Freely you received; freely give.

So my friend posted a note on Facebook the other day that sparked a very interesting discussion about the progression of America...and other past super-powers. He quoted what's called the Tytler Cycle and the jist is that over a 200 year period, nations go through this progression:

From bondage to spiritual faith;
From spiritual faith to great courage;
From courage to liberty;
From liberty to abundance;
From abundance to complacency;
From complacency to apathy;
From apathy to dependence;

From dependence back into bondage.

Kind of haunting isn't it? Well, it definitely stuck with me and it's been rolling around in my head, and really bothering me...I've been asking myself, "Well do I have to give up then? Are we all just going down? How do we stop this?"

Then I realized, this progression is not a sure thing. This doesn't HAVE to happen. It does follow a logical sequence, but let us not forget that at each step a choice is involved, and in this case the wrong choice is presented. You see, It clearly veers off of the biblical, godly progression of things when it enters complacency. We predict that abundance leads to complacency, which is true in most cases (e.g. Israel throughout most of the OT) but there's no need to be fatalistic here. Complacency is NOT the only option. In fact, it's not what God says should happen at all...

God's mandate has always been (and always will be) "I will be your God, and bless you, SO THAT you will be a blessing to the rest of the world." (See Gen 12:1-3, and, like, every old testament convenant with God ever). We are graciously blessed by God because He's just that good (see my last post), but then in turn, we are instructed to give it away. We are called to represent His character and His nature towards others through sacrificial love and giving, not to mention He knows our selfish and sinful hearts and how much we loveeee comfort.

Don't you ever wonder why He was always so upset with Israel for being ethno-centric, greedy and complaining all the time? He created man in His image, and choose the Hebrews to be His representatives on the Earth. They were instructed to be a royal priesthood that the world could go to receive love, affirmation, and acceptance from the One True God. And it's the same mandate today...His people are being called to give themselves away.

But do we learn this in church? Hardly- God wants you to happy and healthy and full of cash, right? Do we learn this in school? No way- take all you can get, babe, look out for number one. Do we learn this in politics? Well, there are two sides to this beast: "It's mine and you can't have it" OR "I feel bad for making so much money, so I'll just throw it at broken systems that don't require me to care about whether or not the money is properly being used".

Let me be clear in my opinions: I think we can change the world. I do not think God intends for things to get worse and worse and then He's going to come back. I think God has given the stewardship of the WHOLE earth (that includes government, education, nature, economy, recreation, media, family, and the church) into our hands. And it's time we stepped up and did something responsible.

We've missed a very important link here, and I think it's time for a bit of optimism. We were never meant to be trapped in a vicious cycle of doom and gloom, and live with the mentality that "we're screwed cuz we were born at the wrong turn of the century".

No, I think life is always hard. There is always opposition to the ways of God. And there is always a right and a wrong choice to make. (Makes perfect sense if you believe in the God of the Bible, because that means there's also a Devil with His own plan for things...)

But, I'm thinking, if our founding fathers could make the right choice from spiritual faith to great courage, and great courage to liberty, who says we can't make just as good of a choice? And we don't even have to cross the ocean, start up a new country, and fight for her survival while being up against all odds.

You know, some even might say, the hardest part of the battle is over for America, and our only job now is spread the love. I for one am willing to try, are you?

Let's pray that within the next 10 years, the progression looks something like this:

abundance to RESPONSIBILITY.

responsibility to generosity (to those OUTSIDE ourselves):

Those receiving generosity, then in turn begin a new cycle:

gratefulness to self-worth.

self-worth to spiritual faith. (IF someone is there to tell them why they matter...yay missions!)

spiritual faith to great courage.

great courage to liberty. etc, etc.

....and the multiplication of God's blessing continues as His people have finally heard the call to not only be blessed by God, but to BE a blessing to the nations of the earth..

P.S. Bono has a few things to say as well, if you're interested: This is his Op Ed piece from Sunday's NY Times.

What do you do with a God like that?

In my previous post I mentioned that though I was back in familiar territory, I was completely different. I'd like to expand on that a bit, and reassure you that I am not entirely changed; I am still Shannon, I still love crosswords, a cup of black coffee, and Texas football - but I do feel I have returned to Austin as more of a whole person, and the stories behind that statement, I am more than willing to explain.

Throughout my time away, I was challenged in my view of God; how I saw Him and how I believed He really was.

Is He really all that He claims to be? Does He really love me no matter what? Can I truly stand on His promises in the Bible? Are His ways really the best ways? Is He worth giving my life to?

