Seth Bartal's ADVENTURE

Finding Hope

And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus.  Philippians 4:19

Twelve years ago I was home from college for the summer, and I found an old box of letters that my Grandma had written to our family over the years.  One particular letter had a profound impact on me when I read it then, and today I was reminded of it.

My Great Uncle had just had a heart attack, and my Grandma took the train to Colorado to stay with her sister and to help where needed.  During her down time she wrote the letter to our family.  I am privileged to come from a heritage of faith, and my Grandma was reflecting on how the hope of Christ had helped them through the challenges they were facing.  She then quoted Philippians 4:19 and reminded us how God is both big enough and caring enough to meet all of our needs. 

I know some people are skeptical about faith and about the church, and I can understand some of their reasons why.  There are people in the church who are hurtful with their words, and many feel disappointed with or forgotten by God.  Even still, there is no manmade institution or government that is capable of dispensing love and care in the way that Christ’s body – the church – can do.

I think that Kari and I feel the same way right now as my Grandma felt when she wrote that letter.  Our little family had to be separated this week as our newborn daughter, Madelyn, had to be taken to the NICU at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital due to abnormally high bilirubin counts.  Mom wasn’t able to accompany baby because she was still recovering from her C-section.  The outpouring of love that we have felt from our family – both biological family and church family – has been nothing short of amazing.  Our heavenly Father has storehouses of resources at his disposal, and he lavishes them upon us as His children.  Charles Stanley once said, “God takes full responsibility for the life wholly devoted to Him.”  Where would we be without that?  Hopeless.

Baby Madelyn is now off of the bili-lights, and she will be reunited with mom later today.  If all continues to go well, she will get to go home tomorrow.  Words can’t express our gratitude to those who have so lovingly cared for us.  How do people survive without such love and support?  Now I understand why the Church was and continues to be God’s plan to reach the world with the hope of Christ.

Reaching Out to God

Submit yourselves therefore to God.  Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.  Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you.  James 4:7-8a

There are times when God seems silent.  I remember my freshman year in college when I had a crisis of faith.  I was sitting in Sunday school one morning, and a doubt crept into my mind: what if all of this is fake?  What if God isn’t actually real?  What if I’m wasting my time and I could be out having fun instead of sitting in church?  Sure, I had questioned God’s reality in the past, but for whatever reason, the doubts took root that morning.  What followed was an intense several days of questioning my whole purpose in life and seeking to understand if I was throwing my future all away.  What I eventually realized is that I had a choice.  Either my faith in God could be built on the circumstances of the moment (I don’t feel God’s presence, so He must not be there) or on a solid belief that God’s presence was there regardless of how I felt.  Sometimes our enemy, the Devil, tries to plant doubts in our minds, but when we resist those doubts, he does flee.  And when we draw near to our heavenly Father, He draws near to us.  After my period of doubt I continued reading, praying, and following God’s ways even in the midst of uncertainty.  I found that my gracious, heavenly Father was not far off; He was waiting for me to draw near to Him. 

If you feel far from God, don’t give up pursuing Him!  What you will find is that when you draw near to Him, He will draw near to you!

Oh, What to Do!

You adulterous people!  Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God?  Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.  James 4:4

If I had a black marker that I could use in my Bible to mark out the things that I don’t like, this verse would probably make the list.  To be friends with people here on earth means that I’m an enemy with God?   Are you serious?  When we read that it just shows us that the Bible is antiquated and ridiculous.  After all, if God is real, didn’t He create the world?  Didn’t He create people?  It doesn’t even make sense.  And then think about applying these words.  If you’re a teenager, this is social suicide.  As an adult, it’s not much different.  But what if they’re true?  What if these words aren’t ridiculous?  Think about it: humans are the ones who wage war, they steal, they strive after selfish gain, they’re greedy, and they seem to live a hedonistic lifestyle of pursuing whatever brings them pleasure regardless of its effect on others.  Compare that with God’s definition of love from 1 Corinthians 13 – love is patient, kind, not envious, not boasting, not proud, not rude, not self-seeking, not easily angered, etc.  Now it’s starting to seem sensible.  When we welcome those things of the world into our lives (and more importantly into our hearts), they are directly opposed to the work that God is doing within us.  When we pursue worldly influences that push us into a life that is opposite of the life God has for us, then we make ourselves enemies of our heavenly Father.  We cannot live to please both God and man – we have to make a choice.  Just remember to choose wisely.

