Have you ever thought about God's original creations as a great big song?
In the beginning He composed the song and taught all of His creations a part.
The stars sing their part. The fish sing their part. Humans sing their part.
But when sin came along, it messed up the song. It turned the beautiful melody into something that sounded ugly and distorted. It seemed like there was no way to fix the song and turn it back into the wondrous harmony it once was.
Then a man came along. He wanted to fix the song. He knew how it was supposed to go and was distressed about how messed up it had become. His name was Jesus, and His job was to erase the mistakes from the score. His job was to restore the cacophony back to it's original beauty.
He was able to fix the music because He helped create the music. And He wanted to fix it for the sake of those listening to it. He wanted them to hear it the way it was supposed to be. And His part in the song was the most exquisite part of all.
Wednesday, April 13, 2011
Thursday, March 24, 2011
Thoughts in My Head
Thought One: Thoughts are quite strange. Sometimes they're frantically running around your mind rushing to get where they're going. Other times they're leisurely strolling around, taking their time getting to where they're going. Sometimes they just sit there. And stare at you. They refuse to move. They just stay there and refuse to get to the point. You don't even know why they're there. Sometimes they hide behind bushes. It's pretty obvious the thoughts are there, but you can't for the life of you find them. Anyway, that was Thought One. (By the way, that was a leisurely stroll thought. :])
Thought Two: Non-Christians often seem to think accepting God's grace is way too easy. A lot of Christians struggle with it, too. They seem to think you can't possibly receive forgiveness through simply asking the God of the universe for forgiveness. Accepting God's grace and vowing to make a change in your lifestyle can also seem cowardly because you aren't offering any compensation for God's grace (something we're used to and comfortable with--one service in exchange for another). However, from my point of view, accepting God's grace is one of the most courageous, humbling, and difficult things a person can do. It comes down to pride. People don't want to admit they can't get forgiveness by themselves, and they don't want to admit they can't get forgiveness by themselves because they don't want to admit they have something they need forgiveness for. That's why it takes courage and humility to accept God's grace. Before you can accept God's grace you must first admit to God that you need grace and forgiveness. Before you can admit to God that you need grace and forgiveness you must first admit to YOURSELF that you need grace and forgiveness, exposing yourself to all your own dirt. We spend a lot of time covering up our dirt. It seems anything but cowardly to humble yourself enough to admit you have dirt in the first place. Anyway, that was Thought Two.
Thought Three: I often try to reach people through experiences we have shared. It's usually good ground to get a conversation going, and if you're counseling someone, well, the only thing you can logically speak from is experience. But I was thinking about this. Sometimes do we try to fit ourselves into Jesus' place? Let me explain. Do we try to act like we've been through everything? Do we get up on our mighty pedestal of "been there done that"? Something I realized today is I haven't been through everything. I can't relate to a lot of situations. But that's okay. I don't have to try to help everyone who has a problem, because that's not my job. My job is to lead them to someone who does understand everything. And (wait for the cheesy part) God CAN understand every situation. God does know how your situation feels because He was right there with you. That's right. I said it. God understands because He was with you while you were in that situation. Anyway, that was Thought Three.
Last thought:
Thought Four: I was watching America's Next Top Model the other day. One of the models had just come back from a photo shoot. This model had very fickle photoshoots. Some days they were amazing and others, eh. Not so much. As Tyra so wisely said to this model, "Your problem is this shoot theme is not your favorite. You need to make it your favorite!" Now let me tie this completely secular reference to my favorite man--Jesus. So we're supposed to serve Jesus with all our passion, all our energy, and everything we have, right? And we're supposed to serve Jesus in everything we do, right? Well, if we're serving Jesus with everything we have and we're serving Jesus in everything we do, doesn't it make sense to do everything with all our passion and everything we have just as if we were doing it for Jesus (because we are)? Just like the model on America's Next Top Model, we have to make things our favorite. We need to act like everything we are doing is our favorite because we're serving Jesus and we're supposed to serve Jesus with everything we've got.
And that's another thing. Why NOT serve God with all we've got? First of all, every facet of us belongs to Him anyway. He created us. I'm pretty sure that entitles him to ownership. Second, He bought us with the blood of Christ and we owe him everything we have, so why not act like we owe him everything?
Anyway, those were the thoughts in my head.
Thought Two: Non-Christians often seem to think accepting God's grace is way too easy. A lot of Christians struggle with it, too. They seem to think you can't possibly receive forgiveness through simply asking the God of the universe for forgiveness. Accepting God's grace and vowing to make a change in your lifestyle can also seem cowardly because you aren't offering any compensation for God's grace (something we're used to and comfortable with--one service in exchange for another). However, from my point of view, accepting God's grace is one of the most courageous, humbling, and difficult things a person can do. It comes down to pride. People don't want to admit they can't get forgiveness by themselves, and they don't want to admit they can't get forgiveness by themselves because they don't want to admit they have something they need forgiveness for. That's why it takes courage and humility to accept God's grace. Before you can accept God's grace you must first admit to God that you need grace and forgiveness. Before you can admit to God that you need grace and forgiveness you must first admit to YOURSELF that you need grace and forgiveness, exposing yourself to all your own dirt. We spend a lot of time covering up our dirt. It seems anything but cowardly to humble yourself enough to admit you have dirt in the first place. Anyway, that was Thought Two.
