On the Wheel
“These who have turned the world upside down have come here too.” Acts 17:6 NKJV
Paul and Silas were the two men who first brought the Good News to Europe. Their teachings about Jesus Christ and the restored relationship with God so upset the established religious order that a riot occurred in Thessalonica. The main charge against them: That they had turned the world upside down.
When Lord Cornwallis surrendered his British army to General Washington at Yorktown, the decisive battle of the American Revolutionary War, the British band played an old tune called “The World Turned Upside Down” as their fellow soldiers marched out and laid down their arms.
As I sat in the Spring House weighing my various career options, I began to feel that my world too, had been turned upside down. Standards on which I had long based my decisions were dissolving. Professional goals were crumbling. Material and ego-centered values were being replaced by something far more challenging and substantial.
My whole world view was changing. Previously, I viewed my life in terms of 70 to 90 years on this planet. Now, since I had entered into a relationship that guaranteed me eternal life with my Creator, I saw that 90 years was really a very a short time in comparison. Before, I was the center of the decisions I was making about my life. Now, God was the center of the decisions about the life that He had given me.
I discovered that if you really accept Jesus as your Lord, a revolution occurs. Furthermore, if Jesus really is your Lord, then a complete revolution in your thought patterns has to take place!
Indeed, my values were changing!
After evaluating my encounter with Lonnie’s spirit, my lifestyle in Vail, and what my spirit was now saying to me, I could finally agree with what Craig told me during that first Sunday morning service at Hope Chapel: a relationship with Jesus was the most important thing in this life.
After all, if He is who He says He is, then that relationship has to supersede anything else going on in my life. If He is who He says He is, then He is the source of all the things that I desire in this life—things like healthy relationships, inner peace, spiritual prosperity, order, ability to raise my children properly, health, and willingness to give of myself—the important things. My Creator is the source of all this in this life and in the next.
Now, should something like this be a top priority in my life? You bet! I now began pursuing this relationship with my Creator with gusto.
I was a history major in college and had studied ancient literature and historical reference and source material. I could accept Thucydides’ “Histories” and Julius Caesar’s “Gallic Wars” as valid historical accounts. But to me, the Bible had been nothing more than Jewish mythology and a collection of some men’s opinions.
I read the Bible as a youth and studied the Bible in a literature class in college. Now, as I began to read it in depth really for the first time, I realized it was much more than just another book. I discovered it to be a good historical reference and source—at least by all the criteria (manuscripts, internal and external evidence) that we learned in historiography class at Miami University. It turns out that many events portrayed in the Bible are consistent with other contemporary (Egyptian, Sumerian, Babylonian, Assyrian) writings and sources. Luke especially was a first-class historian. What I considered “mythology” has been substantiated by many archaeologists. In fact, I discovered that there has never been an archaeological discovery that has contradicted anything in the Bible!
And then there are the prophecies. Jewish prophets in the Old Testament made detailed predictions that historians have proved came to pass years later. The destruction of the cities of Tyre, Babylon and Nineveh and their subsequent history was specifically foretold hundreds of years before the events actually happened.
But aside from the historical validity and the fulfilled prophecies, the Bible was becoming something living that my spirit needed. Words written thousands of years ago suddenly became very real. What before had seemed like “dry theology” now became very relevant to events happening around me. The books of Proverbs, James and Corinthians especially took on this new “practical” flavor.
One of the classic scenes in the Bible occurs when Jesus is on trial, standing before the Roman governor Pilate. This conversation ends when Jesus said “Everybody who is of the truth hears my voice.”
Pilate’s response: “What is truth?”
What a question!
For years I had been searching for the “Truth,” asking the same question as Pilate. But in my generation, truth was rarely absolute, especially in regard to moral standards. However, the more I studied the Bible, one thing became crystal clear. There are absolutes when it comes to truth.
“Truth” is easily defined: it is simply God’s opinion on the matter. The Bible presents God’s moral truths very clearly. As I compared the current cultural morality (as well as my own) to God’s morality as presented in the Bible, I suddenly saw the value of many of the moral standards that I had previously rejected. The more I read, the more I realized how inadequate I was in many of my own personal moral standards, and what a negative effect my self-centered morality had had on many of my relationships.
