faith

I Pledge Allegiance

I Pledge Allegiance

Frank

Yesterday in the United States we celebrated our nation’s independence.  My Facebook feed was mixed between friends sharing pictures of barbecues, parades, and fireworks and pastors/authors writing about the co-mingling of patriotism and faith (pro and con).  All day I was wrestling with the feeling that I had to write something, but what more is there to be said?  Then I saw this article on the Babylon Bee: ‘Dozens Accept America as Lord and Savior at First Baptist Dallas Service’ (which is satire, in case you weren’t sure).

For a little background, the pastor at First Baptist Dallas is Robert Jeffress, a very outspoken Trump supporter.  Last week he held a church service with his church adorned with the American Flag and worship songs centered on patriotic themes (including, without any hint of irony, Woody Guthrie’s “This Land is Your Land”).  Then on Saturday, a choir from the same church sang a hymn based on President Trump’s campaign slogan, “Make America Great Again” at a “Celebrate Freedom Rally” in Washington, DC.

photo credit: KNEB-TV via The Blaze

I’ve always been uneasy with the assumption by many that faith and patriotism (both likely to be blind) can coexist in the heart of a sincere disciple of Jesus.  That’s not to say that we shouldn’t make political decisions based on our religious convictions, or that it is impossible to love both Jesus and America.  But idolatry is probably mankind’s greatest temptation, and we frequently elevate our politics, our patriotism, even our religious convictions (for just one example, see all the debate over Biblical inerrancy) to a degree of allegiance higher than our confession of Jesus as Lord.  So I struggle even with placing my hand over my heart to recite the Pledge of Allegiance because it calls into question where my allegiance truly lies.

Like I said, this debate is nothing new for those who follow these sorts of things.  But my intention behind this blog is to call these things out and to call us higher- that our allegiance isn’t to red or blue, right or left, rather it is to a Savior-King and his kingdom.  And I want to do that not by cutting down those with whom I disagree with politically, or mock the sincerely faithful that unfortunately are a product of a corrupt religious system, but by encouraging us to focus our attention higher and develop a deep conviction regarding the Kingdom of God.

So I think the recent book by Matthew Bates titled Salvation by Allegiance Alone is so critical and timely.  His thesis is simple- what if the Greek work often translated as “faith”, pistis, could better be translated as “allegiance”.  This opens up a host of implications, not the least of which is the notion of what we consider to be patriotism.

While this may seem like a politically-motivated reach, there’s a lot of quality scholarship behind his assertion.  But I want to point out two specific examples while thinking about what it means to “pledge allegiance”.  The first is from 1 Maccabees, where rival King Demetrius asks the Jews to “keep faith” (Greek pistis) with him over Alexander the Great.  He is not asking for a confession that leads to salvation, rather for a pledge of allegiance.  The second is from Jewish general/historian Josephus who writes about how he urged a rebel leader to “repent and believe in me” using the adjective pistos.  Again, this can be interpreted as to “repent and pledge allegiance” because Josephus wasn’t offering any type of spiritual salvation.  So if you think about it, isn’t that what Jesus is calling each of us to do in Mark 1:15 when he proclaims, “The kingdom of God has come near.  Repent and believe the good news!”

Another clue for interpreting “faith” or “believe” in this way is Jesus’ own words above linking belief to the “good news” (AKA the gospel) and the kingdom.  The word we often translate as gospel or good news, historically gives the connotation of declaring a military victory or the coronation of a king.  So the “good news” Jesus is referring to here isn’t personal salvation but the inauguration of his kingdom and the defeat of sin, which becomes accessible to us through faith in Jesus.

If you’re in a war (spiritual in this case) and a king is offering you salvation (or more accurately deliverance) in exchange for a confession of faith, what then does this “faith” mean if not allegiance?

So that brings us back to debate over faith and patriotism that arises this time every year.  What does it mean to pledge allegiance?  What does it mean to salute the flag?  What does it mean to be patriotic while at the same time being a believer who has made a confession of faith, or rather allegiance?

Jesus challenges us in the Sermon on the Mount when he says, “no one can serve two masters.” (Matthew 6:24)  In context he is talking about money, but his words are true whatever the other master may be (Abraham Lincoln applied this idea to politics when he quoted Jesus from Mark 3 that, “a house divided against itself cannot stand”).  Jesus furthers this point with the parable of kings at war in Luke 14:31-33 where if you know you can’t win with the army you have you go to the opposing king to ask for terms of peace.  What do you think the other king will request if not undivided allegiance.

