Others May, But You Cannot

I pastor friend of mine Rob Edwards has a blog and posted this old tract. I used to carry it around in my wallet to remind my of the type of relationship the Lord wants me to have with him as well as to “keep me in line.” So I thought I would share it with you:

Others May, But You Cannot:

If God has called you to be truly like Jesus in all your spirit, He will draw you into a life of crucifixion and humility. He will put on you such demands of obedience that you will not be allowed to follow other people or measure yourself by other Christians. At times, He will let other people do things which He will not let you do.

Other Christians who seem to be very religious and useful may push themselves, pull wires, and work schemes to carry out their plans, but you cannot. If you attempt it, you will meet with such failure and rebuke from the Lord as to make you sorely penitent.

Others may boast of themselves, their work, their successes, their writings, but the Holy Spirit will not allow you to do any such thing. If you begin to do so, He will lead you into a deep mortification that will make you despise yourself and all your good works.

Others may be allowed to succeed in making great sums of money, or may have a legacy left to them, or may have luxuries, but God may supply you only on a day-to-day basis, because He wants you to have something far better than gold, namely, a helpless dependence on Him and His unseen treasury.

The Lord may let others be honored and put forward, and keep you hidden in obscurity because He wants to produce some choice, fragrant fruit for His coming glory which can only be produced in the shade.

God may let others be great, but keep you small. He will let others do a work for Him and get the credit, but He may make you work and toil without knowing how much you are doing. Then, to make your work still more precious, He will let others get the credit for the work which you have done; this to teach you the message of the Cross, humility, and something of the value of being cloaked with His nature.

The Holy Spirit will put a strict watch on you, and with a jealous love rebuke you for careless words and feelings, or for wasting your time, which other Christians never seem distressed over.

So make up your mind that God is an infinite Sovereign and has a right to do as He pleases with His own, and that He may not explain to you a thousand things which may puzzle your reason in His dealings with you. But if you absolutely give yourself to be His child, He will wrap you up in a jealous love and let other people say and do many things that you cannot.

Settle it forever; you are to deal directly with the Holy Spirit. He is to have the privilege of tying your tongue or chaining your hand or closing your eyes in ways that He does not seem to use with others. However, know this great secret of the Kingdom: When you are so completely possessed with the Living God that you are, in your secret heart, pleased and delighted over this peculiar, personal, private, jealous guardianship and management of the Holy Spirit over your life, you will have found the vestibule of heaven, the high calling of God.

Rev. G. D. Watson
1845-1924

The Lord is Good!

Talk to you soon – Don

 

A Project to Provide Food and Money

Imagine a way to feed the poor, do business in needy areas around the world, provide fresh fish and vegetables in orphanages around the world as well as a source of income for the orphanage. While serving them, you begin to make disciples! Jeannie and I along with some other folks who work with me here at Strategic Church Network are seriously looking at starting up an Aquaponics project for just those reasons mentioned above.

What is Aquaponics? To put is simply, it is the merging of aquaculture (fish farming) and hydroponics (growing vegetables in water rather than soil.) This process has proven to be a tremendous tool on the mission field as well as a viable business model for providing income.

For more information go to the House2Harvest Network site on the Aquaponics group – http://house2harvest.ning.com/group/aquaponics You can also do a Google search and get a tons of information.

Our plan of action is as follows -

First:

1.      Get some funding so that we can . . .

2.      Learn the how to build, maintain and function as a viable food source and business by going to some of the training offered here in the USA.

3.      Build some prototypes and get some hands on experience.

Second:

1.      Take it to the nations and serve the poor.

2.      Partner with orphanages so that they can have a food source and income source.

3.      Provide a business model for needy areas as well as simple church folks around the world.

4.      Using this tool to enter the lives of thousands of people in order to make disciples.

If we act on this now, by the end of this year we could begin to set up Aquaponics farms in some of the most needy areas of the world!

