Preparing My Heart

the time is growing nearer to the day we will board a plane as a team and commence on what i'm sure will be a life-changing experience and beautiful journey the Lord has prepared for us.

in exactly one month from tomorrow, a group of 12 of us will be traveling to toangama, a little village on the coast of tanzania. there, we will provide manual labor to construct a school/church building for the community, along with bringing raised funds for the addition of a new well for clean water. ultimately, our prayer is that we will be able to reflect the compassionate and loving nature of Jesus Christ by alleviating the suffering of those impacted by unsafe drinking water.

more specifically, my prayer is that every single person going, especially myself, remembers the ultimate sacrifice of our loving savior who died on a tree for every one of us; the sinners of the world. for we will be sleeping on thorny sand and bathing in the ocean by bucket. our restroom will consist of a hole in the ground. temperatures of above 90 degrees is the condition of the environment, along with mosquitoes and other threatening creatures that may be hazardous to our health. i pray that disease and illness stays far from us, and that if we do encounter it, our heavenly father would reach down to his children and heal whomever we are praying for. along with sacrifices we'll be making while there, personally, i have and will continue to struggle financially and my bank account has never looked so barren. while there are few different and even painful reasons for this, i still believe that the Lord is teaching me something. all my treasures are His. my prayer is that i am reminded of this every time i write a check and that even though it may look like i have little... i am very blessed and very rich. my suffering and sacrifice is nothing like that of Christ's... and what's mine will always go to the furthering of His kingdom. i pray that.

i also pray that once we arrive, our hearts are burdened ten fold, and we are able to experience a life-changing and humbling divine moment that will pave the way for the entire time we're there. my hope is that by continuing to seek the Lord in this foreign land, we will grow closer to Him as his followers and gain wisdom through Him and the people he places in our lives and situations He gives us while there.

in this up-coming month and start of a new year, i'm almost positive that my life will look like a roller-coaster. i picture a huge target on my back and i can only imagine all the evil ways the enemy has planned to come into my life and take advantage of the changes that are going on. while taking this next semester off of school, i hope to really concentrate on what God has willed for my life. i just want to listen and be patient and faithful. i am weak, very weak. this has been proved to me more than ever during these last 6 months. this last semester was horrible for me. i'm not even sure sometimes if i should have stuck it out like i did. nevertheless, here i am, at what seems like a fresh start... wow, what a cheese ball sentence. but, it's true.

God is good in all seasons, this is and has become very apparent to me. with all of my breath, with this heart in my chest, my desire is to be prepared for what is coming next in my life. i believe my life will be ever changed because of africa and i cannot wait to see the ways in which God is moving there! i continue to ask that my heart be made ready for what i will see and do there. i also hope and pray that everything said and done will be to the glory of our heavenly father.

it's not about me. it is not about me.

"Religion is Comparable to a Childhood Neurosis"...?

there was a young man named aaron.

arron wanted to go to college and study and he wanted to go into ministry. so he applied for a ministry jobs on church staffs and christian organizations. he was there in chicago and nobody would hire him; he became befuddled and said, "why in the world do i wanna go serve God with my life and i wanna get a job but i can't get one?"

so he finally got desperate after several weeks and he took a job with the bus company. he learned his route and then he went throughout the city on the south side of chicago doing his bus route. he was a rookie driver; a very young kid- and once he started driving throughout his route, he realized what a dangerous community he really was in. a small gang of tough kids spotted the young driver and they began to take advantage of him. they'd hop on the bus, and they'd look at him and then walk past him without paying for their bus ride. of course he's intimidated by the gang so he kind of lets them go. but finally he says, "i've had enough of this," and so when they got on and they did their little antics, he thought, "i'm going to fix them," and he pulled his bus over to the next corner where there was a policeman on the corner.

he got out and grabbed to policeman and brought him on the bus. the policeman walked up to every single member of the gang and said, "pay up or get off." they all paid up. the policeman got off. and he turned the corner around the block, and the gang got up out of their seats and beat him bloody. he lost two of his teeth, his eyes were swollen shut and he was put in the hospital. when he woke up, there he was in the hospital; beaten and his money was gone. the job put him on a weekend release and he spent the weekend in his apartment in confusion and anger, and the disillusionment added fuel to the fire of his pain.

he spent the night wrestling with God, "how could this be? where is God? i wanna serve Him. i prayed for a ministry, i would serve Him anywhere doing anything and this is the thanks i get?"

so he wakes up on monday morning and goes to the police station and presses charges against the gang members. with the help of the officers and the other people on the bus, they identified them and put all of them in court. and so aaron walks in with his attorney and the gang walks in with their attorney and they sit there and they go to prosecute.

