Starry Night

Have you ever been on a walk as the sun goes down and the stars appear as the black envelop of the heavens unfolds above you? Have you ever seen the sparkle of stars like a celestial ballet just for you? Have you ever looked up and marveled at the wonder of the hand that made such an amazing work of art? Vincent Van Gogh was walking home from a long day of painting and the glory of the Lord's creation was on display. He was so inspired that he ran home and started his most famous painting. In Starry Night Van Gogh captures the beautiful dance of nature praising the creator. Look at the cypress tree on the left of the painting spiraling up to heaven like a Pentecostal with arms raised in worship. Look at beauty on display in the heavens.

Psalm 8

A psalm of David

1 O LORD, our Lord,
how majestic is your name in all the earth!
You have set your glory
above the heavens.
2 From the lips of children and infants
you have ordained praise
because of your enemies,
to silence the foe and the avenger.
3 When I consider your heavens,
the work of your fingers,
the moon and the stars,
which you have set in place,
4 what is man that you are mindful of him,
the son of man that you care for him?
5 You made him a little lower than the heavenly beings
and crowned him with glory and honor.
6 You made him ruler over the works of your hands;
you put everything under his feet:
7 all flocks and herds,
and the beasts of the field,
8 the birds of the air,
and the fish of the sea,
all that swim the paths of the seas.
9 O LORD, our Lord,
how majestic is your name in all the earth!

What is not well known about Van Gogh is that his first career was as a minister. He wasn’t a good speaker, he didn’t dress well or manage the church in good fashion. But he loved his people with all his heart. He gave all he had for medicine for sick children and blankets for the poor. When his bishops saw that he had sold all of his possessions and was living like a peasant they fired him. He was considered a failure as a pastor. But what did Van Gogh say about his faith?

"The best way to know God is to love many things." Vincent Van Gogh

He loved these people, and didn’t just give them religion. He gave them the basics of life that they needed. He gave them blankets, medicine, love, respect. The professional businessmen of the church couldn’t see past suits and buildings to the people that needed love.

"Love is something eternal, the aspect may change, but not the essence." Vincent Van Gogh

Van Gogh left the church but started a ministry of a different kind. He became an painter but his work was much different than others of his time. He wasn’t concerned about capturing light reflecting off surfaces. Vincent's work was about something much more evangelical. He wanted to touch peoples hearts, to show the that God was the greatest artist of all and that his creation is marvelous and masterful.

“I feel that there is nothing more truly artistic than to love people” Vincent Van Gogh

Van Gogh struggled with inner-demons. His health was never good. Overexposure to lead, undiagnosed and untreated epilepsy and depression lead him on a downward spiral that ultimately lead to his death. But in his work we see one man's everlasting tribute to the Artist-God. We see praise for the wonders of the moon and stars. We see an artist worshipping the creator with an overloaded brush, brilliant colors and oil paint. And by gazing upon this work, and closing our eyes, we too feel that feeling of amazement at the Greatness of our God.

Meet them where they are

We build tall buildings and stock them with safe people. We go there and we sing our songs and we pray to our God and we read awesome stories about the things our Savior did. We say we want Christ in our hearts and we say we want to live life the way He did. We say we are a church, the Body of Christ in this world. We say we follow Him and are His hands and feet in this world.

Levi gave a large dinner at his home for Jesus. Everybody was there, tax men and other disreputable characters as guests at the dinner. The Pharisees and their religion scholars came to his disciples greatly offended. "What is he doing eating and drinking with crooks and "sinners'?" Jesus heard about it and spoke up, "Who needs a doctor: the healthy or the sick?
I'm here inviting outsiders, not insiders--an invitation to a changed life, changed inside and out."

Luke 5:29-31

Jesus didn't come to preach from a pulpit. He didn't stay in the temple and call everyone to Him. He went out into the streets and found the lame, the sick, the blind, the lost sinners. He went to them and met them on their level. He reached out and touched them and they were healed. He blessed them and forgave them of their sins. He embraced them and sent them on their way restored... made whole.

How does your church operate? Is it hidden inside comfortable walls? Do you only work with the healthy? Do you only preach to the converted? Does the ministry of your church look like the ministry of Jesus Christ our Lord?

If so... why not? If the church is really body of Christ, then we need to have arms that reach out for those hurt and lost in our society. If we really are the Body of Christ, where are the legs that take the Gospel to the lost? If we really are the Body of Christ than why are we sitting on the sidelines on our behinds doing so little. Jesus came to minister to the lost. As a Christ-follower, where is your ministry at?

If We Are The Body

Casting Crowns

It's crowded in worship today

As she slips in

Trying to fade into the faces

The girls' teasing laughter is carrying farther than they know

Farther than they know

But if we are the Body Why aren't His arms reaching

Why aren't His hands healing Why aren't His words teaching

And if we are the Body Why aren't His feet going

Why is His love not showing them there is a way

There is a way

Jesus paid much too high a price

For us to pick and choose who should come

And we are the Body of Christ

If we are the body Why arent His arms reaching

Why arent His hands healing Why arent His words teaching

And if we are the body Why arent His feet going

Why is His love not showing them there is a way

Jesus is the way

Looking Back

Sometimes, when days are going really bad, and my vision is blurry and my blood pressure is really high, I sit back and think of days serving the Lord in times past. This was my group last summer at Red Lake Indian Reservation on our mission trip. I had four of my kids (Megan, Ashley, Ryan and Schuyler) and a small group of youths from other churches. We formed a tight bound during that time. Just yesterday I got an email from Megan recalling those kids, the feeling of fullness she got from the Spirit and how she longingly seeks that feeling of connectedness in her daily life at college. I know what she means.

Sometimes I wish I could just stand up and walk away from this computer and this art room and this town and this comfortable world and just climb right aboard an airplane and fly away- away to a different place- a harder place- where Jesus is everything and my mission isn't second fiddle to the reality of paying bills and being a responsible member of this community.

I love those moments on our mission trips. Each and every one of them is a priceless gift. I think of them like a sanctuary... a retreat. They are formative, each time I learn more about who I am, how God plans to use me and how I relate with my youths.

I know the theory that I often promote about making this school, these halls our mission and shaping our lives into servant-hearted service... But there is something about being in the mission field. I pray earnestly that someday God makes it so that I can just pick up and go. Not for just a week or a month. But gone for good. Some day in the future, after kids are grown and college loans repaid, I want my life to become a total sacrifice of service for my God.

My girls

I was asked the other day by a good friend of mine about this whole deal with confirmation. She said that she didn't get the point... didn't understand what it was all about. I was in a hurry and explained that I couldn't answer that in a mere moment... that first one must explain Baptism, the Body of Christ, circumcision, and a personal relationship with Christ. But I have a moment now and there are a few things I would like to discuss here regarding my own children and their growth as Christians.

When does your relationship with the Lord begin? Does it begin in that awesome moment when filled by the Holy Spirit everything clicks and He becomes so real that you drop to your knees and submit everything over to Him? Or does it start earlier?

Does it start when your baptismal promises are completed by your parents and your god-parents and you are sent into the world to start your walk with the Lord, to find Him in your daily life? Or was He already there… working in you long before your confirmation day.

Did your personal relationship with the Lord begin when your parents and your sponsors brought you before the congregation as an infant and promised to teach you the Ten Commandments, to fear the Lord, to seek the face of Jesus and to walk with Him all your days? Was it there at your Baptism when you first entered into a relationship with the Savior? Or was it earlier?

