reaching out

I was walking along the trail, this Wednesday and I was like, "I am going to try to talk to people, at least say 'Hi'". I was walking up to this man and I could tell that I would atleast be able to say, "Hi" and he would atleast say "Hi" back. He walked up to me, turned around and started walking the samed direction as me. I prayed something like this "Thank you Lord for making this easy, ok what are you doing Lord, help me Lord to talk." We walked I think about 2 miles. He told me about some of his struggles. I really enjoyed our talk. At the end we exchanged phone numbers and said we would try to walk together sometime. And again I thanked the Lord. I'd been asking to provide someone that most people wouldn't notice or spend the time with for me to witness, not just a quick presentation of the Gospel, but someone I could spend time with and walk with and get to know. I don't know what will happen, I may call him and nothing may come of it, but durring the time I spent I found out that I was not the only person this man had given his phone number to. And that thought broke my heart. There are many people to reach out to if we are willing. For me it has started with a prayer, God provide oportunities and help me to be obedient. And He has been providing more of those in my life.

exceedingly more

"Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen."------Ephesians 3:20,21

I have heard this verse in so many prayers, sermons, and comments. But rarely have I heard it in scope of what this verse is crying out to us. Most of the time I here it seperated from the context and a powerful truth is missed. Paul has asked "that God would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man, that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith, that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height -- to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God." Paul is asking that we would be near our God and to know His love and this exeedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think. This is more powerful than any other interpretation that might be given these verses.

Quote by Mike Yaconelli, The Safety of Fear

----“The tragedy of modern faith is that we no longer are capable of being terrified. We aren’t afraid of God, we aren’t afraid of Jesus, we aren’t afraid of the Holy Spirit. As a result, we have ended up with a need-centered gospel that attracts thousands . . . but transforms no one.
----Unfortunately those of us who have been entrusted with the terrifying, frightening Good News have become obsessed with making Christianity safe. We have defanged the tiger of Truth. We have tamed the Lion and now Christianity is so sensible, so accepted, so palatable.
----Our world is tired of people whose God is tame. It is longing to see people whose God is big and holy and frightening and gentle and tender . . . and ours; a God whose love frightens us into His strong and powerful arms where He longs to whisper those terrifying words, ‘I love you.’”

Will Metzer Tell the Truth, CH.7, p.108

"Lables are deadly in Christian circles. For example when it comes to the topic of the will, immediately certain views are categorized as Reformed or Arminian. The discussionthen ends because it is thought (wrongly) that as soon as you have given a name to something, you understand it. Instead, there should be continued dialogue in the Scriptures by all of us. Let's fight this labeling fallacy."

I wrote yesterday about trusting the Lord in the midst of pain. Tonight, I got to talk with some people who are covering me. And it was good to see just that confirmation from them that the Lord is at work in me in the midst of what I am feeling. That God has set me on firm ground.

Pain

From a letter I wrote today

"Sorry, for being down last night. I honestly don't know how to deal with my hurt, except to cry out to the Lord. Right now, I am weak and falling apart. The psalms talks about great pain and bones being wracked and the like. The Psalmists felt pain and sorrow intensly. I think we read this and think that it is not normal when it happens. We get over spiritual and say we shouldn't feel this way. Well, I do feel this way! I am hurting, but I assure you that my eyes are on Christ and I am running after Him. And I believe He will hold me durring this. He already is. I will not loose my confidence in Him, and though my heart is hurting and it is hard, I know He is good. I trust Him, so dearly. I am thankful i don't have to be perfect before Him, but He accepts me as I am, wounded, weak, and hurting. Feel free to pray for me, I don't believe our walk of faith is done alone. Your prayers are effective in giving me the strength I need to walk through this."

I am being very vulnerable with my pain here, more than I normally would, because we hear a lot of people saying that God is good after coming through a situation and looking back. I want you to know that you can have that hope and confidence and joy in the midst of the situation. In the midst of pain, I have confidence that God is good. And I can trust Him. This is what real life is about. And God is there.

