Apparently, though, I'm lucky I'm Korean...I actually get to have Christmas?
6:16 PM Anna Gui: we dont have christmas service
6:16 PM Anna Gui: yea
6:16 PM Anna Gui: we're chinese
6:16 PM Anna Gui: or something
6:16 PM Anna Gui: i dunno
6:16 PM Steve(n) Choi: LOL.
6:16 PM Steve(n) Choi: WHAT?
6:16 PM Anna Gui: nothing
6:16 PM Anna Gui: i dont know why
6:16 PM Steve(n) Choi: You're chinese so you don't have christmas service???
6:16 PM Steve(n) Choi: HAAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHA.
6:16 PM Anna Gui: hahahaha
6:16 PM Anna Gui: i just made that up ok?!
6:16 PM Steve(n) Choi: OMG.
6:16 PM Steve(n) Choi: I'm putting that on my blog right now.
6:16 PM Anna Gui: lololol
6:16 PM Anna Gui: WOWWWWW
LOLOLOL! ANNA!
Thursday, December 25, 2008
Christmas (part 2).
However, my last post doesn't get the whole picture of Christmas, I think. I would not want you to think that I somehow hate Christmas, or have turned green and begun stealing children's presents while wearing a devious smile.
If the thought that there was a Savior who indeed forsook EVERYTHING to come and make us His own didn't move me to absolute tears, I would say that there's something seriously wrong with me. Today is another opportunity to be reminded (over and over) just how much He gave up, and how much I gained through His love.
Thank You, Jesus, for Your love, Your kindness, Your humility, Your patience...
Hebrews 2:10-18:
If the thought that there was a Savior who indeed forsook EVERYTHING to come and make us His own didn't move me to absolute tears, I would say that there's something seriously wrong with me. Today is another opportunity to be reminded (over and over) just how much He gave up, and how much I gained through His love.
Thank You, Jesus, for Your love, Your kindness, Your humility, Your patience...
Hebrews 2:10-18:
10For it was fitting that he, for whom and by whom all things exist, in bringing many sons to glory, should make the founder of their salvation perfect through suffering. 11For he who sanctifies and those who are sanctified all have one source. That is why he is not ashamed to call them brothers, 12saying,
"I will tell of your name to my brothers;
in the midst of the congregation I will sing your praise."
13And again,
"I will put my trust in him."
And again,
"Behold, I and the children God has given me."
14Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, he himself likewise partook of the same things, that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil, 15and deliver all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery. 16For surely it is not angels that he helps, but he helps the offspring of Abraham. 17Therefore he had to be made like his brothers in every respect, so that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. 18For because he himself has suffered when tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted.
Think about that for a second. What He did in His 33 years here on earth was an all-encompassing, all-inclusive, absolutely TOTAL work. He did it all. He dismantled death. He put the rulers of this world to open shame (Colossians 2:15). He established, and now mediates, a new covenant that was perfect and allowed us to freely enter in (Hebrews 12:24). He rewrote all of history, and continues to, without fail.
Is there any other proper response we can have but to say that He can have our absolute all?
Monday, December 22, 2008
Christmas.
I've been having a lot more thoughts on the Christmas season this year as opposed to years past. Maybe it's the season of the walk I'm in, but there are a lot of thoughts rolling around in my head, so I figured I would try to get them down on (hypothetical) paper.
Note: A lot of these thoughts were going on in my head prior to Young's sermon yesterday, but he did elucidate a few of these himself. If you didn't hear it, you can grab the sermon here when they put it up later in the week.
This is entry to make me sound like a scrooge (it is a pretty long rant, I admit), but I've been having a really hard time this year being into the idea of Christmas. Don't get me wrong; I love the fact that Jesus was born in order to die for me (if I didn't, there'd be some serious issues...) However, the idea of Christmas has been rubbing me the wrong way, and I think it may be because I think the way we view Christmas illustrates some key issues I'm having right now with the Church (note the capital C).
1) Christmas is all about the peaceful, charming, picturesque nativity scene.
I think a lot of us, when we think of Christmas, all we see is that nice, quaint nativity scene, while "Silent Night" plays in the background.
Sleeeeeeep in heaaaaavenly peeeeaaaaaacceeeee...
I'm going to be honest. I am not really feeling that image.
Read Luke 2:7 - And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.
Isn't that tragic? Think about this for a second. You're having a kid, and you've got no place to put him. Your forced into having him in a barn, because there's no space anywhere. On a purely human level, that is pretty tragic. But, this isn't just some kid, which would be enough to break your heart, but this is the very King of Kings, Lord of all Lords. Hebrews 1:3 says that "He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power." And you're telling me He chose to be born like this?
Young and I were having lunch yesterday, and we were talking about his sermon, and he said something really interesting. He commented, "Isn't it strange that Jesus decided to become FULLY human, and subject himself to all human things? Even being a baby, and subjecting himself to a baby's faculties? The very person who's words uphold the universe made it so that He would still have to cry to be changed, to be fed...Philippians 2 tells us that He made Himself 'nothing' by taking on the form of a human."
Tim Keller has this illustration that he used for something entirely else, but I'll co-opt it for this: If a human were forced to become a dog, he would consider that a serious downgrade in life. If a dog were forced to become a plant, they would consider that to be a serious downgrade in life. Jesus, Himself, took an infinite downgrade in life by making Himself into the form of a human. And not even a great human, born into royalty, but one that Isaiah 53 calls "a scrubby plant" (the Message).
The nativity scene is not charming. It's heart-wrenching. It's sad.
But that's not the kind of scene we want on Christmas. Oh no.
Here's the truth: I think a lot of us would rather have Santa Claus on Christmas than a Savior who came only to be beaten, torn to shreds, mocked, tortured, and ultimately drowned in His own blood by us. We would rather have something that makes us feel good about everything than be confronted with the fact that, staring at the reality of our Messiah's birth, we ought to do as James 4 directs us:
Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. 9 Be wretched and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. 10 Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you.
MEANING: We would rather have a Jesus that makes us feel good and happy than have a Jesus that tell us to execute ourselves and lose our lives.
Oh dear.