For you created my inmost being;

you knit me together in my mother's womb.
I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;

your works are wonderful,

I know that full well.
My frame was not hidden from you

when I was made in the secret place.

When I was woven together in the depths of the earth,
your eyes saw my unformed body.

All the days ordained for me

were written in your book

before one of them came to be.

Psalm 139:13-16

God knew you before you were conceived! He knew you and He loved you. And He wove a perfect plan into your very being, programmed it into your DNA! The Lord has been there standing over you, guiding you, working on you. Even when we can't see Him... He is there. He placed loving people in your life that took care of you and pointed your path towards Him. He guided you through your days of training and tugged at your heart when you were in doubt. He watched you in your young adulthood while you rebelled and walk away. He followed and called after you through the darkness. Relentlessly He chased after you… never giving up. And the day you realized you couldn’t go it alone- the day you realized that you were helpless without Him- and you fell prone on the ground and called out for His saving grace… He was right there ready to pick you up and make you whole. He was there!

God has a perfect plan set out for you even before you were conceived. It is only when you try and make it on your own and you move opposite of God’s perfect plan that you loose your way.

I have two children. My youngest is my daughter Charisa. Her Baptismal sponsor is Megan Mardesen. We chose her because we knew that God was sending an angel to watch over her and guide her through her life. Megan is the embodiment of everything that we believe in. Through her winding road with the Lord she has seen highs and lows… but every step of the way, GOD WAS THERE WORKING IN HER! And oh the wonderful product He has produced. If my child becomes at all like Megan, then we will be blessed.

But other than my own flesh and blood children, through this Body of Christ I have been adopted into an even more amazing family, a family of believers. Above is a picture of my two daughters in Jesus Christ. We share our ups and downs, and together we strive to know Him more. We walk daily with Him. It’s just not about a personal relationship with Jesus Christ…. Its about a DAILY personal relationship with Jesus Christ. Part of that process is surrounding yourself with strong guides to support you on the journey, friends that you will have an eternity to celebrate with in a greater Kingdom to come.

Thank you, Jesus, for Amanda and Megan, my daughters in YOU! May they lead my daughter ever towards your presence. AMEN

Empty Me

Beth Watson is my hero. Long before I was here, long before the Lord lead me down this path, long before my first Easter Walk, my first mission trip or spiritual awakening, Beth went on the first Elk Horn Luther League mission trip to Denver, Colorado. She was just a sophomore at the time. But something special happened to her on that trip. The group was small, but they went on a great spiritual journey.

While there, Beth and another girl met a little bag lady. I don't recall her name, but I have heard the tale of what happened over and over like the foundation on which our group is built. When they first met her, they felt so sorry for her. They saw that she had nothing. She wore the only clothing she had. She lived hand to mouth. She slept in the streets. But as they worked with her during that week they saw a light inside of her. They saw the richness of spirit, a faith stronger than a mountain. They realized that this little lady, a woman of the streets that had no material possessions, was rich in different way. She had something far more valuable than anything that money could ever buy. By the end, they realized that they desperately longed for that which she had!

They came back with a light and this light lit the way for our group. Beth was such a strong leader. She has used her life as an athlete to spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ and to reach out to the needy. She has obtained great success on the basketball court, but her work for the Kingdom is even sweeter. Younger girls looked up to her and wanted to be like Beth. One of these was Megan. Beth was a guide for her through her teenage years. By the time Megan reached the end of her senior year, she had grown into an amazing Christ-follower in her own right. Inspired by Beth's example, she transformed into an amazing Christian.

"The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his field. Though it is the smallest of all your seeds, yet when it grows, it is the largest of garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and perch in its branches."

Matthew 13:31, 32

Now Megan is off at college. But her influence can be seen in the lives of the kids I work with now. People striving to be like Megan are doing great things. It is like an amazing cycle. That little lady, much like a tiny mustard seed, gave a light to Beth. It grew and multiplied. She shared it with others. It became like a mighty tree. Beth passed it on to Megan and now the kids of today are carrying the torch.

The Great Divide
by Brant Bollman

The bible says it takes the heart of a child to enter in
But dare not I let vanity stand in the way of my sin
Jesus came and Jesus died, with his arms held open wide
To bridge the gap between him and I
Laid himself down to bridge the great divide

I’m standing up for he who so readily sacrificed

On that cross he shed for you and I
I’m throwing in my ego, giving up my pride
Lay me down to bridge the great divide

I know the parable about the camel in the needles eye
And how the beggar entered in while the rich man cried
But still sometimes it seems too much to part with all my earthly stuff
But one thought of the treasures that He holds
So much more valuable than gold

I’m standing up for he who so readily sacrificed
On that cross he shed for you and I

I’m throwing in my ego, giving up my pride

Lay me down to bridge the great divide

I'll lay me down to bridge the great divide

Wednesday night, Beth returned and gave an amazing message for our Lenten service. She spoke of the need to empty one's self in order to be filled up by the Lord. We carry so much baggage. We place our own selfishness and our pride on like armor and we force out the voice of Truth from our minds. There is nothing more urgent then stripping off the shell, pouring out the bloated ideas of self, and going humbly before God. It is the difference between churchianity and contrition, of pretense and new life, of passing Jesus on the street and embracing him.

Beth spoke with such clarity and urgency. It feels so good to see her come back and she has things figured out! Oh, where would we be with Beth?

Lord, take this vessel. Empty it of all the notions of grandeur. Take my pride. Take my ego. Take stubbornness. Erase them so that I might become like you. Empty me so that I might become filled with something far better.

Barn Stormers

The Barn was quite the worship experience. I would have to say it was our best one to date.

I don't remember a time when I have ever felt so alive. The Spirit was SO present. After some hard rock praise, we settled into a set of worshipful ballads. We prayed, watched a vid, wrote love letters to Jesus and then ended with some songs about self-examination. We sang my original "ALIVE" and at the end we do a long ROCKED OUT part with a lot of yelling. There was so much energy, you could feel it, taste it, touch it. It was something far bigger than us four guys, and our forty some youth... it was something sublime.

We were so pumped and felt the urge to worship more. So we played an extra four songs. It was absolutely the best day of my life as a youth leader-emergent church guy... it was just right. Not us... Spirit, worshipping with like-minded believers, glorifying God. It was just awesome!

There was this really awesome moment at the end of the service when I called a girl named Amanda from the crowd to say our final prayer. I have heard her pray before at a SPAW in Harlan and I remember that the Spirit was upon her and that she had the gift of corporate prayer. So I called her up. It was a good thing. As she prayed... WOW! I was blown away. I almost fell over! I don't have any idea what she said... except that she called for revival in our youth communities... I remember a fire shoot through me when she talked. AWESOME! Later, Joel (our drummer) said, "WOW! So that chick can PRAY!"

Sometimes I feel that if we could just empowered these strong youths- these Christ-followers-these Champions of the Gospel, we would be so much farther ahead as a body of believers. Can you imagine my Megan, my Amanda, my Ashley, my Emily O working up with the other 'On Fire', no fear Christ-followers? LOOK OUT DEVIL! REAL WARRIORS COMING THROUGH!

More and more I see this as my job. I am an encourager of youth champions, to prepare great workers for the Kingdom.

