Seeing God’s Glory

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I received this email recently from a former student:
Dear Karen, I’m writing because I would love to hear more from you on what “God’s Glory” means. I was reading my Bible today and the verse in John 12:43 stuck out to me…it says “for they loved the glory that comes from man more than the glory that comes from God”. I was meditating on that and wanting God’s glory in my life, far above my own glory. But I’m often not sure how I practically live that out or what it fully means for God to be glorified.

By the grace of God I did my best to answer:

What is the glory that Jesus sought? Steve Hawthorne, of Waymakers Ministry, in The Story of His Glory defines glory as the essential worth, the substance, and the radiant beauty of something. Jesus’ life purpose was to glorify His Father, to recognize His intrinsic worth and spread it to the multitudes.
In John 17: 1-5 Jesus looked toward heaven and prayed:

“Father, the hour has come. Glorify your Son, that your Son may glorify you. For you granted him authority over all people that he might give eternal life to all those you have given him. Now this is eternal life: that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent. I have brought you glory on earth by finishing the work you gave me to do. And now, Father, glorify me in your presence with the glory I had with you before the world began.”

On the final night of His life Jesus does not refer to his life in terms of himself. He realized that he had a specific assignment and a mission: His Father’s mission. He also understood and believed that the incomprehensible depth of His sacrifice on the cross was worth it all! To pursue our Father’s glory gives passion for the mission he has called us to do.

John Piper describes it in this way:
Take a look at the scripture: “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory!” (Isaiah 6:3).
The glory of God is the manifest beauty of his holiness. It is the going public of his holiness. It is the way he puts his holiness on display for people to understand. So the glory of God is the holiness of God made manifest.

How does it play out practically today?
As a believer you can see the glory of God everywhere. We need eyes. We need eyes more than we need anything. The enemy of this world has blinded the minds of unbelievers to keep them from seeing the light of the knowledge of His glory (2 Corinthians 4:4–6). They can’t see what you and I have the ability to see. Abiding in His presence is key. When His presence is on me, I can see his glory everywhere I look. I say to myself, “ That’s it, that’s it over there, I see it everywhere: in the mountains, in the sky, in my living room as I sit on the floor and His spirit washes over me, in the birth of a child, in healing miracles, in the deaf Ethiopian woman whose ears were opened to hear, in the joy on the face of a Somalian woman who just received Christ. His glory also manifests through His gifting, through visions, dreams, word of knowledge, through the scripture. Dear friend pray that the Lord enhances your gifting. You have many gifts. Don’t limit them. Don’t limit yourself and don’t limit God. Ask Him to endow you with all the gifts to be used for the glory of His kingdom. His glory manifests through them.
When I am in His presence, I am alert to see everything that He manifests, therefore I can abide in His glory because I can abide continually in His presence. Begin praying that daily for yourself.
Pray: “Lord help me to abide in your presence. Show me your glory every day of my life.”
Worship more. His presence abides in worship. When I wake up each morning I hear worship in my ears as if He’s singing to me and I know He’s there. It’s such a beautiful touch from my Father. He alters my perspective of everything I see and hear. When His glory is loosed on us, we manifest it to reach and benefit others, then they manifest it and it becomes a gift of glory that we give back to our Father.
My friend, cry out as Moses did, ” Show me your glory Lord. Please use me as a vessel of your glory Lord that I may serve you fully to reach others and then bring that glory back to you. I surrender all that I am to you. May your glory rain over me. In Jesus’ name. Amen”

May His glory rain on you and through you my friend.May you one day stand before him and say:
“My Father, I have brought you glory on earth by finishing the work you gave me to do.”

Blessings,
Karen

 

Tackling Avoidance

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“Therefore, to him who knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin” James 4:17.  
If we know what we should do, the bottom line is … we must do it. God wants us to do our part and He will do His part. He wants us to do what is possible and thankfully He is the one who handles the impossible. This morning I started a new regimen of diet, gym and prayer. Lately, I’ve been feeling compelled to kick it up a notch. Several mornings I’ve been envisioning myself on my knees for a much longer stint than usual. Some of the ideas and tasks that keep popping in my mind are more challenging than I can possibly handle. Regrettably, I know I’ve been pushing the avoidance button on some of these things way too long. So today is a new day and by God’s grace, I’m essentially stepping it up, decidedly doing my part, building myself up for the task, strengthening my inner man, confronting my fears, and trying to do all that I can to prepare for the challenge before me. 