2) Many of us would honestly prefer Christmas to be more about being thankful, being around family and friends, and generally having a good time, being generous by giving gifts.
I think that there is a horrible problem in the Church right now. Maybe it's always been there. I would imagine so.
Religion tells us that if we follow a code, a morality, an ethic, a set of principles, we achieve salvation, happiness, fulfillment. We earn, we get a result, we attain.
Jesus tells us that we don't get that. He freely gives us salvation, but the response must be that that causes us to abandon it all and follow Him. Not a protocol, a person.
Religion is easier, because it demands less. It demands an action, it demands a fulfillment, but it allows us to check it off the list. It requires nothing of the heart, and if you happen to follow the religion of Christianity, well, darn it, if you try hard enough, God's grace'll cover the rest.
Following Jesus is not any of those things.
But, when we do something like take the birth of our Jesus and make it about a set of ideals, a set of good things that ARE involved with following Christ, but aren't Christ Himself, it's the same exact thing.
MEANING: If we make things more about the things that are involved with Christ rather than Christ Himself being the center, all we're doing is making it a religion, no matter how good and God-given those things are.
It's either that a) we want the benefits of following Christ without the cost, which is math that just doesn't work, or b) we can take Christ entirely out of the equation by thinking of "good" things but, in the end, making them ultimate.
3) Ultimately, Christmas (as we know it and celebrate it) pasteurizes Jesus by presenting only parts of Him to the world, rather than Him in His entirety.
I don't disagree with the idea that Jesus was kind. He was extremely kind. He was so compassionate for His friend Lazarus that He broke down and wept when He found out he had died. He comforted the woman who's son had just died, right before He raised him from the dead. It even says He had compassion on entire crowds, because they appeared to Him as "sheep without a shepherd." He invited little children, He ate with prostitutes, tax collectors, Pharisees...It didn't make a difference.
But, He also says in Luke, "Do you think that I have come to give peace on earth? No, I tell you, but rather division."
That sort of takes the wind out of that line in "Hark, the Herald Angels Sing."
How do we reconcile these things? How do we reconcile a Jesus who came and rode into town on a borrowed donkey with His image of being the King of all Kings?
We don't.
God doesn't need us to defend Him. He doesn't need a PR makeover. "I like the whole King of Jews thing, I'm digging the miracles and healing, but I don't think the whole bloody crucifixion thing is going to go over so well, so let's hold back on that one for right now."
No, no, and no.
Remember that part in Revelation? They all starting proclaiming that here comes the Lion of Judah, the great and powerful one who would come and tear the enemy apart, and when He's unveiled, what does John see?
A small lamb, bloodied, looking as though it had been killed.
It's in these seeming incongruous parts that we fail. We think we need to reconcile them, to make them fit together, to have them all sorted out. We think the only way the world will accept our Jesus is if we make Him nice enough. What we end up with is the Jesus you always hear about on Christmas, the one who's nice and peaceful, calm, gentle...These are parts of Jesus, but not the whole. We aren't supposed to present the parts, but we think we need to because the whole is just too darn offensive, too darn scary.
1 Corinthians 1 tells us:
18For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. 19For it is written,
"I will destroy the wisdom of the wise,
and the discernment of the discerning I will thwart."
20 Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? 21For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, it pleased God through the folly of what we preach to save those who believe. 22For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom, 23but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, 24but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.
MEANING: We (the Church) need to give the world Jesus, not the Christmas Jesus, and not the Easter Jesus, because those "holiday Jesuses" aren't really Jesus at all.
Jesus always lived in the shadow of the Cross, and did everything knowing where He was headed. It's why He got so darn mad when Peter tried to tell Him otherwise. For Jesus, the Cross was intrinsic to what He was here to do, even in His birth. I think we need to keep it there, too.
Note: A lot of these thoughts were going on in my head prior to Young's sermon yesterday, but he did elucidate a few of these himself. If you didn't hear it, you can grab the sermon here when they put it up later in the week.
This is entry to make me sound like a scrooge (it is a pretty long rant, I admit), but I've been having a really hard time this year being into the idea of Christmas. Don't get me wrong; I love the fact that Jesus was born in order to die for me (if I didn't, there'd be some serious issues...) However, the idea of Christmas has been rubbing me the wrong way, and I think it may be because I think the way we view Christmas illustrates some key issues I'm having right now with the Church (note the capital C).
1) Christmas is all about the peaceful, charming, picturesque nativity scene.
I think a lot of us, when we think of Christmas, all we see is that nice, quaint nativity scene, while "Silent Night" plays in the background.
Sleeeeeeep in heaaaaavenly peeeeaaaaaacceeeee...
I'm going to be honest. I am not really feeling that image.
Read Luke 2:7 - And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.
Isn't that tragic? Think about this for a second. You're having a kid, and you've got no place to put him. Your forced into having him in a barn, because there's no space anywhere. On a purely human level, that is pretty tragic. But, this isn't just some kid, which would be enough to break your heart, but this is the very King of Kings, Lord of all Lords. Hebrews 1:3 says that "He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power." And you're telling me He chose to be born like this?
Young and I were having lunch yesterday, and we were talking about his sermon, and he said something really interesting. He commented, "Isn't it strange that Jesus decided to become FULLY human, and subject himself to all human things? Even being a baby, and subjecting himself to a baby's faculties? The very person who's words uphold the universe made it so that He would still have to cry to be changed, to be fed...Philippians 2 tells us that He made Himself 'nothing' by taking on the form of a human."
Tim Keller has this illustration that he used for something entirely else, but I'll co-opt it for this: If a human were forced to become a dog, he would consider that a serious downgrade in life. If a dog were forced to become a plant, they would consider that to be a serious downgrade in life. Jesus, Himself, took an infinite downgrade in life by making Himself into the form of a human. And not even a great human, born into royalty, but one that Isaiah 53 calls "a scrubby plant" (the Message).
The nativity scene is not charming. It's heart-wrenching. It's sad.
But that's not the kind of scene we want on Christmas. Oh no.