Lord, work wonders through this little emerging group of faithful servants. Let us reach out and touch the lives of the world inwhich we dwell just as you have changed our lives by dwelling richly inside of each of us. AMEN!

Comforting orphans

What is our charge as a church? Where are our priorities? Friends, you know that this has been my mission this past year, to look beyond the paradigm of what a church is... walls, roof, pastor, congregation, Sunday service, ritual, budgets, councils... and find what the church should be. I know that all these parts are necessary for my group to continue... but I continue to think that the real work of the Lord takes place on the edge, in a homeless shelter, on the streets on a prayer walk, or while reaching out to others.

Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.

James 1:27

Our little group has forged a partnership with the Boys and Girls Club of Adair. There is something amazing about spending time with these kids. It is medicine-- both for the hearts of the children who often don't have many positive influences in their lives, and for our own hearts, to give time to kids selflessly. But more importantly, going to the Boys and Girls Club plants hope, hope for a brighter future. When we love them, their faces light up. Their world becomes brighter. Perhaps our world becomes a better place.

Keep on loving each other as brothers. Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some people have entertained angels without knowing it.

Hebrews 13:1-2

To think, friends, we have put on a show for angels, just by helping others in Jesus name. Reach out beyond your comfortable existence and be the medicine to change the world

Three Words: 1. YES 2. LORD 3. AMEN

It was Thursday, our last day at our site. We all had kids we loved at this point. Everyday we would gather along side of the big white mission church and wait for everyone to arrive. One by one, mini-vans would pull up, slide open the door, and three or four little kids would pour out. I remember one little girl would jump into Megan's arms and wouldn't leave until the same clunky mini-van came back to pick her up five or six hours later.

After we were all gathered round, Father Pat would come out, rubbing his hands together, preparing to weave a yarn. I was the opening act. While the good father prepared a story, I would come out and sing a song with the kids. Other days we had sung "This Little Light of Mine," "If I Were A Butterfly" and "Awesome God." This day, our last day, I wanted to leave something that was bare bones, bottom line, heart of what I wanted them to know.

So we sang the chorus of "Trading My Sorrows". JUST THE CHORUS! We sang only three words that summed up everything.

And we say yes Lord yes Lord yes yes Lord

Yes Lord yes Lord yes yes Lord

Yes Lord yes Lord yes yes Lord Amen

We sang it through a few times with some hand motions and at the end Megan yelled out "ONE MORE TIME!"

We sang it again and this time the kids sang louder. At the conclusion, Megan and the little girl on her lap both yelled out "ONE MORE TIME!"

And we say yes Lord yes Lord yes yes Lord
Yes Lord yes Lord yes yes Lord
Yes Lord yes Lord yes yes Lord Amen

We sang it even louder this time. Again I heard the call to play it again, this time louder, maybe a dozen voices. SO WE BELTED IT OUT AS LOUD AS WE COULD and ended with big guitar chords and jumping around. When I finally stopped, that little girl grabbed Megan and looked deep into her eyes and said, "That's my favorite song."

When problems come your way, all you need to know is one answer. It is the answer to all that life throws your way. Look to the Lord and say, "With you, Father, YES WE CAN!"

Altar Call

What kind of worship do I want to bring to the altar of the Living God? How will it come before the King of Kings? Will it be pleasing to Him? Will my words be seen as sincere? Will my heart appear contrite Or will my words fall hallow?

The Story of the Tax Man and the Pharisee

Jesus told his next story to some who were complacently pleased with themselves over their moral performance and looked down their noses at the common people:

"Two men went up to the Temple to pray, one a Pharisee, the other a tax man. The Pharisee posed and prayed like this: "Oh, God, I thank you that I am not like other people--robbers, crooks, adulterers, or, heaven forbid, like this tax man. I fast twice a week and tithe on all my income.'
"Meanwhile the tax man, slumped in the shadows, his face in his hands, not daring to look up, said, "God, give mercy. Forgive me, a sinner.'"
Jesus commented, "This tax man, not the other, went home made right with God. If you walk around with your nose in the air, you're going to end up flat on your face, but if you're content to be simply yourself, you will become more than yourself."

Luke 18:9-14 (The Message)

Many hours I have spent contemplating, praying over and studying this notion of sacrifice of praise and worship. It is my desire to bring before the Lord a humble heart. Let us remember that we are all sinners... We are all less than good enough. We all fall short of the glory of God. If we stand in the front of church making a show, bloviating our worth and your righteousness, we fool ourselves. If we run to church with our week of baggage from our sin-centered existence, we aren't Christ-followers... we are church-chasers. If we use our churches as social organizations instead of houses of worship, God will turn away.

Lord, give me the simple resolve to become content in myself... then work through me, and in me... to make me much more

Father Pat

Have you ever been lead somewhere by God, far from home, and in the midst of your travels you meet someone who you just know you HAD TO MEET? God places people on our path, spiritual guides (beavers if you will) that teach, lead, encourage and guide to the next level.

This past summer I went with my group to Red Lake Indian Reservation in Nothern Minnesota on our annual summer mission trip. While there we did a lot of good work, helped many people, learned much about ourselves and our Savior, we raised our voices and our hearts in praise and worship... The Spirit moved and we were changed... but of everything I learned on this trip, the most vital for my own grouth as a Christ-follower was my time wtih Father Pat.

Father Pat is a tall, willowly man, with silver hair and a comforting smile. He would gather the little ones around and tell traditional Indian stories... but laced into stories of trees and eagles, bears and tree martins, was a shining light, the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I learned patience and calm, to take time to smile, to lead your youth with a weedwacker like Moses through the Red Sea... but most of all I learned that the Gospel is universal. It translates to every culture and every generation. Jesus' love was just as real in Father Pat's stories, he merely used a different language, a language that made the children's dark eyes sparkle.

A few months before we went to Red Lake, Father Pat barried the students that were killed in the terrible shooting that took place at their high school. You could see his love for his flock. You could also see the pain in their faces. But Father Pat seemed to be like the medicine that God was pouring out to heal that broken part of the Red Lake Nation. Time, love and the Gospel can fix anything.

In the picture above, Father Pat and I share a fun moment with two of his kids. The Indian girl on the right named Megan told me that she loved three people: Father Pat, Jesus... and now me. I left at the end of the week and will never see her again. Father Pat is still there, ever pointing to the Saving Grace of Jesus Christ.

Thank you, Jesus, for Father Pat.

Barn Raising!

Hello friends,

It has been a praise-worthy day! Of wonders like I have never seen before. How bout our snowless snowday? Crazy times! The Lord made this world and only He can truly control it... or predict it!!

We are having a 'barn raising' for sure this weekend. But I trust it will be the Spirit that will be on the rise. May our voices carry to the rafters and our hearts be changed and our new lives be built. Yes, friends, a barn raising in deed.

Come this Saturday. The Barn is a really cool Christian Camp just two miles south of Exira. My band is playing and it will be a lot of fun. It’s a good chance to goof around, hang out with friends, eat free food, perhaps even meet a fairer member of the opposite gender. Most of all, good Christian fellowship and a chance to praise our God!

Grab some friends, pile into a car and head on over. The directions are simple and here is a map off our main homepage. We start playing at 7:00. If you need a ride call the church or talk to Calla.

See you there!

Turn at the bank and drive past the high school.

Go straight one mile and turn right on 310 street.

