Ahhhhhhhhhhhhh!!! I am awaiting the hopefully soon arrival of automatic saving for Facebook notes so entries don’t get erased like this one just did. I had written about our last dramatic excursion in Paris pertaining to getting to the airport, so if you care to read about it shoot me a message and I can let you know about it. Two words on it: Social Movement.
Interlaken is a cozy little town nestled between two beautiful lakes (thus where the town gets the name). A literal rapid river flows through it and it is surrounded by gorgeous mountains, some of which are snowcapped year-round. Hannah and I had a 15 minute walk from the station to the hostel. From the walk one can conclude that the Swiss are extremely efficient, wonderfully organized, and refreshingly clean. I was expecting Hansel and Gretel to be frolicking through the streets or jumping rope in a yard, but my hopes were dashed quickly. There was some Zoolander quoting going on though inspired by them. Thank you Hansel and Gretel!
We stayed at the most popular hostel in Interlaken, Balmers. I stayed there 3 1/2 years ago with my STINT peeps Mike and Christina, but this time was much different. Hannah and I got back from walking around the town at about 7:30 hungry and ready to grub. The best way to describe what we saw when we got there is to picture a combination of a summer camp with kids running around, but grow them up to college-aged people, throw in a bunch of alcohol and call it a frat party. Summer camp + frat party = Balmers during the summer. There were the token freshmen girls who were probably good in high school, but went to college, through away their angel card, and have been perpetually intoxicated since. They were wasted, falling on the ground, laughing incessantly. Then there were the token college guys, guided by their pelvises, grabbing anything shorter than 5′6″ with hair past its shoulders.
In the three minutes after we had ordered some food, one girl tried to fall onto a guy, but instead dropped onto Mr. Concrete. Then a taller gentleman wanted to partake in a little chest bump action to celebrate seeing his boy or being drunk or something, but he neglected to take notice of the thick iron beam a mere six inches above his head. Sadly he was unable to finish the chest bump because his head bumped them beam first. I think some of the little sloshed frosh girls thought it was an earthquake.
The following day I went canyoning. We had to leave be ready by 8:15 and I didn’t wake up until 8:09. I was freaking out for a bit to be sure, but made it. I am going to let the pictures I post speak for themselves. It was a good time, lots of sweet jumping and sliding, but not nearly as dangerous as I was expecting or hoping for.
That night was some good conversation with some gents from Cali. By this point I thought I was tired of meeting new people, didn’t feel like engaging, and sure as heck didn’t think I was gonna get into any deep conversation, but these guys took it there without my initiating it. It is great to see that happen!
The final thing for my time traveling was watching the Euro Cup final in the bar at Balmers. We packed the place with about 200 people, and not one person in there was either Spanish or German. Oh, I should explain since America lags in this: Euro Cup is soccer. It was the final, which was between Spain (who beat Italy earlier in the tourney) and Germany. My conclusions after the Italy match stuck in this one–Spain is a superior offensive team, highly aggressive with the ball and ridiculously fast. They ended up winning 1-0 in a pretty exciting game. Congrats Spain.
So that’s it. I went to Rome, stayed with the STINT team there, and am now back in the States. Since I’ve arrived, I have eaten a Reuben sandwich, Bob Evans with some delicious biscuit & gravy, and Chick-Fil-A. Food is important to me.
Finally, I am in the Psalms right now and am stuck on Psalm 16:11. In all my joking about the people above, reality is my heart cries out for them because were all seeking joy and pleasure in temporal, empty things–alcohol, sex, shallow relationships, etc. But this particular verse shows there is so much more in an abiding relationship with Christ. I pray that I can live out of the truth of this verse and I pray they and so many others I have talked with throughout this summer can experience the truth in it as well. Take the time to read through it slowly and meditate on its beauty:
You make known the path of life;
in your presence there is fullness of joy;
at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.
By His Grace.
July 2nd, 2008
How can I sum up Paris? I find this to be the most difficult of the entries to write because the four days in Paris was action-packed to be sure.
First of all, for the all the hype Paris gets, it definitely lives up to it and then adds more than one could possibly imagine. The city is full of diversity, full of culture, full of beauty, and full of romance. Whatever I wrote about Madrid can be enlarged tenfold in Paris–the streets were wider and longer, the buildings more majestic and detailed, the parks spread out everywhere with precision and symmetry. And of course notable names that are recognized worldwide are scattered throughout the city: The Louvre, Versailles, Notre Dame, and the Eiffel Tower. Bottom line, if you ever have the chance to go to Paris, go. Just go. Enjoy “The City of Lights” for what it is and all it has to offer.
I am going to throw out a few highlights of the trip briefly and if detail is desired, you can comment or message me and I will add when I can:
- This isn’t so much of a highlight as it is a disaster. Hannah and I decided that we would just wing it going to Paris. Do not do this in the summer time!!! All the hostels were booked and we were stuck with no place to stay the first night. I jumped on the Internet to make a bunch of Skype calls. During that time I was able to catch up with an old friend who’s on staff with Crusade in France, but it all lead to no place to stay. Come 9:30 pm we were left with two options: We could hold out until midnight to see if some spots opened up at the hostel we were supposed to book, but never did, or we could get rooms at this hotel where the lady working spoke to us in Spanish with a French accent. What we decided on was to get separate rooms at the hotel. This turned into a 15 minute back and forth with the lady because we don’t speak Frenish or Spanch or whatever she was speaking and she didn’t understand anything we said. Good things numbers on white paper look the same in our countries otherwise we might have slept on some sketchy patch of grass near Moulin Rouge. I decided to hang out around the city, sit at a cafe with a crepe and beer and listen to this Frenchman sing Hotel California (he did it well with a few mumblings along the way). I then went up to Sacre Coeur (a beautiful church atop this hill where you can see the whole city) and then hit up the hostel around midnight. The people who were supposed to stay there never showed up and they just happened to have a reservation for as long as we were there so it worked out perfectly! I literally ran to and back from the hotel to get money from Hannah only to see four people checking into the hostel. Some not-so-choice words came flowing out of my mouth unchecked by whatever semblance of sanity remained with me, but things were okay because they were a different reservation. I was sweaty, the guy felt sorry for us, and we had a place for the next three nights.
Meanwhile, I get back to the hotel only to find a room that’s slightly above the quality of Rocky Balboa’s apartment. Stains from who knows what were all over the carpet, I had to let the sink run for about 10 seconds before the water lost that “I’ve been sitting in these pipes for years” smell, wires were hanging from the ceiling waiting to electrocute me, and I feared laying down anywhere. I braved it and slept on top of the comforter of the bed, not able to really rest well because of odd noises coming from outside and the fear that at some point the bed might just swallow me whole.
And all for the low low price of 40 Euro (or about $65). The official name of this hotel is Hotel Get Out My Face You Piece of …
So I had written “brief details” but that story was just too good to be brief with. Let’s see what I can do with the rest:
- Versailles is one of the most beautiful man-made places I have ever been to. The palace is amazing, but the estate and the gardens are breathtaking. Sadly no personal photos were taken.
- Pont des Arts is one of the coolest places in the city where at night you can get some wine, cheese, baguettes and chill with 200 of your closest Parisian friends. If not there, you can find some spot all along the Seine River!
- Parisians seem just as confused about their metro and train system as any foreigner does.
- The Louvre is ridiculous, both in sheer size and in beauty. We were told that if one were to look at every piece in the Louvre for two seconds it would take 3 months to go through the whole museum. We were fortunate to get in for free on a Friday night. We headed straight for the Mona Lisa of course, only to realize that she is about the size of a stamp (maybe a little bigger) and is difficult to appreciate because she is roped off to about 15 feet away. Fighting through the mad hordes to reach her wasn’t really worth it, but the Wedding Feast at Cana (juxtaposed brilliantly directly across the room because it is one of the largest canvas paintings in Europe) was a sight to behold. One of the most interesting pieces was the full-facial tatooed man walking around; I’m not sure if he was a patron or an exhibit. The jury’s still out. Finally, I must say I enjoy sculptures a little more than paintings after being in the Louvre.