Here's the truth: I think a lot of us would rather have Santa Claus on Christmas than a Savior who came only to be beaten, torn to shreds, mocked, tortured, and ultimately drowned in His own blood by us. We would rather have something that makes us feel good about everything than be confronted with the fact that, staring at the reality of our Messiah's birth, we ought to do as James 4 directs us:
Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. 9 Be wretched and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. 10 Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you.
MEANING: We would rather have a Jesus that makes us feel good and happy than have a Jesus that tell us to execute ourselves and lose our lives.
Oh dear.
2) Many of us would honestly prefer Christmas to be more about being thankful, being around family and friends, and generally having a good time, being generous by giving gifts.
I think that there is a horrible problem in the Church right now. Maybe it's always been there. I would imagine so.
Religion tells us that if we follow a code, a morality, an ethic, a set of principles, we achieve salvation, happiness, fulfillment. We earn, we get a result, we attain.
Jesus tells us that we don't get that. He freely gives us salvation, but the response must be that that causes us to abandon it all and follow Him. Not a protocol, a person.
Religion is easier, because it demands less. It demands an action, it demands a fulfillment, but it allows us to check it off the list. It requires nothing of the heart, and if you happen to follow the religion of Christianity, well, darn it, if you try hard enough, God's grace'll cover the rest.
Following Jesus is not any of those things.
But, when we do something like take the birth of our Jesus and make it about a set of ideals, a set of good things that ARE involved with following Christ, but aren't Christ Himself, it's the same exact thing.
MEANING: If we make things more about the things that are involved with Christ rather than Christ Himself being the center, all we're doing is making it a religion, no matter how good and God-given those things are.
It's either that a) we want the benefits of following Christ without the cost, which is math that just doesn't work, or b) we can take Christ entirely out of the equation by thinking of "good" things but, in the end, making them ultimate.
3) Ultimately, Christmas (as we know it and celebrate it) pasteurizes Jesus by presenting only parts of Him to the world, rather than Him in His entirety.
I don't disagree with the idea that Jesus was kind. He was extremely kind. He was so compassionate for His friend Lazarus that He broke down and wept when He found out he had died. He comforted the woman who's son had just died, right before He raised him from the dead. It even says He had compassion on entire crowds, because they appeared to Him as "sheep without a shepherd." He invited little children, He ate with prostitutes, tax collectors, Pharisees...It didn't make a difference.
But, He also says in Luke, "Do you think that I have come to give peace on earth? No, I tell you, but rather division."
That sort of takes the wind out of that line in "Hark, the Herald Angels Sing."
How do we reconcile these things? How do we reconcile a Jesus who came and rode into town on a borrowed donkey with His image of being the King of all Kings?
We don't.
God doesn't need us to defend Him. He doesn't need a PR makeover. "I like the whole King of Jews thing, I'm digging the miracles and healing, but I don't think the whole bloody crucifixion thing is going to go over so well, so let's hold back on that one for right now."
No, no, and no.
Remember that part in Revelation? They all starting proclaiming that here comes the Lion of Judah, the great and powerful one who would come and tear the enemy apart, and when He's unveiled, what does John see?
A small lamb, bloodied, looking as though it had been killed.
It's in these seeming incongruous parts that we fail. We think we need to reconcile them, to make them fit together, to have them all sorted out. We think the only way the world will accept our Jesus is if we make Him nice enough. What we end up with is the Jesus you always hear about on Christmas, the one who's nice and peaceful, calm, gentle...These are parts of Jesus, but not the whole. We aren't supposed to present the parts, but we think we need to because the whole is just too darn offensive, too darn scary.
1 Corinthians 1 tells us:
18For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. 19For it is written,
"I will destroy the wisdom of the wise,
and the discernment of the discerning I will thwart."
20 Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? 21For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, it pleased God through the folly of what we preach to save those who believe. 22For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom, 23but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, 24but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.
MEANING: We (the Church) need to give the world Jesus, not the Christmas Jesus, and not the Easter Jesus, because those "holiday Jesuses" aren't really Jesus at all.
Jesus always lived in the shadow of the Cross, and did everything knowing where He was headed. It's why He got so darn mad when Peter tried to tell Him otherwise. For Jesus, the Cross was intrinsic to what He was here to do, even in His birth. I think we need to keep it there, too.
Monday, September 8, 2008
Love.
Here's one thing I'm learning right now.
Falling in love is a choice.
It sounds ridiculous. The term "falling" into love makes it sound like you don't have a choice, you're just sort of tumbling into it. But, I believe that that is wrong.
Any commandment God gives us, it's always a choice. We can choose to follow it or not. We can choose to be disobedient (to our great harm), or we can choose to obey.
As such, it is clear that we can choose to fall in love with God.
When He tells us, "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind," this is a commandment we can choose to follow. We can choose to love God with everything we have. Subsequently, then, falling in love is a choice as well.
We can choose to think about our loved ones, to meditate on their good qualities, to remember the good times spent with them, the great things that they've done for us...We can choose each morning to fall in love with God.
God, help me to choose You.
Falling in love is a choice.
It sounds ridiculous. The term "falling" into love makes it sound like you don't have a choice, you're just sort of tumbling into it. But, I believe that that is wrong.
Any commandment God gives us, it's always a choice. We can choose to follow it or not. We can choose to be disobedient (to our great harm), or we can choose to obey.
As such, it is clear that we can choose to fall in love with God.
When He tells us, "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind," this is a commandment we can choose to follow. We can choose to love God with everything we have. Subsequently, then, falling in love is a choice as well.
We can choose to think about our loved ones, to meditate on their good qualities, to remember the good times spent with them, the great things that they've done for us...We can choose each morning to fall in love with God.
God, help me to choose You.
Saturday, August 30, 2008
Give.
I am getting to a place where I want to give everything I have to the Lord.
This is because I am realizing how little I actually have.
I am tired of living a life that is half given, but half kept.
11I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. 12I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. 13I can do everything through him who gives me strength.
This is because I am realizing how little I actually have.
I am tired of living a life that is half given, but half kept.
11I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. 12I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. 13I can do everything through him who gives me strength.
Thursday, August 28, 2008
Faith.
I have been going through a crisis of faith.
There. I said it.