It wouldn’t be out of the ordinary for a church to teach that we need to have undivided faith in our savior Jesus Christ.  But if we change the word’s intent to ask for undivided allegiance, a church suddenly becomes a cult, or overly-political, or unaccommodating.

So I’ll just leave this here for you to chew on.  You may have lit off all your fireworks and already packed away the red, white, and blue decor, but the next time you hear the National Anthem, or God Bless America, or stand to recite the Pledge consider what it means to declare to have faith in Jesus.  Is it just a intellectual ascent, a cultural acceptance, a routine religious ritual, or does it mean something more?

The Science Debate

Frank

A few weeks ago I attended a debate between a local pastor and an engineer from the local “Freethinkers” organization.  The topic of the debate was  “Does Science Confirm the Bible?” but this was more strictly defined at the event as- can the biblical account of creation be supported by biological science? (in other words: evolution versus creation) I was eager to attend as both an engineer and a Christian and as a wannabe scholar who dabbles in apologetics.

I have read some books and articles trying to reconcile science and the Bible but I had never actually seen it debated in person with specific points and counterpoints, watching the debaters think on the fly versus reciting prepared statements.  And I had just finished reading Finding God in the Waves by Mike McHargue (aka Science Mike), so such questions were fresh in my mind.  I went in with the mindset of asking myself how I would answer the questions, or what my rebuttals would be.  I also wanted to have an open mind because in my limited experience atheists, agnostics, and skeptics have legitimate points of contention and their questions should be taken seriously.

The Q&A ran long so I missed the ending.  I don’t know if they actually declared a ‘winner’ or not, but in my opinion the winner was (drumroll)…. the skeptic, and it wasn’t close.

My biggest issue, and this is true with many books on this subject as well, was that the paster refused to debate the Bible on science’s terms.  What I mean by that is that a scientific claim is made and the Christian responds with a Bible quote.  Sure, that may win over the Christians who already have their minds made up, but there’s no reason for a skeptic to buy such an argument.  And the pastor dug himself into a deeper hole by claiming as his ‘science’ rebuttals cherry-picked quotes from scientists.

Yes, irreducible complexity is a compelling argument.  But that’s a metaphysical debate, not a scientific one, despite what proponents of Intelligent Design might claim.  And yes, there are many believers (Francis Collins, director of the Human Genome Project for one) who are also scientists or even experts in these fields.  But personal quotes do not prove anything other than the what the person quoted thought about something.  Scientific proofs require evidence, measurement, and observation.  And the Christian side of the debate seldom goes down that road.

But why not?  I think on one hand we’re afraid of where that road may lead (see criticisms of scholars like Pete Enns for example).  But I think more importantly, we refuse to admit that the Bible is not a science book.  Our personal doctrines and theologies have elevated the Bible to “Holy” status and therefore is objectively true from a scientific, historical, archeological, biological, anthropological… you name it, perspective.  There is no lens through which to view the Bible as ‘not true’.  The problem  then is how we define truth.  Is it true that the earth was created in six days, or rather does that account reveal truth about who God is? Is it true that there was a literal Adam and Eve that lived in the Garden of Eden, or does their fall reveal truth about the sin-condition of the world?

In grad school I took a class called “The Philosophy of Physics” as one of the last electives I needed to knock out before I could get my degree.  The class was essentially a quantum physics class but without the math.  We discussed the philosophical implications of string theory, the multiverse, and quantum pairing.  And believe it or not the class actually strengthened, not hurt, my faith.  There was more “truth” debated in that course than I think I’d get in any ‘creation science’ class.  We need to be willing to ask ourselves hard questions.

I also think Christians are afraid of admitting they don’t have all the answers.  Maybe you’ve heard the Bible described as “Basic Instructions Before Leaving Earth” as if that was its only value.  When we look at the Bible in such a way, we insist it must have all the answers to every question.  When science discovers something new, we simply don’t know how to fit that new discovery into our worldview.

