A Different Perspective on International Aid

Hello all,

A fellow rebelutionary shared the following with us on the subject of international aid.

I haven't researched enough yet to have a solid opinion or perspective on best practices for helping the needy. I am a proponent of microfinance, I work as a social media volunteer with a hunger relief organization, and I definitely want to help others in ways that are effective and lasting. At the same time, the vast needs and various solution proposals are almost overwhelming.

This morning in my international business class we watched the following video about some of the negative effects of the current foreign aid arrangement and some of the alternative approaches. I appreciated hearing the insights of a native African, Andrew Mwenda, a journalist from Uganda. I'm not saying I agree with everything he says here, but I did appreciate his humor and articulation skills. I particularly found salient his comments about the importance of shifting the focus from that of "reducing poverty" to "creating wealth." I think his views, shared in this "TED talk," are worth considering.

As stewards of resources that are not our own but God's, it's critically important we are wise in deciding how, where, and with whom we are allocating and sharing resources. Regardless of what your eventual stance is on the issue of international aid, I think we can all agree that we need to carefully consider our actions and look to God for His leadership on this important area of ministry.

God bless!

Who and What is Rebelutionary Musings?

Hello all!

We have recently realized that people coming across this blog on the internet might not understand who we are and what we our vision is; so, we would like to explain those things in this post.

Rebelutionary Musings is a blog that is independently run and operated by several members of the Rebelution Forum. We are in no way affiliated with the Rebelution beyond our personal involvement. We started this blog because, as leaders on the Rebelution Forum Team, we see a lot of material that doesn’t fit the criteria for posting on the forum (the Rebelution Forum is focused on implementing the 'Do Hard Things' message and facilitating collaboration). We hate to see all that excellent material not be used to bless and equip other Rebelutionaries; therefore, the aforementioned members of the Forum Team started this blog in the hopes that it could be used to share the excellent and uplifting material that would otherwise not be seen by anybody, other than the author of the material and several members of the Forum Team.

However, we don’t only post material from the Forum. We also re-post material from Rebelutionary blogs as well as articles and resources we want to share and/or are recommended to us. Since most people can’t update their blogs daily, by re-posting material on Rebelutionary Musings, we are able to post excellent material from others benefit on a daily basis. As we announced on the blog: “Our vision is for this blog is simply that it will be frequently updated with Rebelutionary material written by Rebelutionaries for Rebelutionaries ranging on a wide range of topics and issues from the theological and doctrinal to the practical and day-to-day. Naturally, we will adhere to high standards for the content and resources posted and for the blogs on the blogroll.”

Hopefully there will now be no confusion as to who and what we are.

You don’t have to be a member of the Rebelution Forum in order to contribute to the blog though. If you have articles or blog posts of your own or someone else’s to recommend, please feel free to read and follow the steps/options for contributing below:

1) You can email the blog administrators with any articles or resources that wouldn’t be posted on the Forum written by yourself (if we don’t ask you ourselves)
2) You can email us if you have a blog (or know of a Rebelutionary blog that has blessed you) and would like it to be added to the Rebelutionary Musings blogroll. We can’t guarantee that it will be added, but we can guarantee that it will be considered.
3) If you spot excellent Rebelutionary material you believe would benefit followers/readers of Rebelutionary Musings pop us an email and let us know! You can email the Rebelutionary Musings Administrators at rebelutionarymusings@gmail.com.”

Feel free to contact us at the above email address if you have any further questions!

In Christ,
Rebelutionary Musings

How to Make Yourself Indispensible: Advice for Young People

Author Gary Demar has written an excellent article for young people on the subject of how to make yourself indespable. Mr. Demar makes the following suggestions:

1. Read at least 10 pages every day of a non-fiction book in various fields: science, history, literature, music, art, science fiction, theology, economics, etc. Increase it by one page per day until you get it up to 20 pages per day. R. J. Rushdoony read at least one book a day—“underlined, with a personal index in the back cover—six days a week for 25 years. He then followed suit with another 25 years of the same schedule.” Go and do likewise. In ten days, you will have read a 200-page book. That’s more than 35 books per year. In ten years, 350 books. In 40 years, 1400 books. Increase the number of pages per day, and you will have read in a lifetime more books than most people have seen in their local public library.

2. Learn how to skim a book to determine if it’s worth reading all of it. Learn how to speed read to mine books for information.

3. Keep a notebook of insights, facts, well stated truths, and new vocabulary words. I use “Moleskine Notebooks.” I carry one with me everywhere I go. You can’t trust your memory.

4. Each year, read at least one book in a category that you find difficult and even boring so you are able to discuss five principles about that subject. Think of yourself stuck with some guy at a party who is fascinated with celestial mechanics. You will make a friend.