I am in a period of my life where it is increasingly difficult to live by faith, and not by sight. This is because, I am realizing, that I have very little faith.
To me, there are a lot of things that I wish would just go a certain way. Maybe because I think it'd be better. Maybe because it'd be easier for me. Maybe because I think that that way is a perfectly good solution, and I just don't understand why God doesn't see it that way as well. To put it shortly, I don't get why things have to be God's way, and not mine. Isn't my way good enough? Is God's way really that much better?
These are all the thoughts that have been running through my mind and my heart. And, these things will manifest themselves in all sorts of crazy ways. Last week, I got into an argument with one of my closest brothers and said a few really hurtful things, all because I thought I knew better. But sometimes, it's more subtle. It'll be with how guarded I try to be with my heart in opening up to the person I know that I should. It'll come when I'm trying to pray, and simply can't praying according to His will, instead of my own.
What does faith even mean?
Hebrews 11 tells us, "Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. 2For by it the people of old received their commendation."
Ummm...okay. ESV's version sort of sucks. Let's try that again.
"1-2 The fundamental fact of existence is that this trust in God, this faith, is the firm foundation under everything that makes life worth living. It's our handle on what we can't see. The act of faith is what distinguished our ancestors, set them above the crowd."
I am told two things: Faith gives us the hope that makes life even worth living, and this faith is what pleases God.
The Message's translation of verse 4 is also pretty handy.
4 By an act of faith, Abel brought a better sacrifice to God than Cain. It was what he believed, not what he brought, that made the difference. That's what God noticed and approved as righteous. After all these centuries, that belief continues to catch our notice.
Faith is apparently what makes all the difference. Faith in what is to come, even if we never receive it. And it's this faith that enables us to please God; faith that He "exists and that he rewards those who seek Him."
But, still, I'm left with the question of how I actually receive faith. And I think I finally received the first step today when I opened up my Bible to do my quiet times.
Psalm 78 is all about remembering God. When the Ephraimites forgot what God had done for their ancestors, they fell into disobedience (i.e. they did not please God.) The psalmist tells us that they established the testimony of God to the next generation, not for the sake of indoctrinating them, but so that the children:
7 should set their hope in God
and not forget the works of God,
but keep his commandments;
8and that they should not be like their fathers,
a stubborn and rebellious generation,
a generation whose heart was not steadfast,
whose spirit was not faithful to God.
I think the first step is remembering. Remembering what God has done. Remembering how far He brought us. Remembering that, without Him, we'd be dead in our transgressions.
I don't know what the next step is for receiving faith. I really wish I did. But, I am grateful God has given me this first step.
Help me remember.
There. I said it.
I am in a period of my life where it is increasingly difficult to live by faith, and not by sight. This is because, I am realizing, that I have very little faith.
To me, there are a lot of things that I wish would just go a certain way. Maybe because I think it'd be better. Maybe because it'd be easier for me. Maybe because I think that that way is a perfectly good solution, and I just don't understand why God doesn't see it that way as well. To put it shortly, I don't get why things have to be God's way, and not mine. Isn't my way good enough? Is God's way really that much better?
These are all the thoughts that have been running through my mind and my heart. And, these things will manifest themselves in all sorts of crazy ways. Last week, I got into an argument with one of my closest brothers and said a few really hurtful things, all because I thought I knew better. But sometimes, it's more subtle. It'll be with how guarded I try to be with my heart in opening up to the person I know that I should. It'll come when I'm trying to pray, and simply can't praying according to His will, instead of my own.
What does faith even mean?
Hebrews 11 tells us, "Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. 2For by it the people of old received their commendation."
Ummm...okay. ESV's version sort of sucks. Let's try that again.
"1-2 The fundamental fact of existence is that this trust in God, this faith, is the firm foundation under everything that makes life worth living. It's our handle on what we can't see. The act of faith is what distinguished our ancestors, set them above the crowd."
I am told two things: Faith gives us the hope that makes life even worth living, and this faith is what pleases God.
The Message's translation of verse 4 is also pretty handy.
4 By an act of faith, Abel brought a better sacrifice to God than Cain. It was what he believed, not what he brought, that made the difference. That's what God noticed and approved as righteous. After all these centuries, that belief continues to catch our notice.
Faith is apparently what makes all the difference. Faith in what is to come, even if we never receive it. And it's this faith that enables us to please God; faith that He "exists and that he rewards those who seek Him."
But, still, I'm left with the question of how I actually receive faith. And I think I finally received the first step today when I opened up my Bible to do my quiet times.
Psalm 78 is all about remembering God. When the Ephraimites forgot what God had done for their ancestors, they fell into disobedience (i.e. they did not please God.) The psalmist tells us that they established the testimony of God to the next generation, not for the sake of indoctrinating them, but so that the children:
7 should set their hope in God
and not forget the works of God,
but keep his commandments;
8and that they should not be like their fathers,
a stubborn and rebellious generation,
a generation whose heart was not steadfast,
whose spirit was not faithful to God.
I think the first step is remembering. Remembering what God has done. Remembering how far He brought us. Remembering that, without Him, we'd be dead in our transgressions.
I don't know what the next step is for receiving faith. I really wish I did. But, I am grateful God has given me this first step.
Help me remember.
Monday, August 18, 2008
I woke up at 2:30 this morning, after going to bed at 11. I think the jet lag is getting to me much worse than I originally thought.
But since I was up, I started to think about Jesus, and the idea that He understands every suffering we go through.
I think this is the uniqueness of the King we serve. In no other religion do we have one who was tempted with the same temptations, and experienced the same challenges and losses, and still lived a perfect life, in obedience and love. In other religions, we are presented with deities who are either so far above or so far removed from human sufferings that they have no concept of it whatsoever, or we have deities who are entirely imperfect, indulging their every human-like whim to the fullest.
Instead, we have what Hebrews 2 tells us:
17 Therefore he had to be made like his brothers in every respect, so that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. 18 For because he himself has suffered when tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted.
Isn't that weird?
We have a God who actually knows what the suffering is like for the person who is depressed and on medication. We have a God who knows the suffering of the widow, the orphan, the one who lost their child, the one who's spouse left them, who has been rejected by society, rejected by everyone He could be rejected by, rejected by His own Father, with whom He's had a perfect relationship with since the beginning of eternity.