Go straight a third a mile and the Barn is on your left.

There will be lots of cars and a big barn.

The devil's constume of choice

The past few days I have been in some fierce warfare. This is colossal stuff. Satan has tried his old tricks on me. He attacks my health and my relationship with my wife, and my children’s health. But I was having nothing of it.

So the wily old snake tried to throw the old curveball at me. DOUBT. I received an atomic bomb of doubt. I was so down. I have wrestled with if I was good enough. "Am I wasting my time?" I asked. "Why am I going through all this effort? Should I even blog anymore? " I lay under my blanket and seriously thought about giving up.

But we aren’t alone in our fight, friends. There are good angels that come just in the nick of time and rebuke the slippery one and his minions. When all was dark and the world looked dry, I got two emails from the good folks at SPAW in Harlan. They were like warning lights in the stormy sea guiding me back on track. They put wind back into my sails. Thank you JESUS for my friends Marian and Robert!

I am reminded that the Devil lurks in many guises. Some times he is a big scary monster. Sometimes he’s the temptation of a better life or escape in the haze of drugs or booze… sometimes he’s a dark-cloaked whisperer… But sometimes, perhaps often times even, the devil looks like a good Christian.

"GET BEHIND ME SATAN!"

Friends, let’s remember who this is all for. This is for a man that was all-powerful. The Artist of Artists that came down into my puny existence and lived that I might know what true LIFE is. He carried a cross so that I might shed my brokenness and transform into something that I can’t even imagine. Who died so that I might die with Him and pass into an infinity of possibility, a sea of worship, a life of expression with the Artist-Artist as my best friend.

We are playing Saturday night at a youth rally at the Barn south of Exira. Friends, come and worship this Artist-God. Pour out your worship for Him. Sing praise-- dance your artful dance for the King of Kings. And keep us in your prayers. Pray for strength against the devil-fool. Pray for us to be restored to health and vigor so we may offer our sacrifice of praise and worship. And most of all, friends, pray for us to keep our focus on Jesus Christ and not our musicality!

Your brother in Christ

God says "no"

In October, my daughter had an injury at daycare. An older child fell on top of her causing her skull to fracture in an inch above her right ear. As detailed in an early post, she was miraculously healed.

A few weeks later, our good friends the Kings, the Baptist pastor and his wife, were due to have their first child. They were the sweetest couple, so ready to have a baby of their own. I took a group of kids down to their church and we prayed with Deb. We asked for the Lord’s glory to be revealed through their child. It was a joyous time of expectation.

On November 22^nd, Deb went into labor. There were complications. After some struggle, their baby was born with no brain function.

I got the news that night after my night class. I was stunned. I went into my meditation room and went into vigil mode. I prayed all night, until work time in the morning. I prayed for a miracle. I prayed for restoration. I prayed for total healing.

But after three days and no miracle, Pastor and his wife said goodbye to their daughter and turned of artificial life support.

“Why?” I asked God. “Why a miracle to save my baby and not one for theirs?” Why didn’t he answer my prayers?

I have been reading Job and I have come across some answers.

The LORD Speaks

Then the LORD answered Job out of the storm. He said:

"Who is this that darkens my counsel
with words without knowledge?

Brace yourself like a man;
I will question you,
and you shall answer me.

"Where were you when I laid the earth's foundation?
Tell me, if you understand.

Who marked off its dimensions? Surely you know!
Who stretched a measuring line across it?

On what were its footings set,
or who laid its cornerstone-

while the morning stars sang together
and all the angels shouted for joy?

"Who shut up the sea behind doors
when it burst forth from the womb,

when I made the clouds its garment
and wrapped it in thick darkness,

when I fixed limits for it
and set its doors and bars in place,

when I said, 'This far you may come and no farther;
here is where your proud waves halt'?

"Have you ever given orders to the morning,
or shown the dawn its place,

that it might take the earth by the edges
and shake the wicked out of it?

The earth takes shape like clay under a seal;
its features stand out like those of a garment.

The wicked are denied their light,
and their upraised arm is broken.

"Have you journeyed to the springs of the sea
or walked in the recesses of the deep?

Have the gates of death been shown to you?
Have you seen the gates of the shadow of death?

Have you comprehended the vast expanses of the earth?
Tell me, if you know all this.

"What is the way to the abode of light?
And where does darkness reside?

Can you take them to their places?
Do you know the paths to their dwellings?

Surely you know, for you were already born!
You have lived so many years!

Job 38:1-21

We can try to blame our hardships on God, but this is foolishness. He is the Master of the Universe. He created the Earth, made it right for us. His work is so awesome that our tiny minds struggle to grasp the most basic elements of God’s design. His mysteries are so great that we cannot fathom their depth or formulate their summation.

We must live by faith, not in our own ideas of justice but surrendering to God’s will. God is the boss. He is in control. We think we are but we are deceiving ourselves. We fancy ourselves smart but He knows more than we can ever imagine. We must move our thinking away from what we’ve figured out is the best thing for our needs, and move into congruency with the Lord’s perfect will, His never ending perfect plan for our path and our lives.

God does answer our prayers. EVERYONE! Sometimes He just says “no.”

Get into the Praise Habit

I had a conversation with my mother some time back about the nature of our emerging church movement. I told her that the way we worship is evolving. We want to share, experience, lift, move. We are no longer afraid to use our spiritual gifts. We want to communion closer with God. We want Him to lead us as we serve and be there when we worship.

Why is it important to get into the praise habit?

The Second Coming is close at hand. Friends, the way we interact with God is about to fundamentally change. God is preparing the Body for a different type of communion. I see a time, pictured in my mind's eye, of a day to come, when we won’t have to pray... we won't have to use God's Word to discern His will. We won't have to go to church... we will BE Praise... we will be His audience. He will be right there!

Then I heard what sounded like a great multitude, like the roar of rushing waters and like loud peals of thunder, shouting:

"Hallelujah! For our Lord God Almighty reigns. Let us rejoice and be glad and give him glory! For the wedding of the Lamb has come, and his bride has made herself ready. Fine linen, bright and clean, was given her to wear."

Revelation 19:6-8

At SPAW the other night, they played a song called Angus Dei. As we lift our voices in adoration a tingly feeling swept over me. Just think, a time will come when we won't be singing in a church. We will be before the King and singing it to Him, right there before us. What a marvelous day just around the corner.

Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away."

Revelation 21:2-4

A day is coming when we won't have to endure all the hardships that this world has to offer. We will be in the presence of a great shepherd that will wipe every tear from our eyes. We will live in a perfect Holy City, and our praise will be at the feet of the God of all creation. No death, no crying, no pain. We are preparing for a closer communion. Can you feel this shift?

SPAW

I apologize in advance if this post is substandard. I stayed home from work sick today with a fever of 101.1 and I feel kind of wobbly now.

Last night I went to SPAW (Service of Praise and Worship) at the Assembly of God church in Harlan. The worship there was free and overflowing. The music was awesome. Marian Greer brings the Gospel alive in her songs. I am blessed to know her and my good friends at the First AOG.

There are a number of things I love about the way they run SPAW.

The structure of the service is quite emergent. Everyone contributes to the sharing. Different people stand up and read Scripture, give testimonials, sing songs, pray. It’s sharing the Word. It isn’t a top down system where the Pastor distributes the moral message for the week. It’s like a council of believers sharing their struggles, their victories and their passion for the Lord.