Thought Three: I often try to reach people through experiences we have shared. It's usually good ground to get a conversation going, and if you're counseling someone, well, the only thing you can logically speak from is experience. But I was thinking about this. Sometimes do we try to fit ourselves into Jesus' place? Let me explain. Do we try to act like we've been through everything? Do we get up on our mighty pedestal of "been there done that"? Something I realized today is I haven't been through everything. I can't relate to a lot of situations. But that's okay. I don't have to try to help everyone who has a problem, because that's not my job. My job is to lead them to someone who does understand everything. And (wait for the cheesy part) God CAN understand every situation. God does know how your situation feels because He was right there with you. That's right. I said it. God understands because He was with you while you were in that situation. Anyway, that was Thought Three.
Last thought:
Thought Four: I was watching America's Next Top Model the other day. One of the models had just come back from a photo shoot. This model had very fickle photoshoots. Some days they were amazing and others, eh. Not so much. As Tyra so wisely said to this model, "Your problem is this shoot theme is not your favorite. You need to make it your favorite!" Now let me tie this completely secular reference to my favorite man--Jesus. So we're supposed to serve Jesus with all our passion, all our energy, and everything we have, right? And we're supposed to serve Jesus in everything we do, right? Well, if we're serving Jesus with everything we have and we're serving Jesus in everything we do, doesn't it make sense to do everything with all our passion and everything we have just as if we were doing it for Jesus (because we are)? Just like the model on America's Next Top Model, we have to make things our favorite. We need to act like everything we are doing is our favorite because we're serving Jesus and we're supposed to serve Jesus with everything we've got.
And that's another thing. Why NOT serve God with all we've got? First of all, every facet of us belongs to Him anyway. He created us. I'm pretty sure that entitles him to ownership. Second, He bought us with the blood of Christ and we owe him everything we have, so why not act like we owe him everything?
Anyway, those were the thoughts in my head.
Wednesday, March 9, 2011
My Own Personal "Isaac"
“By faith Abraham, when God tested him, offered Isaac as a sacrifice.”
-Hebrews 11:17
A couple of weekends ago I went with some friends to go hear a guy named Eric Samuel Timm speak. Eric was speaking about the passage of Scripture that tells the story of Abraham and Isaac as they journey up the mountain to the place where God had commanded Abraham to sacrifice his son Isaac. Eric took this bible story and turned it into a modern application. He challenged us to find the “Isaac”s in our lives-- the things we treasured more than God himself. The audience was challenged to consider how our “Isaacs”s are gifts from God, and we tend to focus on them more than we focus on the one who gave them to us. In conclusion, Eric challenged his listeners to find their “Isaac”s and use it as their sacrifice to God, giving it to God for His purpose. I couldn’t think of my Isaac while I was sitting listening to Eric speak. I couldn’t think of my Isaac when I was thinking about what I was going to write this TJ about. I found my Isaac after I had read the Scripture for the TJ and had thought about it thoroughly.
I have a problem where I become completely overwhelmed if I see something wrong, especially in our broken and hurting world, and know I can’t fix it. Today I realized this problem is my Isaac. I focus on how overwhelmed I am and I begin to worship the feeling of helplessness. When I say worship, I don’t mean I’m singing praise songs to this anxiety, or anything. When I say worship, I mean I devote more time to thinking and worrying about my problem than I devote to meditating on God’s words and God’s presence in my life. This worried, anxious, overwhelming feeling has become my Isaac, the thing casting a shadow over my life, blocking God’s presence from my sight.
So I’ve determined my Isaac, now I must discover how I will sacrifice it to God so He may show me how to use it properly for His plan. First, I must daily hand my Isaac over to God. Second, I must ask God to help me with the temptation of resorting to worshipping my Isaac. For this second step, I must not only say “Lord, help me with this temptation,” but I must mean it, too. We often ask God to take our temptations away, but the largest problem with this request is we don’t usually mean it. As C.S. Lewis says, “he realized that while his lips had been saying, ‘Oh Lord, make me chaste,’ his heart had been secretly adding, ‘But please don’t do it just yet.’” When I ask the Lord to keep me from the temptation of retreating into anxiety, I must mean it with all of myself, or I will never be able to use everything I have to serve God.
Once I have succeeded in turning my Isaac into a tool God uses to do great things, there is another thing I must remember. Hebrews 11:13-14 says, “All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance... Instead they were longing for a better country-- a heavenly one.” In the words of one of my mentors, I must remember, “We were not created for this world, but for eternity.” Whenever I feel my Isaac sneaking back in I must remember not only that results from my actions might not be seen in my lifetime, but also that heavenly results are waiting for me.
So just as I was challenged by Eric Samuel Timm, I am going to challenge you to find your Isaac. Is it a fear? Or is it a relationship you know you value more than your relationship with God? Or it might even be something material such as your car. Once you find your Isaac, sacrifice it to God with your mouth and your heart. Let Him show you how to use it for His glory and purpose instead of your own. And lastly, once you have started on the path of God’s will, don’t get discouraged. Always remember that although you might not see immediate results, the results will come even if they don’t come during your lifetime. God is faithful and His timing is always perfect.
Prayer: Lord, show us the Isaac’s in our life. Give us the desire to turn them over to you entirely. Show us what once interfered in our relationship with You and show us how to use it for Your glory. I pray the Holy Spirit would guide us to follow You with our whole heart, and I pray You remind us of Your presence with every step we take.
