Jeff Adams


Archive April 2009

Reporte y Pensamientos desde México, D.F.

April 29, 2009

La ReformaComo sabrán ustedes que son lectores frecuentes, trato de poner algo de vez en cuando en el castellano. Ayer escribí algunos pensamientos en inglés sobre la influenza que está saliendo de México.

En esta ocasión, quisierea compartir algunos pensamientos de un amigo mío que vive en el mero corazón de México. Recibí esto entre varias comunicaciones que recibí ayer de amigos en México y pienso que vale compartir lo siguiente con el permisio del pastor Ramiro Martínez.

Amados hermanos y amigos:

Reciban bendiciones de parte de nuestro amado Señor y que la gracia de Dios este en sus vidas todo el tiempo. Sin duda que vivimos tiempos difíciles y seguramente habrá mucho que comentar y mucho que pasara, sin embargo les escribo para compartir con Uds. algunas ideas que pudieran serles útiles en estos momentos y que tengan una perspectiva Bíblica de las cosas que están pasando, especialmente en el tema de la gripe porcina en al ciudad de México. No voy a entrar en detalles técnicos y información sobre el avance de este asunto que de eso se encargan los medios de comunicación, mi planteamiento es en relación con lo que dice la Biblia y como debemos de ver este asunto los cristianos.

Bíblicamente hablando estos tiempos se llaman los ‘últimos tiempos”, comenzaron después de al ascensión de Cristo y continuaran hasta su segunda venida, en realidad estaríamos en los últimos tiempos de los últimos tiempos!. Esta época tendría varias características que la palabra de Dios nos advierte:

1. Los días serán malos y peligrosos (Efe 5:16, 2 Tim 3:1).

2. Habrá mucha apostasía y doctrina de demonios que engañaran a muchos (1 Tim 4:1-3).

3. Habrá muchos que no les gustara oír la palabra de Dios (2 Tim 4:3-5).

4. Aparecerán muchos falsos Cristos (1 Juan 2:18, 2 Pedro 3:3).

5. Habrá hombres muy egoístas y malvados (2 Tim 3:2-5).

A continuación les comparto algunos principios para tomar en cuenta en estos momentos:

A) Dios esta en control. Nuestro Dios es un Dios Todopoderoso y Omnisciente! El conoce todo y esta llevando a cabo su plan! Nada se le escapa, los cabellos de nuestra cabeza están contados y El le da de comer a cada pájaro en este planeta. Para nosotros las cosas diferentes, nosotros ignoramos el futuro y muchas cosas nos toman por sorpresa y nuestra mente nos dice de todos los peligros e implicaciones de las cosas que pasan, además nosotros podemos caer en temor y angustia por escuchar las ideas, opiniones y actitudes de otras personas pero debemos recordar que nada de lo que nos pasa en nuestra vida sucede por casualidad, azar o sin propósito, la Biblia dice que TODO nos ayuda para bien, de acuerdo al plan de Dios y para SU gloria. Por lo tanto, no debemos de afanarnos, sino estar confiados y tranquilos ante cualquier situación (Fil 4:6-8).

B) Los cristianos podemos sufrir. Muchos ven esta plaga de influenza y piensan que será semejante a las plagas de Egipto, solo afectaba a los egipcios! Pero no necesariamente será así, la Biblia dice que Dios permitió que muchas veces los creyentes o su pueblo enfrentase pruebas y tribulaciones de acuerdo al plan de Dios, mas bien debemos de pedir sabiduría para ser prudentes y tomar decisiones sabias en nuestro caminar. El sufrimiento es parte de la vida normal, y hasta será posible que por ser creyentes nuestro sufrimiento sea mayor por causa de la palabra!. Sin embargo, confiemos en el Señor y pidamos por la seguridad de nuestra familia, hermanos y amigos. Dios es fiel, Dios es bueno!.

C) Dios permite cosas para que el inconverso le busque. En cierta ocasión, los judíos se acercaron con Cristo para contarle un terrible accidente que había ocurrido en aquellos días (Luc 13:1-5), una torre se había caído y había matado a 18 personas, y también acerca de unas personas que al parecer fueron muertas por Pilato de una manera bastante fea. La respuesta de Cristo es sorprendente!!! No les dijo: que lo siento, pobrecitos, mala suerte, es que Dios estaba ocupado o es que algunos deben de morir de vez en cuando o algo así, NO!, Jesús no se disculpo o se lamento (aunque es interesante notar que sabia exactamente cuantos habían muerto por la caída de la torre) lo que les dijo es (léalo Ud. Mismo!): Les responde con una pregunta, eran estas personas que murieron mas pecadoras que otras personas? NO! y añade, si aquellos que no conocen a Dios, no se arrepienten van a morir de la misma manera. Y pienso yo que también se estaba refiriendo al infierno!. En otras palabras, las muertes de estas personas o cualquier plaga, tragedia, niños muertos, adultos en accidentes o lo que sea, son un recordatorio de Dios sobre nuestra necesidad de arrepentirnos y buscar a Dios!!!