Because of the above reasons, Christians struggle to understand that faith and science do not have to agree.  There have been volumes written on this subject- here is just a recent example- so I won’t get into this more deeply, but it is perhaps the most important point.  Today is not only Earth Day, but also the day organizers have set aside to ‘March for Science’.  The driving concern of that march is that science has been politicized (it long has been) and that the current political powers have been dubbed ‘anti-science’ largely because of holding to biblical ‘truth’ over scientific truth.  Political decisions are being made under the assumption that the Bible is a science book therefore global warming can’t be real, evolution is a hoax, and so on.

But the Bible stands on its own terms.  It doesn’t need science to be proven.  In fact, it’s not our job to prove God, he can stand on his own.  So let’s stop approaching all of this with antagonism- science, politics, objective truth.  The only “proof” we need is our love for one another, “by this everyone will know” we are disciples (John 13:35)

Unanswered Prayer

Frank

Jesus taught his disciples that if they believed a mountain could throw itself into the sea, if they prayed for it, it would happen. “Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.” (Mark 11:22)

I wonder how many cancer patients believe that God can and will heal them only for it not to happen? Or from a more worldly perspective, who here hasn’t prayed for some level of success only to have victory elude you? (I pray to win the lottery all the time, but I haven’t yet. Of course, it might help if I buy a ticket)

So there must be some fine print in there somewhere.

We can imagine Jesus, agonizing at the garden, praying that “this cup [would] be taken from [him].” (Matthew 26:39) Here was the Son of God, who taught his disciples how to pray, asking God for something fully believing God could answer that prayer. But he added this caveat, “yet not as I will, but as you will.”

God’s will is like a “get out of jail free” card for prayer. God doesn’t answer your prayer? Not God’s will. Things aren’t going your way? Must be God’s will.

Tell that to everyone in Colorado or Oklahoma who recently lost their homes.

Needless to say, citing God’s will can be unsatisfactory for some. So we need to dig a little deeper. Why isn’t it God’s will? What else does he have planned? We answer those questions by saying God is refining our faith, or there is something he wants us to learn, or there is something better out there than what we are praying for. The last one is clear in Jesus’ case. The cross was a better outcome for humanity, if not necessarily for Jesus, than any other alternative.

Remember the country song “Unanswered Prayers” by Garth Brooks? He sings, “Some of God’s greatest gifts, are unanswered prayers.” In the song he reflects on a girl he like that he prayed would like him back. But then he looks at his family, and recognizes that if God had answered that prayer he wouldn’t have the blessing he has now.

We can all relate.

So let’s look again at Jesus. In John 17, we read about three of Jesus’ prayers.

  • The first, for Christ to be glorified for finishing the work God gave him to do. (v 1-5) I think we can all agree that God answered that prayer. Two thousand years after the cross, we still praise Jesus’ name.
  • The second prayer was for the disciples, that they should remain faithful to the end as they are sent out to proclaim the Gospel. (v 6-19) History shows us that each of the disciples, with the exception of John who is believed to have died under house arrest, died a martyr’s death.
  • The third prayer was for you and me, Christians who would come along later after hearing the word passed down from other Christians. Jesus prayed that we would be unified in our faith. Look around. Has God answered this prayer? (v 20-26)

Again, this is the Son of God. I am sure he believed his prayer would be answered. I seems unlikely that his prayer was outside of God’s will. In fact, Jesus prays that we will be unified so that the world will know that God sent him. So it is no coincidence that as we become more and more divided, fewer and fewer believe that Jesus is the Son of God.

 Jesus left this earth with one unanswered prayer. Why? Was it to increase our faith? Is there something we need to learn? Is there a better answer in God’s will?

Jesus prayed for unity. I look around and I just don’t see it. Maybe Christ’s prayer needs to become my own.

You’re Not Alone

Frank

April was Autism Awareness Month and May was Mental Illness Awareness Month. It’s coincidental they line up because they are only matching letters- Autism could just as easily been covered in August and awareness for Mental illness in March, but alas here we are. The two are linked although when someone mentions “mental health” our thoughts jump straight to depression, schizophrenia or other maladies. Yet the Autism Spectrum (which technically includes Asbergers Syndrom and not as officially includes ADHD and bipolar disorder) deals with many of the same social stigmas, especially at church. So I have done my best to cover both subjects to the best of my ability (and to the limit of my emotional capacity). Of course I cannot cover it all, so here are more posts on the subject.