And He experienced all this for us, so that we would know Him. In fact, we know Him even more so in our suffering because of it.
Isn't that grand? That when we're suffering, God made it so that even that is drawing us closer to Him?
But since I was up, I started to think about Jesus, and the idea that He understands every suffering we go through.
I think this is the uniqueness of the King we serve. In no other religion do we have one who was tempted with the same temptations, and experienced the same challenges and losses, and still lived a perfect life, in obedience and love. In other religions, we are presented with deities who are either so far above or so far removed from human sufferings that they have no concept of it whatsoever, or we have deities who are entirely imperfect, indulging their every human-like whim to the fullest.
Instead, we have what Hebrews 2 tells us:
17 Therefore he had to be made like his brothers in every respect, so that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. 18 For because he himself has suffered when tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted.
Isn't that weird?
We have a God who actually knows what the suffering is like for the person who is depressed and on medication. We have a God who knows the suffering of the widow, the orphan, the one who lost their child, the one who's spouse left them, who has been rejected by society, rejected by everyone He could be rejected by, rejected by His own Father, with whom He's had a perfect relationship with since the beginning of eternity.
And He experienced all this for us, so that we would know Him. In fact, we know Him even more so in our suffering because of it.
Isn't that grand? That when we're suffering, God made it so that even that is drawing us closer to Him?
Saturday, August 16, 2008
Monday, July 21, 2008
Heart.
Konnichiwa from Nihon!
The hospitality of the church here, Toyohashi Hosanna Christ Church, has been amazing. There's no other way to describe it. They're so excited to talk to us, hang out with us, goof off with us...If I had a prayer request for the whole trip though, it would be:
Lord, take us deeper.
Take the relationships You are building way deeper. Take us all closer to the heart of God. Let us, the nine of us on this team, serve You by standing alongside this church, joining in with their struggle to go further to heart of God. Make us, the Japan Team, ready; make Your bride here ready. And let us see Your glory.
As soon as I landed, I had six hours to kill by myself in the Nagoya airport, and all I could think about was one of the last memory verses we learned, Jeremiah 32:17 - "Ah, Sovereign Lord, you have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and outstretched arm. Nothing is too hard for You." And how true that is. All we need to see is the smallest glimpse of His glory here in Toyohashi, and this whole community would be transformed.
Please God. We're desperate for You. Hungry for You. Thirsty for You. And Your promise is that, in You, there is the fountain of living water, that would make it so we would never thirst again. Please, Lord. Let us all drink from it.
The hospitality of the church here, Toyohashi Hosanna Christ Church, has been amazing. There's no other way to describe it. They're so excited to talk to us, hang out with us, goof off with us...If I had a prayer request for the whole trip though, it would be:
Lord, take us deeper.
Take the relationships You are building way deeper. Take us all closer to the heart of God. Let us, the nine of us on this team, serve You by standing alongside this church, joining in with their struggle to go further to heart of God. Make us, the Japan Team, ready; make Your bride here ready. And let us see Your glory.
As soon as I landed, I had six hours to kill by myself in the Nagoya airport, and all I could think about was one of the last memory verses we learned, Jeremiah 32:17 - "Ah, Sovereign Lord, you have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and outstretched arm. Nothing is too hard for You." And how true that is. All we need to see is the smallest glimpse of His glory here in Toyohashi, and this whole community would be transformed.
Please God. We're desperate for You. Hungry for You. Thirsty for You. And Your promise is that, in You, there is the fountain of living water, that would make it so we would never thirst again. Please, Lord. Let us all drink from it.
Friday, July 11, 2008
Self-Reliance
I think one of the biggest lies that we face as human beings is the lie that we can, somehow, be self-reliant. I, myself, believed this for a very long time. In fact, when I was in the sixth grade, I read Ralph Waldo Emerson's essay Self-Reliance and thought to myself, this is brilliant. "Nothing can bring you peace but yourself. Nothing can bring you peace but the triumph of principles." To my sixth grade mind, this was the apex of human thought. You pare away everything, are left with just yourself, and you realize that's all you need. After reading Henry David Thoreau, Emerson's Disciple, and his experiences at Walden Pond, I thought two things:
1) I should really get a name that requires writing the middle name every time (Steven Danger Choi was a serious contender.)
2) I want to live in the Yukon.
One of those statements I was really serious about. I felt that I could easily live by myself, save a bunch of books. It would certainly be the best existence I could conceive; I would live on exactly what I needed, educate myself further, and never waste a moment of my life except on keeping myself alive.
It's taken me all the way to now to realize: that was dumb.
The idea that a man could exist by himself is plausible. But I would quickly submit that that is not true living at all. To live solely dependent on yourself is to shortchange everything, everyone, most of all, yourself and God. It'd be like going from being a human being backwards into being a dog; you would consider that a downgrade, the same way going from being a dog down to a flower would be a downgrade in terms of experience. You experience less, you know less, I think this leads us to be able to say, in the end, you have less. To think that things come from your own fruition, as the work of solely your own hands, is to defraud yourself from the joy of the dependence on the Lord.
I mean, God even warned the Israelites against such foolish thinking. Deuteronomy 8 reads:
11 Be careful that you do not forget the LORD your God, failing to observe his commands, his laws and his decrees that I am giving you this day. 12 Otherwise, when you eat and are satisfied, when you build fine houses and settle down, 13 and when your herds and flocks grow large and your silver and gold increase and all you have is multiplied, 14 then your heart will become proud and you will forget the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. ... 17 You may say to yourself, "My power and the strength of my hands have produced this wealth for me." 18 But remember the LORD your God, for it is he who gives you the ability to produce wealth, and so confirms his covenant, which he swore to your forefathers, as it is today.
He warns the Israelites to not begin to think that anything is of their own doing, but urges them to continue to remember that it is all by God's hand. Why is that?
Because it's what's best for them. To know that it's not about you relieves you of the anxiety of performance. It changes the perspective from needing to accomplish to wanting to fulfill. And I think that shift is so powerful. When we're able to let go of that tension of accomplishment, and instead want to do well in the same way a child simply wants to do well in front of a parent:
Well, we're free.