5. Take the initiative and ask questions of people who know more than you do. If you’re young, that means almost everybody you meet. Listen more than you speak. If an answer is not clear, ask for clarification. Learn at least ten new things every day.

6. Be able to do a job interview without using the word “like” more than three times unless the word is absolutely called for as in “I would like to work for you” and not “Like, I would like really like to like work for you.”

7. Be able to give a talk for 12 minutes without using notes. If ever called on to give an impromptu talk, be ready to give one that lasts for about 3 minutes. Less is often more. When someone asks you to speak and gives you a time limit, DO NOT go over. You want people to say, “I wish he had more time” rather than “When will he shut up?”

8. Start your own business so you will know how much work goes into running a company and how difficult it is to make a profit, hire and fire employees (most of whom aren’t qualified for the work), market, fill out forms, pay taxes, fill out forms, pay taxes, fill out forms, pay taxes.

9. Don’t be afraid to fail. Some of the best lessons you will ever learn come from failures, but only if you decide to learn from them.

10. “Power is perfected in weakness” (2 Cor. 12:9). Sometimes (most times?) God uses your weaknesses over your strengths to turn you into the person He wants you to be.

Mr. Demar indicated at the end of this article that he would be continuing to add to this list, something that is probably highly worth looking into. But even more so, do not just settle for what has been suggested in this list! For those of you who have read Do Hard Things, think back to what Alex and Brett stated regarding the chore list they happened to find online when using Google search. While that list was definitely much more meager than what Demar has suggested, the same principles still apply; we must not fall into the trap of believing that Demar's suggestions are the highest we can go. As Rebelutionaries, we are called to take this list and go above and beyond it all, to strive to excel and surpass these suggested expectations all for His glory.

All in all, we think Mr. Demar’s ideas are great for Rebelutionaries to consider and implement in their lives. Let’s never forget though that we are not called to do these sorts of things for our own benefit or improvement nor are we called to settle with only the suggestions made here. Everything we do, including rising to the next level, is for Christ’s glory!

May He be glorified in us!

The Unmerciful Servant

These thoughts, originally posted here by a fellow Rebelutionary, not only give insight into God's word, but also into a pattern that we ought to have in our daily lives. May we never hear the word of God and walk away unchanged! James 1:22-25

Hello all!

I “randomly” ran across the following passage of scripture (while looking for a different passage for school) and wanted to share it with y’all. This passage is Ecclesiastes 7:20-22. It says:


“Indeed, there is not a righteous man on earth who continually does good and who never sins. Also, do not take seriously all words which are spoken, so that you will not hear your servant cursing you. For you also have realized that you likewise have many times cursed others.” (NASB)

I find this passage astonishing in an “aha!” sort of way; not necessarily because it is astonishingly profound, but because it has startling and essential implications for our daily life.

First, none of us are in any way superior to our fellow human beings. Though grace may have more evidently worked to build Godly character and Christ-likeness in certain persons, we have all started from the same basic state of depravity, all have fallen short of the goal, all are equally helpless to save themselves. All are equally in need of the abundant love and grace of our Lord and Savior and all are equally indebted to our Lord for taking our sins upon Him, becoming sin, and dying on the cross as a sacrifice for our sins.

Second, if God has shown us grace and we are to reflect and embody the character of God (I John 4:14-19,Philippians 2:5-11, I Peter 1:15-16, I John 2:6) how can we not likewise show grace to others? Grace is shown to us by God precisely because we have great need of it, not because we have no need (Mark 2:17). Why then, if we are to imitate Christ, should we not show grace at the times it is most needed?


Perhaps the best illustration of this point is found in Matthew 18: 21-35 (the Parable of the Unmerciful Servant):

21 Then Peter came and said to Him, "Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me and I forgive him? Up to seven times?"

22 Jesus said to him, "I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven.

23 "For this reason the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who wished to settle accounts with his slaves.

24 "When he had begun to settle them, one who owed him ten thousand talents was brought to him.

25 "But since he did not have the means to repay, his lord commanded him to be sold, along with his wife and children and all that he had, and repayment to be made.

26 "So the slave fell to the ground and prostrated himself before him, saying, 'Have patience with me and I will repay you everything.'

27 "And the lord of that slave felt compassion and released him and forgave him the debt.

28 "But that slave went out and found one of his fellow slaves who owed him a hundred denarii; and he seized him and began to choke him, saying, 'Pay back what you owe.'

29 "So his fellow slave fell to the ground and began to plead with him, saying, 'Have patience with me and I will repay you.'

30 "But he was unwilling and went and threw him in prison until he should pay back what was owed.

31 "So when his fellow slaves saw what had happened, they were deeply grieved and came and reported to their lord all that had happened.

32 "Then summoning him, his lord said to him, 'You wicked slave, I forgave you all that debt because you pleaded with me.

33 'Should you not also have had mercy on your fellow slave, in the same way that I had mercy on you?'