Remember Noah. What a guy! When God spoke to him, he didn’t wait for God to put a boat in his front yard—he did his part and built the boat. So lately I’ve been asking myself, Karen, are you doing all you can to obey God in the latest task he’s laid before you? Are you obeying God’s directions in your life or selectively closing your eyes and ears on some things and hitting the avoidance button on others? Are you really trusting God to do the impossible?
The good news is God wants to work in our lives right now. He wants to use us where we are and just as we are. He’s not waiting for us to be holier, or more educated, or better equipped. It’s His holiness, His wisdom, and His power in us that brings success and victory. He’s just waiting for us to be obedient and take the next step.
What battle or challenge are you facing today? What gifts and talents do you have that God can use to bring victory in that challenge?
Prayer is a powerful weapon. How is your prayer life? Do you consistently cover your life and your family with prayer?
God wants us to start where we are, use what we have, and do what we can.

Today I’m asking him to strengthen each of us to accomplish these principles in our lives. We don’t want to waste a single day of our lives trying to substitute other things for the destiny God has planned for us. God put that destiny inside us. He wants us to live it out. May we not allow discouragement or doubt to overtake us. Regret looks back. Worry looks around. But victory looks up.

Father, may You strengthen us all. May we not hesitate and avoid the tasks You have called us to do. Forgive us Father for avoidance, which is also disobedience to You. May we live in fullness the future you have planned for us.

Amen

Mission Morocco 2

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Beautifully perched beneath the peaks of the Rif mountains, Chefchaouen is one of the prettiest towns in Morocco. Chefchaouen translates as “blue pearl,” and it is indeed a rare, stunning jewel. Chaouen, as most tend to call it, is an artsy, blue-washed mountain village that feels like its own world. The old medina is a mix of Moroccan and Andalucian influence with red-tiled roofs, bright-blue buildings and narrow lanes converging at a restored kasbah.

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Chefchaouen was founded in 1471 in the Rif mountains by Jews and Moors fleeing Spain. During the Spanish Inquisition in the late 15th century, many Jews and Muslims chose to flee across the thin Strait of Gibraltar separating Africa from Europe instead of staying and be forced to convert to Christianity. A good portion of these refugees made their way to Chefchaouen. Once there, the Sephardi Jews painted every building and home in the old city cool shades of blue, most likely because it’s the color of divinity in Judaism. It’s a destination known by many as simply the “Blue City.”

We heard a lot of different theories about why Chefchaouen is blue. Some said it was painted blue by the Jews who settled there, others said it repels insects, especially mosquitos, while some just said it represents the color of the sea.

I’m not sure which version is true, but it’s beautiful and very very blue. It’s the color — a gorgeous blue rinse that covers not only Chefchaouen’s houses but its mosques, government buildings, public squares and even its lampposts and trash cans. I officially fell in love with Chefchaouen. I love how quiet and relaxed the city is, and it really is so ridiculously beautiful.

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Our guide during the few days we were in Chefchaouen was a Ghomara Berber named Ahmed. We were able to spend a good bit of one-on-one time with him. The subject of religion came up and he began to share some of his personal life and his faith. A humble young Muslim man, Ahmed had always lived in the Rif mountain region and had never traveled anywhere else. He wore a traditional djellaba, a long hooded robe with wide sleeves. He was trilingual, speaking the Ghomara Berber dialect, Arabic, and English. As a means of preserving themselves as a people group, the Ghomara are not permitted to marry outside of their own group. Ahmed was married through an arranged marriage, never having spoken to his wife before the marriage, and had recently celebrated the birth of his first child. A man of strong faith, he shared many of his beliefs, which opened the door for us to share ours with him as well. Bruce asked to pray for him before we parted. I could feel the presence of the Spirit as he prayed. Will you please pray for our new friend, Ahmed, and his family that they may know intimately the living God?

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The Berber people, who live in the Chefchaouen region, are a North African people group who were conquered by Muslim invaders in the seventh century. The name Berber, which is derived from the Latin word “barbarian,” was given to them by the Romans in the third century A.D. There are three main subgroups of Berbers in Morocco, each containing several smaller tribes. The Ghomara is one of the smallest tribes. They live in the Moroccan Rif, in the northeastern region of the country. Today, most Berbers refer to themselves as the Imazighen, which means “men of noble origin.”

Although the number of cities is increasing in the Rif area, many of the Berbers still live in homes made of mud brick and stone. Mountain village homes are quite similar. They are usually flat-roofed houses made of stone that has been reinforced with dried mud.

Due to their location in the Rif, the Ghomara Berbers are farmers. They produce and consume large amounts of barley, corn, millet, wheat, and rye. In areas where water is plentiful, vegetables such as tomatoes, onions, squash, peppers, and potatoes are grown. Chickens, goats, and sheep are also raised. This supplemental food source provides milk, eggs, butter, and meat.

