Miroslav Volf is a Christian theologian from Croatia. He says that he used to hold to the fashionable view that dismissed the wrath of God, that the idea of an angry God was somehow incompatible with the love of God. But then war came to his country. Terrible atrocities were done. He found himself exceedingly and justifiably angry. Then he thought - if God is not angry at such injustice and cruelty, then he is not a God worth worshiping. Only if God is angry against such evil is he worth loving, or being loved by us.

I used to think that wrath was unworthy of God. Isn’t God love? Shouldn’t divine love be beyond wrath? God is love, and God loves every person and every creature. That’s exactly why God is wrathful against some of them. My last resistance to the idea of God’s wrath was a casualty of the war in the form Yugoslavia, the region from which I come. According to some estimates, 200,000 people were killed and over 3,000,000 were displaced. My villages and cities were destroyed, my people shelled day in and day out, some of them brutalized beyond imagination, and I could not imagine God not being angry.

Or think of Rwanda in the last decade of the past century, where 800,000 people were hacked to death in one hundred days! How did God react to the carnage? By doting on the perpetrators in a grandfatherly fashion? By refusing to condemn the bloodbath but instead affirming the perpetrators’ basic goodness? Wasn’t God fiercely angry with them? Though I used to complain about the indecency of the idea of God’s wrath, I came to think that I would have to rebel against a God who wasn’t wrathful at the sight of the world’s evil. God isn’t wrathful in spite of being love. God is wrathful because God is love.

- Dr. Christopher Wright, The God I Don’t Understand, p. 131

Margaret is remembering Tim Cunningham with thankfulness for the example of bravery, integrity, and love he lived as a husband, dad, soldier, and man of God.

I am thankful to God for the freedom He has blessed me with, both in this nation and through His salvation.  This year more than ever before I’m aware of the extraordinary sacrifice that some make to allow us to enjoy freedom.  What I wrote about TIm earlier this year is here.

DA Carson

This quote by Archbishop Trench is why I’m writing:

“We must not conceive of prayer as overcoming God’s reluctance,” says Archbishop Trench, “but as laying hold of His highest willingness.”

Why do we so often doubt that God has a desire to answer us?  We do not believe Him to be good or loving.

Mountain Rain is one of my favorite missionary biographies.  James O. Fraser life is inspiring and a testimony to what God will do if His people just call out to Him.

Thanks for letting me know Beth!

So I spent this weekend in Dallas and my friend Jay spent the weekend in Houston.  I felt bad that we missed each other so I decided that on my drive back to Houston I would call him and we could catch up.  This is the first few seconds of our phone call

Me: Are you staying in Houston tonight or driving back to Dallas?

Jay: No, I’m driving back.  What about you?

Me: Yeah I’m driving back right now

Jay: Where are you?

Me: Not sure, uhh…

Jay: What mile marker

Me: Umm, hold on, 196.

Jay: Hey me too, HEY I JUST SAW YOU!  WOW THATS INCREDIBLE, I’VE NEVER EXPERIENCED ANYTHING LIKE THAT!”

Me: WOW THATS CRAZY!

You get the gist.  I decided to call him in a 20 second window for that to happen.  It was hilarious.  I was driving back to Htown for a friend’s going away party.  When I walked in I was like “Hey you guys would not believe what happened on my drive back.” A party goer to me “I know. Jay called me right after that to tell me how incredilbe it was”  Way to spoil it for me Jay, way to spoil it for me.

One of my favorite things in life is when people experience the presence of God for the first time in prayer. If you know me very well then you that I am burdened for people who know a lot about God, but don’t know God very well. Matt Chandler preached a great sermon about this. This can run the gammit from crazy legalistic rule followers to serious grace abusers. Either side is really sad. I love when people really connnect with the living God during worship and prayer and all the sudden they feel like their world is completely changed. A lot of the Boot Camp students here are experiencing that right now. They seek after the Lord and the find Him, it almost sounds like a scripture or something.

It is humorous in life how we interpret everything through our culture and experiences. No matter how much we want to be “all about what the Bible says” we are goign to struggle with this. A good example for me was when I would read biographies of great Christians. I would read how they prayed 12 hours a day and God moved mightily in these revivals. Well my experiencse in prayer for the most part had been boring, so I assumed these guys were just bored for like 12 hours. I wish the biographers had written “and they enjoyed it” after some of these stories.