1) I should really get a name that requires writing the middle name every time (Steven Danger Choi was a serious contender.)
2) I want to live in the Yukon.
One of those statements I was really serious about. I felt that I could easily live by myself, save a bunch of books. It would certainly be the best existence I could conceive; I would live on exactly what I needed, educate myself further, and never waste a moment of my life except on keeping myself alive.
It's taken me all the way to now to realize: that was dumb.
The idea that a man could exist by himself is plausible. But I would quickly submit that that is not true living at all. To live solely dependent on yourself is to shortchange everything, everyone, most of all, yourself and God. It'd be like going from being a human being backwards into being a dog; you would consider that a downgrade, the same way going from being a dog down to a flower would be a downgrade in terms of experience. You experience less, you know less, I think this leads us to be able to say, in the end, you have less. To think that things come from your own fruition, as the work of solely your own hands, is to defraud yourself from the joy of the dependence on the Lord.
I mean, God even warned the Israelites against such foolish thinking. Deuteronomy 8 reads:
11 Be careful that you do not forget the LORD your God, failing to observe his commands, his laws and his decrees that I am giving you this day. 12 Otherwise, when you eat and are satisfied, when you build fine houses and settle down, 13 and when your herds and flocks grow large and your silver and gold increase and all you have is multiplied, 14 then your heart will become proud and you will forget the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. ... 17 You may say to yourself, "My power and the strength of my hands have produced this wealth for me." 18 But remember the LORD your God, for it is he who gives you the ability to produce wealth, and so confirms his covenant, which he swore to your forefathers, as it is today.
He warns the Israelites to not begin to think that anything is of their own doing, but urges them to continue to remember that it is all by God's hand. Why is that?
Because it's what's best for them. To know that it's not about you relieves you of the anxiety of performance. It changes the perspective from needing to accomplish to wanting to fulfill. And I think that shift is so powerful. When we're able to let go of that tension of accomplishment, and instead want to do well in the same way a child simply wants to do well in front of a parent:
Well, we're free.
Tuesday, July 8, 2008
Interim
I have a post that I was working on, but it's not quite coherent, so I'm going to throw this one up here in the meanwhile.
---
Gideon is a lot of times viewed as a dope in the Bible. Here he is, being spoken to by the God of the universe, who clearly pulled the Israelites out of the both bondage and wilderness, and Gideon is still unsure, to the point where he decides to ask God to prove exactly who He is. It's a ridiculous concept, and one that I know a lot of pastors cringe at.
However, I think sometimes, we should be so bold as to ask God exactly what the extent of His power, His word, and His promises are. Isn't anyone else curious just how far God's grace and mercy extends? Is it just for us pious people, who make it out to church every Sunday?
Or is this the kind of God who could save this city, who could save this world, if only we'd be so bold to ask?
Could we, just for once, give God a shot at being God?
Let's see if His word in Psalm 34 holds true:
8 Oh, taste and see that the LORD is good!
Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him!
9 Oh, fear the LORD, you his saints,
for those who fear him have no lack!
10 The young lions suffer want and hunger;
but those who seek the LORD lack no good thing.
---
Gideon is a lot of times viewed as a dope in the Bible. Here he is, being spoken to by the God of the universe, who clearly pulled the Israelites out of the both bondage and wilderness, and Gideon is still unsure, to the point where he decides to ask God to prove exactly who He is. It's a ridiculous concept, and one that I know a lot of pastors cringe at.
However, I think sometimes, we should be so bold as to ask God exactly what the extent of His power, His word, and His promises are. Isn't anyone else curious just how far God's grace and mercy extends? Is it just for us pious people, who make it out to church every Sunday?
Or is this the kind of God who could save this city, who could save this world, if only we'd be so bold to ask?
Could we, just for once, give God a shot at being God?
Let's see if His word in Psalm 34 holds true:
8 Oh, taste and see that the LORD is good!
Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him!
9 Oh, fear the LORD, you his saints,
for those who fear him have no lack!
10 The young lions suffer want and hunger;
but those who seek the LORD lack no good thing.
Friday, July 4, 2008
Food.
When I was fasting for 40 days last year, one of my absolute favorite songs was Matt Redman's I Am Yours. I like to joke that it was because of the line in the bridge, "and if my food is to do Your will, I'm hungry, still hungry." But this song has been a real favorite of mine in terms of sheer concept of praise song for a while. Why? Because it makes the Gospel so clear in it's lyrics.
It begins with an explanation of what God has done (a testimony), where God is the healer and restorer, and has taught the dead how to live. And then, there's the response, the prophecy, of how he's going to live his life now that he has one.
I was thinking about John 4 today. It's one of my favorite books in the Bible. It has profound wisdom, unintentional comedy (Jesus asks the Samaritan woman for water, and when she says she shouldn't give Him any, He goes and says "You should be asking me for water!" Puahahahaha!), a couple of verses from the Memory Verse Hall of Fame (John 13-14, 24)...It's got it all. Three of the verses I was thinking about today were 34, 35, and 36.
If I were to examine my life, I think I could unequivocally say that my food is not to do the will of him who sent me. I'm not even entirely sure what that means. I mean, I understand the concept of the Word of the Lord being our daily bread, but what does it mean that our food is to fulfill the call of God in our lives? What would that look like? If I were to live in such a way as to go out into the harvest field and start gathering fruit, what would I be doing differently?
I don't think this necessarily means I immediately pack my stuff and head out into missions. But, I think it does cause some exhortation into the prophecies that have been placed over my life. And, you know what, that just might mean that I'm to be headed out into the missions field. But that's not the point.
The point is: Whatever that call is, do I do it joyfully, without a second thought? Do I want to be a Jonah, who tugs and fights the whole way, and fulfills the call as minimally as possible? Do I want to be like Gideon, filled with doubt the whole way?
Or do I want to be Isaiah, saying, "Wait a second, God. Here I am, Lord. Send me! Send me!"
Am I too attached to things here to be ready to drop them at the sound of the call?