The news of Matthew Warren’s suicide in April prompted many Christian bloggers to offer up their thoughts on mental illness. I think this is too important a subject to be covered by a single post, or even a series of posts. Additionally, everybody has their own personal story of mental illness impacting their lives. So below is a compilation of posts that I’ve found on the subject. Please feel free to add your own in the comments. (And a huge hat-tip to Adrian Warnock who has continuously posted on this subject throughout the month over at the Patheos blog portal. You’ll see many posts from him below.)

 

The posts that got this started:

On mental health:

On depression:

On medications and treatment:

On suicide:

Other conditions:

I’ve closed out each of my previous posts with a reminder that if you are struggling through dark times, if you feel alone, if you feel the church has rejected you, to have hope. Some of us do understand. You are not alone. I pray these resources are an encouragement not only to you, but are useful for the Church as a whole to better understand, better relate, and better sympathize with those who are struggling and know of no where else to turn but to Jesus and his bride.

What’s a Parent to Do?

Frank

So I’ve been spending my last several posts on the issue of mental health, getting personal with my “not autistic enough” son. In these posts, there’s been a lot of description, but not a lot of application. So I’m going to share my notes from a conference last year from a class called Parenting Children With Special Needs.

First, it is important to have the conviction that God does not make mistakes.

“As he went along, he saw a man blind from birth. His disciples asked him, ‘Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?’
‘Neither this man nor his parents sinned,’ said Jesus, ‘but this happened so that the works of God might be displayed in him.‘“ (John 9:1-3)

Whatever you are going through, whatever your children are going through, it is all in order to display the work of God.

If you struggle to believe that (and who doesn’t at times?), remember that God can relate to us as parents.

Can a mother forget the baby at her breast
and have no compassion on the child she has borne?
Though she may forget,
I will not forget you!
(Isaiah 49:15)

Next we cannot blame ourselves. You did not do something wrong to cause this, nor do you deserve it for something

He does not treat us as our sins deserve
or repay us according to our iniquities.
For as high as the heavens are above the earth,
so great is his love for those who fear him;
as far as the east is from the west,
so far has he removed our transgressions from us.
(Psalm 103:10-12)

If you’re a parent reading this, have faith that God chose you to be the parent to your child. He knows your inmost thoughts, he has your child’s days already written (Ps 139), and he picked you out of all other options to be your son or daughter’s parent. Plus, your child is no accident, he or she is not a mistake, your son or daughter was fearfully and wonderfully made (v 13-16)

Most of all, love, love, love. Love your child. Love the teachers or other parents who may be critical or judgemental, love those who are patient in teaching, serving and befriending your children.

“Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins.” (1 Peter 4:8)

For those of you who have reached out to me over Twitter or Facebook, I will continue to keep you in my prayers. Please also pray for me and my family.

I’m Worn

Frank

After having been knocked out sick for the past week or so, this is a good song to describe how I feel. Plus, it’s a pretty good song for a Monday.

One (of many) thing I love about Tenth Avenue North is that they don’t just post their videos, but they also post a “behind the music” video for many of their songs. A bonus-feature commentary if you will:

Eyes Without a Face

Frank

In ‘The Pursuit of God’, A.W. Tozer defines faith as “the gaze of a soul upon a saving God.” (pg 63) And notes that since this gaze is “but the raising of the inward eyes… then it follows that it is one of the easiest things possible to do.” (pg 67) He encourages us that when we “lift our inward eyes to gaze upon God we are sure to meet friendly eyes gazing back at us,” referring to God (pg 65).

But…

When Isaiah received a vision from God his response was, “Woe to me, I am ruined… my eyes have seen the King, the LORD Almighty.” (Isaiah 6:5) John, when seeing the full glory of Jesus on his throne fell “as though dead.” I wrote before about Elijah finding God in the whisper. When he heard that sound, he “pulled his cloak over his face” before going out to meet the Lord. After Moses met with God to establish his Law, his face glowed because of God’s glory; so much so that he had to wear a veil to cover it. And Jacob named the place he wrestled with God Peniel because “I saw God face to face, and yet my life was spared.” (Genesis 32:30)

Gazing upon the Lord casually is dangerous. I don’t think Tozer’s description of it being “easy” is the same as being casual. However, I think we need to keep these lessons from the Bible in mind when in faith we seek God’s face.