Everyone knows the Sunday school answers to these things, but when your only options are to trust God or continue life in pain, those simple questions become pretty important. And I made some decisions.

I decided that I did not have to have God completely figured out before I trusted Him. I decided to believe that He loves me unconditionally and that there's nothing I can do to change it. I decided I should receive His love in gratitude and awe. And I decided that He is real.

He is so real, it's ridiculous.

Think about Jesus: He holds all power and all might in His hand, and yet every word He speaks is true, every motivation and intention of His heart is good and loving. Do you know anyone like that? I mean, I know we all grew up in a Christian country and culture, so the idea of a 'good' God is not entirely foreign, but think about it...it could have gone another way for us.

We could be at the mercy of an all-powerful being who is greedy, selfish, forceful, manipulative, cruel, and unjust. (Which is, I might add, how much of the world lives it's life under other religions...).

Can I ask you something? If you had all the power in the universe, which God would you look more like? And don't automatically assume you're awesome, really think about how you live your life, and how you treat those actually under your influence: your family, friends, co-workers, and peers.

Do you love without judgement? Do you fight for others even when they hurt you? Do you offer up your very precious clothes, movies, jewelry, or salary to anyone who has need? Too materialistic? Ok, how about your time, your skills, your friends, and your family, would you give them up to make sure someone else had the best, and do so without bitterness and pride?

I'll ask you (and myself) again, if you had everything in the world at your disposal, would you trust yourself to be entirely pure and good? I know where I stand, and if you took my life right now and made me 'God'...lemmie tell ya, not people would trust in me for very long.

And I think this was something I dealt with while I was away, I was looking at God as though He was me. I was trying to fit His ways of doing things through my lens of understanding, and obviously I can't picture myself being completely loving and holy, so I had a hard time picturing God that way. We base our image of God off so many things: parents, leaders, teachers, government, kings, and even ourselves. But you know what, people mess up, then we put those accusations right on God as if He does the same things...why don't we actually form our image of God from the scriptures, from what He says about Himself?

So I decided to take the God of the Bible at His word, and trust that though Jesus was fully man, He was also fully God.

I decided to trust that I was made in His image, and that He was NOT made in mine.

In getting to know the One true God more and more over this past year, I have found Him to be nothing short of perfect. He is completely trustworthy. He is not a man, that He would lie, He is not a man, that He would have to repent. The angels and cherubim sit around His throne watching every decision He makes and witnessing His every move, and what do they have to say?

"Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord God Almighty, who was and is and who is to come." (Rev 4:8)

He's real, guys. And whether you are understanding this for the first time, or you've believed it for decades, take a moment right now and thank Him. Thank Him for being a good God. For loving in perfect purity, for being a measuring point of morality and truth, for having mercy and forgiving men and women who don't deserve to be forgiven, for giving up His very life so that you might have the chance to know Him and live forever with Him.

So what do you DO with a God like that?

Well, I suggest you worship Him, and give your life into His worthy and waiting hands. I've come to find that there is simply no better option out there.

Back in the Great State.

Well, I'm back in Texas, and grateful for it. I was officially overwhelmed last night as I drove home with my family through this city that I have taken as my own. Coming home to a room that lingered with teaching memories, and going for a drive around the block in my old neighborhood was a bit crazy feeling...everything was just as it was, and yet I was completely different.

I just kept thinking of one of my favorite verses in John 3: "The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it has come from or where it is going. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit."

I once read that our generation is one of world-changers, ones who write their addresses in pencil because they don't know where they're going to be next. I like that. As unsettling as that may be for some, I have found that the security we all look so hard for in houses, and jobs, and spouses, is really found in something much, much better. It is found in a God who is both as stable as a Rock, and as fluid and mobile as the Wind. He is above all, and through all, and in all...and yet He calls to us by name.

As most of you know, I will only be in Austin until the end of January and then I take off again, blown by the Spirit halfway across the world, but right in the center of God's heart. This blog will no longer exist there, but I still do have three months to write. I look forward to keeping this up again.

See you soon,

Shannon

Chun Meets World.

I wrote this segment for the upcoming YWAM GO Manual, and thought I'd share it with you all:

Kathmandu, Nepal. It's the beginning of spring for this city of 800,000. There are Hindu men and women lighting up the drab, dusty brown of the crowded streets with bright-colored punjabis and red and yellow markings on their foreheads. In the nearby slums, however, the picture is quite different. One could say that winter has never shaken off its frost and left these places. The bright colors fade to images of dirt and poverty, to smells of waste and stray animals, and the atmosphere shifts drastically and undeniably to the 'lowest caste' of society - the forgotten, the ignored- it's the dwelling place of the untouchables.