-Hebrews 11:17
A couple of weekends ago I went with some friends to go hear a guy named Eric Samuel Timm speak. Eric was speaking about the passage of Scripture that tells the story of Abraham and Isaac as they journey up the mountain to the place where God had commanded Abraham to sacrifice his son Isaac. Eric took this bible story and turned it into a modern application. He challenged us to find the “Isaac”s in our lives-- the things we treasured more than God himself. The audience was challenged to consider how our “Isaacs”s are gifts from God, and we tend to focus on them more than we focus on the one who gave them to us. In conclusion, Eric challenged his listeners to find their “Isaac”s and use it as their sacrifice to God, giving it to God for His purpose. I couldn’t think of my Isaac while I was sitting listening to Eric speak. I couldn’t think of my Isaac when I was thinking about what I was going to write this TJ about. I found my Isaac after I had read the Scripture for the TJ and had thought about it thoroughly.
I have a problem where I become completely overwhelmed if I see something wrong, especially in our broken and hurting world, and know I can’t fix it. Today I realized this problem is my Isaac. I focus on how overwhelmed I am and I begin to worship the feeling of helplessness. When I say worship, I don’t mean I’m singing praise songs to this anxiety, or anything. When I say worship, I mean I devote more time to thinking and worrying about my problem than I devote to meditating on God’s words and God’s presence in my life. This worried, anxious, overwhelming feeling has become my Isaac, the thing casting a shadow over my life, blocking God’s presence from my sight.
So I’ve determined my Isaac, now I must discover how I will sacrifice it to God so He may show me how to use it properly for His plan. First, I must daily hand my Isaac over to God. Second, I must ask God to help me with the temptation of resorting to worshipping my Isaac. For this second step, I must not only say “Lord, help me with this temptation,” but I must mean it, too. We often ask God to take our temptations away, but the largest problem with this request is we don’t usually mean it. As C.S. Lewis says, “he realized that while his lips had been saying, ‘Oh Lord, make me chaste,’ his heart had been secretly adding, ‘But please don’t do it just yet.’” When I ask the Lord to keep me from the temptation of retreating into anxiety, I must mean it with all of myself, or I will never be able to use everything I have to serve God.
Once I have succeeded in turning my Isaac into a tool God uses to do great things, there is another thing I must remember. Hebrews 11:13-14 says, “All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance... Instead they were longing for a better country-- a heavenly one.” In the words of one of my mentors, I must remember, “We were not created for this world, but for eternity.” Whenever I feel my Isaac sneaking back in I must remember not only that results from my actions might not be seen in my lifetime, but also that heavenly results are waiting for me.
So just as I was challenged by Eric Samuel Timm, I am going to challenge you to find your Isaac. Is it a fear? Or is it a relationship you know you value more than your relationship with God? Or it might even be something material such as your car. Once you find your Isaac, sacrifice it to God with your mouth and your heart. Let Him show you how to use it for His glory and purpose instead of your own. And lastly, once you have started on the path of God’s will, don’t get discouraged. Always remember that although you might not see immediate results, the results will come even if they don’t come during your lifetime. God is faithful and His timing is always perfect.
Prayer: Lord, show us the Isaac’s in our life. Give us the desire to turn them over to you entirely. Show us what once interfered in our relationship with You and show us how to use it for Your glory. I pray the Holy Spirit would guide us to follow You with our whole heart, and I pray You remind us of Your presence with every step we take.
Monday, February 14, 2011
Real Valentines
Although Valentine's Day has become a highly commercialized ordeal, a holiday that often promotes cheap "love", February 14 hasn't always been a day of chocolate, flowers, and sappy greeting cards. To some Valentine's Day is a day to truly express your love for people, whether it be a single person or a group of people. To others, however, it is a fake, industry-created holiday designed only to make people feel bad about themselves. I'm not here to bash Valentine's Day or anything, even though it isn't necessarily my favorite. I'm here to share the story of Valentine's Day.
You probably know Valentine's Day is named after a guy called Valentine. There are many stories as to which dude-whose-name-was-Valentine our modern Valentine's Day was named after, but the most popular story is one about a particular Saint Valentine. Here's the deal...
There was this really horrible emperor called Claudius II. For some reason he was involving Rome in a bunch of bloody, unpopular, and most likely unnecessary wars. For apparent reasons, he was called Claudius the Cruel. Now obviously all the Roman soldiers would rather stay with their wives and families than go into violent, impertinent wars. So Claudius the Cruel decided the best way to get his soldiers to cooperate, was to outlaw marriage and courting. Completely. Yea, I think it was an unreasonable move, too. So here comes our protagonist, Valentine! St. Valentine and this other guy named St. Marius were priests who believe Claudius' abolishment of marriage was unfair. So St. Valentine and St. Marius took action. Pretty heroic, huh? They aided the Christians being persecuted, and married couples (well, they didn't like, actually MARRY the couples, they oversaw and officiated the ceremonies and everything. You know what I mean), secretly of course because marriage was obviously illegal. Unfortunately, St. Valentine was apprehended and sentenced to a humiliating beating and then death for his good deeds. Except there was a catch. If St. Valentine would renounce his actions and his Christian faith, then he would be free to go. But St. Valentine stood firm in his belief and was martyred on February 14th, the day of a pagan Roman festival that celebrated Juno, the queen of the Roman gods and goddesses. In an attempt to turn the Romans away from their pagan rituals and also in attempts to recognize the martyred St. Valentine and his good deeds, members of the church tried to popularize February 14th, the festival for Juno, as a celebration of St. Valentine's life and ministry.