- I enjoyed riding bikes around the city. We did a night bike tour which was sweet, but it would have been awesome just to rent them. While riding though I couldn’t help but continually sing to myself Flight of the Conchords’ “Foux De Fa Fa”.
- I firmly believe the government of France has placed an strong emphasis on fashion. In fact it is so important, I think they give out stipends to the citizens of Paris for the sole purpose of allowing them the chance to purchase designer clothing and accessories. Screw work, I just want to shop! I have never seen a more fashionable city than Paris. Yes, and that goes for every city I have been to in Italy.
- Finally, I was hit on in front of Notre Dame–by a guy. He was friendly at first, speaking mostly French and some broken English. He soon moved closer, even as I tried to scoot the other way, then he threw his arm around me laughing about how nice Americans are, and then he got freakishly close to resting his head on my shoulder. I told him I had to meet a friend (which was true) and bolted away, feeling a little dirty and abused. I quickly went inside the church in order to feel cleansed. It didn’t work.
During my time in Paris I read Job and mostly wondered why that book of the Bible isn’t preached on enough. I concluded that it is one of the most clear and confusing books in Scripture. Take some time to read it, particularly all the questions that are posed throughout, by Job, his friends, and of course God. The questions from the human side are many that are asked even today–like why is there pain and suffering or why would I even be born if the life I live is painful or why did this happen to me–which shows the universality of our pursuits and wonders. I also noticed that in all the questions, however, God’s existence was never one; even in all the doubts, Job never for once questioned if God really existed. He may have thought He wasn’t listening or wasn’t there at all, but He never asked, “Is there even a God?” or any question remotely close to that. That is unshakable confidence in the midst of great sorrow and grief.
Now I sit in Rome at 1:30 in the morning waiting to fly back to America in 8 hours. I have one final place to write about, which will have to wait until I return home–Interlaken, Switzerland.
By His Grace.
June 30th, 2008
So I am one step behind in writing musings on various countries I have been to during this travel time. From Lisbon I wrote about Madrid, and although most of the action of this trip has occurred in the few short days here in Paris, I must be faithful and write about Lisbon.
Lisbon seems to be a little known gem over here in Western Europe. The city itself is quite large and modern. The center of the city is an odd mix of older classical buildings and more modern (modern like 1800s and after) because of an tidal wave that came through and subsequent earthquakes that occurred in 1755.
Walking around was pleasant and I got to try the local cuisine–a heaping pile sardines! The city wasn’t nearly as lively as Madrid, but it probably had mostly to do with us being there at the beginning of the week. There is supposed to be this nice area, Bairro Alto, that has all the cafes, restaurants, and bars that livens up late at night, especially on the weekends. We walked through there our first night and what makes it unique is that it is one of the highest points in the city so you can sea out over all of Lisbon, which is neat.
So here is the unique aspect for Lisbon. Hannah and I decided to go to the shopping center there just to check things out. We had also heard there were movies playing, so desiring a taste for Americana, we chose to hit one up. The Incredible Hulk was playing and I really wanted to see that, especially after checking out Iron Man earlier this summer and hearing about the big project for all these movies.
Well we got our tickets for 6 Euro, which wasn’t bad. The movie was playing in the VIP Theater, so we had to walk downstairs into this quasi-secret area. The doors to the theater where huge steel doors, like those ones on a nice refigerator, but a lot bigger. We walked downstair and it was like a hollywood set designed for 2050. The walls were lit and I was just waiting for Captian Kirk to come through and beam us up to somewhere.
The theater itself was small, like a private theater for really rich people in Orange County, CA. This meant the soundsystem was good and the seats were of course leather. We were both pumped about the experience.
The movie started and thankfully it was English with Portuguese subtitles. Immediately I was drawn right into the film with the intro. Edward Norton did a great job and I am a huge fan of Tim Roth. Now here’s the funny quirk about Lisbon: We got to the climax of the movie, where I was tense, biting my nails of course, sucking the straw to my delicious carbonated beverage and then all of a sudden the movie just cuts off! Hannah and I looked at each other wondering if the movie theater wasn’t as “VIP” as we had thought. Then the following words come up on the screen: INTERMISSION…7 MINUTES.
What the ???
Apparently it there is an intermission for movies in Portugal for bathroom breaks and smoking breaks! It felt exactly like the cliffhanger to every great television show that just leaves you hanging for the summer. Thankfully the intermission was only 7 minutes, but it took away from how involved I was in movie. All we could do was laugh though, wait for the movie to come back on, and enjoy the rest of it, which we did. I thought it was an awesome film, even with an intermission.
Other than that, the Sangria was even better in Lisbon and I got some sweet time in the Word, particularly recognizing that the grace of God truly is the most difficult thing for me to grasp in my walk with Jesus. He is so good and patient with me.
Next musing: Paris.
By His Grace.
June 27th, 2008
roject is over. All the kiddies are back safely in America. I am now traveling and have a few thoughts regarding the places I have been to.
Madrid is one of the coolest cities I have ever been to. Hands down. The food was cheap and delicious; the Sangria was tasty. The streets are wide and full of gorgeous buildings. There is always something to do, and when you want to relax there is an enormous park you can get lost in for the day.
One detail worth giving more attention to is the opera. Teatro Real is Madrid’s main opera house. It was built by some queen when the church was trying to control the culture of theater; because she loved it, she ordered it built and so it was. The exterior does not have much to offer, but the inside is exquisite and rich with detail. The reason I know this is because I got to go–for 7.70 Euros!!! There is this deal that if a person is under 26 you can get 90% off a ticket price!!!
So bottom line is I got to see an opera in Madrid for 7.70, while Tommy from the UK who works for a big oil company in China paid the full 77.00 Euros to sit next to me, only to fall asleep for almost the entire thing because the opera was in German and the subtitles were in Spanish!
I was going to write something about Portugal, where I am now, but I have to run. Oh the joys of traveling!
June 23rd, 2008
This is a late entry from our Summer Project in Salerno, Italy, but hey, better late than never. It posted mid-project on June 3rd. If you want to read the rest of the posts, hit up http://salernoproject08.blogspot.com
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So we are mid-project. We have just a little over a week left in Salerno so for a mid-project celebration we decided to do an “in-house BBQ.” Monday was a national holiday called Festa Della Repubblica (Republic Day) so we had to mix up the schedule, freeing us up to do this BBQ. We have a visitor from America–Jutty Valiquette–who will be moving here to serve for the next three to five years and he volunteered to grill for us, as long as we got some good steaks.
He and I went to the store, got the necessary items–meat, oil, pepper, salt, tomatoes–while students went and got fixin’s for salad, fruit salad, etc. Everything was lined up for an awesome evening except for one thing: Charcoal. I misread a text message from my fellow team leader, Tina, thinking she said we had charcoal when we really didn’t.
7:00 pm rolls around and we begin a frantic search for charcoal around the 14 Lions. Dread is slowly coming over me as I sense that I completely dropped the ball on the charcoal. Couple this with the fact that nearly everything was closed due to the holiday so I thought we were going to have to cancel the fun we were hoping to have with all the meat so many wanted to enjoy!
Marko, the owner of the 14 Lions, took me in his car around the city to try and find something. First of all, the car ride almost took my life, but that is a story for another time. Our chances for finding a place open dwindled quickly as all the markets were closed. He said, “let’s try one more time around…” and I complied of course just hoping something would happen.
Then the impossible happened. We found something open. It wasn’t a market. It wasn’t a place that had anything to do with food. It was the last place we could go to and it was one of the last places I would ever think to go for a large bag of charcoal. It was a paint shop. Out in the front of this shop that sold paint and wallpaper, this shop that that wasn’t even supposed to be open was a 5 kg bag of charcoal, the 5 kg bag of charcoal we needed to continue our fun! And fun we had!