Soon it was evident to me that indeed the Bible was just what it claimed to be—“inspired by God, and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work” (2 Timothy 3:16–17). After years of believing the “Playboy Philosophy” and living the loose morals of the ’60s and ’70s, the need I had for “correction and training in righteousness” was great.
Hope Chapel offered a year long course on the Bible that met every Tuesday morning at 6:00 for two hours. While I was working my “career enhancing” odd jobs, I enrolled in this course. I quickly realized that this was the most important thing happening in my life, and I dedicated myself to this course of study. After completing this Logos School of the Bible, Craig offered a weekly Discipleship Training course. These classes covered sharing the Gospel, Bible teaching, counseling, and ministry training. The course lasted a year as well and was intense personalized training.
Since all my flying and skiing friends were on the mainland 3,000 miles away, I now found myself with a new circle of friends. Most of these new friends were people who shared my new world view (and had shared many of my former views as well!), and who tried to incorporate what they said and did on Sunday into other days of the week.
Many evenings were spent talking about the things of God. And this wasn’t stiff and dry religious activity. This was natural relationships that were based on “the right stuff.” I realized that I was actually having as much fun now as in all my skiing and drug days at Vail! God was not the “Cosmic Killjoy” that I had thought He was. Jesus had told His disciples about the “Abundant Life.” Now I was beginning to understand what He meant.
I knew that all this was going somewhere, but I wasn’t sure. I only sensed that my future depended on completing these Bible and discipleship training courses. Something was happening here, and I realized what later when I read this passage from the book of Jeremiah:
Go down to the potter’s house, and there I will give you my message. So I went down to the potter’s house, and I saw him working at the wheel. But the pot that he was shaping from the clay was marred in his hands. So the potter formed it into another pot, shaping it as it seemed best to him . . . like clay in the hand of the potter, so you are in my hand. (Jeremiah 18:2–4, 6) [ NIV]
This was God’s message to me! I was just another lump of clay, and He was forming me into a “pot” or “vessel” that He could use.
The first pot was “marred.” The original language in this passage suggests that the flaw in this first pot was in the clay, and not in the potter’s skill. So the potter worked on the clay, and then formed it into a second pot.
Yes, there was indeed a lesson here for me.
I had always considered myself to be a good person, but as I realized more and more what God’s moral standards were, it was obvious there were many areas in my life where I had missed His mark—where I didn’t measure up to His standards. There were some definite character flaws that were now being brought to light.
But the great thing about Jesus’ teachings is that we don’t have to be perfect to have a relationship with Him. We don’t have to work to get to a point where He will say, “O.K., now we can talk.” He’s ready to talk with us at any time.
Christianity is different from any religion. Religion calls for certain acts on your part to satisfy a Supreme Being, “works” that bring you to a certain level of worthiness where certain rewards are then available. Jesus’ message is simply “Believe in Me and I’ll take care of the rest.” Christianity does not demand perfection as the price of admission, but it does guarantee that once you acknowledge Jesus as your Creator and believe in Him, He will take control of your life and begin developing your character into His image.
This sounds too simple to be true, but after months of serious Bible study, I was convinced of the validity of this basic message.
Jesus told Nicodemus, one of the famous teachers of his time, “God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten (or unique) son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life” (John 3:16).
That’s the “believe in Me” part of this basic doctrine.
Later Paul explained to the believers at the church in Philippi: “Carry to its perfect conclusion the work of your salvation, for it is God who, that He may carry out His own good pleasures, brings to effect in you both the initial willing and the effective action.” (Philippians 2:13) [Weiss translation]
That’s the “I’ll take care of the rest” part, and He will as long as we are obedient. That’s where our free will comes in; we must make a choice to follow Him.
In November 1981, I believed the fact that Jesus is my Lord. Now I was getting part two of the basic message and found myself in the “reforming” process.