"...and suddenly," aaron said, "while i was sitting there, i had a whole new series of thoughts. the holy spirit of God actually made me not have bitter thoughts, but actually compassionate thoughts. i no longer hated them, i actually pitied them. they needed help not more hate."

and as the trial went on, his heart gradually changed. the verdict from the judge was given as guilty to the entire gang.

aaron stands to his feet... and says this, "your honor, i would like you total up all the days of punishment against these men- all the time sentence against them, and i request that you allow me to go to jail in their place".

the judge didn't know whether to spit or wind his watch. both attorneys were stunned. as he looked at the gang members, their eyes were saucers. and he looked over and he said, "it's because i forgive you".

and the judge said, "young man, you're out of order. this sort of thing has never been done before." and aaron looked up at him and said this, "oh yes it has, yes it has your honor, it happened over 19 centuries ago. when a man from galilee paid the penalty that all man kind deserved".

freud says that "religion is comparable to a childhood neurosis".

i got that story from jay janz, a pastor at providence bible church in denver colorado. here's the jist of what he says Jesus says about religion...

napolean once said, "religion is what keeps the poor from murdering the rich". if this is true, then how is it that when people hear the word "religion", they cringe?


when you try to gain acceptance with God based on your own needs, desires and passions, you end up creating something... and man has done this by creating all different types of religions.


many believe that religion is a waste of time, that's it's a list of rules and regulations you must follow. we must memorize all these teachings and oral traditions, rituals and prayers and lists of do's and don'ts. there are new "rules" that people must keep in order to enter into God's grace including, don't take drugs, don't be obscenely wealthy, genetic modification= sin, causing poverty etc.! this is why freud said that "religion is comparable to a childhood neurosis".


a complete rules centered environment has no power. it is man-centered religion. it is dead religion.


religion A: faith in name only. it's attending church and going through all the motions and rituals but it's really empty and dead.
religion B: life changing experience that establishes a commitment to the crucified and risen savior. it establishes an on-going relationship between a forgiven sinner and a gracious God.


many people have been blinded by religion A and therefore cannot see religion B. it's killed people's view of religion B. it's churchianity. i'm afraid to say that people have come to accept the church as some type of religious social club where people come to congregate and nothing more. all the rituals and prayers are done and said, fancy meals and potlucks are had, but the spirit is absent.


james 1:26-27 says, "if anyone considers himself religious and yet does not keep a tight rein on his tongue, he deceives himself and his religion is worthless. 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."


for some time now, i've struggled with the word "religion". i think most of my friends do. christians or not. when most people think about religion, they tend to think about an experience they've had with dead religion (religion A). but as followers of the gospel (which is God-breathed and true) and Jesus Christ, we can say that we are part of a religion, because we follow a firm set of beliefs that we hold to with faith. it can be called gospel christianity. it offers something completely different than dead religion.


Jesus gives several pictures of this. here is one:


Luke 18:10-14 says this, "two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. the Pharisee stood up and prayed about himself: 'God, i thank you that i am not like other men- robbers, evildoers, adulterers- or even like this tax collector. i fast twice a week and give a tenth of all i get.' but the tax collector stood at a distance. he would not even look up to heaven, but he beat his breast and said, 'God, have mercy on me, a sinner.'"


Jesus said this: "i tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted."


THE DIFFERENCE:

• dead religion is about me. gospel christianity is about Jesus. we see it played out in the parable and also the story about aaron.
  


• dead religion says that if i obey, i'm accepted by God. gospel christianity says that i'm accepted by God, therefore, i can obey.
  


• dead religion has good people and bad people. gospel christianity has only repentant and un-repentant people.
  


• dead religion claims that "good works" save me. gospel christianity claims that salvation enables me to do good works.
  


• dead religion has the goal of getting something from God. gospel christianity has the goal to get God Himself.
  


• dead religion has an uncertainty of standing before God. gospel christianity has certainty based upon Jesus' work.
  


• dead religion depends on what i do. gospel christianity depends on what Jesus has already done.
  