The reason I share this story is not because it is merely funny. I laughed when I thought of it all when it was over. What I find interesting is that Marko said this was very normal; that finding a large bag of charcoal in the front of a closing paint shop is normal. I then began to think about my trying to find blank CDs, first looking in electronic stores, not finding them there, but in print and copy stores.
Reality is that there are many quirks to Italian culture that can be frustrating to an American. CDs are purchased at electronic stores or record shops. Charcoal is purchased in stores that sell food, not paint. Then we go into idiomatic expressions in the language and that reveals a need for one to be immersed in the culture for years in order to begin grasping the way of thinking here. But we are here for weeks. Most of the people we have sent to this country have been here for short one-year terms. Very few have committed to this people long-term, to get to know them for who they are, and to present Jesus and who He is from a perspective that truly and experientially knows where they are coming from.
So this is a praise to God for those He is raising up, like Jutty and a handful of others who will be here long-term, learning this culture in a way that we have yet to really delve into. But this is also a call to prayer that God will continue to raise up laborers who will come to this country and serve long-term, getting past all the glitz and glamor that has become Italy–the country for tourism–and digging deep into the people’s lives in order to show them that the joy they seek can only be fulfilled in Jesus Christ.
By His Grace,
Andrew
June 19th, 2008
“Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.”
-Jesus
“I get jealous when I see a three year old talk better than me.” We have come to find that one of the easiest ways to feel like a child again is to not know a language. I was sitting at one of our favorite pizza places today and saw a girl who couldn’t have been older than 8 years and 243 days, but was on a cell phone talking with someone. First, I can’t believe almost every child in this world today has a cell phone. That is a rant for another time. But secondly, the way she was speaking made me feel like she should be leading our Summer Project. Her pronunciation was flawless, using words that sounded big and important (like arrabbiata); she had such a command of the language. Of course she would though. She is of course, Italiana.
But it is still difficult for all of us to be around people decades younger than us who speak and understand the language better than we do. One of the most frustrating things for an individual is to communicate and not be understood. Being here however is an immediately humbling experience solely due to our inability to communicate. We have become like babies cooing and babbling before a world of adults, even if those “adults” are only three years old.
Although the above passage is in the context of greatness and inheriting the kingdom of heaven, the theme of humbling one’s self like a child is vital in our understanding of bringing the gospel to Italians and to people everywhere. Being in a foreign country we basically became children humbled by the new culture and foreign language, but in that humility we also want to be like children in their fearlessness, boldness, curiosity, and joy as we seek to share the love of Jesus Christ with Italians.
Things have been going strong as we have been here over week now. As students get the chance, they should be posting stories of friends they have made and gospel conversations they have had so continue to be on the lookout.
Please be praying for us as we must persevere in humility, unity, and community in order as we seek to be faithful witnesses of the gospel, depending on God’s Spirit, trusting He will bring people to Himself.
By His Grace,
Andrew
May 28th, 2008
“But this is all that I aim at by what has been said, to show that it is the nature of true grace, that however it loves Christian society in its place, yet in a peculiar manner it delights in retirement and secret converse with God. So that if persons appear greatly engaged in social religion, and but little in the religion of the closet , and are often highly affected when with others, and but little moved when they have none but God and Christ to converse with, it looks very darkly upon their religion.”
-Jonathan Edwards, The Religions Affections
As I mentioned in a previous post, I wanted to write about this difference Edwards poignantly exposes between social religion and religion of the closet. The terms are pretty self-explanatory in that social religion is those acts of fellowship and worship of God which are done in the presence of others, while religion of the closet is those times of solitude where the individual is alone with God.
I was immediately challenged by this when I began reading his argument for religion of the closet as I think about how often we judge the outward actions of others based on how we see them in settings of fellowship and corporate worship. Too many times I have looked at others during times of worship through music and wondered why they are connecting with God better than me because they have their heads raised and their hands held high or they are on their knees and crying. I am very critical and ask if it is because it is a Hillsong song or a Passion song or because it is a particular Christian musician who is playing or if it is because of the crescendo of the song. I then ask myself, “What if the music stopped? What if the music wasn’t as good? What if no one else was around?”
I admit there is a slew of sin that goes on in my heart because often my observation is not out of love and concern for others, but self-righteousness. I confess that here and now, and have brought it before God, praying He will break me of this pride in my heart.
But I also think the questions are valid, apart from my heart attitude. Who are we really worshiping in those times, the god of music or the God over the music? Emotions are stirred easily with music, especially good music, but when the instruments cease their play and the voices grow silent, are our emotions still yet stirred because God remains who He is?
Now please don’t get me wrong; I love fellowship and worshiping God with others. We are not to forsake that one bit (Heb. 10:25). Edwards notes this as well, but recognizes also that there must be a symmetry and proper proportion of social religion and religion of the closet:
A true Christian doubtless delights in religious fellowship and Christian conversation, and finds much to affect his heart in it; but he also delights at times to retire from all mankind, to converse with God in solitary places.
And I believe along with him, that what most Christians do (and did back in his day as well) is to neglect conversing with God, but continue to commit and maybe over-commit to social religion. The problem Edwards says is that most of where true grace and affections flow are in the secret, solitary places, siting example upon example in Scripture where true affections toward God were expressed while alone with Him:
- Isaac in Gen. 24:63 going out to the field to mediate
- Jesus retiring into the mountains and solitary places to be with His Father
- Peoples sorrow over sin experienced separately in Zech. 12:12-14
- The saints’ pain and sadness over sinners in Jer. 8:17
- The psalmist’s joy and comfort in the Lord in Psalm 63:5-6
Edwards goes on to make a strong case that the most powerful and principal manifestations that God made of Himself in Scripture is either individuals or groups of very few people. I shall not list those here, but only mention to urge us all further to reclaim the religion of the closet.
And that’s the point. In our culture, and I know this to be true of my own life, it is way to easy to get caught up in Christian activities and be involved in all our Christian friend’s lives. It is even easy to be in 3 different bible studies, going to various prayer meetings, going to multiple conferences and “worship nights” at people’s houses to where you Christian social calendar is filled from morning to night. I know because I do it too and it is even harder being in vocational ministry.
But my desire for myself and for all of us who call ourselves Christians is to be bold enough to retreat to a quiet place, during a quiet time of the day, and leave all the noise of the world and our Christian socials and to be alone with God. And just as those times where we gather are so intentional, having a place, a time, a specific focus, may we not relegate our time with Jesus to our cars while we are driving somewhere or to 15 minutes in the morning. My hope is that we are intentional in meeting with our God as well, giving Him the best of our days and as much time as we do with others.
May we grow in the desire to sneak away from all the social religious activities to that quiet closet where we can meet with our beautiful Savior intimately.
By His Grace.
May 10th, 2008
I have had enough conversations with you to know that you won’t listen to me. I believe I have heard your voice, I know what you are saying, and I’ve even read some of the things that you have in order to understand better where you are coming from. But I know you think you are on one path and I am on another and some how, some way, we are going to end up in the same place.
For some reason I have a hard time believe that and I think it’s because you don’t take me seriously. For some reason the words I say and the life I live have no effect on your perception or desire to grow. I have suggested reading the Bible, I have shared the gospel with you, I have talked about getting involved in Christian community, I share what god is doing in my life and the lives of those around me, but none seems to cause you to think that maybe, just maybe, there is something to actually knowing Jesus the way I know Him. He is so much better than how every one of your friends or New Age books or Oprah says He is and delighting in Him brings more love, joy, and satisfaction to life thank kind of pursuit of a “god consciousness” or “finding your purpose from within.”
I will not get angry. But I do fear. I know I have been faithful with my life and in my interactions with you. I have fallen many times, and you have witnessed firsthand the sin and crap that is so hideous and shameful. But you have also seen the work of God’s Spirit in my heart as I have experienced His grace, mercy, and forgiveness only through the life, death, and resurrection of Our Lord, Jesus Christ. I fear because it seems my life has been lived before blind eyes and my words have fallen on deaf ears. That is the way it is.