I also want people to feel like it is ok, to feel sorrow. I wrote another letter today. Here it is:

"I realized tonight, that I feel like its not ok to hurt, not so much with God, with God I feel like it is ok, but with people. I feel like people think that if I am hurting I lack faith or that I am holding on, and so its not ok. I think one of the things I have been needing to hear is that it is ok to hurt."

"It is said that some of the Puritans stained the floor with their tears as they prayed. "
------Will Metzer Tell the Truth, CH.6, p.101

Father, my heart is broken. Father, grant me the gift of tears. Allow me to weep for the lost. Grant me your passion for the lost, lest I die in my heart.

loving your wife

Praying this morning, I was struck by the thought, that God has called husbands to lay down their lives for their wives. I am to be for her. I cannot live for me. Its not about what I want or what I feel I need from her. My goal is to build her up in the Lord and to love her and to lay down my life for her. This is not a wimpy kind of love. It is a love that firmly calls us to deny ourselves, take up our cross, and follow Jesus. And we must follow Jesus to be the husbands our wives need.

This does not just apply to marriage. We cannot live our lives for ourselves. We must have the same attitude as Christ and lay down our lives for others.

Lord, You have been our dwelling place in all generations.
Before the mountains were brought forth,
Or ever You had formed the earth and the world,
Even from everlasting to everlasting, You are God.

Psalm 90:1,2

Communion

I led Communion (I believe for the first time) this Tuesday, October 16, 2007. This is the Lituragy I used.

One of the reasons I used a Literagy was because it could be about me talking or about us worshiping and declaring the goodness of God together. It was also great because I had different men lead out durring this.


I hope through this that you will be able to see that Christ is our righteousness, He alone is our rock; and that our dependence is on Him both for salvation, but also for sanctification; we bring nothing. When we realize that it is Him at work and that He has done the work, we can run with confidence toward our Beloved. His sacrifice is not just for our salvation, it is for our living, and our glorification. By faith we live.

Grace
Minister: We come here by grace;

People: being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God set forth as a propitiation by His blood, through faith, to demonstrate His righteousness,” (Romans 3:23-25)

Minister: "God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God" (2 Corinthians 5:21).

People: “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,” (Romans 6:23)

People: "But now he has reconciled you by Christ's physical body through death to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation."

Minister: Our promise and salvation are sure for. . .

People: “He, having offered one sacrifice for sins for all time, SAT DOWN AT THE RIGHT HAND OF GOD, waiting from that time onward UNTIL HIS ENEMIES BE MADE A FOOTSTOOL FOR HIS FEET. For by one offering He has perfected for all time those who are sanctified.” (Hebrews 10:12-14)

Minister: “And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose. For whom He foreknew, he also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover whom He predestined, these He also called; whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified.” (Romans 8:28-30)

Minister: Therefore since our righteousness if from Him, we have nothing to boast of,

People: "I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me. . . . may it never be that I would boast, except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.” (Galations 2:20-21; 6:14)

Minister: “Therefore as you have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, having been firmly rooted and now being built up in Him and established in your faith, just as you were instructed, and overflowing with gratitude. See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deception, according to the tradition of men, according to the elementary principles of the world, rather than according to Christ.” (Colossians 2:6-8)

People: “Therefore, . . . let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.”


Community
The scripture says, “. . .in Christ Jesus you who formerly were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.” (Ephesians 2:13) Communion is taken in community. We are brought near to each other by the blood of Christ. It is by grace, and only grace, that we can live in community with each other.

Institution
Minister: Let us proclaim the mystery of faith.
People: Christ became flesh.
-----Christ has died.
-----Christ is risen.
-----Christ will come again.
Minister: Christ our Passover has been sacrificed for us.
People: Therefore, let us keep the feast.
Minister: The gifts of God are for the people of God. Come eat and drink with thanksgiving.
People: Hallelujah!

Prayer of Blessing
Minister:


Breaking of the Bread
“and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, "This is My body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of Me." (1 Corinthians 11:24)

Prayer of Thanksgiving
Minister:

Wine
“In the same way He took the cup also after supper, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in My blood; do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me." For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until He comes.” (1 Corinthians 11:25-26)

Prayer of Longing
Minister:

birthday card

"My flesh and my heart may fail;
But God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever."