To be honest, a lot of my time spent with the Lord were incredible and amazing, but not always. That was really frustrating. I just assumed the problem was with my sin and/or that Jesus didn’t like me that much. That whole Hebrews “they must believe He is and that He is a rewarder of those that deligently seek Him” thing seemed like an after death sort of thing. One time I was at a prayer meeting that was rather lifeless and the guy leading prayed to end us “God you are worth an hour and a half of hard prayer.” I wanted to yell “ITS NOT SUPPOSED TO BE SO HARD!” I didn’t, it wasn’t really his fault. He didn’t know any better.

It wasn’t until my friend Chad started pray meetings at his house every Wednesday night that I learned a lot of the whys and hows of prayer. You can read all the books you like, but you are going to have learn this stuff through experience. You are probably wearing the glasses of “boy howdy prayer can be boring”, but you need to throw those off and remember again that you can encounter the living God.

Taken on a bus in China.

1. C.T. Studd: Criketer and Pioneer - C.T. Studd is the embodiment of “I count all things loss for the sake of Christ.”
2. Chasing the Dragon: One Woman’s Struggle Against the Darkness of Hong Kong’s Drug Den - The life of Jackie of Pullinger, who is still working in Hong Kong today. Incredible story of God using an unlikely girl for an incredible ministry.
3. God’s Smuggler - The story of Brother Andrew and his smuggling of Bibles behind the Iron Curtain. A very cruel man in his youth, he was transformed by the power of God and used mightily to minister to extremely persecuted Christians.
4. Praying Hyde: A Challenge to Prayer - Three accounts of the life of John “Praying” Hyde. A life so amazing it is hard to believe. Discover the incredible things God does when His people seek Him with all of their hearts.
5. Mountain Rain: A Biography of James O. Fraser, Pioneer Missionary to China - Another inspiring story of a man who labored to bring the Gospel to the Lisu people of China.

These are just my favorites, but I’ve read a ton more. What are your favorites?

“We stopped singing about Him and started singing to Him”

            - Seminary chapel speaker and Houston pastor on his churches change in worship style and the resulting impact on his church.

I wonder how often it occurs to people that they aren’t connecting with God during worship.  Isn’t it completely and utterly pointless without that seemingly obvious purpose?

“We could just send a ton of Christians overseas that don’t know the Lord very well, but that wouldn’t change anything. We need people who are intimate with the Lord who can change the world.”

            - My friend Chris, a missionary to East Asia, on the need for the right kind of    missionaries.

Chris pointed out something I often comtemplate.  If you don’t know God that well, how are you going to introduce people to Him?  That’s pretty obvious in all other relationships we deal with, why not this one?

Both thoughts focus on the importance of not just knowing about God, but truly knowing Him as a living being.  What do you think?

But why didn’t you write? Umm, well I have to tell you, I just wasn’t feeling it anymore.  I should have done the mature thing and told you to your face, but I just did the easy thing and ignored you.  I’m sorry.

Seriously though.  Right, right…well honestly I was pretty burned out on life and ministry.  On top of that I think that blogs just let people feel self-important.  Not the ones where you just talk about your personal life and show pictures, but the ones where get all high and mighty about some cause or whatever.  Maybe it just was like that for me.  So I just stopped saying anything.  Also, I didn’t have anything good to say, so better to just keep my mouth shut. 

Things that have happened in my life:

• Taken 6 hours of Hebrew in 10 weeks. (AKA self-inflicted torture)
• Traveled to Asia and a little in Europe
• Moved to a new city (although I grew up here)
• Started a new job
• Found a new, incredible church
• Refound myself and my desire for God

I would never ever recommend working alone in ministry for more than a month.  Doing it for 3 and half years equals spiritual death. It wasn’t ever supposed to be that way, but it is sort of what happened.  BUT, BUT! God is beyond faithful and even though He has led me to a place I never thought I would live and to I job I never thought I would have He has completely restored my soul.  He has done immeasurably more than I could have asked or thought. He’s cool like that.