I know it is never ultimately in my hands. So I pray. I beg. I plead with God to open your eyes and ears, that you may have true understanding of who He really is and who you are, that you may fall on your knees before the King, repent, beg for the forgiveness of your sins, and be washed clean through the blood of Christ, who gave Himself up so that you may have life and freedom and have them to the full!
I love you.
May 3rd, 2008
It is a little after 2 am (central time). I am still awake, wired in fact. I haven’t had an energy drink, but I can’t foresee my falling asleep anytime soon.
I am in Destin right now, staying in a sweet place right on the beach with the rest of the staff team. We just finished a regional conference up here where staff and interns from around the Southeast each year get together, enjoy our friends who serve on other campuses, celebrate what God has done, hear some good words from a speaker, and say our goodbyes to those who are leaving staff or going overseas. Apart from doing it personally, saying goodbye meant getting up in front of everyone, sharing what I will be moving on to, and being prayed for.
It was a great weekend to relax on the beach, make new friends, have some really good conversation over coffee, and take the next step in realizing that I am finishing this chapter of my life and moving on to the next one God has called me to. However, reality has yet to set in. We had a big party after Crusade last week for all of us leaving, but afterward and the day following the truth that I will no longer serve at UF with Crusade did not hit me.
*Thank you again to everyone who planned the party and to all of you who came. I felt very loved and appreciated.
And this weekend was much of the same. Although I said goodbye, it didn’t feel like goodbye. I wish I could say it’s because I know I will see them when Christ’s kingdom comes, but that would be a lie. I do not want to lie. That is not good. Sooo…I’m not sure why. Maybe it’s because almost every communication tool is available to me in Chicago and someday soon I’m sure I will have the holograph form of individuals beaming through my computer. I would high five that person, but my hand would just pass through the air and I would feel dumb.
Even though I am not tired, my writing seems to be influenced more and more by delerium. I should stop now, but do hope to post soon on what Jonathan Edwards calls “social religion” and “religion in the closet,” comparing the two and expounding on which is more a reality for a Christian. Can you guess which one and why?
By His Grace.
April 29th, 2008
We are not much of a statistics-gathering group with Campus Crusade at UF. We are asked by our superiors to regularly update them on numbers that reflect what we as a staff team are doing and what are students are doing in terms of evangelism and people actually coming to Christ. These are very good things to track to be sure, but we as a staff team are not the most administratively gifted individuals, so thus things like statistics can easily be put on the back burner.
However, numbers are important. In fact, I am reading through a book of the Bible right now by the same name. I read once in a book by a pastor I admire that “numbers are important because each represents a person and people matter.” Yes, it is easy to get caught up in the game of numbers and gathering statistics and living for those things, but we must also recognize that numbers aren’t the problem at that point; it is our own prideful, arrogant hearts. That is sinful. Repentance is necessary.
So today at our end-of-the-year leadership day, Jimmy decided to get a gauge on how the movement is doing in terms of three things: Conversations about Jesus, gospel “presentations” where people who do not know Him are introduced to the gospel of Christ and challenged to a decision, and finally how many people have come to Christ. The first two we asked the students to give a rough estimate of how many conversations and presentations have been had by them and people they know in the past 30 days, while the last one was over the course of the entire year. There were about 80 students in the room, all of whom are leaders of Community Groups or will be leading in some capacity next year. They wrote them on 3×5 notecards and handed them to Jimmy.
Russell was speaking when Jimmy had gotten all the final numbers worked out. He walked up to the front of the room and handed the results to Russell, who then shared with all of us the awesome work God is doing in and through our students. And now I have the privilege of joyfully sharing them with you all.
In the past month alone, our students have had roughly 2,430 conversations about Jesus and have shared the gospel 183 times. And in this entire year, our movement has seen 118 students give their lives to Christ!!!
In all honesty, I would consider myself a realist, one who often sees what is not being done. Much of this year I believed that our students weren’t really talking too much about Jesus, taking the faith steps to share the gospel of Christ and challenge people to know their Lord and their God. But after hearing these today, God completely blew away all my assumptions and revealed to me just how much He is using us as a staff team and every single one of our students to advance His Kingdom and bring Himself glory on this campus!
The end here is bittersweet. I have five more official days at the University of Florida with Campus Crusade and I feel as though I am just getting a glimpse of all that God is doing as this year ends. Jesus’ work on the cross is so powerful, so beautiful, so accomplishing, so perfect, that it could never been hushed by all the scoffers or by our own fears. I am humbled by His plan to rescue the world and my soul from the depths of hell, the plan that is centered around His death on a cross. I am in awe of the Spirit’s continual work of restoring all things to God’s original purposes, as He uses broken people to reach out to a broken world, giving testimony to God’s grace through His Son, all for His glory and our joy.
Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to Him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.
April 19th, 2008
I went to Gainesville Health and Fitness today to get my workout on. I was greeted at the desk by an acquaintance who works there. She and I had a brief conversation. I grabbed my Nalgene off the counter as I was heading to go workout and my acquaintance said, “You shouldn’t drink from those. They cause cancer. I immediately responded with what I believe is turning into a very true statement: “Everything causes cancer.”
I just typed in “causes cancer” in Google to see what came up. The first thing that I found was that sunscreen doesn’t help prevent one from getting skin cancer from dangerous ultraviolet rays. Instead, sunscreen causes cancer! Go figure!
I ate some turkey and cheese, both contained in plastic wrappings and I believe that some research has found that I will someday get cancer from the carcinogens that are released from the plastics while they sit in the fridge and get too cold.
I think if my shirt contains 67.8% polyester I might be in danger of getting cancer.
I stood by the microwave while I heated up my macaroni and cheese earlier today. I will get cancer eventually.
There is a tumor forming near my ear from phone usage.
I think driving a 2003 Honda Civic 2-door causes cancer. I am not sure.
Five years ago it was found that watching The Simpsons causes cancer. They have since done further research and discovered that it is not true.
I should stop writing this, because I am told that if I type for too long I will get carpel tunnel, which will eventually turn into cancer.
Oh, and reading this post just gave you cancer.
April 11th, 2008
One thing that has marked my time here in Gainesville has been the constant conversations with students about our position in Christ. More was accomplished on the Cross and in Jesus’ resurrection than we often realize or live in, even with all the theological terms such as justification, salvation, propitiation, etc. that try to capture the essence of Christ’s work in single terms. They are helpful to be sure, but we will spend eternity marveling the fullness these terms seek to capture, holding nothing back and never having enough words or definitions to truly take hold all of what Jesus has done for us.
Sadly we are often bogged down by the reality of sin and the nature that seeks to defy who we truly are in Christ. And too often we believe the lies and live in the self-piteous guilt that robs us of our joy in Christ. Reality is we forget how our position in Christ was originally established and how it works itself out moment by moment in our lives–by faith in His accomplishing work on the cross and through His resurrection. Of course the forgetting leads to a works-based righteousness mentality, which ultimately is prideful. The self-piteous guilt says things like, “I should have known better” or “I’m better than to make that stupid mistake” or “I thought I was past this already.” All put stock in self, not Jesus.
The natural result of this is the “Woe is me! I’m such a sinner!” mentality that is blinded to the truth of saintliness in Jesus Christ. Paul addressed the people in even the most jacked up of churches, the church in Corinth, as “those sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints with all those who in every place call upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.” (1 Cor. 1:2). We must note and take hold of the fact that sanctification–or the making holy of one by God–is done “in Christ Jesus” and that saintliness is found in those who “call upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
People are not made saints because of what they do; people are made saints because of what Jesus has done.
All that being said, one of the things we must continually do is be reminded through Scripture of who we are in Christ, that we are not sinners who sometimes do saintly things, rather we are saints who sometimes do sinful things, but “if we confess our sins, he [God] is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9). John Piper calls this “gutsy guilt” in his book When I Don’t Desire God referring to the very poignant passage in Micah, which says:
But as for me, I will look to the Lord;
I will wait for the God of my salvation;
my God will hear me.
Rejoice not over me, O my enemy;
when I fall, I shall rise;
when I sit in darkness,
the Lord will be a light to me.