The first pot (the Navy pilot and Vail skier) was indeed marred—but the flaw was in the “clay” (my own human nature). Now I was on the “potter’s wheel,” and God was working out some of these flaws, getting this “lump of clay” ready to be formed into a “vessel” that He could use.
Being on the wheel is not a pleasant experience. There is a lot of personal pain, embarrassment and frustration as God makes evident our character flaws, and then begins molding us into His character. This was His goal in the beginning—to make us into His image, a complete person with His moral character but with the free will to make our own choices. Somewhere along the way—whether through spiritual interference or our own inherent character flaws, —God’s plan was derailed.
Men and women with the ability to make free choices begin making the wrong ones. With those wrong choices come consequences, on a personal and societal level.
“Truth or Consequences” was a popular quiz show years ago, but describes well the result of our choices. Do we choose to apply God’s truth to a situation or our own feelings and desires? Our answer to this constant challenge determines the fate of our personal lives and the culture and society that we live in. Unfortunately many, like me, were (and still are) unaware of God’s truth and His principles for living. And many (also like me), knowing some of God’s truth, opted to ignore it and go their own way.
The key is the realization of the need and the desire on our part to make the change.
Things that many consider “big sins”—like substance abuse, bad language, and sexual immorality—can be worked out with relative ease. They are really only the superficial symptoms of the deeper flaws—things like pride, selfishness and disobedience. These are flaws in the clay that sometimes takes the Potter years to work out.
The big question is, “Are we going to let the Potter work on us or not?” Once we decide to allow ourselves to be a lump of clay in God’s hands, that’s when this “forming” process begins. In reality, this process will last at least until the day we leave this world.
During this reforming process, if we stay faithful to God and His purposes, there is a point where God will begin to involve us in His work. A passage in the book of Ephesians jumped out at me during this time, and it continues to every time I read it:
For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do” (Ephesians 2:10) [NIV]
Upon investigation of this passage, I discovered that the Greek word which is translated “workmanship” is “poi_ma.” We get another word from that in English— “poem.” As a poem is an individual artistic expression of its author, we are individual artistic expressions of our Creator. Each “artistic expression” was created to have a relationship with God through His Son Jesus Christ. And this relationship has a purpose— good works of service in the Kingdom of God. Not only that, God planned these works ahead of time, so that the moment that we accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior, we have a definite course of action and are involved in activities that would have eternal value. I later realized that these works themselves have a greater purpose as part of God’s personalized character development program.
Did this concept excite a guy with no apparent direction in his life working odd jobs to pay the rent? It sure did! I realized that in all the millions of people who have lived (and are living) on this planet, I am an individual expression of God’s artistry. He created me to have a relationship with Him, and to participate with Him in His plan for this universe. I have significance in God’s eyes! My actions can have everlasting meaning! The Creator of the universe desires to have a friendship with me!
This is exciting!!!
What about this plan that He has for our lives? What is it exactly? What are these “good works” that He wants us to do?
Good Questions!
My first instincts were to return to my roots—the single-life-in-the-fast-lane-scene. After careful consideration, my roommate Steve and I embarked on the “Banana Moon Ministry.”
It was obvious to us from reading the Bible that telling others about God should be a high priority. Steve and I felt this obligation heavily—to reach the unsaved. We decided to focus in on a select group of the “unsaved”—young, single women. We were sure that God wanted to reach out to this group—especially the beautiful ones. Being single ourselves and knowing some of God’s Word, we felt very qualified to minister to these young, lost souls. . . .
The Marriott had just built a hotel at Kaanapali, and they modeled their disco, the Banana Moon, after “Shadows” in Vail. I knew the scene very well. What a great place to go and witness about the love of God! So we went, usually on a Friday or Saturday night, when the place was jammed with tourists and locals.
There were a few drawbacks to what seemed to like the ideal ministry. It seemed that once we actually arrived and got engaged in conversation with one of these potential converts, things began to happen, but not quite what we had planned.