If you would like to partner with me on this endeavor, give me a call, drop me a note. If you have any questions, let’s talk! This is a tremendous tool to help the poor and reach people groups in some of the most difficult parts of the world.

 

Let’s Just Have a Conversation

I just watched the movie “The Big Kahuna” (2000) starring Danny DeVito and Kevin Spacey; which was very entertaining. It’s about 3 salesman off on a sales trip to market their product, two are veterans and one is a young believer.  There is a quote from the movie the struck me as very interesting. it takes place towards the end of the movie when these three characters have a conflict over what is valuable, who is good and who can be trusted. The older salesman played by DeVito challegnes the young Christians judgement of the harsh, blunt older salesman (Spacey) who is greatly offended by the beleivers position. DeVito’s character says:

“It doesn’t matter whether you’re selling Jesus or Buddha or civil rights or ‘How to Make Money in Real Estate With No Money Down’. That doesn’t make you a human being; it makes you a marketing rep. If you want to talk to somebody honestly, as a human being, ask him about his kids. Find out what his dreams are – just to find out, for no other reason. Because as soon as you lay your hands on a conversation to steer it, it’s not a conversation anymore; it’s a pitch. And you’re not a human being; you’re a marketing rep.”

What do you think? What can we learn from this observation? How many times have we found ourselves entering a conversation for the purpose of our agenda and end being “a pitch man” for our cause?

I am trying to be a person who can have a conversation becuase I want to know what the other person says – not because I want to tell them something, or “sell” them something. Lord help me listen.

 

Fast Times on Earth

We live in a changing world – it is changing faster than we can imagine. I recently updated our House2Harvest Network site and added a social networking site to attempt to keep up with the times. To illustrate this – take a look at this presentation called “Did You Know 3.0.” This changes the way we think, know and understand. Imagine, there is not a piece of information out there (unless it is hidden from the public – and even then it may be available) that you cannot access in less than a few minutes via Google, Wikipedia etc.

Here are a few videos that explain it all better than me. As you watch these short videos, consider how it is changing your life, relationships, business and ministry. What adjustments do you need to make in what you do on a daily basis?

Something to think about! Enjoy the videos . . .

Did You Know 3.0:

Did you know 2.0

What do you think?

 

Being a Revolutionary Without Causing Sectarianism

One of the things I am hoping to accomplish this year is the ability to communicate what I am passionate about without causing division. It seems that when I start talking to folks about the revolution at hand I get several possible responses; eyes glaze over with the possible concern that I am from another planet, hearty agreement that is really an appeasement, tearful acknowledgement of the struggle at hand dreaming about how things could really be, an aha moment that cause them to join the cause and finally the angry response that considers you to be a heretic at best, or lost your salvation at worst.

The revolution I am referring to (if you have read any of my previous blogs you would know) is the work of Jesus in the midst of His people today that has nothing to do with a Sunday (or any day for that matter) meeting. But it is in regards to what He is doing through His Body all the time as we function as His church serving in His Kingdom in the midst of our lives. Now certainly this will effect what happens when we do gather whether it is in mega-churches, neighborhood churches or house churches, and there is much to be said about the avoidance of temple based worship. The form is not really the issue, the issue is the heart. It is Christ’s body being at work in our communities as so aptly described in the book “The Tangible Kingdom.” I think that is where I get into trouble. When I begin to talk about a revolutionary change within the Church, I seem to be critical of those sacred cows that we all have held dear one time or another in our life as Christians. So if your livelihood, identity and purpose is tied up in conducting a weekly meeting, I guess this talk of an organic, simple church revolution can be threatening.

This revolution falls into many facets of expression and categories. Fortunately there are a plethora of books being written to define what God is doing from “The Tangible Kingdom” by Hugh Halter and Matt Smay,  to Revolution by George Barna, to Reimagining Church by Frank Viola – not to mention Pagan Christianity by Viola & Barna, Organic Church by Neil Cole or The Forgotten Ways by Allen Hirsch.  And this is just the tip of the iceberg! All these books and others are a must read for those who are wanting to be challenged to join the ranks of these revolutionaries. But what do we do with what we have read?