I will bear the indignation of the Lord
because I have sinned against Him,
until He pleads my cause
and executes judgment for me.
He will bring me out to the light;
I shall look up his vindication.
This weekend in particular for me has caused me to meditate and dwell on the beautiful truths of what it means to be in Christ as I am fighting these days for His joy in my life.
The link below contains passages throughout the New Testament that remind us all of what it means to be “in Christ.” I suggest that you take the time to look over them not only on the sheet, but also in the context of each passage, and pray through them as you can. I am right there along with you in the battle we fight daily to “hold fast the word of life” and fight we must. God’s glory and our joy are at stake!
By His Grace.
Since I Am In Christ
April 6th, 2008
We all desire community in some way shape or form. We have friends, we have family; we surround ourselves with people of like interest. But what does real community look like? Is it different for people who call themselves Christians? How vital is it for Christians to be in community? How is community hindered? What makes it great? Ultimately, who do we look to as our example for community?
These questions and a look at the foundation for community–the humility of Jesus Christ–are sought to be answered in this, my final talk at CRU.
By His Grace.
Expression in Community:
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April 5th, 2008
I haven’t written for a while on my blog and I am not too sure why. Hectic pace of life or something of that nature. Either way I am writing now…
I also noticed how I haven’t shared much about my life and current things I am learning just to give you a little more insight to my thoughts, nature, and needs.
A little over a month ago I applied for a full-tuition scholarship at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, where I will be attending in the fall to pursue a Masters Degree in Divinity. I had already received some financial aid from them, but a “freer” ride is always better. Can I get an amen from the debt-laden college student?
They were supposed to notify finalists last week on Friday so I was hoping to at least be one of those people. There were 25 applicants and 12 were chosen; I had about a 50% shot. I was planning on having to fly up to Chicago this weekend as they invited finalists to come up for an interview.
Well last Friday I received no phone call at all. Nothing. Not even an e-mail telling me they had not chosen me as a finalist.
The following morning I wrote an e-mail to them letting them know that I felt disrespected to not even receive some kind of correspondence to tell me I did not get chosen. This did not seem too professional in my opinion.
But honestly I wrote the e-mail more for me so that I would not harbor any bitterness or anger and all sin enter into the situation because this is really about Jesus in the end. Throughout this whole process I had prayed that I would still see God as good. So in knowing that He is good I took the opportunity to learn and draw closer to Him.
Lesson 1
I had to really check my heart and figure out why I sen the e-mail before I actually sent it. I did recognize that if I didn’t say something I would not really be able to worship God on Saturday and live for Him because there would be the bitterness and anger. Those who were on the committee and made the decisions are my brothers and sisters in Christ and I need to remember that each and every one of us are playing a role in the advancement and establishment of His Kingdom through the power of His Holy Spirit.
Lesson 2
I also got a clearer understanding of the process I go through when dealing with rejection. I think the first part is denial. I said to myself and to others, “I didn’t really need the scholarship or want it”. I did want the scholarship and I could always need a scholarship like that. I am surely not Mr. Moneybanks and my family has no means to help me out like that. I even used the excuse that I wanted to fly up there so I can look for places to live…no, I really wanted to interview for this prestigious scholarship and thought I deserved the chance, but when I didn’t receive a call I acted as if I didn’t want it at all. The first reaction to rejection is denial.
The second is defensiveness. I got defensive when they didn’t call to tell me. “Doesn’t the committee have the (insert “kind” word here) to call me?” I then started to blame them for their lack of organization and care, eventually stirring up some unrighteous anger. I began to spend time pointing out their faults in this little thing rather than facing the rejection. Sounds a lot like being dumped by a girl…however I received good advice the night before to wait until the next day to e-mail them so it wouldn’t be out of this defensive attitude. I do believe the e-mail and what was written was healthy, but it could have been worse and improper if written from a different attitude.
Lesson 3
Then there was the “I’ll show them…” thought that reveals the root issue of pride that produced all the above reactions as well. The thoughts that ran through my head of “I’ll show them that they shouldn’t have rejected me. I will be a better student and a better pastor than all those guys” are so disgusting, self-serving, works-based, and utterly sinful that I can’t help but repent and seek the grace of Christ. I AM GOING TO THERE BECAUSE OF JESUS!!! Truth is we are all brothers working together for His gospel and His Kingdom. God has a calling on my life as He does for all of them and they are all different!. I must recognize that this is part of God’s sovereign plan. It is about Him, not me, and those thoughts deerve no place in my mind or my heart. I will labor hard because of God’s Kingdom and His placement of me here in this time, in this place, not so that I can prove myself worthy to men, that committee, or to prove myself worthy of that scholarship.
Oh may these lessons be etched into my thick, stubborn skull!
By His Grace.
April 1st, 2008
I pray humanity would just be honest with itself. Why can’t we be honest as individuals? Why can’t we be real as a people. We are always in hiding. Even something as small as forgetting a person’s name reveals how much we don’t want to humble ourselves. We simply have a hard time saying, “I’ve forgotten your name. I’m sorry. Can you please give me your name again?”
I am going out on a limb and saying that at some point in everyone’s life we have forgotten another person’s name. I am also going out on a limb to suggest that with at least one person we have all used “alternative methods” to retrieve the name. So instead of admitting fault, we rather go around and ask another person in a quiet whisper, leaning into her ear, “Hey, what’s that guy’s name over there in the brown shirt. I forgot.” There are also other methods like going on Facebook and seeing if there is a picture corresponding to the name you have forgotten. One of my favorites is when the person you are talking to has a notion that you have forgotten his name, so he tells you his name to avoid the awkwardness that comes from the conversations as you may refer to him as “man” or “bro.” I almost always reintroduce myself to people to avoid such exchanges.
The best however is the relieved reply you give when that person tells you his name–“Yeah man, I remember your name!”. If it is a girl you might say “Shoot girl, I remember your name! As the conversation continues you are truly grateful.
Now if I seek to save face in something as minuscule as remembering someone else’s name, how guaranteed is it that I will live in my pride in almost every other instance of almost every other aspect of my life?
What would walking in humility really look like then–the day we admit our faults, our mistakes, our forgetfullness, our laziness, our weaknesses, our humanity, our fallibility–our fallenness? Would we not be a more loving, forgiving, merciful, devoted, honest, caring people?
The world claims to want peace, but does not want to pay the price of pride.
The day we lay down our pride will find peace. When we do lay it down–as many individuals have experienced–we will find that peace only comes in the form of Jesus Christ, the Prince of Peace, who is also the epitome of all humility.
Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though He was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but made Himself nothing, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.
By His Grace.
March 5th, 2008
The book of the prophet Habakkuk is powerful as he contends with the Lord over why the Chaldeans (Babylonians) must come and take over their Judea. He questions God and His justice, much in the same way people question God today about why there is so much pain and suffering in the world. It is extremely powerful to read his questions along with God’s response to him. It is only three chapters so I would suggest taking the time to read it. Remember the context however is of a nation who has turned its back on God, worshiping idols created by hands.
These are the poignant closing words of the prophet Habakkuk, which struck me so deeply as I think about how so many of us believe that if we trust in God that our lives will be easy:
Though the fig tree should not blossom,
nor fruit be on the vines,
the produce of the olive fail
and the fields yield no food,
the flock be cut off from the fold
and there be no herd in the stalls,
yet I will rejoice in the Lord;
I will take joy in the God of my salvation.
God, the Lord, is my strength;
he makes my feet like the deer’s;
he makes me tread on my high places.
What makes his words so poignant?
By His Grace.
March 5th, 2008
“Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering for He who promised is faithful; and let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds, not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another; and all the more as you see the day drawing near.”
-Hebrews 10:23-25
I was mopping the floor tonight when the phrase, “a personal relationship with Jesus” popped into my head. We stress this so much in our evangelical culture. “Pray with me, trust in Christ, and you will have a personal relationship with Jesus,” is just one example of many that we use regarding evangelism and the personal relationship. “My faith in Jesus is a private thing; I have a personal relationship with God that I don’t really share,” is another example of how some may talk about their daily experience of walking with Christ.