The altar is open and free for prayer and meditation. People come up, offering themselves to the Lord. Others will come and pray with you, building you up. We do this often at G-squared and on our trips, but to see it in a ‘big church' is refreshing. It’s not just us radical youth types.

The Worship blew me away. It is great to see folks who aren’t scared of the Holy Spirit. We sang and sang with hands in the air, weeping, bowing to pray, arms around each other, a Great Wind blowing where it wished. I crave that experience and I was feed, filled up. Too often I am the one pouring out. It’s nice to go and receive.

So on our return, a youth of mine commented about how great worship was there, how she wants that more often. I asked her what do we do? We don’t want to abandon the great things our church has to offer. Also, it wouldn’t take long before I missed elements of our worship. So what do we do? We must strive to merge the two. I want the great music, the charismatic praise, the free flowing worship, the open altar combined with my confession, my responsive reading, the reciting of the Creed. These things can come together to create a new Lutheranism (a Neo-Lutheranism if you will). I can see it now. The group arranged in a circle. All free to stand and share. Some giving testimonials, others reading from the Bible. And prayer, sweet prayer… with anointing of oil and laying on of hands and building each other up… all while sharing the ancient wisdom found in our church tradition.

This sort of thing is happening at churches like New Hope in West DM and perhaps Church of the Cross in Altoona. I hope our youth services reflect this. But I hope for a day when it is more than once a month, more than just for teens. I want to worship this way on a weekly basis. Perhaps the Lord will lead me to a place where this can unfold.

Tears of Joy

There was a long stretch of time when I didn't cry. I stood through funerals and didn't shed a tear. I thought is wasn't manly. I thought tears were weak.

When I went to that first Easter Walk in 2001, the only time that I could remember crying in the past decade was when Kirk died at the end of Star Trek: Generations. That seems quite silly to me now. I stood there with tears rolling down my face thinking, "WHAT IS THIS! MUST HAVE SOMETHING IN MY EYE!"

But through the metamorphosis that God has lead me on, I have become quite used to crying. I cry when I am happy. I cry when I am proud. I cry every time I hear "Fatal Wound" by Switchfoot. I weep when I worship, the sweet fire of the Spirit coming and revealing His presents. I weep at a Jeremy Camp concert. I cry till my shirt is wet with tears at foot washing ceremonies. I cry and feel new again. Its that same feeling that the mathematician Pascal describes in his beautify prose:

Year of grace 1654, Monday 23 November, feast of St. Clement . . . from about half past ten at night to about half an hour after midnight,

FIRE.

God of Abraham, God of Isaac, God of Jacob, not of philosophers and scholars. Certitude, heartfelt joy, peace. God of Jesus Christ. God of Jesus Christ. "My God and your God". . .

Joy, Joy, Joy, tears of joy.

Jesus Christ.

Jesus Christ.

May I never be separated from him.


I go tonight seeking that Presence. I go tonight to find Fire. I go tonight to find Tears of Joy and the Sweet Water Jesus pours out for me.

"On Fire''
Switchfoot
I’m standing on the edge of me
I’m standing on the edge

I'm standing on the edge of everything I've ever been before...

I’m standing on the edge of me I’m standing on the edge

And I’m on fire when you’re near you
I’m on fire when you speak
I’m on fire burning at these mysteries...
I'm on fire.

"It"

(picking up the ideas started in Lenten Times A Comin' and Going Camping)

I used to think my reason for coming here was clear. It was predestined I knew. But I had assumed it was for my benefit. God sent me here to save my soul. I was walking in the shadows and He sent me a great light to rescue me.

Isn’t it great how He works? He makes small things large, weak things mighty, broken things whole. He works often time in reverse of what we assume is the best, most straight away rout to go.

God taught me, the teacher, through my kids. I had always assumed that whoever would “show me the way” would be a sagely man, probably with a long white beard (like Gandalf) and he would definitely sit cross-legged and speak in backwards riddles like Yoda. This was my vision of how the Lord would rescue me from my days of wandering, lost in the world like the prodigal son.

But no. Alas Christ is revealed in my life by a group of teenage boys.

I knew that there was something different about HERE when I first arrived. The youth were HAPPY- good kids. I couldn’t put my finger on “it” but they had a mystical, almost Mayberry quality to them.

There was this group of senior boys, Chris, Jake, Cody, Jordan… I loved them to death. They were fun to have around… and we were SO connected. We loved the same things: video games, Star Wars, cheap fantasy novels, comic books. The closer I got, the clearer I could see the glow of optimism about them. But in my ignorance- lost in the shadows- I could not for the life of me figure out what “IT” was that made them this way.

Then It happened, Easter 2001. Chris Williams invited me to something called a Luther League Easter Walk on Good Friday evening. I had never heard of a Luther League before… and the only things I knew for sure about Lutheranism was it had something to do with Martin Luther King! ;-)

So because of their persistent invitation, I found myself on the way to the big beautiful brick church on the hill… totally unprepared for what I was about to see. And there “it” was… the Gospel of Jesus Christ laid out before me… plainly, eloquently, passionately… told to me by my own students. Jake was a moneychanger scooping up coins and ranting about Jesus’ tirade in the temple. Chris was a disciple at the Last Supper telling me of the Lord’s promise. And then… later Cody was a guard hauling Jesus from the cross and sealing him into the tomb. Never had the story ever touched me so. Jesus turns things upside-down… my students preaching to me, teaching me about the remedy and the rescue. So that was “it”… that was why they were so happy. They had Jesus- not religion- Jesus living inside of them.

I remember crying- a kind of cry I was unaware of at the time (but that I savor now). It was like stepping out of total pitch-blackness that was my cell and seeing a light on the horizon- coming my way to save me. It took a long road to get me there… but God has much more patience than I do. And His plan is awesome and right.

So it was that I started back to church and started seeking Him again. I was lead back by my students and so I thought was the reason God guided me hear so far from home. But now more than ever I sense my whole purpose has nothing to do with my own eternal salvation- maybe its something bigger. Perhaps I am here to point others to Christ. My mission is priority one in my life now. Perhaps I am here to effect a certain youth or handful of youth that are divinely ordained souls who will move out from this Mayberry-like nest and spread “IT” to more than I could ever imagine.

God has blessed me with great influence of greater youth. They are truly like stars in a dark sky. They love to serve and serve to love. If I might be like a launching pad to prepare them for great journeys, then my mission will be complete.

Thank you, God, for upside-down plans, Easter Walks and working through video games. Your plan is awesome and right. Amen.

How much is enough??

Part of an assignment for night classes at Grace was to look at some Old Testement Prophetic Poetry. I did an annalasis of Micah 6:6-8. Now remember folks, I am an NT guy! So whenever I am forced into the OT I always find new mysteries and exciting new things there. It always makes me wonder why I don't study the prophets more...

6 With what shall I come before the LORD
and bow down before the exalted God?
Shall I come before him with burnt offerings,
with calves a year old?

7 Will the LORD be pleased with thousands of rams,
with ten thousand rivers of oil?
Shall I offer my firstborn for my transgression,
the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?

8 He has showed you, O man, what is good.
And what does the LORD require of you?
To act justly and to love mercy
and to walk humbly with your God.