• dead religion sees hardships as punishment for sin. gospel christianity sees hardships as God's masterful working on my life.
  


• dead religion believes that appearing as a good person is important. gospel christianity believes that being transparent and honest is important.
  


• dead religion seeks to control and dominate. gospel christianity seeks to serve.
  


• dead religion measures itself up against other people. gospel christianity measures itself up against God.
  


• dead religion is motivated by fear and insecurity. gospel christianity is motivated by love, joy, and trust.
  


• dead religion gets angry when criticised. gospel christianity humbles itself realizing that all criticism is God's tool.
  


• dead religion uses prayer to control my environment. gospel christianity says prayer is about seeing and savoring Jesus Christ.
  


• dead religion boasts in the work i do for God. gospel christianity boasts only in the cross.
  


• dead religion says appearance is everything. gospel christianity says the condition of the heart is everything.
  


• dead religion despises those who don't obey. gospel christianity weeps for those who don't obey.
  


• dead religion ends in pride or despair. gospel christianity ends in humbled joy.
  


• dead religion sees Jesus as the means. gospel christianity sees Jesus as the end.
  

Jesus didn't just promise redemption, He delivered it. no religious practice has the power to to give every human being their ultimate need; redemption. but Jesus can and will redeem you if you place your trust Him. don't waste your time trying to get redemption from religion. for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled and those who humble themselves will be exalted.

Acts says this Jesus is the stone that was rejected by you, the builders, which as become the cornerstone. neither is there salvation in anyone else, there is no name under heaven given among men whereby we must be saved.

Divine Romance

The Cracked Pot

This is something cool that my friend Derrik posted on facebook a few days ago and I think it is just so sweet.

He is studying the Bible in South Africa, I believe in Muizenberg Africa- with an organization called Youth With a Mission.

A water bearer in India had two large pots, each hung on each end of a pole which he carried across his neck. One of the pots had a crack in it, and while the other pot was perfect and always delivered a full portion of water at the end of the long walk from the stream to the master's house, the cracked pot arrived only half full. For a full two years this went on daily, with the bearer delivering only one and a half pots full of water in his master's house.

Of course, the perfect pot was proud of its accomplishments, perfect to the end for which it was made. But the poor cracked pot was ashamed of its own imperfection, and miserable that it was able to accomplish only half of what it had been made to do.

After two years of what it perceived to be a bitter failure, it spoke to the water bearer one day by the stream. "I am ashamed of myself, and I want to apologize to you."

"Why?" asked the bearer. "What are you ashamed of?"

"I have been able, for the past two years, to deliver only half my load because this crack in my side causes water to leak out all the way back to your master's house. Because of my flaws, you have to do all of this work, and you don't get full value from your efforts," the pot said.

The water bearer felt sorry for the old cracked pot, and in his compassion he said, "As we return to the master's house, I want you to look around on the way back."

Indeed, as they went up the hill, the old cracked pot took notice to the sun warming beautiful flowers along the path, and it was cheered some. But at the end of the trail, it still felt bad because it had leaked out half its load, and so again the pot apologized to the bearer for its failure.

The bearer said to the pot, "Don't you notice that there were flowers on your side of the path, but not on the other pot's side? That's because I have always known about your flaw, and I took advantage of it. I planted flower seeds on your side of the path, and every day while we walk back from the stream, you've watered them. For two years I have been able to pick these beautiful flowers to decorate the master's table. Without you being just the way you are, he would not have this beauty to grace his house."

Each of us has our own unique flaws. We're all cracked pots. But if we allow it, the Lord will use our flaws to grace His Father's table. In God's great economy, nothing goes to waste. Don't be afraid of your flaws. Acknowledge them, and you too can be the cause of beauty. Know that in our weakness we find our strength. 2Cor 12:9-10.

He chose because of our weaknesses and not in spite of them.

My First

so, after contemplating whether or not to start an online journal of my thoughts, i finally decided to press on with this blog. if i can use this as a tool to stay connected with friends and family- well, that alone will be worth it. i hope that you, by reading this, will be able to gain further incite into my life by the things i say and write here.

ultimately, if this can be used as a tool to speak truth into people's lives about the amazing Divine Romance i have been so undeserved to come to know and love, then may it be a blessing to the Lord and the furthering of His Kingdom.

i hope you enjoy :)