Therein is my struggle. I can become critical, or I can become constructive, or I can just crawl into a hole with a few other discontents and wait it out. The best thing I can do is love the Bride of Christ regardless of her condition, recognize who she is in this sectarian context we live in, and be a prophetic example. Help me Lord!

Hopefully those who hear me will not think I am judging their motives. How in the world will I know their motives anyway! In fact, I would say that most of those who are in some capacity of leadership in the Church that are serving the old institutional sectarian system are doing so with very honorable motives and wanting to give the Lord all they have and all they can be. Plus, those in the congregations are there because that is all they know so to be discontent or a “change agent” would be seen as rebellious. It’s a tough spot.

So maybe you can join me this year to not strut around as if our understanding and practical application of truth is superior to others, but serve those who are under the guidance of the same Holy Spirit, but just not where I am. You know, I don’t like it when my motives are judged wrongly – let’s be careful not to do the same. There are many of those in Christ whose love for the Lord is unquestionable though they serve in a system that is far from what God intended. Let’s find out how we can serve one another graciously and with gentleness as we search daily for the will of the Lord and follow His will with all our might.

 

Naturally Being Supernatural

Have you ever thought about what is would be like to walk through life raising the dead, healing the sick, casting out demons – you know be just like Jesus? Well if you are like me, you would love to be just like that, but for some reason it just doesn’t quite happen that way. (Please don’t write me and tell me why you think it doesn’t!)

My point is that we can have such an impact on those around us without having lightening bolts shoot out from our hands. In fact, I believe that our fruit comes from when our spirituality is woven within the fabric of every day life. Many call this being incarnational. We CAN be like Jesus if we just love our spouses, love our children, not kick the dog, honor our employers, love our neighbors, encourage the downtrodden and simply enjoy the details of the mundane times of life and still be walk in the Spirit.

If we can only “touch heaven” by experiencing something spiritually new, or spiritually sentimental, then we have missed the point of walking with Jesus or living an incarnational life. The Holy Spirit is our comforter all the time. In fact, prayer is an all the time experience as we pray without ceasing. Or to put it plainly, talking to God, and listening to Him all the time is more of a prayer life than spending an hour a day filling a slot in some prayer program and meeting some religious requirement!

I am constantly being corrected by the Lord to stop seeking after the ecstatic experiences in order to hear him, and see him at work, but to look for him in the mundane, and in the midst of real life experiences and events. Simply by walking with Jesus where I live, and where my friends and neighbors live I will see his hand at work in a far greater way then attending a healing meeting or worship service.

Recently I read in Hugh Halter’s blog entitled “What is Incarnational Community” (author of “The Tangible Kingdom”) where he lists several things that reveal if we are incarnational. Take a few moments to jump over to Hugh Halter’s blog and see what he has to say – it will let you know that being a disciple of Jesus is not complicated and you can be one as you go about living life.

It is so freeing to just live life and see God work in the midst of what he has for us every day.

 

What to do with the New Year?

What a Christmas! We had all four of our daughters and their kids together. We hope you had a Merry Christmas and that your New Year will a good one. Even in these uncertain times, we can have peace and joy in Jesus and the fellowship that we have with one another.

Here we are all together on our front porch:

Our Family Christmas 2008

Are Your Ready to Be A Blessing Where You Live?

This coming year may prove to be a challenge for many. It will be a great opportunity to become true friends with those in your neighborhood whom you have never really met. There is an Indonesian proverb that says something like this:

“It’s better to be hungry and with friends than alone and fed.”