-Micah 6:6-8

The passage utilizes a variety of literary devices such as developmental parallelism phrased in the form of question and answer, apostrophe (addressing all of Mankind in v. 8) and hyperbole. The hyperbole is masterfully done. To atone for the massive sins that stand charged against the Children of God, the poet throws out a variety of suggestions to appease the Lord. He suggests progressively more radical offerings. First the standard burnt offerings and a sacrificial calf. Then he moves to thousands of rams and ten thousand rivers of oil. Lastly, he even suggests sacrificing his own firstborn child.

The passage asks a question: ‘how do I approach the Lord to make up for my sins?” Ironically, Micah’s conclusion is one that we see often in the Bible. In Psalm 51 David says,

“You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it; you do not take pleasure in burnt offerings. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise” (v. 16-17).

God doesn’t want offerings or sacrifices. It doesn’t matter the number (thousands of rams) or the value (firstborn child). God isn’t interested in Israel’s ritualistic offerings. He wants our contrition, our devotion and our obedience. God wants them to return to Him and live the way He wanted in the first place.

Does the NT teaching modify the principle of the OT passage? Simply yes, in one word: Jesus!

My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have one who speaks to the Father in our defense—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world.

-1 John 2:1-2 (NIV)

Jesus is all we need. We should follow is teachings and walk humbly with Him. In Him we find new life and our sins are forgiven. We all fall short of the glory of God. We sin. We repent. We cling to the Lord- but we inevitably sin again. We should seek God’s forgiveness. Jesus Christ died for our sins. We need not bring Him burnt offerings or sacrifices. He wants us to act according to His teachings, to love one another, to treat people fairly, to watch after the poor and the orphan and to walk humbly with Christ in our hearts.

Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.

-James 1:27 (NIV)

A lot of people don’t get this. They think that all they have to do to be ‘Christians’ is come to church, go through the rituals, take communion twice a month, throw a check in the offering plate every now and then and they are covered. But our lesson from this text is to the contrary. God doesn’t want a dead ritualistic orthodoxy. He doesn’t care if you read the confession if you don’t mean it. He doesn’t care if you come to church every Sunday for the rest of your life if you leave the building a terrible person; cheating people out of money at work, boozing at the local tavern, cheating on your spouse. So what then does the LORD require? He wants us to act justly, according to His teachings. He wants to us act empathetically, reaching out to those in need with a tender heart, He wants our devotion to be a daily thing, not a destination on Sunday. He wants our lives to become an act of praise. Walking humbly with our God requires us to turn our everyday routine into opportunities to serve in His name. Our jobs become our mission; our friends and family become our fellow disciples. Our walk becomes our offering to the Lord.

There's not much I can do to repay all you've done
So I give my hands to use
This is my desire, this is my return
This is my desire to be used by you

-Jeremy Camp

Living On the Wall

Let me ask you a question. If someone you knew- casually, not a close friend or family member- had contracted a terminal illness and was about to die, but you discovered the antidote, a one shot inoculation that would cure that person forever, how would you react? What would you do? Would you jump up and deliver that medicine as soon as possible? Would you sit back and watch the person waste away from afar? Would you hold onto that medicine in fear that contact with the sick person might infect you? If you held the key to saving someone’s life, would you step forward and help them?

While Jesus was having dinner at Matthew's house, many tax collectors and "sinners" came and ate with him and his disciples. When the Pharisees saw this, they asked his disciples, "Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and 'sinners'?"
On hearing this, Jesus said, "It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. But go and learn what this means: 'I desire mercy, not sacrifice.' For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners."

Matthew 9:10-13

Friends, I have been thinking a lot these past few weeks about the way we treat people. I think many of you know what I am talking about. We are all guilty of it. There are certain people that we aren’t very cordial with. They might even be people that are getting picked on right now. We don’t go out of our way to befriend them. We are just glad we aren’t the ones being picked on. We are glad we aren’t them. After all, we know we aren’t as big a looser as that person. We watch them get left out, picked on and harassed. We might even step in and throw an insult ourselves from time to time. That person must deserve it to get that treatment, right? We are the good people. We are the Christian kids. They are loosers.

But I have a big reality check for us- everyone, even me (especially me). We travel thousands of miles to help people we don’t even know. We go into neighborhoods wrapped in a garment of the Word and spread the Light to everyone we can. We feed homeless, we visit latchkey kids, we volunteer our labor all in Christ’s name. Question: if we can go everywhere else to make a difference there- in those places- why can’t we be nice to the very people we live with? Why can’t we open our eyes and see that our job as Christians in this town and this school is reach out to those less fortunate and pick them up. We need to risk our own safe spots on the sidelines and move into the battlefield and defend these people. It’s not going to be easy. It’s not always going to be fun… but its what Jesus wants us to do.

We can be sentinels on the wall. We can protect them. We can step up and use our influence to make a better world in which we live.

Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice.

Ephesians 4:29-31

Jesus came to heal the sick, the broken, the troubled, and the lost. Think right now about the people in our lives that are being bullied. They rarely bare physical scars. But their wounds are just as real. Think about it. They carry wounds on their spirit. They are broken emotionally. They feel troubled about who they are. They are lost in the halls of their own school. Friends, you hold the cure to this disease. All you have to do is reach out in loving friendship and start the healing process. Turn your words from daggers to medicine. Think how great the world would be if we could turn the halls of our school into our mission. But it starts first here.

Lord, let me be a sentinel on the wall. Amen.

More of Him... less of me

Its awesome when you see into the heart of a performer and he is even more 'right on' than you thought he was from his music. Jeremy Camp was fantastic! More than musically, spiritually. He was amazing. His stories and his message about Jesus Christ were so inspiring and so Christ-centered, it was awesome. I am so glad I went. It feels good to let go. And worship last night was free and over-flowing.

He played an acoustic set at Bellevue Christian Center. The venue was so intimate you could reach out and touch him. And he opened his heart to us over and over. There was this awesome moment in the show when he played "Empty Me" a song I have heard dozens of times but the message of the song never resonated as strong as it did when he set it up.

Empty Me
Jeremy Camp

Holy Fire burn away,
my desire for anything
that is not of you and is of me,
I want more of you and less of me, yeah.
Empty me,
Empty me, yeah,
Fill, won't you fill me, with you, with you

Empty me,
Empty me, yeah.
Fill, won't you fill me, with you, with you, empty me now.

What a song! I am surrounded by Christians that are fixated with notions about what THEY do in their relationship with Jesus. They describe honing their spiritual discipline like a runner training for a marathon. They talk about studying up so they can understand things better, learning to pray better or longer. Their relationship seems to be about what THEY do for HIM. But I tell you, friends, the more I focus on HIM... and what HE does for me... the more He works in me. I never want to rely on my brain, my strength, my courage, my discipline... More of HIM!!! Less of me. Lord erase me and fill me up with you. Make me into your image. Make me into a offering, my life my body, my mind, my soul. I offer everything. Take them. And leave a reflection of you in their stead.

Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.

Ephesians 5:1-2

Going Camping!!!!

I am off to a Jeremy Camp concert this evening. Nothing like taking a car load of teenage girls to see their blue-eyed heart throb! But at least he is a Christ-centered singer that isn't too poppy.

In the song "I'll Take You Back", Camp sings of the song that has wandered far from home. The story of the prodigal was one that I knew well when I was a teenager, but never truly hit home until after my years in college, years wandering far from home.