It is a bit difficult, after all, to witness to your dance partner over the loud music. And while dancing, you worked up a thirst. After a few beers, well, it was really hard to focus on the “mission.” Having so recently stepped out of this environment, it was very difficult to get back into it without being affected by all the old feelings for the “passing pleasures of sin,” as the Bible calls it. There was plenty of that at the Banana Moon.
As the night wore on, the opportunities for witnessing became greater. However, by that point, we had usually forgotten the reason why we came. Not only that, we found ourselves getting into situations where we really weren’t being the best witnesses for the Lord.
Finally, for our own spiritual well-being, we had to abandon the ministry. . . .
It turned out that my instincts for God’s plan for my life were just that—my instincts. And these instincts sometimes proved to be unreliable as a guide for God’s plan. But there were good works that God had planned for me to do. The Bible said so. But how would I know which ones were for me? How could I know what God’s specific plan for me was?
Good Question!
I tried two obvious methods: to ask Him in my prayers, and to research the Bible for some basic principles. I was sure that He would give me some clear direction, even if it took some time. In the meantime, I began looking around to see where I could be of help.
My first ministry at Hope Chapel started one Sunday after service when I noticed a few guys folding and stacking the chairs. “I can do that,” I thought, and picked up a chair. Chair folding became a regular Sunday morning activity. Soon I was passing out bulletins at the front door. Next I was helping a friend with her Sunday School class. Then I was teaching my own class with two other friends. One ministry led to another, and soon I found myself fully involved in church activities. All the while I was asking God to show me what He “really” wanted me to do.
The Bible is a great book for many reasons. Not only does it express God’s moral truth, but in my research, I discovered how God interacted with some other believers who were faced with the same question: “What is God’s will for my life?”
Prayer is a key ingredient in knowing God’s plan. That’s pretty obvious, but the life of one of the greatest leaders in the Bible demonstrates this principle. His name was Nehemiah, and he was the cupbearer (in reality, chief of the king’s personal security) for the King of Persia. Nehemiah heard about the conditions of his homeland and especially the capital city Jerusalem. Babylonian armies had destroyed the walls when they conquered Jerusalem over 100 years before. In this condition, the city was defenseless. This greatly saddened Nehemiah. When the King of Persia asked Nehemiah what he wanted to do about the walls of Jerusalem, Nehemiah stopped and prayed.
In the month of Nisan in the twentieth year of King Artaxerxes, when wine was brought for him, I took the wine and gave it to the king. I had not been sad in his presence before; so the king asked me, “Why does your face look so sad when you are not ill? This can be nothing but sadness of heart.”
I was very much afraid, but I said to the king, “May the king live forever! Why should my face not look sad when the city where my fathers are buried lies in ruins, and its gates have been destroyed by fire?”
The king said to me, “What is it you want?”
Then I prayed to the God of heaven, and I answered the king, “If it pleases the king and if your servant has found favor in his sight, let him send me to the city in Judah where my fathers are buried so that I can rebuild it.”
Then the king, with the queen sitting beside him, asked me, “How long will your journey take, and when will you get back?” It pleased the king to send me; so I set a time.
I also said to him, “If it pleases the king, may I have letters to the governors of Trans-Euphrates, so that they will provide me safe-conduct until I arrive in Judah? And may I have a letter to Asaph, keeper of the king’s forest, so he will give me timber to make beams for the gates of the citadel by the temple and for the city wall and for the residence I will occupy?” And because the gracious hand of my God was upon me, the king granted my requests. (Nehemiah 2:1–8) [NIV]*
When Nehemiah paused to pray before he answered the king, was it a long prayer or short one? We don’t know.
Had Nehemiah spent any time before that in prayer asking for God’s plan? Probably so.
It was through Nehemiah’s prayers that God gave him the plan that he presented to the king. It was God’s plan which found favor with the king, and he not only gave his approval, but he provided Nehemiah with letters of authorization, soldiers, and building supplies. Nehemiah went on to mobilize the people of Jerusalem and, against much opposition, rebuild the walls in only 52 days—an incredible feat by any standards.