As times get tough here are a few suggestions that will help you be a blessing where you live:

• Get to know your neighbor – ask them how they are doing in these changing times and pray for them.
• Open your home for folks in your neighborhood to get together to see what the common needs are and see how you can help one another.
• Coordinate opportunities to assist those in your neighborhood who may be suffering due to hard times, job loss etc. Don’t wait for the government to do it! Let’s truly reveal the love of Jesus to those in need.
• Set up a time to gather believers that live in your neighborhood together in your home to pray and seek the Lord’s will during these coming hard times.
• Be a source of hope in times of trouble. Be ready to share your relationship with Jesus with others as times get hard.

May you have a great New Year!

 

A Shift in Definition of Unreached People Groups?

Do we need a new definition for the people groups that are unreached? Has this term been so misused that it must be redefined? Should the shift in our understanding of church, ecclesiology and mission reflect in this definition, not to mention our actual practice when reaching the unreached?

Here is the classic definition that many as well as I have been using: “An unreached people group is a people group or ethnic group, within which there is no viable indigenous church or churches with sufficient strength, resources, and commitment to sustain and ensure the continuous multiplication of churches.”

Here is my proposed new definition –

“An unreached people group (nation/ethnos) is any people group where there are no followers of Jesus who are making disciples within their own people group.”

I think it is time to change this definition. My reasons for this is that this new definition . . .: [See the remainder of this post at - House2Harvest WebLog]

 

Davis Report – December 2008

I just posted our December 2008 newsletter called “The Davis Report” on the Strategic Church Network site. Click here and give it a read!

I talk about:

• Being Friends with Refugees
• Making Inroads to the Unreached
• Websites Up and Running
• Looking Ahead to 2009

God Bless!

 

Website “We-alities”

In the past few months I have been taking a crash course in learning how to do websites. This is a matter of necessity since I am too cheap (or poor depending on how you look at it) to hire someone to do all the websites I am connected with. So I thought I would take a moment to let you know about them without being too self-promoting. But you know, that’s kinda what bogging is all about – right? In doing these sites, I have realized a few things about myself. First, let me share these websites with you:

This week I have been working on updating our website for Strategic Church Network. This site will be a great tool to help those who are doing simple/house church get involved in missions. We will be using this site to inform folks of different opportunities for training, short-term trips and the like.

As you may already know, I am also involved in the maintenance of the House2Harvest Network site. This site is totally flat, and belongs to all who join the network to share how we can help one another finish the task (Matthew 24:14). Strategic Church Network is one of those church networks that are available to serve the Body of Christ.

Another web site that I assist with is Hampton Roads Simple Church Network This is a site that serves all house/simple churches in the Hampton Roads, Virginia area.

One of my main interests is training cross cultural servants to the nations, specifically in the area of reaching Muslim unreached people groups. Therefore I have developed the site for South East Asia Institute of Intercultural Studies. I have the privilege of serving with some great servants of the Lord who are giving their lives for the cause of finishing the task.

There are a few more sites coming, I will soon be putting together a site for our business that is presently in the dream stage and hopefully become reality in 2009. I really need to start making some money!

Well – go surf a while and check out these sites – let me know what you think. And if you like them give me praise, if you don’t – careful, my ego bruises easily. I know these sites are not perfect by any means – but to be honest – I was not shooting for perfection – just function. That’s kinda fits my style.

That’s what have I learned about myself. I can really get bogged down in attempting perfection to the point that I become worthless, immovable and depressed. I would prefer to throw it out there and fix it as I go. Certainly avoiding funky mediocrity, but striving for functionality and practical value. I guess that’s really how we should approach life – especially life as a follower of Christ.

It is much more beneficial to get up, get moving and go with what you’ve got (and if you’ve got Christ in you – WOW!) and start doing what you think God wants you to do. He will correct you along the way so that you avoid mediocrity, and senseless attempts at perfection. That will come soon enough – if we get busy reaching the nations! Come Lord Jesus – but first go make disciples of all nations followers of Christ!