Now I must establish I firmly believe in a personal relationship with Christ through faith in Him. Paul stresses this when looking at his own salvation, saying “I have been crucified with Christ, and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me” (Galatians 2:20 emphasis added).
But there is a danger in our culture. We are not a communal society; we are an individualistic society. We pursue with all our might that which will make each individual feel best about himself or herself. This is exactly why “self-help” books and new age thinking has become so popular. It is all about the individual. My journey. My way. My life.
Sadly, I believe this thought has crept into American Christianity, particularly in the form of thought surrounding the idea of a “personal relationship.” Too many think that because salvation is such a personal thing, a moment when Christ enters the individuals’ hearts, the Christian life is experienced that way at all. “It’s just me and Jesus, man,” is something I hear often. Renegade Christians who think they can go it alone day in and day out, claiming to live a Christian life that is purer than those hypocrites who attend church regularly. Then there are the others who just can’t seem to find time for church or bible study or fellowship of any kind, but still think they are alright because they are Christians, that Jesus has saved them, and their eternity is secured.
The Bible tells me differently. The Bible tells me that Christianity really isn’t Christianity unless experienced in community.
I can’t go it alone. That’s not how God designed it. Why is that?
Well I think the foremost example is God Himself. Paul ends his second letter to the church in Corinth with this benediction: “The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be with you all.” Our God is a Triune God. The Bible begins with these words:
In the beginning God [God the Father] created the heavens and the earth. The earth was formless and void, and darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God [God the Spirit] was moving over the surface of the waters. Then God said [God the Son], “Let their be light”; and there was light -Genesis 1:1-3
Since the before the beginning of all things the God in whom we are created in His image is a God exists in community, perfect community. And because we are created in His image (Gen. 1:26-27) we are created to reflect the same joy of living in community as God Himself does.
When our perfect Triune God created all things, the one thing he did not see as a good thing was that man was alone, so he created a suitable helper for Adam (Gen. 2:18).
The Bible is an entire book about both personal relationship and community. They interact and work together, but are broken if separated.
If we claim to have a personal relationship with Jesus, but neglect community, we stifle the work of the Spirit, hearts are hardened, and people are easily self-serving. The Hebrews verse above implies this as those who did gather together did so to stimulate one another to love and good deeds. Those who forsook this did so selfishly.
If we have community but do not have a personal relationship with Jesus we are simply sinners still in need of His saving grace. Nothing more said.
I could provide countless other examples, but all it really takes is a Christian reading his or her Bible to see that we who claim to have a personal relationship with Jesus exist for community and God is most glorified in that (see Acts. 2:42-47 for example).
As my pastors says and I wholeheartedly affirm, “If you are a Christian, going to church isn’t an option. It’s an obligation.”
By His Grace.
February 26th, 2008
(To listen to the talk, scroll to the bottom of the entry)
Experiencing grace is one of the most difficult things for a Christian. Even for us it is so often too good to be true. We easily want to and easily do revert to the “pull yourself up by the bootstraps” mentality. I for one think pretty regularly that I am cool guy and that people like me and therefore I am “good.” I think the things I do are noble and worthy of attention. I become my own god, pridefully bringing the One True God down to a manageable level for me. It doesn’t work like that though. I am the created. He is Creator. The fact that He even allows me to have these thoughts is evidence of His grace.
For those who don’t know Jesus, grace is probably also the most difficult thing to comprehend, though the grace of God the Father through God the Son, Jesus Christ, by the power of God the Holy Spirit is one enormous distinguishing mark that separates our God from all other gods and man-made religions in this world.
This is what I spoke on tonight at CRU–the God of all grace. As promised, here are the notes should you want to check the Scripture references or reread any of the points.
1. What is grace?
- Paul opened and closed every letter of his reminding his readers of grace (see Phil. 1:1-2 as one example)
- My personal opinion that the Bible in itself from Genesis to Revelation is one big telling of God’s grace.
- God did not NEED to create; it was His choice (Acts. 17:24-25; John 17:5, 24)
- We responded sinfully (Rom. 1:21)
- We are all sinners who deserve God’s wrath and death (Ps. 14:1-3; Ps. 53:1-3; Ps. 10:7; Ps. 36:1; Rom. 1:18; Rom 1:29-31; Rom. 3:23; Eph. 2:1; Eph. 2:3)
- If anything, we are filled with pride (Gen. 3:1-6)
- But God chooses grace (Ps. 103:8-10)
- Common Grace (Ps. 145:9; Ac. 14:17; Matt. 5:45; Luke 6:36)
Only for the here and now
Ends when our life on earth ends
Does not produce salvation
In the life of a believer it should produce thanksgiving
For unbelievers it is at worst a testimony against them, but at best it points to Jesus Christ, who came “full of grace and truth”
- Saving Grace
The fullness of grace (Jn. 1:14-17)
Christ’s humility in grace (Phil. 2:5-8; 2 Cor. 8:9)
Christ’s death on the cross (Heb. 2:9)
2. How do we experience saving grace
Through faith in Jesus Christ (Rom. 5:1-2; Eph. 2:8-9)
3. What happens to us by God’s grace through faith in Jesus Christ?
We are saved from our sin, the wrath of God, and eternity in hell and given life (Eph. 2:4-6; Rom. 6:23b)
Death and sin are conquered (Rom. 5:17-21)
We are freed from slavery of sin (Rom. 6:12-15)
We are justified (declared not guility) (Rom. 3:24, Tit. 3:7)
We are forgiven (Eph. 1:7)
We are redeemed (Eph. 1:7)
We are sanctified/being sanctified (Phil. 1:6-7)
4. What does experiencing God’s grace produce in us?
Humility
Strength in the midst of weakness (2 Cr. 12:9)
Contentment in all circumstances (Phil. 4:11-13)
A heart for prayer (2 Cr. 9:14)
A “longing” for brothers and sisters in Christ (2 Cr. 9:14)
Hope (2 Th. 2:16)
Courage to preach Christ (Eph. 3:8)
Freedom to run the race set before us (Heb. 12:1-3)
Appreciation and fascination for all life
When we are very young children we don’t need fairy tales: we only need tales. Mere life is interesting enough. A child of seven is excited by being told that Tommy opened a door and saw a dragon. But a child of three is excited by being told that Tommy opened a door.
[Children] always say, “Do it again”; and the grown-up person does it again until he is nearly dead. For grown-up people are not strong enough to exult in monotony. But perhaps God is strong enough to exult in monotony…it may not be automatic necessity that makes all daisies alike; it may be that God makes every daisy separately, but has never got tired of making them.
Finally–JOY!!!
Experiencing Grace:
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February 22nd, 2008
I have been wanting to write this for a while. Well two days.
I drove down to Port Orange (just south of Daytona) on Monday to take my mom to the doctor. It was her first appointment and she wanted someone from the family there, so I had the privilege to be there.
I wanted to see it as a joy of mine, by God’s grace, to spend this time with my mom and serve her in this way. I am learning a lot about His grace and I knew this could be one application of it. However, all of me–my flesh–wanted to complain about having to drive four hours that day. I had just gotten back from Tallahassee the day before, which was four hours of driving that weekend and then I would be leaving for Atlanta on Friday, coming back Sunday, which would be 10 hours of driving this weekend. All that was within me wanted to keep from having to make this drive. All that was within me save that of the Spirit of Christ and His grace.
I think the Lord knew that and wanted to have some fun with me. Yes, I believe God has a sense of humor and yes I do think God tests His children (just look at God’s humor and testing with Abraham and Sarah in Gen. 18:1-21).