Personal abilities, training and experience are other factors in determining God’s plan for your life. The Bible says that once you enter into a relationship with Him, He gives you spiritual gifts (or abilities) that you are to employ in the work of the Kingdom. In addition, God often prepares you for His works ahead of time.
A classic example of this principle is the shepherd boy David. When God impressed upon David’s heart to deal with the giant Goliath, David knew he could do it.
David said to Saul, “Let no one lose heart on account of this Philistine; your servant will go and fight him.” Saul replied, “You are not able to go out against this Philistine and fight him; you are only a boy, and he has been a fighting man from his youth.”
But David said to Saul, “Your servant has been keeping his father’s sheep. When a lion or a bear came and carried off a sheep from the flock I went after it, struck it and rescued the sheep from its mouth. When it turned on me, I seized it by its hair, struck it and killed it. Your servant has killed both the lion and the bear; this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, because he has defied the armies of the living God. The Lord who delivered me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine.”
Saul said to David, “Go, and the Lord be with you.” (1 Samuel 17:31–37) [NIV]*
David spent many hours while watching his sheep training in the art of hitting a target with a sling. His experience with the lion and the bear gave him confidence. His personal relationship with the Lord gave him the assurance that the Lord was with him.
With all this, and five smooth stones (Goliath had brothers), David ran to the battle and killed this giant Goliath in one of the classic accounts of the Bible.
Sometimes God showed “signs along the way,” or miraculous events to confirm His plan. When Gideon received an order from God to raise an army to fight the Midianites, Gideon asked God for a sign to confirm this order. God gave him two—the famous “fleece tests.”
Gideon said to God, “If you will save Israel by my hand as you have promised—look, I will place a wool fleece on the threshing floor. If there is dew only on the fleece and all the ground is dry, then I will know that you will save Israel by my hand, as you said.” And that is what happened. Gideon rose early the next day; he squeezed the fleece and wrung out the dew—a bowlful of water.
Then Gideon said to God, “Do not be angry with me. Let me make just one more request. Allow me one more test with the fleece. This time make the fleece dry and the ground covered with dew.” That night God did so. Only the fleece was dry; all the ground was covered with dew. (Judges 6:36–40)[NIV]
Gideon was a reluctant warrior, but he was brave enough to ask God not once but twice for a sign confirming His command. God reduced his army to 300 men, and then defeated an army of thousands of Midianites.
Sometimes God speaks directly in an audible voice to the person. Most of us would like God to communicate to us in this way always, and He sometimes does. Moses had this experience while tending his flocks near Mt. Horeb. He saw a bush that was burning in a strange way.
“Moses saw that though the bush was on fire it did not burn up. So Moses thought, “I will go over and see this strange sight—why the bush does not burn up.”When the Lord saw that he had gone over to look, God called to him from within the bush, “Moses! Moses!” And Moses said, “Here I am.” “Do not come any closer,” God said. “Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground.”
Then he said, “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob.” At this, Moses hid his face, because he was afraid to look at God. The Lord said, “I have indeed seen the misery of my people in Egypt. I have heard them crying out because of their slave drivers, and I am concerned about their suffering.
So I have come down to rescue them from the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land into a good and spacious land, a land flowing with milk and honey. So now, go. I am sending you to Pharaoh to bring my people the Israelites out of Egypt.” (Exodus 3:2–8,10) [NIV]
God spoke directly to him in an audible voice from the bush, ordering him to return to Egypt and lead the Hebrews out to the Promised Land. It took years, but Moses did exactly that.
Prayer, personal abilities and experience, signs along the way, and the direct audible voice were all ways that God led His people, and gave them the plan for their lives. I was praying and waiting for God to speak to me or show me some signs. I also knew my own abilities and realized that God had given me many useful skills and valuable experiences.
While I waited for a specific answer to my question, I began to look at God’s written Word, the Bible, for God’s general plan for my life, and principles that I could live by.
Psalm 119:105 says, “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path.” “Love God” and “Love Your Neighbor” are the two big commandments. There seems to be a special emphasis on serving your brother and helping those in need.