I could never explain in a blog post the incredible testimony He has given me in the last 9 months (maybe you could, but I’m not good at the whole writing thing). I wish I could explain to you all that has happened, maybe we can do it over a cup of coffee.  There were so many moments that just took my breath away. God’s in the details and he orchistrates circumstances in ways we could never hope to manipulate into being.

So to you, any questions?

P.S.  Starbucks Venti Iced Double-shot equals a new definition of “wired”.

Please continue to keep Tim’ family in your prayers.

…of whom the world was not worthy (Heb 11:38)

I received news on April 24th that my friend Tim Cunningham had been killed while serving in Iraq. 1st Lt. Timothy Wayne Cunningham was an incredible man of God and someone whose story I hope inspires you. We became friends my sophomore year in the Corps of Cadets at Texas A&M, his freshman year. We were both part of the Navigators ministry on campus. He immediately impressed me with his distinct manner and love for life. Tim was the most spiritually mature freshman I have ever met. When he felt led to leave A&M to attend West Point many of us were disappointed to see him go. Of course we knew he would have an incredible impact no matter where he was. Listening at his funeral to the eulogies given by the cadets he met there as well as his favorite chaplain confirmed what I had always expected. He touched everyone he met.

He wrote a letter home to his family around Easter that typifies his love for God and impact he had on others. Please take the time to read all of this, you will be blessed.

Friends and Family,

No, I don’t proclaim it with loud shouts and feigned
excitement. I say “He is alive” as a statement of
fact and assurance in the Lord, who is my light and
continued deliverer.

I was speaking with a man in one of the more notorious
neighborhood in my sector. This guy is old, at least
for American standards. The whole sector I control
knows me, by name “Mulazim Tim” and face, and so he
was pleasant to me, and offered me a chair and some
chai (tea). I’ve had so many cups of chai my skin is
turning darker (Iraqi). So, this encounter seemed no
different to me. At least at first.

We progressed to talk about some security issues, some
local projects we are working on, and some things
related to the “Musalaha,” or “Reconciliation.”

(This strategy, the Reconciliation, I accredit to the
Lord only, for He has taught me and other American
commanders Counterinsurgency strategy by offering
people a way out. Giving them a chance to change
their ways and be redeemed in the eyes of the
Americans and Iraqi Security Forces. This includes
those with American blood on their hands).

But, anyway, the man had seen a few people arrested
following the Reconciliation period in his tribe, and
is old enough to be tired of the terrorists operating
in his area (indeed, in his own family).

He looked me squarely in the eyes and said. “You know
Mulazim Tim,” he said as he grasped my arm, “I look in
the eyes of Arabs and I see nothing. But in the eyes
of a Christian I see brightness, and hope.”

Nothing could have prepared me for that comment.

I work diligently to engage every person in my Area of
Responsibility and treat them with neutrality and
respect, but I do not, in any way speak of my
Christianity or proclaim Jesus. It is not my time to
do so. I am serving a different purpose for the
Gospel here. By hopefully paving the way for faith
based groups to move in…but to hear this man speak
of Christians that way, and indeed respond in love to
me, I was blown away.

I saw in his eyes that the Holy Spirit is moving and
reaching to the hearts of the people in Iraq. He is
alive!

With Christ’s love and purpose at hand,

Tim

I ask you to take the time to read the articles that I post here. One is a biography written by his mother which is a touching piece on his life. Also, there is an account of the memorial service written in the Houston Chronicle that sums up the most touching funeral I’ve ever been to.

As his grandmother said to me after the service, we will have no idea this side of Heaven how God is going to use this. May our Father stir our hearts to live more fully for Him. Realize that we have an opportunity to touch everyone we meet with the love of Christ. Please take account of your life and think about the incredible gift and potential God has given you to live everyday for the sake of His Kingdom and His glory. (Psalm 73:23-25)

Even though I had not seen Tim in several years, news of his tragic death left me deeply saddened. He left behind his wife Samantha and a precious 1 year old little girl Abigail. Please pray for them, especially in July when Tim was supposed to be coming home.

I could write pages and pages on the testimonies I have heard about his influence on others, but I leave you with this and these things written by others.