So while driving, I was late, then got on the interstate at 10:30 am, only to find myself in traffic. It seemed as though there were actually stop lights on the interstate! Then I finally get off at 326 heading toward 40 only to hit more traffic. Then to my utter unsurprise, there was actual road work being done on a two-lane road, that kind of work that causes one way to remain stopped for a really long time while letting the other lane pass through. Luckily I didn’t have to wait too long, but I did get stuck behind someone who decided to go 10 miles an hour under the speed limit. That person soon stopped in front of me because we had to wait for the train that was crossing over the road I was on. That’s right, there was a train passing through. I hit the lights, hit the traffic, hit the construction–all that could prevent one from going faster than is actually necessary. Somehow I made my way down there in a timely manner; maybe God granted me grace as I had to continually laughing off these crazy happenings.
But I did have to drive back, which ended up being just as comical.
_________
Back on the interstate, now in Daytona driving up toward Ormond to get on 40. I remembered the Daytona 500 was just the day before, so I figured to hit some traffic on the way back. Well about five miles on the interstate I start coming up on a motorcycle and its driver on my right. I didn’t think anything of it at first.
As I came up beside him I looked over because that is what I do; I like to look at other drivers, sometimes smiling, sometimes making faces, sometimes just staring. It’s all kind of funny to see their reactions. I look over toward this gent. He has all the feature of a motorcycle mack daddy–the helmet, the mustache, the leather jacket, the boots, the…THE PANTS??? WHERE ARE THE PANTS ON THAT GUY? I noticed in a flash that this guy had a white towel underneath him blowing in the wind, but besides that there was nothing else on below his waste. All I see is leg. Tan leg. It was like he didn’t wear pants all weekend and got rid of all the tan lines he thought unnecessary. He also seemed to think it would be unnecessary to wear pants back to where he was from. He must be a guy who is concerned with all kinds of freedom.
I couldn’t wave. I couldn’t smile. I screamed a lot though. And tried to laugh it off. Later on though, after the shock, I wondered to myself how badly he would regret not wearing pants should he get in an accident.
________________
I get on 75 and am almost back, driving at the comfortable and unspoken legal speed of 79 mph. But seeing as how it was the day after the Daytona 500, most people on the interstate must have been thinking they themselves drove straight off the track and wanted to maintain the smooth racing speed of 180 mph.
I was in the left lane and this Honda Passport comes flying up behind me, the female driver flashing her lights for me to get out of the way. So here were my options:
-I could change lanes, moving to the middle lane, where I would subsequently crash into the car that is already occupying that spot.
-I could change lanes, moving onto the shoulder, where I would subsequently crash into the railing, causing a 47 car pileup and my death.
-My car’s tires could turn upward so that the jets I have in my hubcaps could propel my car into the air, allowing her vehicle to pass under me. This seemed to be the only realistic option.
Considering all the options, I chose not to break the unspoken law by going over 80 mph, but instead wanted to teach said young lady a lesson on patience. Therefore, I hit cruise control and waited the 2 min. it took to pass the car on my right so I could finally change lanes. I then proceeded to honk my horn at the Honda Passport girl who probably used Morris Code with her lights to “shout” obscenities at me.
_______________
I did make it back safely however.
All by His Grace.
February 20th, 2008
“What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin so that grace may increase? May it never be! How shall we who died to sin still live in it?”
I am asking God if I am my own person. What am I truly convicted about, Father? What am I am so passionate about that I will not only react adamantly when challenged, being resilient and with perseverance, but will be extremely proactive in all ways, perusing the Lord, praying without ceasing, taking big risks, planning with clear direction…when Nehemiah heard the news of Jerusalem, he wept, fasted, and prayed. He prayed with utmost compassion and purpose! He prayed with purpose and what flowed from the purposeful prayer was a clear plan.
Am I praying with purpose? Am I praying with a burden like Nehemiah had? In reality I just don’t feel that! I don’t feel it! Nehemiah, Paul, Jesus–all were moved from within by the Spirit and their emotions were stirred. I am not moved from within! Why Father? When will my heart break like theirs over people who don’t know You or Your children who aren’t walking with You?
Sometimes I am shocked at how God answers prayer for I can truly say that right now I am heartbroken less than 10 hours after I prayed this prayer. I can not say I enjoy it, or in all honesty, am thankful to God for answering this particular prayer. This hurts. I am hurting right now, burdened for the people of God who don’t seem to be walking with Him right now; hurting for the people of God for whom I feel I have poured myself out along with countless others. My heart hurts for Jesus because I know this pains Him so much more than me.
February 10th, 2008
I was listening to a sermon by Mark Driscoll last week, which was on grace. He preached on 15 different types of grace we see in Scripture. All of them fell under the two major types of grace, common grace and saving grace; well there was common grace and then 14 types of grace found in saving grace. He’s funny like that.
Saving grace is God’s favor over those who deserve death and eternal punishment because of sin but instead receive everlasting life because of Jesus Christ’s death and resurrection. Many will say saving grace is “unmerited favor” which means God gives favor to those who can’t earn it, but I believe saving grace goes deeper than that because by our nature we do not try to merit any favor from God in the first place. Our nature is “disobedient, deceived, enslaved to various lusts and pleasures, spending our life in malice and envy, hateful” (Titus 3:3); elsewhere it says we are “children of wrath” (Ephesians 2:3). Even if we could earn God’s favor, in our heart of hearts, at the core of who we are as sinful beings, we don’t even try! So saving grace found through faith in Jesus Christ is something more than just unmerited or undeserved. It’s open arms by the omnipresent God who lovingly embracing us through His Son despite our endless fight to hide from Him in our sin. I wish I had one word to sum up that kind of favor.
But since Driscoll’s sermon, I have been struck by the reality of common grace. This grace can be summed up in Matthew 5:45–”For He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.” The everyday experiences we have–breathing, eating, drinking, sleeping, talking, walking, seeing, hearing along with witnessing the sun rise and receiving rain–all these are given to each and every one of us through God’s common grace. The startling truth is that we do not deserve anything we have. The Bible says “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth…” and as soon as this happened all creation was under the power of God’s common grace. God had no need to create; He is perfectly content in Himself. So for Him to do so is a gracious act and thus I must perceive life as such.
I was particularly affected by this truth this weekend when I traveled to Orlando and Port Orange to visit my cousins and my mom. There were two views I could have taken during this trip which lasted less than 24 hours: The first is one, which sadly is my default tendency, is to see the trip as a burden, having to pack in so much “family time” as I can. I only saw my cousins once all of last year and wanted to change that, but the drive seems long and being with them can sometimes be a challenge. Then driving another hour to see my mom, stay with her for the night, and drive back to Gainesville the next day, putting on 300 miles in that span of time, can be perceived as daunting and undesirable.
But another view came into focus while dwelling on common grace yesterday. Knowing that every act of mine–every act–is given to me and every person in this world by the grace of God, I began to see my time with family the way it should be seen–in the light of privilege and joy. Job writes, “What is man that You magnify him, and that You are concerned about him, that You examine him every morning and try him every moment?” (7:17) and David echoes this sentiment writing, “What is man that You take thought of him, and the son of man that You care for him?” (Psalm 8:4). The God who created all things extends His grace to me in a very practical way, allowing me to have a family, to visit my cousins, to eat lunch with them and play with them in the park, to drive to my mom’s, to talk with with her, to go out to dinner with her, to hang new curtains up for her, to kiss her goodbye.
Many people who know me think I have lived a pretty difficult life. I shall spare the details, but it is a life that could easily lead one to self-pity and a “woe is me” attitude, should I delve into that false world of lies. The truth of God speaks to me however and shouts that I am under grace in every way and thus there is nothing to pity or feel sorry for. Instead I must be grateful and I pray that I can see more and more through every circumstance the privilege I have to live this life under God’s common grace. And this goes for all of us; not one person, creature, plant, or any other thing, exists apart from God’s common grace.
The point of common grace, however, and this must be stressed with utmost importance, is to point us to God’s saving grace found in Christ. The grace every human being experiences is only good for the here-and-now; once life on this earth is over, that grace ceases to cover us. But I pray that we all begin to see more clearly the lives we live in this world, that God has given us abundant grace beyond comprehension, regardless of our circumstances, from the most dire and seemingly unfair to the most easy-going and picture perfect. All is given to us by God that we may understand more fully the kindness He extends to us, yes, for the here-and-now, but more so through the death and resurrection of His Son, that we might know His saving grace and enjoy the privilege of His presence and the completion of joy forever and ever.