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The men work in the fields, herd the animals, and hunt, while the women do the housework and care for the children. The women only help the men in the fields during harvest time, when they take the newly cut grain to the threshing floor.

The Ghomara, like other Berbers, live in a society that is male-dominated. The line of descent is traced through the fathers and all inheritances are passed down through the males.

Please Pray for the Ghomara Berbers:

* Ask God to raise up prayer teams who will break up the soil through worship and intercession.

* Pray that the Lord will call people to Morocco to share with the Ghomara Berber.

* Ask the Holy Spirit to soften the hearts of Ghomara Berbers that they may be receptive to the Living God..

 

Blessings,

Karen and Bruce Schagunn

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Morocco I

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Hello Everyone,                                                        Sahara Desert, Morocco

Our three-week adventure in Morocco has come to an end. We are home now, but there is still much we as believers can do to impact that nation. Your prayers are definitely needed.

To begin with our adventure in the Sahara entailed a 3 hour camel ride into the desert where we camped out in Berber tents. I have to admit Bruce and I were a bit sore the next few days. I can’t even imagine how the Magi journeyed so far and so long to attend Jesus’ birth. Let’s just say that even though it’s a small-scale view, I have a somewhat up close and personal understanding of what they might have endured.

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However, sharing with our new Berber friends was indeed a highlight of our trip. The Berbers are an unreached people group and have weighed heavily on our hearts since we first learned of them 10 years ago in our Perspectives course. It’s truly amazing how God opened the doors all throughout the trip so that we might have personal encounters with Berbers. How faithful is He in answering our prayers! So who are the Berbers of the Sahara?

The Sahara, with 3.5 million square miles, is the largest “hot” desert in the world. The Berbers appeared on the scene at the dawn of the Sahara’s history. They are the original inhabitants of North Africa and occupied the region long before the arrival of the Arabs who brought with them their language, Arabic, and their religion, Islam,

The lowland desert Berbers are generally nomadic. Small groups consisting of medium or large extended families are found all across the Sahara. Desert Berbers live a very different lifestyle compared to their mountain brethren. Being nomadic, they move constantly across national borders. International boundary laws mean little to them as they follow the natural seasonal cycle of grazing, water and shelter. These people are born to move under the open sky and across unlimited horizons with their flocks of sheep, goats, and camels. Their wandering nomadic lifestyle is central to their way of life. Families subsist on goat milk, bread, dates, barley, couscous, mint tea, and butchered sheep, goats and sometimes camels. Their timetable is according to the sun, moon and the rare occurrence of rain.

In the Old Testament you get the impression that God has a special interest in those who wander around in deserts looking after their animals. It is not just the experience of Abraham after God called him and his family out of the advanced city of Ur. Right from the beginning of Genesis, the Book of Beginnings, it appears as if the nomadic experience was God’s preferred way of life for all peoples.

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It isn’t so much that God favors nomads, but it appears that he is able to speak to men and women much more easily in desert places than in the hustle and bustle of the city. In the desert, it is impossible to ignore God; in fact, I doubt that you will ever meet a nomad who does not have a high view of a God who sends rain, abundance, and health. Notwithstanding, they may still spend much of their time and money trying to appease the bad gods, demons, or jinns (as they are referred to by Muslims), or by trying to escape the curses of enemies. And they might not have heard yet of the power of the Lord Jesus, the one who has defeated all these evil forces, and who can bring them to the good God. It is because of the saving power of Jesus that Christianity is so relevant to nomads. If we are prepared to enter their world of relationships, it will require we prioritize people over buildings, projects and programs. The other great advantage to entering their world is the nomadic emphasis on hospitality—when you bow your head and enter the tent, you are welcomed to stay.  This common depiction of nomadic hospitality appears in Genesis 18:1–8 when “Abraham was sitting at the door of his tent in the heat of the day.” Despite the heat, when “he saw three men standing nearby he hurried to meet them and bowed low to the ground.” His gracious salutation and invitation to rest under a tree while water was brought to wash their feet are all normal traditions in most nomadic societies. Abraham’s seemingly minimal offer to get them something to eat led to great efforts on the part of his wife and servants to bake bread and to kill and cook a choice calf from the herd. Much later would come the generous feast of curds and milk and well-cooked calf veal, which anyone familiar with nomadic hospitality will appreciate.

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The middle chapters of the book of Genesis (chapters 23–37) are extremely interesting to most nomadic people, as they can so readily identify with the experiences of the patriarchs Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Whether they are literate or not, all nomads are oral learners and they love stories, especially those that feature animals, deserts, and wells. However, very few nomadic peoples take much trouble to bury their wives or even remember them. That is why the story of the death and burial of Sarah is so impressive to nomadic people.