The rest is fairly simple. February 14th turned into a celebration of Valentine's life, then into a celebration of the marriages St. Valentine helped officiate, then turned into a celebration of love. From there flower, candy, and greeting card markets noticed flowers, candy, and greeting cards were popular on Valentine's day, and cashed in and started advertising. So there you have it.The story of a heroic martyr was trivialized to a day for greeting cards. Don't get me wrong, there's nothing wrong with greeting cards, it's just a little disappointing for lust, with a saint's name stapled to it, to be promoted in every February advertisement.
I hope I didn't come across with negativity toward the day. I don't mean to be negative at all! Valentine's Day can be a very legitimate celebration if you are celebrating with genuine love. However, as you celebrate February 14th in whatever way you do, I encourage you to remember the name sake of this holiday. A man who believed in the One True God and His perfect Love. St. Valentine was a man who was willing to give up his life for his True Love, and I pray we are inspired to be willing to do the same.
You probably know Valentine's Day is named after a guy called Valentine. There are many stories as to which dude-whose-name-was-Valentine our modern Valentine's Day was named after, but the most popular story is one about a particular Saint Valentine. Here's the deal...
There was this really horrible emperor called Claudius II. For some reason he was involving Rome in a bunch of bloody, unpopular, and most likely unnecessary wars. For apparent reasons, he was called Claudius the Cruel. Now obviously all the Roman soldiers would rather stay with their wives and families than go into violent, impertinent wars. So Claudius the Cruel decided the best way to get his soldiers to cooperate, was to outlaw marriage and courting. Completely. Yea, I think it was an unreasonable move, too. So here comes our protagonist, Valentine! St. Valentine and this other guy named St. Marius were priests who believe Claudius' abolishment of marriage was unfair. So St. Valentine and St. Marius took action. Pretty heroic, huh? They aided the Christians being persecuted, and married couples (well, they didn't like, actually MARRY the couples, they oversaw and officiated the ceremonies and everything. You know what I mean), secretly of course because marriage was obviously illegal. Unfortunately, St. Valentine was apprehended and sentenced to a humiliating beating and then death for his good deeds. Except there was a catch. If St. Valentine would renounce his actions and his Christian faith, then he would be free to go. But St. Valentine stood firm in his belief and was martyred on February 14th, the day of a pagan Roman festival that celebrated Juno, the queen of the Roman gods and goddesses. In an attempt to turn the Romans away from their pagan rituals and also in attempts to recognize the martyred St. Valentine and his good deeds, members of the church tried to popularize February 14th, the festival for Juno, as a celebration of St. Valentine's life and ministry.
The rest is fairly simple. February 14th turned into a celebration of Valentine's life, then into a celebration of the marriages St. Valentine helped officiate, then turned into a celebration of love. From there flower, candy, and greeting card markets noticed flowers, candy, and greeting cards were popular on Valentine's day, and cashed in and started advertising. So there you have it.The story of a heroic martyr was trivialized to a day for greeting cards. Don't get me wrong, there's nothing wrong with greeting cards, it's just a little disappointing for lust, with a saint's name stapled to it, to be promoted in every February advertisement.
I hope I didn't come across with negativity toward the day. I don't mean to be negative at all! Valentine's Day can be a very legitimate celebration if you are celebrating with genuine love. However, as you celebrate February 14th in whatever way you do, I encourage you to remember the name sake of this holiday. A man who believed in the One True God and His perfect Love. St. Valentine was a man who was willing to give up his life for his True Love, and I pray we are inspired to be willing to do the same.
Sunday, January 16, 2011
Chi-Town is God's Town
Day One:
This January I journeyed to a grand city called Chicago. You've probably heard of it. I was on a mission trip with 21 other students and five adults. We went on a prayer tour on our first night in the city. It opened my eyes to a side of Chicago I'd never seen. I'd been to Chicago before, but I'd never seen the frail parts. The parts that are close to crumbling. The parts that are just barely held together by the weak bonds of the community. In that part of Chicago every eye is filled with either absolute hopelessness or overwhelming thanks.
While in that part of Chicago I discovered poverty is not continued by lack of wealth, but by lack of love, and by a lack of reasons to want to move on. A necessity of life--respect-- is denied to the inhabitants of this quartier. People are aware of this side of Chicago, yet they walk past and turn a blind eye, further robbing those enslaved in poverty from their dignity. Are we afraid to peer into the eyes of another out of fear the pain we see in their eyes will fill us with either an apathy or empathy that is too much to bear? The Gospel we preach has stopped there-- at preaching. We've forgotten the Gospel is not merely about saving ourselves. We've forgotten Jesus isn't around to support our frivolities.
We explore our abode for the week and play outside in the snow. And as we conclude our day with a meal of Puerto Rican deliciousness, I can't help but be reminded of our immense blessings and fortune.
Day Two:
We find a need and we work on meeting it, because if you look hard enough, you will always find a need to be filled. We bag food, the donations of a generous food company, then hand out the food, and a smile, to those who need them. It's interesting... I see children who even in the darkness of poverty are still... Children! They practically glow as they smile, laugh, and play with whatever they can find.