And this is where Peter Chun, one of 21 students on the Compassion DTS from YWAM Perth, finds himself. This particular slum has a population of hundreds and is filled with Nepali people from the countryside hoping to find work in the city. Slums are thought of as 'temporary' housing by those living there, but often end up being their residence for years and years due to lack of work and acceptance from a caste-driven society. On this day, Peter noticed a man begging in the middle of the road. There were people everywhere, walking past to their homes, talking with one another, mingling with the foreigners who just descended with bibles and tracts and translators, yet this man was completely alone.

He could not walk, and was lying directly on the dirt road. He could not talk, and was simply groaning as people walked by, holding out a hand for help, for money, for anything.

Peter heard the voice of the Father, and like Jesus, was moved with compassion when he saw this beloved child like a "sheep without a shepherd". The slum community watched in stunned silence as Peter walked towards this man, knelt down, and scooped him up in his arms. He carried him out of the road and sat with him as his fellow man. He stayed with him, held him, prayed over him, and granted him the dignity and acceptance that runs through the veins of every created child of God.

This was the gospel.

Some continued staring, some sneered in disgust, and some asked questions. Without one word, a testimony of God's compassion was manifested in that place, and the stage was set for the greatest love story ever told to be shared in power. Peter remained with that man, and the rest of the school proceeded to hold an evangelistic event and present the gospel. The presence of God was thick that day, and it came not from the sound system, the dancing, or the passion of the preacher. It came from the real life context of love shown by Peter as an ambassador of the Holy God.

We have all been given the authority to represent Jesus Christ on this earth, and in the same way that Peter simply obeyed the voice of the Father and impacted a whole community, you too can change this world as you continue to get to know God, and with the greatest of joy, make Him known.

*Peter has his own blog which I encourage you to check out as well. It's on the blog roll to the right...

Gain a new strength, says the Lord.

"You're a strong woman" has always been a difficult encouragement for me to recieve; it is often followed by my own self-deprecating thoughts, "Great, I'm independent. I'm intimidating. I'm strong-willed" - or - what I used to be before I allowed Jesus into my life almost 5 years ago.

I was talking to God the other night about this negative connotation I associate with strength, and I questioned Him as to how I might redeem this quality in my life. What He began to speak truly surprised me, and turned over my questioning heart.

He said that Godly Strength is found only through continual Submission.

Ugh, the S-word. The word that I despised and rejected as a non-Christian, seeing it as one of the many reason Christians were ignorant and unprogressive. I stood in the face of 'submissiveness' boldly and unashamedly believing myself to be self-reliant and independent, and looking forward to the day when I would recieve my due honor as a strong member of society.

And even as a Christian woman, I have had my times of trial. I've watched my past independence rear it's ugly head, prompted by subjective definitions and in turn unbiblical implications associated with this word. I've seen people hurt, and been hurt myself by misinterpretations and general disregard for the weight of this idea. Because it is an idea, my friends, and I've always known that. It's more than a simple matter of "Do what is expected". To be quite frank, it encompasses the whole of one's heart attitude towards God and towards other people. All informed choices can come down to this question: My will, or Yours be done, Lord? Wow, submission, that's a big deal.

So, how about we just leave it out. Oh not forever, but just until , you know, one of those philosophical afternoons when all practical work is done and me and a few friends decide to tackle the world's problems over coffee and cake. Yes, let's leave 'submission' to float out in space, labelled as taboo so no one will dare touch it, and if they do, only to put it down again after a few pained minutes mumbling something about the greek meaning and how 'His grace is sufficient for our weakness'...

But, alas, God Himself never fails to point out the elephant in the room. Here He is, with the audacity to bring this up just as I'm trailing off to sleep, only looking for some comforting words from Lover of my Soul about how I'm not strong anymore, and BAM- I'm dealing with this.

What the Lord, in His infinite wisdom, began to show me was that this little word was the very cry of so many of my prayers through the years. That submission, without realizing it, was what I had been actually been inviting into my life and teaching others to do as well! I had other words for it, of course: mutual love, selflessness, obedience, honor, repentance, lordship...all these good and lovely sounding things, and to think, they all come under the umbrella of submission. And in that submission, godly strenth.