Who is Your Provider?

You desire and do not have, so you murder.  You covet and cannot obtain, so you fight and quarrel.  You do not have, because you do not ask.  James 4:2

One of my least favorite things to do is to ask people for money (unless, of course, I’m getting change for my bill at the grocery store).  That’s why God’s call on Kari and me to move to Brazil was such a challenge: we had to ask people to partner financially with us.  I loathe asking people to give money to me, but how could we ever fund our missionary endeavors if we didn’t ask people?

Interestingly enough, I only directly asked two people to support us regularly, and one of them said “no.”  What was amazing to me then and continues to be amazing to me now is that God provided for all of our financial needs.  Every step of the way, we had exactly what we needed, and it came in spite of my inability to ask.  Now I’m not saying there’s anything wrong with asking people to give, I’m just saying I’m not good at it.

When it comes to our provisions, it’s really an issue of trust.  If you believe that your heavenly Father is trustworthy, then you also have to believe that He is giving you exactly what He wants you to have.  Since He’s your provider, you don’t have to worry about making things happen by your own strength; you can rely on Him as long as you’re doing your part, too (after all, it’s foolish to presume upon God to provide if you’re not doing the best you can on your own).

Take a Deep Breath

And a harvest of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.  James 3:18

Have you ever had one of those moments when you’re so fired up about something that you can barely breathe?  Maybe you start talking so rapidly that you’re out of breath, or you’re so angry you can’t even get the words out.  I have had days like that.  And then when you finally do manage to get the words out, they are biting and toxic.  I’m not sure if I’ve ever regretted words that I’ve spoken when I was in a peaceful mindset, but I have certainly regretted a lot of the words I’ve spoken while upset.  When James talks about the harvest of righteousness, he’s referring to the law of sowing and reaping.  It’s a pretty simple law when you think about it: if you plant pumpkin seeds, then you can expect pumpkins to grow from them.  What you can’t expect is for apples or any other thing to grow; what we sow is what we reap.  When we sow peace, we reap peace; when we sow anger and distress, guess what we reap!  In that moment when you’re ready to explode, take a moment to step back and take a deep breath.  Speaking out of anger rarely, if ever, helps to solve a situation.  If you want a harvest of righteousness, then it must be sown in peace.

The Litmus Test for Wisdom

But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere.  James 3:17

Something that I have been striving for over the years is wisdom.  I want to be a wise person, and I want to make wise decisions.  Why?  Because I know that, if I make wise choices, my life will go so much smoother than if I make foolish ones.  Sometimes it’s hard to know exactly what the wise decision is, so it’s helpful that James provides a litmus test of sorts to help us figure it out.  Here are a few things that characterize wisdom:

• It’s pure.  Wisdom will never have an impure motive, nor will it ever encourage you to morally impure actions.  
• It’s peaceable.  Wisdom never searches for a fight; its intent is not to cause trouble.
• It’s gentle.  Wisdom doesn’t come in like a battering ram and force its own way.
• It’s open to reason.  Wisdom submits to authority that is placed above it.
• It’s full of mercy.  Wisdom doesn’t seek to prove a point; it simply forgives wrongs that have been committed and points people to the truth.
• It’s full of good fruits.  The life lived by wisdom is blessed in many ways.
• It’s impartial.  Wisdom doesn’t play favorites; it does what’s right for the sake of what’s right.
• It’s sincere.  Wisdom is full of integrity; there is a purity of heart by the one who is guided by wisdom.

Take a few minutes to look through these things and do a self-assessment.  You may find areas where you have succeeded in wisdom but others where you need to refocus.  Let’s, together, seek to be wise in all that we do.