Como cristianos debemos de orar para que Dios nos use y podamos aprovechar esta oportunidad compartir el evangelio y decirle a la gente: tu también puedes morir e ir al infierno! La muerte es real, basta de pensar que viviremos para siempre o que todo estará bien automáticamente para dedicarnos a disfrutar y pecar, deben arrepentirse y entregarse a Cristo!!

Pienso que esto que esta pasando en México, y en realidad a nivel mundial, es una respuesta a nuestras oraciones! Cuantas veces hemos orado pidiendo por la salvación de amigos y familiares en nuestro país? Dios sabe lo que hace y si el costo de la salvación de muchos serán problemas económicos y de salud pues Gloria a Dios!

Aun recuerdo que durante los 12 años de guerra civil que vivió El Salvador con el conflicto guerrillero en los anos 80 fue el detonador para un avivamiento espiritual. Gloria a Dios!, la gloria de Dios es lo mas importante y si cualquier asunto trae gloria a Dios de alguna manera entonces vale la pena. La gloria a Dios es mas importante que cualquier persona!.

D) Es tiempo de buscar a Dios como cristiano. Nosotros como creyentes pues debemos de entender que cuando Dios permitía pruebas y tribulación para el pueblo de Israel en tiempos Bíblicos, era una oportunidad que Dios les daba para arrepentirse, para examinar nuestras vidas y confesar pecados en nuestra vida y poner a Dios en primer lugar! Dios dice que el juicio debe comenzar por su casa (1 Pedro 4:17), temamos a Dios y búsquemelo en oración en estos tiempos, basta de vivir para nuestros placeres y egoísmos, Dios es lo mas importante en nuestra vida y el Espíritu Santo nos anhela celosamente! Humillémonos delante de Dios y dependamos de el, pidamos que Dios nos examine y nos pruebe y que nos limpie con su sangre.

E) Es una oportunidad de apoyarnos unos a otros. Finalmente, creo que los tiempos de crisis son una oportunidad de apoyarnos en todo sentido como hermanos en Cristo, cuando la iglesia de Jerusalén pasaba por momentos de hambre las demás iglesias oraron por ellos y les mandaron dinero para comprar comida! (2 Cor 8:3-4)Estemos unidos y aprovechemos este tiempo para motivarnos, exhortarnos y apoyarnos en todo, tratemos de estar en comunicación y animo unos a otros, somos el cuerpo de Cristo y es cuando mas debemos de estar unidos.

Todo lo anterior le he escrito con el propósito de compartir lo que dice la Biblia, espero que te sea de bendición.

Pastor Ramiro Martínez


What About Swine Flu?

April 28, 2009

Swine Flu is the crisis of the moment, and with good reason. Just in the past 24 hours I have received updates from several friends in Mexico where over 150 are dead in this epidemic.  New infections are popping up in spots all over the world, threatening to turn this into a pandemic (global as opposed to the more localized epidemic).

There have always been epidemics, of course, and several are recorded in the Bible. In the Exodus, we have some examples among the plagues God brought upon the Egyptians. King David’s sin in numbering the people brought an epidemic upon Israel. Epidemics also form part of The Revelation’s predictions for the future. So, it stands to reason that we just might be able to learn how to respond to this most current of contemporary challenges. Here are some thoughts:

  • There is nothing on this earth that escapes God’s notice or ocurrs without his knowledge and permission. He is Sovereign. His providence is at work completing his will even when we have no clue as to how it all fits together.
  • If the above point is true, then we cannot allow ourselves to be controlled by either fear (2Timothy 1:7) or worry (Philippians 4:6-7).
  • Technology is wonderful! I love being able to instantly check the weather or my favorite team’s scores. While technology is good for the flow and access of information, I must not allow media to mold and manipulate my emotions and reactions (mass hysteria).
  • While refusing to be controlled by emotions and public reaction, we can act responsibly to protect ourselves and others. As we have been hearing, we can learn to wash our hands thoroughly and regularly, cover our mouths when we cough, stay at home when we are sick, seek immediate medical attention and all of the other good instruction that is being freely disseminated.
  • Think about doctors and nurses who are daily exposed to all sorts of germs and disease. What do they do? Exactly what they are telling us. They wash hands regularly and all the rest. At the first sign of illness, they don’t wait around but rather take action to get proper treatment.
  • People like me who travel a lot have to learn to do the same as doctors and nurses. I am frequently exposed to germs in the close quarters of airplanes, hotels and shaking literally hundreds of hands of people from all walks of life. I often have to eat strange food and wonder whether it has been properly prepared. To refuse would be culturally offensive in most cases, but I can be wise about portions, and politely refuse certain items while accepting others that have a better chance of being clean.
  • As followers of Jesus we have an additional resource – prayer. Paul tells Timothy that we do not have to refuse any type of food as opposed to the Old Testament law that prohibited certain foods. He points out that all is sanctified by the word of God and prayer (1Timothy 4:1-5).  Yet, this is not some pious, out-of-touch spirituality. In the very next chapter (5:23), Paul’s pragmatic side tells Timothy to take a little wine for his frequent stomach problems.

We should not be ruled by fear or worry. Instead, we can take advantages of such crises to minister to others who have no hope. We can allow situations such as those created by the Swine Flu to drive us to seek God. In so doing, trial can be converted into blessing.


Report from Atlanta

April 25, 2009

Currently I am killing time taking advantage of time in the Houston airport hoping that the outbreak of storms here and in Kansas City won’t delay my flight home. I flew to Atlanta yesterday to share at a fund raiser dinner hosted by Epic Internationl. Epic is the mission facilitation organization with whom we are partnering to reach out to the K people.

I was happy to be picked up at the airport by Dean Calision of Grace Church in Overland Park, our principal partner in the alliance of churches we are forming for this purpose. Dean is a great guy and I had not expected him to be at the banquet, but he was already in the city on business with Avant Ministries for which he works as director of development.

At the dinner last night I shared six characteristics of Epic that attracted me to them. It wasn’t because Epic Founder Roscoe Brewer is a dear friend and mentor of 40 years, and it wasn’t because I heard some powerfully emotional stories about what Epic is doing. Here are my six reasons:

  1. Epic is committed to extraordinary prayer as the primary fuel of their vision and ministry. After years of talking, preaching and teaching about prayer, I am finally beginning to learn to pray. That got my attention.
  2. Epic is missiologically sound. I had not been in contact with Roscoe for a number of years, but when we reconnected I was thrilled to hear what he had been learning about missions. This is a group that truly has a solid understanding of what they are about.
  3. Epic is strategic. Their objective is to target the least reached and unengaged peoples of the world believing that the Great Commission can realistically be fulfilled in our lifetimes.
  4. Epic is tightly focused on making biblical disciples and seeing God bring them together in biblical churches, even though those churches may not necessarily follow our Western models. They are not afraid to do good works because it is the right thing to do, but they never stray from their focus on planting churches in places where the church does not currrently exist.
  5. Epic is kingdom-minded. They don’t work with any one particular group and they don’t care who gets the credit.
  6. Epic is cost-effective. We heard some amazing reports last night about what God is doing in some of the places you would least expect. For security reasons I can’t share this information with you, but I am astounded at what is being accomplished by a very small staff in a very small office that is having an impact at glocal level. This is a great kindgom investment!

Home Again!

April 23, 2009

Cheryl and I got home last night after our European vacation. We had a great time and enjoyed sharing some of our adventures with you.

I had an appointment for a phone call this morning from a friend who is now president of a mission board and served for many years as a missionary in Europe. Knowing that we had just returned last night from Europe, his words of greeting were, “So, you were up very early this morning weren’t you?”

I laughed. “Yeah, I know the drill.”

Me After Some Transatlantic Flights

Me After Some Transatlantic Flights

We both travel enough to know that flying west across the Atlantic usually results in most people wanting to get up very early the following couple of days until the body clock adjusts. If you are a frequent traveler you also know that flying west across the Atlantic is usually about an hour longer flight than from west to east due to prevailing head winds.