I'll take you back always Even when your fight is over now
I'll take you back always Even when the pain is coming through
I'll take you back


I never said, "Hey GOD! I don't want to follow you anymore. I don't want to believe in you! I want to reject you and go it alone." But I did take one Art History class after another at the University of Iowa and slowly the liberal message of secular humanism leached away the convictions I had held. Their message that man is great and will overcome all the world's problems seemed more appealing to me at the time. Man is good. Go it alone.

I am not blaming U of I for me loosing my religion. In fact, I know many people who went to school in Iowa City and they networked with strong Christians and become more passionate in faith. My wandering way was a choice I made. I slowly pushed His voice- His call- out of my mind, out of my life and out of my heart.

"Suppose one of you had a hundred sheep and lost one. Wouldn't you leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness and go after the lost one until you found it? 5When found, you can be sure you would put it across your shoulders, rejoicing, 6and when you got home call in your friends and neighbors, saying, "Celebrate with me! I've found my lost sheep!' Count on it--there's more joy in heaven over one sinner's rescued life than over ninety-nine good people in no need of rescue.

-Luke 15:4-7

It wasn't until years later that I would find Him again. But truly, it wasn't so much I found Him. He found me. He wouldn't let me go. I tried to wander so far I could never be found again. But He wouldn't give up. Relentlessly, He followed, He called through the darkness, through the rain, through the rocks and the cliffs. Like a good shepherd He hunted me down and threw roadblocks in my path that FORCED me to look to Him again. He used the one thing that was guaranteed to get my attention. He used the one thing that holds my heart. He used my kids. I love my students. They are my world. God used a group of passionate Christ-followers to get me back. And when I returned, I found Him waiting for me, arms opened wide, running to meet me.

Praise God for His short memory and His undying love for me.

A reflection of Amy's

Tonight I was proud to be a youth leader. Tonight, all the hassles of all the stuff I do were all worth while. Tonight I was proud of the work I do. Some times you wonder if you do good work or you say the right thing or if you are getting the message across to your youth. Tonight... vindication.

It was the second week of December and I had all my big Christmas presents bought for everyone that mattered in my life... for everyone except Amanda. Amanda is a student of mine and a member of my youth group. She is more though. She has become an adopted daughter. We have traversed through the world as Christ-followers together and we learn so much from each other. So why was I blank on what to give her?

Then one night at Grace University this woman started giving a speech on a spiritual leader for our Spiritual Formation class. She spoke on Amy Carmichael, someone I knew nothing about. I was plastered by the Holy Spirit like a bug hitting your windshield. I couldn't breath. I was hot.. I was gasping for air. I knew that Amanda's Christmas present HAD to be connected with this lady missionary. After the speech I approached the student and asked her for a suggested book for a sixteen year old girl. She pointed me in the right direction and low and behold, I was rapping a 350 page book a few days later.
The following is Amanda's Lenten testimonial, shared with our congregation earlier tonight. She delivered this message with such earnest passion and clarity. It was awesome. I ask you, friends, to read it, reflect on it... And you too think of how the Lord is calling you to serve.

A Reflection of Amy’s

by Amanda Robertson

"Blessed are they whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man whose sin the Lord will never count against him."

-Romans 4:7-8

Ever since I was a little girl I had this dream of attending the Univ. of Iowa to become a doctor. I grew up watching ER, loving every minute of it. That stuff fascinated me so I thought why not! I will become a doctor when I grow up. The one thing that drew me in was the connection they had with their patients. Helping people is one of my passions. I wanted to be able to fix people, to let them live longer.

One morning I chose a Bible verse to carry with me in my pocket and read periodically throughout the day. I pulled it out in Chemistry class that day and was reading it to myself. One girl in my class asked what I was doing and I just told her that I was reading a Bible verse. She looked at me and said,”You should become a Pastor.” I looked at her like she was insane. Me a Pastor, Yeah right I thought. I just carried on with my day but for some reason that little phrase stuck in the back of my mind.

Months later, I attended a college visit to the Univ. of Iowa and signed up to talk to the Biology dept. Driving around campus, my eyes were lead to a certain building, this building was the Lutheran Campus Ministry. At first of course I didn’t think anything of it. As we toured the Biology dept., the whole entire time I knew it didn’t feel right. I was honestly bummed. I thought I knew what I was going to do with my life but all that went down the drain in just that instance. Riding around on the cambus, I knew this college was the place for me, it felt right. But there was this hollow feeling in my stomach. That feeling was doubt. I had no idea what I wanted to do with my life. As we were driving home I kept getting that building pictured in my mind. Why did that one building stick out so much?

Then a month or so passed and I receive this book, for Christmas from Mr. Bollman. My first thought was why in the world did he give me this? It has so many pages. I look at the cover and it is called A Chance to Die: The Life and Legacy of Amy Carmichael. Who was Amy Carmichael…. Why was this book given to me…. I started reading and found this out:
Amy Carmichael was born on Dec. 16, 1867, in Northern Ireland. She grew up in a strong Christian home. One day God showed her a little glimpse of what she would be doing in the future.

One Sunday morning returning home from Church, Amy and her brothers saw an elderly homeless woman struggling with a group of bags. They ran over to help her knowing they would have to come back and face the respectable people who thought it was wrong to do that kind of stuff. They didn’t care, they wanted to help.

After her father died when she was only 18, Amy moved to England where she attended a religious conference in Keswick. There she heard a calling from the Lord to give her life to Him and His purpose. She signed up to travel to Japan as a missionary.
Preparing to leave, she wrote:
He who hath led will lead
All through the wilderness,
He who hath fed will surely feed….
He who hath heard thy cry
Will never close His hear,
He who hath marked thy faintest sigh
Will not forget thy tear.
He loveth always, faileth never,
So rest on Him today—forever.


Severe illness almost ended her mission and her life only weeks after she arrived in Japan. She was sent back to England where she was slowly nursed back to health.

Still the Lord was calling her to serve. This time she found herself on the way to India. At first she didn’t want to go there. Why India….it wasn’t tough enough. But she decided to go because it’s God’s will not hers. She would do most of her work in Dohnavur, India. In the Hindu religion, pre-teen girls were used as temple prostitutes. With help from converted Indian women, things were uncovered for Amy helping her to free them. In the Indian language, Amy is “Amma” which means mother. Her organization became known as the Dohnavur Fellowship.

Amy Carmichael rescued thousands of young girls during her years of ministry. She taught them the message of tonight reading. If we go it alone, we are sinful people. We are selfish and we only care about our own needs. But if we confess our sins, and turn control of our lives over to the Lord, our lives become something more. Our lives aren’t just ok…. They aren’t just good. Our lives our blessed!

Amy was a tiny little woman. On her own she had little power. But she gave everything to the Lord and followed Him to the ends of the earth and did His work. She became the mother for so many, freed them from slavery, taught them the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Her life was truly blessed.

Now I realize that the whole time I wanted to be a doctor it was because I wanted to fix people and save them from terrible illnesses. But now I want to save them in a different way. A doctor might extend someone’s life for a year… or two years… maybe ten. But give someone the Gospel and you offer them eternal life.

May my life be some kind of reflection of Amy’s…. AMEN.

Grace in the company of Believers

Things have been chaotic around home for the past three weeks or more. Most of this has crept into my past posts. I am empathizing more and more with our friend Job. It seems like the Lord is preparing me for hardships down the line- and I know that refining with fire creates a more pure product, but enduring the heat is hard. All things are His though, and I continue to offer myself to His purpose.