Next we are given five dollars and told to build a relationship by using the five dollars to meet someone's need. God did some amazing things in that activity. My group stopped to pray before we headed out on our mission, but we didn't even have to move to find someone willing to speak to us. His name is James, and he washes storefront windows to make ends meet. He tells us, "Business is tough. A person could starve out here." He pulled more relevant Scripture out of his mind than I ever could have, and you could tell he was trying to live by it. Meeting James convicted me. I have so many amazing opportunities, yet I fail to use them to their greatest advantage. After talking for a while, we offer James the five dollars. But he refuses. He's fasting and focusing on God right now, so he doesn't need a meal. We didn't get rid of our five 'meet-a-need' dollars, but I think we met one of James' needs that wasn't financial--a good conversation.
Cornerstone Community Outreach is our next stop, where we prepare food and fill a lot of hungry stomachs. As I help serve food, the hopelessness of some recipients makes me want to give them a big hug, while the enthusiastic gratefulness of others has the same effect. After serving food, we dance around the kitchen, singing and washing dishes, while creating our own close-knit community of five people who normally wouldn't have 'hung out'.
During our experiences of day two, I discovered in order to properly serve, testify, and love someone, you must know their language and culture. You can't just walk into a place and start preaching; you have to learn the context in which you are preaching, first. God is working everywhere, and it is a missionary's job to find where he is working and build upon it. Instead of waiting for God to show up, a missionary realizes God is already there. I also learned I must not only be thankful for resources, but I must use them to their fullest potential, squeezing every useful morsel out of what God has given me.
The day finishes with an amazing meal of Thai food, and some great laughs over some not so great jokes.
Day Three:
Starting at The Canaan, we again help hand out bagged food to those with empty stomachs. However, my job was not to help hand out food, my job was to help file paperwork on everyone who comes to The Canaan to receive food. They fill out a sort of registration form the first time they come, and every time they come after that it's written down on their sheet. It's not hard work, all I do is alphabetize hundreds of papers. But after we're finished and The Canaan is closed for the day, I'm pulled aside by a fellow servant, a regular when it comes to serving at The Canaan. She thanks me for doing all the paperwork, and explains how it always frustrates her too much for her to ever finish it. It was an interesting reminder of everyone's different talents. I didn't mind filing papers. I actually enjoy doing things like that. However, the other servant did not enjoy it, and I was able to use my God-given abilities and interests to do something that turned out to be a huge blessing to someone else.
Our next stop on Day Three is a soup kitchen called Two Little Fish. Except it isn't a soup kitchen, says the man in charge of the whole shebang. It's a place where people can come and be served something to eat. It isn't a soup kitchen. I was feeling carsick from the drive there, so I don't remember much from our visit to Two Little Fish, except for concentrating on not throwing up. And by the grace of God, we weren't needed to serve lunch that day, so I, personally, would not have to serve with only half of myself (since my other half would be trying to suppress sickness). The other group serving that day was a group of Buddhists. They served so beautifully and willingly. It was amazing. They were serving for different reasons than we were, but they served with such amazing hearts, and they don't even know Jesus' love like we do.
Observing the Buddhist group as they served with their whole heart taught me something, even though I was feeling sick. I was reminded of the story of the Good Samaritan. The Samaritan was a foreigner in the land, yet he still helped the Jew. This world we live in is God's world. This is His domain, and we are the servants in His land. The Buddhists are foreigners in a land that does not belong to their god, yet they have compassion on those who are shunned and passed by those who claim to follow the one True God. If a group of people who don't know their Savior can serve that completely and wholly, then what's stopping me from having an even greater servant heart since I have the light of Christ inside me? I will strive to be a Christian who does what the bible says because I believe what the bible says.
Our last serving location of the day is another haven for hungry bellies called A Just Harvest. Oh my did that food look good. We make friends with other servants, bonding through our mutual interest of serving God by serving His children. What a great experience it was to make conversation with the guests.
Like a well placed sprig of mint, we garnish our day with some lovely pitas and hummus at a Mediterranean restaurant.
Day Four:
We sit down in Lawndale Community Church and wait for the service. I look at my bulletin and learn the message of the week is called "If we don't, who will?" Hmm... Since I don't believe in coincidences, God must be saying something. The title of this sermon sounds similar to what our youth pastor, Nick Cunningham, tells us often: This is your youth ministry and your mission. If you don't work for it, who will?
I learned a lot that Sunday. A lady called Momma Brenda got up on the stage and shared a poem with us. She spoke fast and with vigor, making it hard to decipher. But I think we got the point. The last line of the poem rang loudly before it was showered with applause of agreement. "Somebody better say something. Somebody better do something. Before it's too late." Momma Brenda got fired up. The good kind of fired up. She wants things to change. And God will use her to change things, because of her willingness to comply with His will.
After Momma Brenda shared her poem, one of the pastors of the church got up to speak. The message was so relevant, I knew God was telling me something. Almost every word of the pastor's message agreed with what I had learned that week. He told us we have to stop waiting for someone else to do the work God has called us, and us alone, to do. He said regular people are constantly ushered by the Holy Spirit to do extraordinary things. He urged us to stop hiding our gifts and privileges and use them. And most importantly, to me, he challenged us with the statement, "Either do something or stop complaining." I can't complain about how messed up this world because I'm contributing to the problem by complaining about it. I can't get all torn up over the evils of this world if I'm not going to do anything about it. It's one thing to have your heart break at the sight of what breaks God's heart, but it's another to trust the Lord enough to do something about it.