The face of God in the Bible is also a sign of favor. Frequently the prophets warned Israel that God would “turn his face against” them. The Psalmist would cry, “do not hide your face from me” when in anguish and would often “seek [God’s] face” for comfort.

“My heart says of you, ‘Seek his face!’
Your face, Lord, I will seek.
Do not hide your face from me,
do not turn your servant away in anger;
you have been my helper.
Do not reject me or forsake me,
O God my Savior.”
Psalm 27:8-9

So no, when the eyes of our heart seek out God we do not just see “friendly eyes” looking back at us, we see the full glory of God’s face. Yet because of Jesus, we do not need to tremble with fear or hide our face behind a veil. “But whenever anyone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away… And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.” (2 Corinthians 3:16-18)

Because of Jesus, we receive God’s favor and comfort knowing he will never turn his face away in anger. We can see him face to face and not only live, but live a new life.

“Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face.” (1 Corinthians 13:12)

This blog is part of a book club reading The Pursuit of God by A.W. Tozer. Please join the discussion here and at our hosts, Jason Stasyszen and Sarah Salter. Need a copy of the book? You can get it for free on Kindle.

Faith And Humility

Frank

“Almost all who preach or write on the subject of faith have much the same things to say concerning it. They tell us that it is believing a promise, that it is taking God at His word, that it is reckoning the Bible to be true and stepping out upon it. The rest of the book or sermon is usually taken up with stories of persons who have had their prayers answered as a result of their faith. These answers are mostly direct gifts of a practical and temporal nature such as health, money, physical protection or success in business. Or if the teacher is of a philosophic turn of mind he may take another course and lose us in a welter of metaphysics or snow us under with psychological jargon as he defines and re-defines, paring the slender hair of faith thinner and thinner till it disappears in gossamer shavings at last. When he is finished we get up disappointed and go out `by that same door where in we went.’ Surely there must be something better than this.” (A.W. Tozer, The Pursuit of God)

As a blogger it is tempting to come up with some long-winded reflection and explanation of faith. As a left-brained engi-nerd I could try and approach the subject with logic. Either effort would fall short in explaining the unexplainable.

So how should we define faith? Even Tozer admits that the Bible really only defines faith in action, not in essence. So that is probably the best place to start- faith in action.

The first three steps of AA can be summed up as I can’t, God can, Let him. To overcome addiction or even psychological trauma requires a certain amount of self-awareness. The challenge is distinguishing between self-centeredness and self-awareness. They are not the same thing. Self-centeredness seeks to satisfy itself. Self-awareness on the other hand, is a humble admittance that it cannot satisfy itself. And it takes a leap of faith to jump from the former to the latter.

“Faith is not in itself a meritorious act; the merit is in the One toward Whom it is directed. Faith is a redirecting of our sight, a getting out of the focus of our own vision and getting God into focus. Sin has twisted our vision inward and made it self-regarding. Unbelief has put self where God should be, and is perilously close to the sin of Lucifer who said, `I will set my throne above the throne of God.’ Faith looks out instead of in and the whole life falls into line.” (ibid)

Once one becomes self-aware, it becomes clear that it is ourselves that get it the way of focusing on Christ as the source of our faith, of our hope, of our love. True recovery cannot happen until this truth is accepted. In the secular world, that faith could be in the therapist, or some “higher power” but so long as that faith is accompanied with the humility to get ourselves out of the way, recovery will be successful.

Tozer links faith with sight, citing the Biblical link of Moses to Jesus. I’m not disagreeing, but I think faith without humility is also impossible. It takes faith, just as it takes humility, to admit that I cannot fill-in-the-blank, but God can. It takes faith, just as it takes humility, to get out of the way and let him.

In our recovery group, we had someone come in who was smoking multiple packs of cigarettes a day. He was trying the patch, but it wasn’t working. We pointed out that it was the same problem, just a different delivery. The patch weans you off the physical addiction, but isn’t God more powerful than withdrawals? He said he couldn’t quit cold turkey. We told him he had to. As we went around and around each other we finally said, “if you believe God can overcome this, then he will. Just pray to him.” So he did. He had one more cigarette later that night and then he was done. Humility couldn’t do it alone. Humility is what brought him to our group to begin with. Faith could not do it alone, or he could have quit any time. It was the combination of the two that had success.