I am continually blown away by our good friends here in Elk Horn. I have no idea what we have done to deserve them. Along with others, the Christoffersen ladies continue to heap love and kindness upon us as if we were one of their own.

I am beginning to see God's grace as more than just pardon from sin and death. It is more than just entrance into heaven. It is inheritance into a special family, a family of believers that love their neighbor unconditionally.

I have spent a lot of time trying to figure out how to repay Calla, Lori and Amanda for their kindness. But as I meditated on this debt on the drive home from Dr. K's Herm class, I had a brainstorm. Isn't this where we all should strive to be? If Christ so loved, and if he is in us and us in him, shouldn't we love in the same way? I tell you, friends, the best way I could come up with to repay the Christoffersen girls is to turn around and find someone to adopt and love in the same manner that they have done to us. It is this 'pay it forward' idea that brightens the world. We are the light of the world... we are supposed to share it.

Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.

Colossians 3:12-14

So, slowly I realize the totality of God's grace. It isn't a tiny package, the size of a bar of soup that washes away my sins... It is a massive, life-altering makeover. God changes your entire world. He surrounds you with friends that will pick you up threw the low times and drag you threw the rough patches and even carry you when you are faint. God sends us angels, some the white feathery winged-type found in the movies but others are very real people. They swoop into our lives and show us that God isn't just an idea. God is a living power that makes us alive,-alive in giving ourselves to others.

God, help me pay it forward with your indescribable grace. AMEN!

The Gospel according to Alternative Rock

I listen to a lot of alternative Christian music. It is the sound track to my life. As you can see by scanning my blog, I use these songs a lot in my ministry. I tie songs into bible study lessons. I stick quotes of songs throughout my messages and I fill my journal with snippets of lyrics. There always seems to be just the right song to minister to my heart.

This is biblical. Paul quotes the songs of his day all the time. Just look at 2 Tim 2:11-13. He starts by saying, "Here is a good saying to live by:” The symmetry of 'the saying,' and the rhythmical balance of the parallel clauses makes it likely part of a n early church hymn.

We even find Jesus, as He dies on the cross, quoting David’s Psalm 22:1. He looks to heaven and says, "Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?" (matt 27:46). It comes full circle when a little band of surfers called SWITCHFOOT writes a song called "Shadows Prove the Sunshine" and in it they quote Jesus on cross quoting David’s Psalm 22. Then I come along and quote Switchfoot to a student that is lost and confused. The song touches her heart. She reads Psalm 22. She reads Matt 27. She asks to know more about Jesus. We lead. She finds. Jesus transforms...

Music can never replace study of the Word. The Word is like food that nourishes your bones. The Word in song is like water to your thirsty soul. Both build us up as Christians. Both help to transform us into new beings. And both can point ever to the Master, Jesus Christ.

I waited patiently for the LORD;
he turned to me and heard my cry.

He lifted me out of the slimy pit,
out of the mud and mire;
he set my feet on a rock
and gave me a firm place to stand.

He put a new song in my mouth,
a hymn of praise to our God.
Many will see and fear
and put their trust in the LORD.

Psalm 40:1-3

May my songs be Scripture-filled and nourishing to those who hear them. May they glorify God and ever point to my Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.

SHOUT!

Shout for joy to the LORD, all the earth.
Worship the LORD with gladness;

come before him with joyful songs.

Psalm 100:1,2 NIV

Generation Genesis is on the move. Our mission is stronger than ever. Jesus is the medicine that changes our lives. We either live for this 2-D world or burn for Him and His promise of a new world.

I want to shout for joy. I want to start the party now- a victory party. Our GOD ROCKS! Our GOD reigns! Our GOD wins! I will worship Him with bubbly joy. I will shout my songs, and scream my lyrics and pound my guitar and jump up and down and leap with passion in my heart. MY GOD ROCKS! His love endures forever and ever through all generations, even this tattooed, pierced up band of believers.

This is all for Him! A statue for Him. A temple for Him. An altar for Him. We come to Him, we offer ourselves, may our lives become like an offering to Him. I bow all that I have and give it to His use. I become the clay, wet and right for the potter. I yield myself. I let go of the power and give it to Him. God do! Make miricles in my life. Make my life an alter for You. Make my life and temple for you. May I become like the bread and the wine, offered as a sacrafice for Your will and Your purpose.

AMEN

Stand Up and Testify

Friends, we are but twenty-four hours from the next G-squared. I do not know if I have been as excited as I am for this one. I feel like I have rust I need to shake off. I have been thirsty. I have written about this feeling. I feel like I have topped the crest of a tall dune and I see the oasis right before me. Come, friends. Drink from the water. Do not come and sit idly by. Feast! Drink your fill!

Jesus spent some time ministering to the people in Jericho. As Jesus was leaving town, trailed by his disciples and a parade of people, a blind beggar by the name of Bartimaeus, son of Timaeus, was sitting alongside the road. When he heard that Jesus the Nazarene was passing by, he began to cry out, "Son of David, Jesus! Mercy, have mercy on me!" Many tried to hush him up, but he yelled all the louder, "Son of David! Mercy, have mercy on me!"

Jesus stopped suddenly and said to his disciples, "Call him over."

They called him. "It's your lucky day! Get up! He's calling you to come!" Throwing off his coat, he was on his feet at once and came to Jesus.

Jesus said, "What can I do for you?"

The blind man said, "Teacher, I want to see."

"Go," said Jesus. "Your faith has healed you."

In that very instant he recovered his sight and followed Jesus down the road.

-Mark 10:46-52 MSG

Don't just come and observe Jesus passing by. Call out to Him, "Master, Teacher! Come here! I need your healing touch today." At times we are all like Bartimaeus. We are blind. We are lost. We are stranded. We are helpless without his mercy. But, just like him, our chance is coming. Jesus has moved into our neighborhood. He's ready for you. Reach out and grab him without delay!

See you at Generation Genesis!

Sunday, March 5th

7:00pm EHLC Basement

A Faith of Action not Words

I have this friend named Chris. He has a courage of faith, one that I yearn for. You see, when Chris sits down to eat he says grace, thanking God for providing him with another meal. That in itself isn't that big of a deal. At home when my wife and I sit down at the table, we join hands and say a blessing. But Chris does it everywhere!

We were in Iowa City on a two man get away weekend a few years back. We went to the Memorial Union to grab a quick bite to eat. We sat down in the cafeteria with college students all around. And I prepare to dig into my slice of greasy pizza when I look over and see my friend, hands folded, thanking his Father for his meal. I was in awe! That is courage. I can stand up in front of hundreds and share my faith but I would trade it in a second for that kind of courage. His is a faith of action not words. Its becoming so intimate with the Master that prayer is as automatic as saying hello to a dear friend.

I want more action and fewer words.

Don't fool yourself into thinking that you are a listener when you are anything but, letting the Word go in one ear and out the other. Act on what you hear! Those who hear and don't act are like those who glance in the mirror, walk away, and two minutes later have no idea who they are, what they look like.

But whoever catches a glimpse of the revealed counsel of God--the free life!-even out of the corner of his eye, and sticks with it, is no distracted scatterbrain but a man or woman of action. That person will find delight and affirmation in the action.

-James 1:22-25