Article about the funeral

Chronicle article

West Point Eulogies

Legacy.com Guestbook for Tim

Rembering My Soldier by Cindy Cunningham

I’ve been asked to give information for a biography for my son Tim. I’ve seen the obituary pages with the list of family member names, and, as important as that information is, it makes me wonder what the person was really like.

Timothy Wayne Cunningham (but Tim to anyone who knew him because everyone was either a friend, or a friend he hadn’t met yet), was born on January 22, 1982. He’d been trying to be born for a full month, but the doctors at Houston Northwest Medical Center decided he needed to wait another month. I guess Tim was just in a hurry to get busy living life because that’s certainly the way he lived his life….all out!

Tim has an older sister, Christy Dawn, who will be 30 soon. He also has an older brother, John David, who is now 28. Christy has two children, T.J. (Timothy James) and Emily – Tim’s niece and nephew. Christy and John David helped pick out Tim’s name. You see, they really loved their uncle Tim Loyola and decided having a brother by that name would be awesome. Uncle Tim is outgoing and just a little crazy. Our Tim definitely inherited those traits – not just from his namesake, but somewhat from his mom.

A couple of years later, another sister came along. Sara Beth, who is now 23 but soon to be 24 (their ages are usually all odd or even numbers). Tim and Sara had a special bond. Tim felt he needed to take care of his little sister and often did. He even left Texas A&M one day to come home to take Sara shopping for her senior prom dress – paid for it himself.

Four years later, his youngest sister Kelsey was born. Tim loved playing with her, singing with her, and annoying her sometimes. Kelsey attends Alvin Community College now, is almost 20 and is working toward her future.

Tim attended elementary school at Helmers Street Christian School where I had the privilege of teaching his K4 and kindergarten class. When Dad (John) decided to go to seminary, Tim then entered Donna Park Elementary School in Hurst, Texas. I still remember how enthusiastic Tim and John David were about getting to school on time. I walked into their room one night and both boys were lying on top of their bedspreads, fully dressed, lying very still with their hands by their sides. When I asked what was up, they both told me that they talked it over and figured out that they could get extra sleep and get to school sooner if they dressed the night before and didn’t have to make their beds. Such was the alliance of my two boys.

While we lived in Hurst, we attended Fielder Road Baptist Church where Dr. Bill Everett was pastor. Under Dr. Everett’s ministry, Tim accepted Christ and began a relationship that shaped Tim into the man that he became.

After Dad finished seminary at Southwestern Seminary and Dallas Theological Seminary, we moved to Rusk, Texas. We all absolutely loved living in East Texas and still, to a certain degree, consider that home. Tim attended Rusk Elementary, Rusk Junior High, and Rusk High school where he was in Student Council, National Honor Society, on the track team, played baseball, and worked in the community in every way he could. Both Tim and John David were recognized as Citizens of the Year while in junior high. Tim was extremely involved in the church where his dad worked, First Baptist Church Rusk, as was the whole family.

After a pastoral change, the family moved to Alvin, Texas to be at South Park Baptist Church. Tim, ever adaptable, willingly left all of his friends in Rusk (although he never lost touch with them) and began wholeheartedly to apply himself at Alvin High School as a junior. He attended the prom in Rusk and in Alvin, going with new friends. One of those friends became his lifelong best friend and helpmate – Samantha Morgenroth Cunningham. Those friends still get together every year to celebrate what’s going on in their lives, but they started out as a study group, trying to get through calculus or some other math (I teach English so math is all the same to me).

While at South Park, Tim participated in Christmas productions, went on mission trips to Mexico, and a huge trip to Brazil. He came back from those trips with an absolute passion for caring about other people. Tim applied for and received a NROTC scholarship to attend Texas A&M. After attending for a year, Tim realized he could better achieve his personal goals if he were to attend West Point. So he started the process, received his appointment, and started at West Point the year just after his older brother, John David, graduated. While at Texas A&M, Tim hooked up with Chris Siever and was totally discipled and encouraged by The Navigators program. This built in Tim a strong love and passion for God’s Word that stayed with him through to his last day. Samantha hooked up with Chris when he moved to University of Texas (isn’t it weird that an Aggie and a Longhorn would end up together???) where she was attending, earning her bachelors degree and bilingual ed certification. Samantha also has a passion for the Word because of Chris and also spent a year in Mexico teaching in their school system just so she would be better equipped to work with kids here in the States.