Even more interesting to nomads who have camels is the story where Abraham sends his trusted chief servant, Eliezer, to get a wife for his son Isaac. Eliezer had ten camels and many valuable gifts and clothes to carry and protect.  The most fascinating part of this story is when the caravan arrives at the precise well where God’s chosen wife for Isaac would make her appearance. As a shepherdess, she came to get water for her sheep. Even more impressive to a camel herder is the offer that Rebekah made to Eliezer: she did not just give him water to drink, but also drew water for his camels until they had finished drinking. If his camels had traveled for ten days, as seems likely given the distance to Haran, they each would drink about thirty gallons of water.  The scripture says explicitly that the camels did drink all they wanted “until they were finished.” The ten camels could have consumed as much as three hundred gallons of water—about three thousand pounds.  The scripture also says that she quickly emptied her jar into the trough and ran back to the well to draw more water, and drew enough for all his camels. (Gen. 24:20)

It is no wonder that Eliezer was impressed with this young lady, who was also described as “very beautiful.”  Her quickness was necessary since a camel can drink those thirty gallons in seven minutes!

This story is so impressive that it is recorded twice in this chapter, as Eliezer recounts it again for Rebekah’s family that night in their house where they were offered true nomad hospitality. Finally, the fact that deserts continue to have an important purpose in the development of strong leaders in the New Testament as well as the Old Testament brings us again to a certain conclusion: it’s not a nomadic lifestyle that is so valuable in learning about the nature and power of God, as it is the outcome of having lived a nomadic existence in the desert.  That is where the rigors of daily survival concentrate the attention on the grandeur of empty space and the immensity of the heavens at night.  This is presumably why certain key figures in the New Testament were sent into a desert or chose to spend time there in solitude. John the Baptist, Jesus himself, and the apostle Paul found the desert a threshold for new ministry.

Examples throughout the Bible indicate that we are meant to be a pilgrim people, traveling lightly through what is still a beautiful world, but alien to us in its present unredeemed state. We are pilgrims moving to a wonderful and assured destiny, but on the way there, as long as we are on the earth, we want to be available to do the work of Him who sent us.

Please pray for the Berbers of the Sahara; nomads surrounded by vast empty space and under the immense heavens of a loving Father.

May they see the face of Jesus and may their hearts be open to Him.

Father break our hearts for your lost people.

May we keep our eyes fixed on You alone.

May we live as pilgrim people, traveling lightly through this world.

May we walk as does the nomad.

 

Blessings,

Karen and Bruce Schagunn

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Expectant Hope

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As strangely as it sounds, I’ve been pondering “ hope” in the context of “semicolons” as of late. Yes I know it’s a bit peculiar, but here goes:

The semicolon tells you that there is still some further response or addition to the preceding full sentence; something is still to be added. I’d have to say I’m a bit more intrigued when coming across a semicolon than a period. Perhaps it’s because as a person of this culture, I’m generally enamored with the quest for “more”.

On the other hand, the period is so matter of factly; it tells you that that is that. If you didn’t get all that you expected, you still have to move along. It’s finished. You’re done. There’s simply no more.

But with a semicolon, there’s a pleasant feeling of expectancy; there is always something more to come, as if to say, “Continue on my friend, it will become clearer soon”.

I love how “hope” through Jesus always finishes with a semicolon; there is always a certainty, an expectancy, that “more” is yet to come. I’m so glad I don’t live my life in periods. Every day with Jesus is an abundant life of semicolons. With Jesus there is always more; His additions are purposeful and limitless, filling completely that cry for “more” that clamors within me, and within all of us, as only He can do.

Blessings friends,
Karen

Intimacy With Grace

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Our valley churches are joining together in a 21 day fast. A fast is a way of expressing a greater need beyond ourselves, our need of God and greater intimacy with Him. There is so much more I could say on the subject, but essentially its a surrender, a renewal, a relinquishing of self, and a pressing in to the very heart of God.
During a fast there comes a moment when you have to come clean with God. A moment when you need to unveil your secrets, struggles, and sins. A moment when you need to fall full weight on the grace of God.
Sometimes the conviction and grace of God becomes skewed in our minds turning to guilt and condemnation of ourselves and our weaknesses. With vain efforts, we may feel compelled to whitewash ourselves before God or others, or we may find ourselves slipping into a guilt pool of our own making.
My friends, why do we act as though our sin disqualifies us from the grace of God? That is the only thing that qualifies us! Anything else is a self-righteous attempt to earn God’s grace. You cannot trust God’s grace 99 percent. It’s all or nothing. When we try to save ourselves, we forfeit the salvation that comes through Jesus Christ alone, by grace through faith. (Eph 2:8-9).

Blessings,

Karen