As we pile out of the vans at the Chicago-style pizzeria, we are all excited and a bit sad at the same time. This is our last meal in Chicago. After I finish a whopping one and a half pieces of pizza, I watch as Joe, a sophomore, and Nick, our youth pastor, each polish off five pieces each. Bleck. With full stomachs we pile back into the vans and hit the road.
It's a long seven hours, but we're home. Many hugs amongst our now close-knit family and then we head back to our own beds and showers.
My trip to Chicago changed my perspective and inspired me to use my resources better, apply what it means to be a true missionary, and also turn everything I have and do into a way to further the Kingdom of Heaven and serve the Lord.
This January I journeyed to a grand city called Chicago. You've probably heard of it. I was on a mission trip with 21 other students and five adults. We went on a prayer tour on our first night in the city. It opened my eyes to a side of Chicago I'd never seen. I'd been to Chicago before, but I'd never seen the frail parts. The parts that are close to crumbling. The parts that are just barely held together by the weak bonds of the community. In that part of Chicago every eye is filled with either absolute hopelessness or overwhelming thanks.
While in that part of Chicago I discovered poverty is not continued by lack of wealth, but by lack of love, and by a lack of reasons to want to move on. A necessity of life--respect-- is denied to the inhabitants of this quartier. People are aware of this side of Chicago, yet they walk past and turn a blind eye, further robbing those enslaved in poverty from their dignity. Are we afraid to peer into the eyes of another out of fear the pain we see in their eyes will fill us with either an apathy or empathy that is too much to bear? The Gospel we preach has stopped there-- at preaching. We've forgotten the Gospel is not merely about saving ourselves. We've forgotten Jesus isn't around to support our frivolities.
We explore our abode for the week and play outside in the snow. And as we conclude our day with a meal of Puerto Rican deliciousness, I can't help but be reminded of our immense blessings and fortune.
Day Two:
We find a need and we work on meeting it, because if you look hard enough, you will always find a need to be filled. We bag food, the donations of a generous food company, then hand out the food, and a smile, to those who need them. It's interesting... I see children who even in the darkness of poverty are still... Children! They practically glow as they smile, laugh, and play with whatever they can find.
Next we are given five dollars and told to build a relationship by using the five dollars to meet someone's need. God did some amazing things in that activity. My group stopped to pray before we headed out on our mission, but we didn't even have to move to find someone willing to speak to us. His name is James, and he washes storefront windows to make ends meet. He tells us, "Business is tough. A person could starve out here." He pulled more relevant Scripture out of his mind than I ever could have, and you could tell he was trying to live by it. Meeting James convicted me. I have so many amazing opportunities, yet I fail to use them to their greatest advantage. After talking for a while, we offer James the five dollars. But he refuses. He's fasting and focusing on God right now, so he doesn't need a meal. We didn't get rid of our five 'meet-a-need' dollars, but I think we met one of James' needs that wasn't financial--a good conversation.
Cornerstone Community Outreach is our next stop, where we prepare food and fill a lot of hungry stomachs. As I help serve food, the hopelessness of some recipients makes me want to give them a big hug, while the enthusiastic gratefulness of others has the same effect. After serving food, we dance around the kitchen, singing and washing dishes, while creating our own close-knit community of five people who normally wouldn't have 'hung out'.
During our experiences of day two, I discovered in order to properly serve, testify, and love someone, you must know their language and culture. You can't just walk into a place and start preaching; you have to learn the context in which you are preaching, first. God is working everywhere, and it is a missionary's job to find where he is working and build upon it. Instead of waiting for God to show up, a missionary realizes God is already there. I also learned I must not only be thankful for resources, but I must use them to their fullest potential, squeezing every useful morsel out of what God has given me.
The day finishes with an amazing meal of Thai food, and some great laughs over some not so great jokes.
Day Three:
Starting at The Canaan, we again help hand out bagged food to those with empty stomachs. However, my job was not to help hand out food, my job was to help file paperwork on everyone who comes to The Canaan to receive food. They fill out a sort of registration form the first time they come, and every time they come after that it's written down on their sheet. It's not hard work, all I do is alphabetize hundreds of papers. But after we're finished and The Canaan is closed for the day, I'm pulled aside by a fellow servant, a regular when it comes to serving at The Canaan. She thanks me for doing all the paperwork, and explains how it always frustrates her too much for her to ever finish it. It was an interesting reminder of everyone's different talents. I didn't mind filing papers. I actually enjoy doing things like that. However, the other servant did not enjoy it, and I was able to use my God-given abilities and interests to do something that turned out to be a huge blessing to someone else.
Our next stop on Day Three is a soup kitchen called Two Little Fish. Except it isn't a soup kitchen, says the man in charge of the whole shebang. It's a place where people can come and be served something to eat. It isn't a soup kitchen. I was feeling carsick from the drive there, so I don't remember much from our visit to Two Little Fish, except for concentrating on not throwing up. And by the grace of God, we weren't needed to serve lunch that day, so I, personally, would not have to serve with only half of myself (since my other half would be trying to suppress sickness). The other group serving that day was a group of Buddhists. They served so beautifully and willingly. It was amazing. They were serving for different reasons than we were, but they served with such amazing hearts, and they don't even know Jesus' love like we do.