Do you need faith to overcome some trial in your life right now? Add a dose of humility and see what God can do. It doesn’t have to be addiction for this to hold true: You can’t, God can, Let him.

This blog is part of a book club reading The Pursuit of God by A.W. Tozer. Please join the discussion here and at our hosts, Jason Stasyszen and Sarah Salter. Need a copy of the book? You can get it for free on Kindle.

Subjective Presence

Frank

It is hard enough to explain to someone why you believe in a God that cannot be seen or proven by science. So how do you explain his trait of omnipresence? If God cannot be seen, if his divine work in your life is a subjective experience, how can one explain or understand that God is everywhere at once; that god is literally with you? In The Pursuit of God by A.W. Tozer, the author tackles this very issue in chapter 5, “The Universal Presence”.

Here in this space, I want to address the subjective experience mentioned above. Please come back next week as I attempt to talk about his omnipresence.

Sunday’s lesson at church was about the wise and foolish builders and discussed in the context of marriage and family. We all have experiences with relationships built on shaky ground and of storms we were certain would crumble everything we’ve built, despite the best foundation. And we have also witnessed the aftermath of some storms in awe of what was still standing.

So I could only attribute it to the Holy Spirit when during the sermon my wife received a text from a friend who needed to talk. Not coincidentally, a major storm was flooding her marriage. This family began building upon the Solid Rock, but over time that foundation began to erode away. But this isn’t about them.

My wife listened and gave her input, and after roughly 60 minutes and probably 10 times that many tears, she hung up. As she was describing the situation, the conversation and her response and input I was moved when in tears she exclaimed, “God is alive!” We can put our trust in that eternal truth. All of our other idols, philosophies, and rationalizations are fleeting and cannot be relied upon when the storms of life hit. If there is no faith in a God who is right there with us through it all, where else can we turn?

That is subjective. But I cannot deny my faith that God is with me, present through all my storms. I have no such confidence in self-help, good intentions, or well wishes. Does that prove God exists? Of course not, at least not in a way that I can convince you. But it is enough evidence for me.

This blog is part of a book club reading The Pursuit of God by A.W. Tozer. Please join the discussion here and at our hosts, Jason Stasyszen and Sarah Salter. Need a copy of the book? You can get it for free on Kindle.

Flashback Friday: Every Nation

Frank

This was originally posted prior to the Opening Ceremonies for the 2010 Winter Olympics. I figure I’d dust it off for the Summer Games.

***

Last Sunday [back in 2010] our evangelist showed this video of a soccer crowd in Turkey. A massive sea of people all chanting and swaying in unison. The illustration was for the question, what kind of fan are you?  But I couldn’t stop thinking about how the writer of Hebrews describes the heroes of faith as a “cloud of witnesses” (Hebrews 12:1). I imagine this is what Elisha’s servant saw when he was surrounded by “chariots of fire” (2 Kings 6:17). Now imagine playing a match with such a crowd? Encouraging if you’re the home team, but indescribably intimidating for the visitor.
Tonight is the Opening Ceremonies for the 2012 Summer Olympics. I love the pageantry, the patriotism, the pride. These athletes aren’t just representing themselves, but their entire nation.

We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. (2 Corinthians 5:20, emphasis added)

One of my favorite parts of the Olympics is the parade of nations. Seeing everyone united, dressed in such a way to identify their home, waving flags and waving at fans, always gives me chills. This moment reminds me just how big this world is, seeing the racial and cultural diversity and hearing the multiple languages spoken. At the same time, I see how small our world is, as each athlete has something in common with another, and they are all gathered in one place for the entire world to witness. At the opening ceremonies, the competitors enter with their countries, but at the closing ceremonies you see these same competitors mingling with their rivals, exchanging hugs and tears, pins and photos.

“Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” (Matthew 28:19-20)

There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. (Galatians 3:28)

But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. (1 Peter 2:9)

The Church on Earth is not limited by language or political borders. It is not held back by the global economy, war, or famine. We have no rival that God cannot overcome. We are under one Lord, and united in one holy nation. This world is both big and intimidating while small and taken for granted. But look around. See the crowds surrounding you, cheering you to victory in Christ Jesus.