CORE VALUES

I believe President Bill Clinton helped to popularize this term back in the 1990s. It refers to the ideas & principles to which a person or organization is committed & will not compromise.

One necessity in the Christian life is a consistent view of things. This view informs us & motivates us to be faithful to what God has revealed to us in Scripture. In other words, the Christian’s core values must be biblical.

If your core values are biblical, it is inevitable that you will be confronted by situations where you are expected to believe, affirm, do, or say things that violate Scripture. Unless you are willing to suffer for those values, you will eventually follow the crowd & go against those values.

Part of the responsibility of pastors & other spiritual leaders is to establish disciples in the truth of Scripture so that they will not be carried away by false teachings. After describing these leaders' work in Ephesians 4, we are told,

As a result, we are no longer to be children, tossed here and there by waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, by craftiness in deceitful scheming; but speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in all aspects into Him who is the head, even Christ (verses 14-15).

Your pastor has a challenging job. Pray for him (or her). Receive your pastor's godly counsel, whether it is given one-on-one or from the pulpit. Then be committed to living by biblical core values every day.

Technicism

Most people today probably think idolatry just happened in past times, when ancient people bowed down to some kind of statue. Others who think further about the implications of this idea realize that idolatry can still happen. In cultures like where my wife & I live, much religious activity revolves around the veneration of sacred images.

But that’s not where it ends.

Idolatry is worshiping something that we have made ourselves, so it is possible for idols to exist in any place or time. Anything that we invent, discover, or manufacture can become our idol if we attribute an inordinate amount of worth to it.

But there is another layer in idolatry. It’s not only ascribing undue worth to something; the thing that we have created is also the object of our faith & trust. We have idols because we look to them as a source of provision, protection, fulfillment, satisfaction, etc.

There is a new, unofficial religion today which some have called Technicism. This new, secular religion sees technology, not God, as the ultimate answer to man’s problems. Technicism teaches that through technological advances, man can end poverty, create a just world, and ultimately create his long-sought utopia.

I’m not against technology - it is an expression of our God-given ability to create. It can & should be used to improve our lives. But, nothing that man can create can ever meet our ultimate need, which is spiritual. Only Jesus Christ can do that.

Why do you Christians Act so Different?

When I travel by myself, or when Deborah is alone at our house, Filipinos are often surprised by our ability to be alone for hours or even a few days at a time. We explain to them that it’s not unusual for Americans to travel without a companion or be alone in their home. In fact, most Americans enjoy it, and even call the experience “me time.”

Although this seems perfectly normal for Americans, it can appear eccentric or even abnormal by Filipino standards. Why the big difference? Because although we live in the Philippines, we are not Filipinos. Our earthly citizenship and cultural training are American. So there are things about our attitude and behavior that don’t quite fit in our adopted land.

Those who desire to follow Christ with consistency are citizens of heaven, and are being trained in the culture of heaven. They live in this world, but many of their values, beliefs, and behaviors are not like those who are not citizens of heaven. It should not seem strange when people say, “Why do you Christians act so different?”

Philippians 3:20-21

For our citizenship is in heaven, from which also we eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ; who will transform the body of our humble state into conformity with the body of His glory, by the exertion of the power that He has even to subject all things to Himself.

I Need You More

There’s a beautiful song we used to sing in the late 1990s by Wendell Cooley. It’s called “I Need You More.”  Some of the lyrics are:

I need You more, more than yesterday. 

I  need You more, more than words can say.

I need You more, more than ever before.

I need You Lord, I need You Lord.

More than the air I breathe, more than the song I sing, 

More than the nest heartbeat, more than anything.
And Lord as time goes by, I'll be by Your side,

'Cause I never want to go back to my old life.

It would be easy to assume that the longer we follow Christ and the more we grow in that relationship, the less aware we become of our need for Him. Actually, the opposite is true. Think of this way: The closer I am to Christ, the farther away I will sometimes feel.

As our minds are transformed by God’s Word, and our hearts are sensitized by the Holy Spirit, we become more aware of our tendency to drift. The “little sins” that didn’t bother us before begin to disturb our conscience. We start to realize how easily we are distracted by our impulses and self-centeredness. We sense that it is only God’s grace and faithfulness that keep us safe.

The evidence that I am walking with God is not being immune to temptation or forgetting my fallen-ness. The real evidence is an increasing awareness of how dependent I am on Him. 

Culture Shock

Pilgrims travel through places that are different from “back home.”

In a sense, I had culture shock as a new believer, because “back home” was much different from the new life I was just beginning to experience. Before, everything revolved around me & my attempts to find purpose, love, & fulfillment within myself or what I could do to get it from my surroundings. I regularly hurt people in the process of trying to make myself complete.

In this new place, I was no longer limited to what I could do or manipulate to be happy. Here, my Creator & Savior has freely offered more than I could ever imagine. The only requirement was my willingness to trust & follow Him. It was indeed a “strange, new world.”

Culture shock is the result of moving to a place where everyone else has a different way of seeing & understanding the world around them. We have certainly experienced our share of it as we have lived outside the US for most of the last 13 years. When we are unable or unwilling to change the way we perceive & experience our surroundings, we had better brace for a “bad culture day.”

In spiritual terms, this is why Romans 12:1-2 talks about changing the way we think:

Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of you mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.

For those who don’t know Christ personally, it's impossible to describe the incredible ways in which He has changed my life. As a follower of Christ, I must continue to allow His Word to transform how I see everything. That’s because I’m preparing for the day when He calls me to re-locate again.

The difference is that when He calls me home, I won’t be a pilgrim anymore.

Hello World!

I’m a brand new baby blogger, & am excited about the privilege of conversing with you about things that are of interest to us.

Maybe you’re wondering why I chose to call this blog Twice a Pilgrim. It’s because twice in my life I have responded to God’s call to go “somewhere else.” The first re-location was a spiritual one, when I surrendered my life to Christ in 1972. The second was a geographical one when my wife & I responded to God’s call to serve Him here in the Philippines. We have lived here since 2002.

You might be wondering what an old “digital immigrant guy” (but who is still young at heart) who lives in what for most people is a far-away place like the Philippines could possibly have to say. Well, I’ve got a lot, & I’d love to share it with you & hear what you think about it.

Some of it will be insights from my devotional life. Some will be cultural &/or spiritual insights that I have received from a lifetime of experience, observation, & reflection. In everything, I will do my best to speak as a follower of Christ who happens to live in a far different place from where he grew up.

Pilgrims travel. I’m inviting you to join me on this journey. Let’s walk together, & as we go, let’s talk together too.