If you, like me, are a committed coach traveler, you know that riding in the back of the bus with all the other common J0e’s and Jane’s requires learning some tricks of the trade to make travel as bearable as possible. There are also some pet peeves that can make a long trip much, much longer. As we were traveling yesterday, I was thinking about some of those pet peeves and offer the following in the spirit of fun and sarcasm. You, like the folks who bring on board their own food and smell up the whole plane with sea food from Pappadeaux’s or cheeseburgers from McDonald’s. Maybe you care to join in with your own observations. Here are mine from yesterday.

  • Screaming babies. Yesterday, a baby screamed (not cried, he screamed) all the way from Berlin to Newark – about 9 hours. Maybe that was what sent the lady over the edge who experienced a medical emergency on board.
  • People who laugh out loud while they are watching a movie. A guy sat behind Cheryl and watched comedies all the way across the ocean. He could have just smiled and chuckled. He laughed out loud – loudly – with this annoying, maniacal laugh while some of us were trying to get catch some zzz’s. I honestly think he was more annoying than the screaming baby. Just about the time I was falling asleep, there was that goofy laugh piercing through the rest of the symphony of high-flying noises.
  • People who think a touch screen is a poke screen. Yes, the same laughing dude who sat behind Cheryl took breaks from his comedy shows to play games on the touch screen located on the back of Cheryl’s headrest – only he didn’t touch the screen, he poked and pounded it sending jolts into the back of Cheryl’s head. Yes, he also laughed when the cute little animation figures indicated he was winning.
  • People with small bladders who sit in the window seat. A young Russian woman sat in the window seat in the row ahead of me. An elderly woman sat on the aisle. The Russian’s husband was in the middle. On a nine hour flight she got up to go to the bathroom no less than a dozen times. The poor elderly lady never had a chance to even think about resting, let alone sleeping.
  • People who don’t realize that the back of a seat is connected to the front part of the same seat. I’m talking about those folks who sit behind you and constantly kick the back of you seat, drill their knees through the seat into your back, or do other painful and obnoxious things to keep you constantly on edge. For example, some people slam down the tray table and then pretend that it is a piano keyboard and dance their fingers all up and down the tray to the rhythm of whatever music they are listening to.  Yes, it was Laughing Man, the touch screen poker, who is also an aspiring concert pianist, the same guy who sat behind Cheryl. He is the winner of the coveted “Jerk of the Flight” award.

OK. I feel much better. Venting is good for the soul. Maybe you care to share some pet peeves of your own.

So, what am I doing tomorrow? Getting up at 05hrs00 to fly to Atlanta, speak at a banquet, attend a board meeting and fly back home tomorrow night. I must be nuts!


Day Eight in Berlin

April 21, 2009

For our last day in Berlin we decided to buy day passes for the public transportation system and make up our own tour. By the end of the day we had ridden on buses, trains, trams (only in the eastern sector), the S-Bahn (above ground light rail) and the U-Bahn (underground). And, yes, we walked a bit, too. There is an S-Bahn route that circles the city and so we rode it all the way around. That was fun and gave us a good perspective of Berlin.

We got off to walk around in a cozy little neighborhood in the northeast part of the city and discovered all sorts of neat little details about Berlin. For example, we learned to observe little brass plates that are inset into the sidewalk in certain places. These are inscribed with the names and personal data of Jews who were former residents of that particular place and died in concentration camps -a very sober and oft-present reminder.

Are we in Havana? That’s what we thought for a moment. We had heard of a little Cuban restaurant in the former East Berlin that dates back to the days of tight relationships between East Germany and Cuba. We got an address and started walking. After a while we spotted our destination and checked out the menu. In Europe, by law all restaurants have a menu posted with prices on the outside so you can decide whether or not you want to go in. If I ever become President of the United States that is a law I will try to enact during my first 100 days.

Seeing the Cuban delicacies listed we decided to give it a try. There were plenty of tables left on the sidewalk, and it was a beautiful day. A young woman came to take our order and I was struggling to put together our order in my halting and very limited German. It’s hard to be too creative when you are working with a vocabulary of about 25 words or so. As I was beginning to order, I had slipped in a side word in Spanish to Cheryl when I caught the look of surprise on the face of the waitress. So, I asked if she spoke Spanish. She said of course she did. This was a Cuban restaurant and she was Cuban. We both felt great relief. She was filling in for a friend and I don’t think her German was much more than mine. She was struggling herself, wondering whether to approach us in English, German, or something else. So, with the language barrier wiped away, we had a great time! By the way, the food was fabulous. Really!

So, dear reader, I trust you have enjoyed following our adventures these past few days. Early in the morning we head to the airport to begin our journey home.