Little did I know that all these Biblical principles would soon become so real to me in such unanticipated ways.
In August 1984, one of the most publicized group of Christians who needed help were the Miskito Indians. Therefore it seemed appropriate when a Christian organizer named Fred came to Hope Chapel that month telling us of these refugees and his plan for collecting and sending relief supplies, that I volunteered to help.
I had heard of the Miskitos, who lived along the Atlantic coast of Nicaragua and Honduras. I had followed with interest the moves of the Sandinista government against them. But Central America was never on my travel itinerary, and I knew very little about the region. Only one fact stuck out in my mind: Nicaragua is where Mick Jagger’s ex-wife Bianca is from. Very significant! Then I looked at a map and saw that Honduras has a capital city, Tegucigalpa, that sounds like a parasitic disease that tourists get. Over the next few months, I quickly got educated. . . .
The Miskitos are Indians with a recent Christian heritage who live on the eastern coast of both Honduras and Nicaragua. They were mostly neutral in the civil war that ousted the long time dictator of Nicaragua, Anastasio Somoza. When the Sandinistas took over the government in 1978, they sent Cuban teachers to take over the schools on the Atlantic coast. Catholic priests and Moravian missionaries were expelled from the country. Church services were disrupted by the Sandinista army troops. A very militaristic, atheistic curriculum was brought into the public schools. And all tribal lands and much personal property were confiscated by the government.
The Miskitos began to resist all this, and fighting broke out in 1981. The Sandinistas sent Cuban and Soviet advisors with their troops to their northern border with Honduras, the Coco River, and began relocating villages on the Rio Coco to areas in the interior. This “relocation” took the form of burning the villages, destroying the fruit trees, and killing all the cattle. At least 90 villages were “relocated,” and many Miskitos died during this forced movement.
Over 40,000 Miskitos fled to Honduras, and another 10,000 went to Costa Rica. Many of these refugees were helped by the United Nations camps set up around the Honduras village of Mocoron, over 40 kilometers north of the Rio Coco. About 10,000 refugees decided to remain in the savannah and swamp land along the Honduran side of the Coco. The situation was desperate for many of these Miskitos refugees, especially the ones who were receiving no assistance.
Fred was organizing medical teams, along with the relief supplies, to take into this border area. I became his project director for Hawaii and began getting the word out to other churches.
By the end of September, we had collected over a ton and a half of shoe boxes filled with things like soap, first aid supplies, needles and thread, food, and clothes. Aloha Airlines graciously shipped this cargo to Honolulu. Continental Airlines then shipped this, plus some shoeboxes collected on Oahu to California. From there the plan was to truck the cargo to Houston and send it by air to Honduras.
When the cargo left Maui in early October, I felt that my job was completed. Fred called me up a few weeks later inviting me to join him on a team to Honduras to help distribute the supplies to the Miskitos. The plan was for the team to meet at the Los Angeles airport on Thanksgiving Day, fly to Houston, and then on to Tegucigalpa. From there we would fly out to “Gracias a Dios” (“thanks to God”), the extreme eastern state of Honduras (named by Christopher Columbus himself after being lost at sea for a few weeks because of a storm). There, we would go by truck and dugout canoe to the villages on the Honduras side of the border distributing the shoeboxes. The entire trip would take two weeks.
I was excited but hesitated due to “financial embarrassment.” The airfare from Maui to Honduras was expensive. Fred sensed my hesitation and offered to pay my airfare from Los Angeles to Honduras! This was a “good sign”!
I had been praying to the Lord, asking Him what His plan for my life was. He was now giving me some specific answers. I had followed a few Biblical principles when I got involved in the shoe box collection project. Now I was being asked to go to the jungles of Honduras. Since I knew a little Spanish from high school and had jungle survival training while I was in the Navy, by my own previous experience, this too seemed in order. I didn’t have money for the airfare, but God provided that through Fred and a few others. Some of the principles in the Bible were working for me.
God hadn’t spoken to me directly yet about this Miskito mission, but He was about to show me the next of many “signs along the way” that confirmed this plan for me.
Comments