Observing the Buddhist group as they served with their whole heart taught me something, even though I was feeling sick. I was reminded of the story of the Good Samaritan. The Samaritan was a foreigner in the land, yet he still helped the Jew. This world we live in is God's world. This is His domain, and we are the servants in His land. The Buddhists are foreigners in a land that does not belong to their god, yet they have compassion on those who are shunned and passed by those who claim to follow the one True God. If a group of people who don't know their Savior can serve that completely and wholly, then what's stopping me from having an even greater servant heart since I have the light of Christ inside me? I will strive to be a Christian who does what the bible says because I believe what the bible says.
Our last serving location of the day is another haven for hungry bellies called A Just Harvest. Oh my did that food look good. We make friends with other servants, bonding through our mutual interest of serving God by serving His children. What a great experience it was to make conversation with the guests.
Like a well placed sprig of mint, we garnish our day with some lovely pitas and hummus at a Mediterranean restaurant.
Day Four:
We sit down in Lawndale Community Church and wait for the service. I look at my bulletin and learn the message of the week is called "If we don't, who will?" Hmm... Since I don't believe in coincidences, God must be saying something. The title of this sermon sounds similar to what our youth pastor, Nick Cunningham, tells us often: This is your youth ministry and your mission. If you don't work for it, who will?
I learned a lot that Sunday. A lady called Momma Brenda got up on the stage and shared a poem with us. She spoke fast and with vigor, making it hard to decipher. But I think we got the point. The last line of the poem rang loudly before it was showered with applause of agreement. "Somebody better say something. Somebody better do something. Before it's too late." Momma Brenda got fired up. The good kind of fired up. She wants things to change. And God will use her to change things, because of her willingness to comply with His will.
After Momma Brenda shared her poem, one of the pastors of the church got up to speak. The message was so relevant, I knew God was telling me something. Almost every word of the pastor's message agreed with what I had learned that week. He told us we have to stop waiting for someone else to do the work God has called us, and us alone, to do. He said regular people are constantly ushered by the Holy Spirit to do extraordinary things. He urged us to stop hiding our gifts and privileges and use them. And most importantly, to me, he challenged us with the statement, "Either do something or stop complaining." I can't complain about how messed up this world because I'm contributing to the problem by complaining about it. I can't get all torn up over the evils of this world if I'm not going to do anything about it. It's one thing to have your heart break at the sight of what breaks God's heart, but it's another to trust the Lord enough to do something about it.
As we pile out of the vans at the Chicago-style pizzeria, we are all excited and a bit sad at the same time. This is our last meal in Chicago. After I finish a whopping one and a half pieces of pizza, I watch as Joe, a sophomore, and Nick, our youth pastor, each polish off five pieces each. Bleck. With full stomachs we pile back into the vans and hit the road.
It's a long seven hours, but we're home. Many hugs amongst our now close-knit family and then we head back to our own beds and showers.
My trip to Chicago changed my perspective and inspired me to use my resources better, apply what it means to be a true missionary, and also turn everything I have and do into a way to further the Kingdom of Heaven and serve the Lord.
Saturday, January 1, 2011
Reviewing
What can I say except 2010 was an eventful year. I don't want this to be a long, boring, post full of nostalgia concerning the happenings of my year. But I do want to take some time reflecting on a few major occurrences and what I've learned from them.
In April of 2010 I received my black belt, reaching a goal I'd had for three years. A goal I believed I would never achieve, at times. Throughout the entire journey (not just in 2010) I learned respect, perseverance and how to do a proper pushup. :]
This year several disasters struck through our world. Disasters such as earthquakes in Haiti and Chile, and the Gulf Coast oil spill. Though these disasters did not directly affect me, I learned catastrophe is not abandonment by God, but intervention at it's finest. People gather closest to God during times of disaster and times in which they have no one else to cling to. God did not allow these catastrophes for an example of how 'mean' he can be. He used them to call people back to himself.
This year I experienced my first bouts with death. In early July, my aunt had a miscarriage. This was a particularly painful event for our family, as we mourned for my aunt and comforted her through her time of trial. Shortly after, my mom's business partner and the man who was practically my older brother was shot and killed. His death affected many people. Positive results have come, but at the cost of losing a wonderful person. Having someone so close to me die so tragically was horrible. The memories directly after his death are still painful and always will be. I wish this circumstance on no one else. These two events, especially the latter one, have taught me the most this year. I've learned a lot about forgiving. Brandon's murderer was given the same gift of salvation that was given to me. God is willing to forgive Jeff when Jeff asks for forgiveness, which means I should be too. I've also learned not to question God. God is infinitely smarter than me. Even if He chose to tell me His plans, I would not understand them. It's hard not knowing what He's doing, but He's got things under control.
I think the last major event of my year was starting highschool. Since the end of August, everything has been a flurry of getting schoolwork done. I've made it through my first semester of highschool, and I'm learning time management. Trust me, I'm definitely learning time management. I've also learned time with God is absolutely essential. The days I don't spend time with God are the days I'm in my worst moods.
Well, that's my year. It was an up and down year with positive and negative occurrences. But, I learned a lot. I hope you had a blessed and wonderful year, and I pray God will give you an even better 2011.