By His Grace.
February 3rd, 2008
Just wanted to give a quick update.
I transitioned from a PC to a Mac back in November and that set me back with putting content on the website, including talks, prayer letters, and documents I have written. I have recently added my latest talked, entitled “Convergence,” (see post below), updated to my latest prayer letter and posted a strategy document called “10,000 Conversations.” You can find those last two in the Media section of my website.
Thank you for those of you who check out the website and please let me know how I can be praying for you by going to the prayer section on the website and sending your requests in.
By His Grace.
February 1st, 2008
Here is my latest talk entitled, “Convergence.” I pull the concept from Acts 17:26-27, which says:
“…and he made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined their appointed times and the boundaries of their habitation, that they would seek God, if perhaps they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us…”
There is no mistake why I am here. There is no mistake why you are here. We all have purpose and each one of our lives have meaning. That purpose and our meaning is God Himself. Listen and hear how I believe each one of our lives is beautifully designed to converge with God through Christ.
Convergence:
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February 1st, 2008
And oh what an experience! One of the guys in our community group decided that we would model something that we did during Unveiled, the conference we had over Christmas. So this evening, in Unveiled fashion, we went downtown with brown bags of goodies–chips, cookies, and water along with 4 Spiritual Laws booklets–and went to engage with the homeless by giving some food and lending our lives for some hours.
There is no boasting here. There is no championing the “I did a good deed for the day” mentality. The night was just crazy.
It started off in good conversation with Rick and Lenny. I learned much of their personal perspectives on being homeless and the other homeless around them. They shared how Gainesville is a great place to be if you are homeless because the social services are so good. For example, Rick was able to get his ears worked on last night at a Methodist church for free and he also talked about how social services paid for $6,200 in medical bills when he had to stay in the hospital. Lenny talked about how he wanted to go back to school and he seemed somewhat disgusted with the homeless men and women who remain that way due to alcohol, drugs, and a self-pitiful way of thinking. I asked how living on the streets affected their view of God and they both pulled out their Bibles to talk about how God is a part of their lives. They said Fire of God Ministries and Pastor Arnold has been great to them.
Then I walked toward the bus station where only a few from our community group remain. This is when the night got interesting as it started to rain and people began to congregate there.
There were a few groups of people. One was this small group of younger white guys, around college age, who were all pretty intoxicated which was evidenced by their continual drinking of 32 oz. bottles of “Hurricane.” Then there was a group of black men just hanging around talking and sometimes interacting with the larger group. Another pair were two guys, Jim and another whose name I can’t remember, who were very intrigued by the Bible. So we began talking to Jim.
Jim shared how his life was changed three weeks ago when he walked in the doors of Fire of God Ministries. He said the Spirit descended on him and he has been walking strongly ever since. He busted out his Bible and shared how he was out witnessing to a community tonight and because of that he couldn’t stay at the Salvation Army. We prayed with Jim and then the other guy came into the conversation and started talking with Chase, one of the guys from our community group still left. He was sharing how he had been in jail for 20 years, and on the 18th year he got saved. He said how he was constantly being tempted and falling into temptation, including tonight as drank a good bit and smoke some cigarettes. As the rain began to pour harder, things got even crazier.
One of the young white guys who was wasted–literally wasted–started getting irate. One of the black guys had said something, which was probably nothing, and the kid started seething. He was making weird noises and then took off his shirt, screaming how just wanted to beat the crap out of someone, anyone. He wasn’t willing to come after any of us though which was probably a good thing.
Eventually he was calmed down by someone else who entered into the picture, a woman who went by Granny. She was this amazing 65 year-old woman who came in with a walker moving ever so slowly! She had a smile that could brighten anyone’s day, no matter how gloomy, and a joy that was clearly present in her life. As she was talking with us she told us about her life and how God was with her. She spouted off Bible verses like it truly was written on her heart and she said that this was her place of ministry, showing care to those on the streets by just being there for them.
But the kid started going off again. This time he started yelling how he didn’t care if he went to jail and that he had been there before. This triggered the guy who had been in jail for 20 years. And that was not a good thing.
The older guy stepped up to the younger kid and started telling him to be quiet because he didn’t know anything about jail. The kid was exploding by this point, not listening to anyone, and ready to burst at any moment. This got the older guy even more pissed and before I know it–THUMP!–the older man punches the kid in the chest, knocking him back a good 5-7 feet.
The kid didn’t want to fight after that, but by this point the older man was ready to fight and kept going after him. They pass right by me and when they do the older man jacks the kid in the face, knocking him to the ground! He hits him a few more times, and then picks him up off the ground and starts carrying him back as if to say, “Now I’ve taught you a lesson. Don’t act up again.”
We left by this point. It was best. I could share so much more as this story is surely not complete. God did a good bit of work on my heart tonight and I am sure I haven’t fully taken in everything that happened. But man, did that kid get put in his place!
January 22nd, 2008
So life has been one big travel fest over the past month. Without too many details, the latest of those travels was a trip to San Antonio for training. I will be leading a Summer Project (an opportunity Campus Crusade provides for students to grow in their faith through evangelism and discipleship. I will be heading back to Salerno, Italy, back to where everything began after college.
Anyway, I was flying back today and had an interesting encounter that caused me to ponder. I enjoy talking to the folk that neighbor me in the seats, though today I was ready to just sleep. Thus I get the window seat so I can have a place to lay my head.
I got to my seat and there were to girls in my row who knew each other and seemed to be good friends. I started asking the girl next to me questions you typically ask on the plane:
“Are you vacationing or returning home?”
“Where are you from?”
She was friendly and began asking me the same questions, so I got to share about the conference and what I do for a living; I said I was leading a trip this summer with a group called Campus Crusade for Christ. I always wonder how people will react when I say I am with Campus Crusade. The reactions always vary.
She seemed to receive it well, not reacting one way or another, until I told her I would be going to Salerno, Italy, to which she reacted with surprise, like most do because people don’t think that place needs missionaries. Both Christians and non-Christians alike are naive to think that.
The conversation soon died out, but I noticed a shift in her demeanor as she inched closer to her friend, leaning significantly over to her side. She began whispering some things into her friend’s ear and I wish I could say I didn’t notice, but if I didn’t I wouldn’t be writing this. Then, to confirm some growing suspicion, she then kisses her friend on the lips. She whispers a little something else and then kisses her “friend” again.
The next thing that happened was odd. I sneezed twice, and on the second sneeze she said “bless you.” That wasn’t odd, but then she said “Don’t sneeze a third time or you will disappear.” I said, “What?” and then she said, “If you sneeze a third time you will disappear. A nun told me that once.” I laughed and said I would have disappeared a long time ago ’cause I have a tendency to sneeze 7 or 8 times in a row. Luckily for me I didn’t sneeze again. Where would I disappear to?
That interaction was interesting to me because we didn’t really talk the rest of the way back. I ended up sleeping the whole way. We got off the plane and had some eye contact, but the rest of the time felt uncomfortable. I think they thought I was judging them and I I thought they thought I was judging them.
What I wonder is if they got in the car of a friend who picked them up and when the friend asked how the flight was they said, “It was good. We sat next to a Christian though.” I have to confess that I did that with my friend. I told him when he picked me up that I sat next to lesbians. I think if anyone sat next to two people of the same sex kissing each other on a plane they would bring that up in conversation afterward. That goes for heterosexuals as well.
But did they do the same, as if sitting next to me was some weird, awkward situation because they may have developed some assumptions about my thinking because they labeled me “Christian”? I don’t mind the label at all, because that is what I am; what I do mind are the false and ignorant assumptions that people who do not know Christ develop, thinking they have some right to because they believe we are always standing in judgment of them.
I am not saying these girls did this, but I know too many that do. I do wonder what they thought though. I guess I can only wonder…
January 15th, 2008
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