The iPhone and My Life

For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there will be disorder and every vile practice.  –James 3:16

Last January I indulged and became the proud owner of an iPhone.  It’s a beautiful thing, and it changed my life in ways that I never expected.  To be honest, I had been lusting after it for a long time, and when I finally got it I was thrilled.  That was until last week.  Last week Apple announced a new iPhone, and friends began posting annoying little messages on Facebook about how they were expecting to receive theirs in the coming weeks.  I, however, am not.  My contract is too new, and so I’m stuck with iPhone envy for the second time in my life.  The not-so-nice word for “envy” is really “jealousy.”  The marketers in the US are geniuses at making us jealous, aren’t they?  They parade new products in front of us, and they get our friends to indulge.  Suddenly, we want something that we were somehow able to live without for years and years and years.  And we find ourselves feeling jealous.  But jealousy doesn’t end there.  People are jealous of jobs that others have, of the families others maintain, and of so many other things.  The world teaches us to be jealous, but God calls us away from such “vile” practices.  See, a jealous heart is really a dissatisfied heart.  When we believe that God is our provider and that He gives us all that He wants, then jealousy dissipates.  As long as we allow jealousy to take over our thoughts, however, we buy into the lie that God is withholding something good from us.  What is that thing you want so badly?  That thing that makes you jealous of someone else?  Take a few minutes to offer that desire to the Lord, and remember that He is the One who cares for your needs.

Beware of Smokey!

So also the tongue is a small member, yet it boasts of great things.  How great a forest is set ablaze by such a small fire!  –James 3:5

Admittedly, I love fires.  Having missed autumn in the United States for the past two years, I’m ecstatic about being able to have campfires for toasting marshmallows and hot dogs.  Fires are great if they are used in the right context.  However, people have, historically, not been particularly careful with the fires, and it necessitated the advent of Smokey to remind people of the dangers associated with them.  The same is true for us with our tongues.  When used in the proper context, our tongues are useful for building others up and for advancing God’s kingdom.  Unfortunately, they can also be used to cause great damage like a forest fire.  How many feelings have been hurt by a careless word?  How many diplomatic relations have been marred by unguarded speech?  The tongue has great potential, but we have to make sure that we use it in the proper context.

The Mysterious Spring of Water

With [the tongue] we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse people who are made in the likeness of God.  From the same mouth come blessing and cursing.  My brothers, these things ought not to be so.  –James 3:9-10

It’s hard to imagine an underground spring that breaks through the ground with both hot and cold water.  Unless there’s some scientific anomaly that I’m not aware of (which I admit is entirely possible), such a spring doesn’t exist.  The spring is merely reflecting the water that’s hidden beneath the surface.  In a similar way, the words that come from our mouths reflect what’s going on inside.  If we claim to be followers of Christ, then it’s hypocritical to bless the Lord and to curse those for whom He sent Christ to die.  There were times as a teenager when I would complain to my Mom about someone, and she would say back to me, “Oh, you mean that person for whom Christ died?”  Though irritating at the time, there was truth behind her words.  When we have fully grasped all that Christ accomplished through His death on the cross on our behalves, then who are we to curse someone else, whom God created and for whom Jesus sacrificed himself?

Pardon me, Mr. Perfect!

For we all stumble in many ways.  And if anyone does not stumble in what he says, he is a perfect man, able also to bridle his whole tongue.  –James 3:2

One of my favorite movies from my teenage years is Dumb and Dumber.  There is a poignant scene where Lloyd drives several hours in the wrong direction on his and his friend Harry’s trek across the United States.  Harry blows a gasket at the mishap, and it’s in that scene that Lloyd screams out, “Oh, well pardon me, Mr. Perfect—I guess I forgot you never ever make a mistake!”  And then Lloyd breaks down into tears over both his foolishness and his friend’s rejection of him.  In doing so, he highlights the fact that none of us is perfect, and as James says, “we all stumble in many ways.”  The main way we know this is by the words that escape our mouths.  Of all of the things in our bodies that we have to control, perhaps the tongue is the hardest to actually handle.  When a person finally learns to bridle his or her tongue, then the whole body is in submission.  It’s much like a horse with a bit.  I don’t know about you, but taming my tongue is one of my hardest pursuits in life.  I have gotten to the point where one of my morning prayers is that God will help to say only those things that are uplifting to others because I know that I’m more than capable of doing the opposite.  Do you have suggestions on learning how to control your words?  If so, I’d love to hear them!