While at West Point, Tim applied himself fully to his studies and military activities, but one of the most important activities to him was his involvement with Cadet Chapel Sunday School and Genesis. Tim felt it was important to give back to the teachers at the school, so he worked with their children in Sunday school every Sunday. Boy did he love those kids! He even organized their little Christmas program and from what I heard, it was a hoot! They did a Sister Act version of the nativity. He worked with Chaplain Cynthia Lindenmeyer and developed a life-long friendship with her, her husband Maj. Lindenmeyer, and their two kids.

After Tim graduated from West Point with a degree in Nuclear Engineering, he and Sam were married immediately. And just as quickly, they discovered that they were pregnant. A year ago last March, just after Tim finished Ranger school, little Abigail came into all of our lives. Abby’s a year old now and certainly has her dad’s exuberance for life and love for people. After he graduated from Ranger school, Tim, Samantha and Abby moved to Ft. Campbell to serve with 101st Airborne, right along side his older brother, also a part of 101st Airborne.

If I could sum up Tim’s life, it would be that he lived all out. He was all out as a runner, all out as an athlete, all out as a student, all out as a son, all out as a brother, all out as follower of Christ, all out as a friend, all out as a husband, all out as a father, and all out as a soldier. He lived and died all out for others.

I know you’re thinking that I’m just his mom and partial. You’d be right about the partiality, but if you ever met Tim, you’d know that I’m not exaggerating or being sentimental. Tim loved people; he cared about people, and loved life. I know that he’s loving heaven right now because he’s reuniting with friends and family and probably planning a big event for when we all come to join him there. His wish would be that you’d make that part of your plans – to join him in heaven.

Obviously, Tim has lots of other family still living – both sets of grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, friends, and fellow soldiers.

Tim’s service will be held at South Park Funeral Home, Pearland, Texas. At Tim’s request, in lieu of flowers, please send donations to be used to take care of his daughter Abby. You can send those donations to First Baptist Church Rosharon. The address is P.O. Box 799, Rosharon, Texas, 75783. Funeral arrangements are pending. We have to wait for Tim to get back to the states. You may contact South Park at their website for further information.

A sect of Islam practiced in Iran allows for temporary marriages.  It is often look down upon because it is viewed as a cover for prostitution.  However, some government officials are promoting the practice, believing it can help solve the country’s social problems.  Here is an excerpt:

Iran’s interior minister, himself a cleric, said marriage was a human need and temporary marriage should not be used just for sex but to solve social problems.

He said there needed to be a cultural change to allow this.

The article goes on to say that there is even a cunning travel agent, advertising in Tehran, offering holidays by the Caspian Sea for couples and a Muslim cleric who can temporarily marry them for the trip.

I found this article interesting. An Indian journalist writes about her countries involvement with the Sudan and their failure to care about the genocide in Darfur.

With the olympics coming up there are groups trying to shame China to ends its involvement with Sudan. One of their strategies is to get major athletes that will be participating in the olympics to sign a petition. Having recently heard about that story on the radio I find this article fascinating. Here is a small excert

Trading with a country without any social responsibility, and turning a convenient blind eye to a conflict of gargantuan proportions, does not bode well for the emerging economic and political giants of China and India.

But, while there has recently been a chorus of international disappointment that China is not pulling its economic weight in Sudan, India too cannot be excluded, for its hands are very much in the honey pot.

Archaeologist claims to have found the tomb of King Herod. I am more excited about the tomb that has no one in it.

The BBC is reporting that a Bible has finally been translated for the Aborigines of Australia. The translation was over 30 years in the making. Here is a great quote that explains many of the complexities of Bible translation.

One of the biggest challenges for researchers was to translate the Bible not just literally, but culturally, to give it a distinctly indigenous feel.

Linguist Peter Carroll said the phrase “to love God with all one’s heart” was particularly tricky.

“The Gunwinggu people use a different part of the body to express emotions, and they have a word that is, broadly translated, ‘insides’,” he said.

“So that to love God with all your heart was to want God with all your insides, and it was that use of the word ‘insides’, not the word ‘heart’, that established the right connection with emotions and made the translations effective.”