Letter_Birmingham.html (accesses May 10, 2012).

[8] Charles Colson, How Now Shall We Live? (Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., 1999), 383-384.

^[9] Mark 12:17 (ESV).

^[10] John 18:36 (ESV).

[11] Charles C. Ryrie, “The Christian and Civil Disobedience,” Bibliotheca Sacra 127, no. 5 (April 1970): 159.

^[12] Romans 13:1 (ESV).

^[13] Titus 3:1 (ESV).

^[14] 1 Peter 2:1317 (ESV).

^[15] 1 Timothy 2:1-2 (ESV).

[16] Charles C. Ryrie, “The Christian and Civil Disobedience,” Bibliotheca Sacra 127, no. 5 (April 1970): 158.

[17] Ryrie, 159.

 

[18] Henry David Thoreau, On the Duty of Civil Disobedience, in Walden and Other Writings of Henry David Thoreau, ed. Brooks Atkinson (New York: Random House, 1992), 665.

[19] Carl Cohen, “Civil Disobedience and the Law,” Rutgers Law Review 21, no. 1 (Fall 1966): 4.

[20] Frank Stagg, “Rendering to God What Belongs to God: Christian Disengagement from the World,” Journal of Church and State 18, no. 1 (1976): 222.

^[21] Exodus 1:15-21 (ESV).

[22] Joshua 2:1-21 (ESV).

[23] Daniel 3 (ESV).

^[24] Acts 4:1-20 (ESV).

^[25] Revelation 12:11 (ESV).

[26] Norman L. Geisler, “A Premillennial View of Law and Government,” Bibliotheca Sacra 142, no. 567 (1985): 262.

[27] Stuart, Douglas K. Vol. 2, Exodus. The New American Commentary, (Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 2006), 164.

[28] Exodus 5:2 (ESV)

^[29] The Pulpit Commentary: Exodus Vol. I, ed. H. D. M. Spence-Jones, (Bellingham, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc., 2004), 17.

^[30] Carl Friedrich Keil and Franz Delitzsch, Commentary on the Old Testament, 1 Ki 18:1–19 (Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 2002).

[31] Exodus 20: 3 (ESV)

[32] Paul M. Lederach, Daniel, Believers Church Bible Commentary, (Scottsdale, PA.: Herald Press, 1994) 80-81.

 

^[33] Robert B. Chisholm, "The Major Prophets", in Holman Concise Bible Commentary: Simple, Straightforward Commentary on Every Book of the Bible, ed. David S. Dockery, (Nashville, TN: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1998), 336.

[34] Acts 4: 19-20 (ESV).

^[35] Simon J. Kistemaker and William Hendriksen, vol. 17, New Testament Commentary : Exposition of the Acts of the Apostles, New Testament Commentary, (Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1953-2001), 161.

^[36] Ibid, 384.