It begins with an explanation of what God has done (a testimony), where God is the healer and restorer, and has taught the dead how to live. And then, there's the response, the prophecy, of how he's going to live his life now that he has one.
I was thinking about John 4 today. It's one of my favorite books in the Bible. It has profound wisdom, unintentional comedy (Jesus asks the Samaritan woman for water, and when she says she shouldn't give Him any, He goes and says "You should be asking me for water!" Puahahahaha!), a couple of verses from the Memory Verse Hall of Fame (John 13-14, 24)...It's got it all. Three of the verses I was thinking about today were 34, 35, and 36.
| 34 Jesus said to them, |
If I were to examine my life, I think I could unequivocally say that my food is not to do the will of him who sent me. I'm not even entirely sure what that means. I mean, I understand the concept of the Word of the Lord being our daily bread, but what does it mean that our food is to fulfill the call of God in our lives? What would that look like? If I were to live in such a way as to go out into the harvest field and start gathering fruit, what would I be doing differently?
I don't think this necessarily means I immediately pack my stuff and head out into missions. But, I think it does cause some exhortation into the prophecies that have been placed over my life. And, you know what, that just might mean that I'm to be headed out into the missions field. But that's not the point.
The point is: Whatever that call is, do I do it joyfully, without a second thought? Do I want to be a Jonah, who tugs and fights the whole way, and fulfills the call as minimally as possible? Do I want to be like Gideon, filled with doubt the whole way?
Or do I want to be Isaiah, saying, "Wait a second, God. Here I am, Lord. Send me! Send me!"
Am I too attached to things here to be ready to drop them at the sound of the call?
Wednesday, July 2, 2008
Elaboration.
I think my last post warrants me elaborating a bit. Here's what happened:
The missions team had been in Pennsylvania at AMI Revolution for three days at this point. Everyone had been short on sleep in the past few days, and I myself had gotten three hours each night due to various things coming up. By the time we finished the hour long car ride out from Center City, Philadelphia into the vast and strange openness of Downington, I'm pretty sure there were only two people who actually wanted to be there in the car: me and David.
Also to note: We were going to the Creasys' house, as they had invited us over to feed us and pray for us while we were there. Aside from the fact that Clinton is one of my favorite people in the world, me and Dave have a pretty nice relationship with the whole Creasy family, as we've met them several times, and even had the opportunity to lead worship for their first leadership retreat when they planted their (then) new church, Providence Church in West Chester. Let me tell you, it's something else to be around Mama Creasy and Papa Creasy. It's incredibly encouraging to see two people living for the Lord, serving at the church, loving each other, their kids...And it is something else to be prayed for by them.
As we exited the car, I saw a sight that set my smile from ear to ear: Clint and his father on the grill on their driveway, grilling up burgers for us, ready to welcome all nine of us into their home. And Clint was wearing a random thrift-store t-shirt that looks like it was purchased in the third grade and kept for safe-keeping until he was big enough to wear it, jean cut-offs, and his trademark boatshoes. It's safe to say that I was pretty elated.
Once inside, we were greeted by Moms and two of Clint's friends, Jeremiah and Rachel. I'd also like to say this: I have no idea what the church culture is like at Providence Church, but there must be a Spirit of love like something fierce, because it seemed like everyone in the house was excited to meet us, excited to talk to us, and most of all, excited to pray for us. We even got to see Clint's brother, Lee (and his glorious, glorious mustasche.)
Then, the worship began. Jeremiah was going to lead worship, but this was clearly a free-for-all when it came to who was praying. The Lord was anointing everyone to speak. Rachel, Clint, Clint's mother... And the Spirit of the Lord was clearly there. He settled into the room like a cloud.
But I felt stuck.
I felt weary. I had a million thoughts going through my head. I could feel the divide my heart had created with the Lord. The divide of opposing desires, of opposing idols, of wanting other things, other comforts, before the Lord.
And that's when Clint and Rachel started washing feet.
Clint started by reading the following passage (twice):
3 Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God; 4 so he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist. 5 After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples' feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him.
Okay. Since he read it twice, I'm going to post it twice:
3 Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God; 4 so he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist. 5 After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples' feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him.
How groundbreaking are those three verses? Jesus knew that His Father had put all things under His authority, so He put on the towel on washed their feet.
I had never noticed that before. I had never noticed that incredible conflict of interests, at least, from a human perspective.
And the big kicker, the absolute heart-wrencher, was that He does this for me every moment of every day.
Think about that for a moment. Psalm 113 tells us that the Lord "stoops down to look on the heavens and the earth." And here is that very same God, stooping down every moment, to hear every single prayer, to listen to every single thought, to constantly hold me by the hand...Even as I write this now, my eyes well up with tears.
As Clint prayed for me, he rejoiced to the Lord at our relationship, and how much the Lord has used each of us in one another's lives. There are very few people in the world that I will say that I love with all my heart (my mom, my dad, my sister), but Clinton is definitely one of those few. But all that didn't mean as much as the following sentence he uttered as he was drying my feet and getting ready to move on.
"How beautiful are the feet, Lord. How beautiful are the feet."
Romans 10 says:
14 How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? 15 And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written, "How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!"
It was at that moment I realized what my life needed to be spent on. When you are given the knowledge that the Lord of all heaven and earth humbles Himself to serve you, so much so that He suffered to the point of death, even death on a cross, for YOUR SORRY BUTT...how do you not share that? How do you not then desire "beautiful feet?" How does that realization not shake you to the point that you realize there's no way for your human frame to contain it, so you might as well spill it out to everyone around you?
And perhaps my feet had been inadvertently beautiful previously, pretty much by accident. But now, I realize the call: to be intentional, to desire to share it to others. Like Pastor Carl Park spoke to the missions teams regarding the Gospel, "Just put it out there."
That's what I want to do. And that's what I want this blog to be about. Just putting the Gospel out there.
I probably won't ever look at feet the same way again.
The missions team had been in Pennsylvania at AMI Revolution for three days at this point. Everyone had been short on sleep in the past few days, and I myself had gotten three hours each night due to various things coming up. By the time we finished the hour long car ride out from Center City, Philadelphia into the vast and strange openness of Downington, I'm pretty sure there were only two people who actually wanted to be there in the car: me and David.