34"And his lord, moved with anger, handed him over to the torturers until he should repay all that was owed him.

35" My heavenly Father will also do the same to you, if each of you does not forgive his brother from your heart."

We are forgiven of so much by our Father; how can we and why should we not forgive our brethren of very little sins towards us…sins that are almost immeasurable when viewed from an "outside ourselves" perspective? When compared to our own sins already atoned for by Christ on the cross, any sin committed against us will pale.

Lastly, as illustrated in the parable above, the refusal to forgive a fellow debtor could actually be worse than their debt to us. God is offended that we would take His Grace to us and use it for selfish purposes, for it is indeed selfish and foolish to want or think we can on the one hand benefit from God’s grace to us and on the other refuse to extend that same grace to our fellows.

May that never be a description of our lives!

God bless and Veritas Supra Omnis!

In response to Mark's post, Daniel Osborne made the following excellent comments:

"Excellent thoughts. Taking the parable one step further, we can't offer even a comparable amount of grace to others as He offers to each of us. I was talking with a friend about Ephesians 4 the other day... verses 1-7 and 30-31 really stood out to me.

Therefore I, the prisoner of the Lord, implore you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, showing tolerance for one another in love, being diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit, just as also you were called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all who is over all and through all and in all.... Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you.

Forgiveness and grace are a reflection of His character... and just like the parable says... it makes no sense to respond in an unforgiving way when we have been forgiven so much!

Thanks for sharing!"

Shout out for great ministries and organizations

Fellow Rebelutionaries,

Getting up and getting out and doing things is an key element of the Rebelution message and a Rebelutionary lifestyle. We are called by God to be men and women of action that listen to His leading, heed His commands and obey with confidence and Gospel authority. The things we as individuals are called to do are as varied in number as the sands of the seas, but there are a few common areas of action we are all called to give attention to: ministering to widows and orphans (James 1:27) and "going to the world" with the Gospel message and making disciples (Matthew 28:16-20).

Just as the church is one body with many parts (I Corinthians 12:12-31), so we are each called to take a different role in fulfilling the commands of God. Some of us are called to be in the front lines of the battle while others are called to stay back "on the beach" and work from there. It doesn't matter where you are so long as you are in His will and working for His glory!

In the spirit of the third pillar of the Rebelution (collaboration), Rebelutionary Musings would like to know which ministries and organizations you would recommend to your fellow Rebelutionaries for support. If you would like to make recommendations please let us know either by commenting here in the comment section or emailing us at rebelutionarymusings@gmail.com. Once submissions have been made, we will go through and compile a list of the organizations we feel the most strongly about and share them with you in a post, even possibly adding a sidebar to the blog containing links to the ministries and organizations we passionately support.

For clarity, we are looking for ministries that work in areas such as evangelism, hunger relief, providing water and other supplies, meeting the needs or orphans through care and/or adoption, fighting slavery (including sex trafficing) and other similar areas of Gospel ministry. In other words, if it's for God's glory and done out of obedience to His Word, let us know! :-)

If possible, we would love for you to include a short (or lengthy!) explanation for why you personally believe the ministry you recommend is a good one. This isn't necessary though...just helpful. :-)

God bless!

Continue in the Gospel

Hello all!

Charlie Albright wrote an excellent post titled "Continue in the Gospel" that I was very blessed by and wanted to pass on to you. Charlie has a great blog that I read all the time (and have added to this blogroll) that is aptly titled "Renewing Thoughts". Be sure to check Renewing Thoughts out!

"Continue in the Gospel


"He has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him, if indeed you continue in the faith, stable and steadfast, not shifting from the hope of the gospel that you heard, which has been proclaimed in all creation under heaven, and of which I, Paul, became a minister." (Colossians 1:22-23)

The gospel is such a treasure. We who were at one time far off have now been reconciled to God. Not because we tried really hard to get to God and finally did, but because God came to get us while we were still ungodly and wicked. And he came to get us by sacrificing himself upon the cross. Jesus, the Son of God, reconciled us by His death. And this death is “in order” to present us holy, blameless, and above reproach before him.

But this faith is not a stagnate claim of fire insurance. We must “continue in the faith, stable and steadfast” to retain the benefits of it. That is the call, to “continue.” To keep going on and on along the same path, not stopping to some other distraction. We are to continue “stable and steadfast.” Not tripping over thoughts of “maybe I should try another road of beliefs.” No, our eyes are fixated in completing what we have set out to do. But what is this journey we are to remain stable and steadfast on? The answer for Paul is simple, “the hope of the gospel.” The gospel message of Christ’s reconciling ministry is to be the road of their faith which they continue in, stable and steadfast, without shifting.