The Lord asks us to committ to two levels of submission in our lives: To Him and to others. These can be broken down further into the sub-categories of family, ministry, church, occupation, government, etc. but the main point is there's GOD and there's PEOPLE. And to both are we expected to submit ourselves.

In the many times my will has been broken, my pride embarassed, and my sharp tongue rebuked- I have gained strength. How? Because I submitted myself to the loving discipline and guidance of both the Holy Spirit and those around me. I've sought to know God's ways instead of my own. In my simple repentance, I was given in return a new heart, and with each bow and kneel exercising my muscles of submission before the Lord.

Only in the Kingdom of God do you become a 'strong woman' by crying, repenting, asking forgiveness, and rising again in even greater awareness of your own inadequacy apart from Christ. It is the grace of God that exalts the humble, and it is the Lord alone who can say with authority, "Blessed are the poor (or humble) in spirit for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven." (Matthew 5). Of all the Beatitudes, the only others who are promised the Kingdom are those persecuted for Christ's sake.

So, persecution by others and fully submitting to the Holy Spirit are two ideas placed in the same category by Jesus- the category of self-sacrifice, or submission.

How I've longed and prayed to inherit the Kingdom of Heaven, and little did I know I was holding the keys in my very hand: "For (when) I am well content with weakness, with insults, with distresses, with persecutions, with difficulties, for Christ's sake, for when I am weak, then I am strong." (2 Corinthians 12:10).

New Beginnings

Well I'm at the start of my new course called The School of Frontier Missions, and in fact at the start my new life for the next couple of years. This is just the training bit of a 2 year commitment to long-term missions in Asia.

Here a couple of words that have been spoken over the school and that I am personally excited about:

-- Growth in Desperation for God: That we would become a people who are completely dependent on God, good situation or bad, we look to Him and cling to His character.

-- Unity and perfect timing: We are made up of 11 students, and each one of us has something specific to bring to this team and this school. We were appointed for such a time as this.

-- Deeply rooted in Trust: Jeremiah 17:7-8 says that the man who trusts in the Lord will be like a tree planted by a stream, one that has green leaves when the heat comes, and that continues to produce fruit even in a drought. We long to be those people, to be strong and courageous in the midst of trial only because we trust in our good Father.

-- Faith and Joy: Right from the beginning our faith is being tested from finances to hardships with friends/family to the task in front of us in a large, unchurched city. We are being built up in our spirits in prayer, intercession, worship, and in longing for the presence of God.

I'm am so, so excited!!

Guess what!? Mud.

I never realized how angry I get in the mud...you know, when you accidentially wear flip flops instead of tennis shoes, and have to walk half a mile in 6 inches of wet, sinking, dirty, you-don't-want-to-know-what-that-green-stuff-is mud? Well, it's happened to me on a couple of occasions in Cambodia because it rains almost everyday at 2pm, and there are few paved roads. Then we go out for ministry around 4:30/5pm and walk to our villages. Every sticky step, I would get a little more angry inside, and my team always heard about it. haha.

Just a few days ago, however, we were walking to a new village, and it hadn't rained yet, so I thought it was safe to wear flip flops. I was wrong. It was probably the nastiest looking mud I'd ever seen, and there was no end in sight. I looked at my leader, who was laughing hysterically at me, and all she said was, "Do you still love Jesus?" I had to laugh. Of course I did, but this is the true measure of things, isn't it? When you're stuck in the mud (literally or figuratively) and you just feel helpless, frustrated, and a little bit like you're contracting a disease....your true heart reveals itself.

I did still love Jesus. And I decided in that moment, that I should act like it. So instead of mumbling under my breath at every step, I took my shoes off, prayed for mercy on my soul, and walked that road of mud with a smile on my face. It wasn't that hard with 10 friends laughing/screaming beside you and Cami kids giggling and yelling "Hallo!" at every corner.

We had to walk the same way back on the the way out, and I was the first one in leading the team out. When I was finally near the main road, I heard my leader yelling once again, but this time it was music to my hears, "Look at Shannon, she won the day!"

I know this is a funny little story about mud, but I hope it reminds you that no matter the situation, we have freedom and joy in Christ. We can wake up every morning, and despite what the world throws at us, we can enjoy the joy of our salvation, and we can rise above. Hallelujah. So, next time you're in a bit of a tough spot, imagine someone you love and respect simply asking you, "Do you still love Jesus?" and if the answer is YES, then hold on to Him and let Him carry you through it in victory. It was for freedom that He set you free.