Also to note: We were going to the Creasys' house, as they had invited us over to feed us and pray for us while we were there. Aside from the fact that Clinton is one of my favorite people in the world, me and Dave have a pretty nice relationship with the whole Creasy family, as we've met them several times, and even had the opportunity to lead worship for their first leadership retreat when they planted their (then) new church, Providence Church in West Chester. Let me tell you, it's something else to be around Mama Creasy and Papa Creasy. It's incredibly encouraging to see two people living for the Lord, serving at the church, loving each other, their kids...And it is something else to be prayed for by them.
As we exited the car, I saw a sight that set my smile from ear to ear: Clint and his father on the grill on their driveway, grilling up burgers for us, ready to welcome all nine of us into their home. And Clint was wearing a random thrift-store t-shirt that looks like it was purchased in the third grade and kept for safe-keeping until he was big enough to wear it, jean cut-offs, and his trademark boatshoes. It's safe to say that I was pretty elated.
Once inside, we were greeted by Moms and two of Clint's friends, Jeremiah and Rachel. I'd also like to say this: I have no idea what the church culture is like at Providence Church, but there must be a Spirit of love like something fierce, because it seemed like everyone in the house was excited to meet us, excited to talk to us, and most of all, excited to pray for us. We even got to see Clint's brother, Lee (and his glorious, glorious mustasche.)
Then, the worship began. Jeremiah was going to lead worship, but this was clearly a free-for-all when it came to who was praying. The Lord was anointing everyone to speak. Rachel, Clint, Clint's mother... And the Spirit of the Lord was clearly there. He settled into the room like a cloud.
But I felt stuck.
I felt weary. I had a million thoughts going through my head. I could feel the divide my heart had created with the Lord. The divide of opposing desires, of opposing idols, of wanting other things, other comforts, before the Lord.
And that's when Clint and Rachel started washing feet.
Clint started by reading the following passage (twice):
3 Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God; 4 so he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist. 5 After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples' feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him.
Okay. Since he read it twice, I'm going to post it twice:
3 Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God; 4 so he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist. 5 After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples' feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him.
How groundbreaking are those three verses? Jesus knew that His Father had put all things under His authority, so He put on the towel on washed their feet.
I had never noticed that before. I had never noticed that incredible conflict of interests, at least, from a human perspective.
And the big kicker, the absolute heart-wrencher, was that He does this for me every moment of every day.
Think about that for a moment. Psalm 113 tells us that the Lord "stoops down to look on the heavens and the earth." And here is that very same God, stooping down every moment, to hear every single prayer, to listen to every single thought, to constantly hold me by the hand...Even as I write this now, my eyes well up with tears.
As Clint prayed for me, he rejoiced to the Lord at our relationship, and how much the Lord has used each of us in one another's lives. There are very few people in the world that I will say that I love with all my heart (my mom, my dad, my sister), but Clinton is definitely one of those few. But all that didn't mean as much as the following sentence he uttered as he was drying my feet and getting ready to move on.
"How beautiful are the feet, Lord. How beautiful are the feet."
Romans 10 says:
14 How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? 15 And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written, "How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!"
It was at that moment I realized what my life needed to be spent on. When you are given the knowledge that the Lord of all heaven and earth humbles Himself to serve you, so much so that He suffered to the point of death, even death on a cross, for YOUR SORRY BUTT...how do you not share that? How do you not then desire "beautiful feet?" How does that realization not shake you to the point that you realize there's no way for your human frame to contain it, so you might as well spill it out to everyone around you?
And perhaps my feet had been inadvertently beautiful previously, pretty much by accident. But now, I realize the call: to be intentional, to desire to share it to others. Like Pastor Carl Park spoke to the missions teams regarding the Gospel, "Just put it out there."
That's what I want to do. And that's what I want this blog to be about. Just putting the Gospel out there.
I probably won't ever look at feet the same way again.
Tuesday, July 1, 2008
AMI Revolution 2008
Hopefully, the following posts about AMI will read much more like a testimony than anything.
If you were to ask me, "What was the most meaningful thing you heard while at AMI Revolution?" I would respond that it was something along the lines of 1 Kings 19.
11 The LORD said, "Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the LORD, for the LORD is about to pass by."
Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the LORD, but the LORD was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake. 12 After the earthquake came a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper. 13 When Elijah heard it, he pulled his cloak over his face and went out and stood at the mouth of the cave.
Then a voice said to him, "What are you doing here, Elijah?"
There were powerful times of worship, where I felt like the wind of the Holy Spirit would shake the room. There were great speakers, who were laying down the Lord's word with real authority. There were prayer times when I felt like the fire of the Lord was just spreading throughout my body, and I would begin to sweat, even though the room was cold.
But it was a single moment, a single sentence, a single prayer from a friend that did it.
"How beautiful are the feet."
Romans 10 says:
14How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? 15And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written, "How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!"
Here's a question: are our feet beautiful or not?
More to come.
If you were to ask me, "What was the most meaningful thing you heard while at AMI Revolution?" I would respond that it was something along the lines of 1 Kings 19.
11 The LORD said, "Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the LORD, for the LORD is about to pass by."
Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the LORD, but the LORD was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake. 12 After the earthquake came a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper. 13 When Elijah heard it, he pulled his cloak over his face and went out and stood at the mouth of the cave.
Then a voice said to him, "What are you doing here, Elijah?"
There were powerful times of worship, where I felt like the wind of the Holy Spirit would shake the room. There were great speakers, who were laying down the Lord's word with real authority. There were prayer times when I felt like the fire of the Lord was just spreading throughout my body, and I would begin to sweat, even though the room was cold.
But it was a single moment, a single sentence, a single prayer from a friend that did it.
"How beautiful are the feet."
Romans 10 says:
14How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? 15And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written, "How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!"
Here's a question: are our feet beautiful or not?
More to come.
I promise I'm going to get a post up here about AMI revolution soon.
In the meantime, here are the sermons from the conference.
In the meantime, here are the sermons from the conference.
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
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