So to the gospel is the root of our assurance. The hope of what is ours in Christ is the rock of our salvation. When our sins and failures amass before our eyes and other gospels present themselves before us, we are to continue in the hope! I don’t know about you but when I start to think God is distant because of my sins other gospels come to me. “read the word more. pray more. make sure to reduce the amount of sin your life by 5% in the coming month. etc” But these are not the one gospel which I heard. The gospel of Christ’s work, reconciling me to God as a blameless, holy son, is the message that I am to remain steadfast.

So when doubts and questions about my salvation and standing with God come, I am to continue. Continue in the faith, stable and steadfast, not shifting from the gospel. Because the gospel is the source of my assurance."

I made the following comment on Charlies blog (in response to the above post): "Well put, Charlie. Philippians 2:12-13 came to mind as I was reading your post. “12 So then, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your salvation with fear and trembling; 13 for it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure.”

Some people interpret “working out your salvation” to mean we should not have assurance of our salvation, but I believe it goes with what you are saying…that the Gospel is alive and active within us (verse 13) and no matter what happens we must cling to it, grow in it and pursue the promises of the Gospel through it without shifting to strange and false religions and perversions of the true Gospel. All of Philippians 2 speaks to that issue richly…as does Hebrews 4 (particularly verse 12)."

God bless!

For this purpose the Gospel has been preached

The following was posted by Mark Hutchins (me...haha!) on his blog Veritas Supra Omnis. You can view the blog here. I hope the following is of some benefit and blessing to you!

Hello all!

I was on a mission’s team that went down to Mexico in early January to serve for a week alongside eight others. One of my team mates, Daniel, is sharing at his church about the trip and asked if I would write down some of my thoughts concerning the trip and in retrospect. After writing it, I thought that I would post it here for y’all so you could hear a portion of what the Lord has been teaching me lately. The below is by no means the full extent of what I learned and have been learning from the Mexico trip. It is only a small part, but it’s deeply impacted my life and I hope you will receive some blessing from it.

I could literally talk all day and into the night about the lessons I learned and things I experienced on what was my first short term missions trip. I’ll just stick to one theme though and hope that I can communicate clearly.

I think it’s really easy for people (Christians in particular) to separate their life and actions into different categories; the two most basic categories being the “holy,” where all the actions are “Christian” (going to church, visiting the nursing home, writing your Grandmother, etc), and the normal category (school, housework, etc). But, for Christians, all things we do are to be done for the glory of God. I have to confess that I’m guilty of separating my life into different categories.

The trip to Mexico was an amazing experience for me in too many ways to mention here or now. Suffice it to say that I felt God’s presence powerfully virtually every minute of the trip, even when encountering sobering situations I had never encountered before. I felt that everything I did was positively confirmed by the Holy Spirit and the richness of that confirmation was truly incredible to feel. I knew then that when I returned home it would be difficult to maintain the spiritual “mountain top” I felt on the trip, but, by God’s grace, I hoped to at least not crash and burn.

Thankfully, His grace has, as always, been sufficient to meet my needs, and I can truthfully say that He has continued to evidence Himself to me in powerful and confirming ways. But, it would not be truthful of me to say that I usually feel the same level of confirmation in the daily and mundane tasks of life. I’ve thought much about this in trying to understand the heart of the matter - both the problem and the solution - in a way that cuts past the clichés and gives true understanding of my human condition.

As I’ve wrestled with the issue, it has become abundantly clear that the answer is extremely simple. My actions and daily life are not confirmed because they are not dedicated. Because I am not doing things for the glory of God, He is not confirming them through the Spirit. Shocking, no? Not really. I Corinthians 10:31 says, “Whether, then, you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.”

Likewise Colossians 3:17…“Whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through Him to God the Father.”

Clearly, as Christians each of us is called to do all things for the glory of God, which, on a side note, should eliminate doing anything that clearly is dishonoring to God. But there is more to it than the simple command to do all things to His glory. I Peter 4:6 says, “For the gospel has for this purpose been preached even to those who are dead, that though they are judged in the flesh as men, they may live in the spirit according to the will of God.”

Doing things to God’s glory isn’t just about doing good things. It isn’t about not doing bad things. The Gospel transforms and renews our minds and hearts so that we “may live in the spirit according to the will of God.” All of our actions have Gospel significance, even if we don’t always realize it, and nothing less than the very purpose and glory of the Gospel hangs in the balance.

So, I guess if I could sum up the trip and the following lessons I learned from it into one focused lesson, I would say that I have a more mature understanding of the Gospel significance of all my actions great and small. Simply put, during the trip to Mexico, because I was there “for missions,” my focus was on living out the Gospel and God blessed that focus. The challenge for me is to keep that Gospel focus at all times, throughout the day, every day.

By God’s grace I pray I will be able to build on the lessons I was shown during the trip to Mexico and live my life to God’s glory so that He will confirm my life and actions for His glory and honor.

God bless and veritas supra omnis!