In April of 2010 I received my black belt, reaching a goal I'd had for three years. A goal I believed I would never achieve, at times. Throughout the entire journey (not just in 2010) I learned respect, perseverance and how to do a proper pushup. :]
This year several disasters struck through our world. Disasters such as earthquakes in Haiti and Chile, and the Gulf Coast oil spill. Though these disasters did not directly affect me, I learned catastrophe is not abandonment by God, but intervention at it's finest. People gather closest to God during times of disaster and times in which they have no one else to cling to. God did not allow these catastrophes for an example of how 'mean' he can be. He used them to call people back to himself.
This year I experienced my first bouts with death. In early July, my aunt had a miscarriage. This was a particularly painful event for our family, as we mourned for my aunt and comforted her through her time of trial. Shortly after, my mom's business partner and the man who was practically my older brother was shot and killed. His death affected many people. Positive results have come, but at the cost of losing a wonderful person. Having someone so close to me die so tragically was horrible. The memories directly after his death are still painful and always will be. I wish this circumstance on no one else. These two events, especially the latter one, have taught me the most this year. I've learned a lot about forgiving. Brandon's murderer was given the same gift of salvation that was given to me. God is willing to forgive Jeff when Jeff asks for forgiveness, which means I should be too. I've also learned not to question God. God is infinitely smarter than me. Even if He chose to tell me His plans, I would not understand them. It's hard not knowing what He's doing, but He's got things under control.
I think the last major event of my year was starting highschool. Since the end of August, everything has been a flurry of getting schoolwork done. I've made it through my first semester of highschool, and I'm learning time management. Trust me, I'm definitely learning time management. I've also learned time with God is absolutely essential. The days I don't spend time with God are the days I'm in my worst moods.
Well, that's my year. It was an up and down year with positive and negative occurrences. But, I learned a lot. I hope you had a blessed and wonderful year, and I pray God will give you an even better 2011.
Friday, December 24, 2010
Anticipation!
“Joshua told the people, ‘Consecrate yourselves, for tomorrow the Lord will do amazing things among you.’”
Joshua 3:5
Today I’m watching my brothers stare ravenously at the mountain of Christmas presents spilling out from beneath the Christmas tree. All you have to do is look at their faces to tell they are not enjoying the wait. The suspense is almost killing them! Yet, they know the anticipated moment has not arrived.
Now imagine you’re an Israelite and Joshua has just told you that God is going to do something amazing tomorrow. There’s a catch, though. You must wait and consecrate yourselves. It’s almost as bad as being a nine-year-old taunted by the gifts under the tree! You know something exciting is about to happen, but you must be patient.
Consecration is the act of setting yourself apart for God’s purpose. It is a mental preparation for what God is about to do in your life. When Joshua told the people to consecrate themselves, he expected them to spend some quiet time in conversation with the Lord and prepare themselves to be used for his glorious plan.
Right now my brothers are mentally preparing themselves for the onslaught of presents. They are getting themselves ready for the long hours of playing with new toys. They might not be in the same situations as the Israelites, but the message is the same: before something big, a time of preparation is almost always necessary.
2011 is on the horizon and God is getting ready to do amazing things in our lives. Just like the Israelites and just like my brothers, we need to prepare ourselves for the spiritual challenges of the dawning year. God is going to do amazing things in your life and through your life, but that won’t happen on it’s own. A time of preparation is needed, and although we don’t like waiting, the wait will be worth the reward. How will you begin your preparation?
Prayer: Father, we love You so much. We know the work You will do in our lives will be great, but we also know you require a time of consecration and preparation. I pray you would give us the will to stick through the time of preparation, and that we would prepare in the correct ways for Your will in our lives. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Madelyn Leembruggen
Joshua 3:5
Today I’m watching my brothers stare ravenously at the mountain of Christmas presents spilling out from beneath the Christmas tree. All you have to do is look at their faces to tell they are not enjoying the wait. The suspense is almost killing them! Yet, they know the anticipated moment has not arrived.
Now imagine you’re an Israelite and Joshua has just told you that God is going to do something amazing tomorrow. There’s a catch, though. You must wait and consecrate yourselves. It’s almost as bad as being a nine-year-old taunted by the gifts under the tree! You know something exciting is about to happen, but you must be patient.
Consecration is the act of setting yourself apart for God’s purpose. It is a mental preparation for what God is about to do in your life. When Joshua told the people to consecrate themselves, he expected them to spend some quiet time in conversation with the Lord and prepare themselves to be used for his glorious plan.
Right now my brothers are mentally preparing themselves for the onslaught of presents. They are getting themselves ready for the long hours of playing with new toys. They might not be in the same situations as the Israelites, but the message is the same: before something big, a time of preparation is almost always necessary.
2011 is on the horizon and God is getting ready to do amazing things in our lives. Just like the Israelites and just like my brothers, we need to prepare ourselves for the spiritual challenges of the dawning year. God is going to do amazing things in your life and through your life, but that won’t happen on it’s own. A time of preparation is needed, and although we don’t like waiting, the wait will be worth the reward. How will you begin your preparation?
Prayer: Father, we love You so much. We know the work You will do in our lives will be great, but we also know you require a time of consecration and preparation. I pray you would give us the will to stick through the time of preparation, and that we would prepare in the correct ways for Your will in our lives. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Madelyn Leembruggen
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