My heart is hurting. I am falling apart. I am in a place where I have no strength, no greatness. My heart has failed. I don't even know how to pray or to put in words the hurting that is in my heart. All I can do is fall on my face before the Lord and cry out to Him. And this I know in this time; That He is so good and He is with me. He truly is the strength of my heart. He is my refuge. And He will uphold me in His integrity and enable me to stand. And even in the midst of falling apart, He will not let me be put shame.

"But it is good for me to draw near to God;
I have put my trust in the Lord GOD,
That i may declare all Your works.


4:45 pm

Someone made a good point about what I said earlier, so let me clarify. I talked earlier about running down the aisle for my bride. I think some might have got the picture of a foolish mad dash toward the bride. When I said this I did not mean a frantic blundering pursuit. Christ is waiting for the time His Father has set and He is strong in His trust of the Father. But I do think he longs for us. I do think His desires are set toward His Bride and He does long to come for us. And I don't think His desires are small. When I said this I was talking more about desire than action.

And I am not saying that I would run down the aisle. I was describing what I felt, not nessessarily what I would do. I think there is something amazingly beautiful about the father giving away his daughter. And I would not want to take anything away from that. I would not take her till her father has given her to me. But my desire and my love for her, will not be small, and I would not pretend that I don't desire and long for her.

Also there is some truth in this. One in Jewish tradition where the bridegroom did come for his wife after the father said it was time. And also in the fact that Christ will be coming for His bride. And the picture that I had when I wrote that was this, Christ coming for His bride.

I think what I am understanding is that Christ longs for us and that as His bride we can long for Him as well and cry out, "Come, Lord Jesus".

----I was talking with a lady the other day, who as a child was hit by car, and suffered severe damage. She was physically awkward and also socially awkward. It was fun talking with her and letting her know that she was valuable. She gave me a poem she had written. From the poem, you could tell that she had been hurt by lot of rejection over the years; a lot of people passing her by because she was different. People not considering her valuable enough to take the time to get to know. As I am writing this tears are building up. That was a small part of the poem, the rest of the poem talked about her longing to be with Jesus, and how His love remains true and never fails.
----And I am sure His arms are eagerly awaiting to hold her.
----Why are we so much like the priest and the Levite, who walk on other side, avoiding and passing by those who are hurting? Christ demonstrated that love is willing to give of ourselves and touch the wounds of the outcast to be there for them in their hurt and even in the things that are not pleasant.
----Father, test my heart in this. And rip anything out that keeps me from pursuing those who are hurting and different. God, don’t let me just be casual in my effort, but to reach out in your love, to pour out my life as you did, and to touch the broken hearted

I went to a wedding October 13th. As I was thinking about the wedding and the groomsman standing there waiting for his bride, my heart stirred and cried out, "I don't know if I could stand there and wait for her to make it all the way down the aisle, I'd want to run passionately for her." That thought came and then the thought came of Christ coming for His bride.

"As for what was sown on good soil, this is the one who hears the word and understands it. He indeed bears fruit and yeilds, in one case a hundred fold, in another sixty, and in another thirty." --Matthew 13:1-23

This parable gives me much hope for the hard hearted and those who seem to be distracted by this world. It gives me a confidence to preach the Gospel. The reason I have hope is that there is good soil. Soil is made good by being worked on by the Farmer. The soil is broken of its hardness, the rocky ground is cleared, and the weeds are taken out. It gives me hope because God can take a hard, rocky, weedy heart and prepare it for the Gospel. And when the soil is good, the Gospel will bear fruit. The scripture says that He can take a heart of stone and make it flesh. God's work on a man's heart is effective. And so I do not loose hope in preaching the Gospel, for I know that it has the power to penetrate men's hearts.

Husband's kingship

based on a discussion with the men at church, Sunday, October 7, 2007; written Wednsday 10th

"Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish. In the same way husbands should love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes it and cherishes it, just as Christ does the church, because we are members of his body."

Husbands, I think we often respond in our flesh in trying to "fix" our wives or even to be more spiritual "to make them more godly". God has commanded us to sanctify our wives through loving her, giving up ourselves for her, and gently washing her with the word. Husbands, this is a romantic picture of love. Imagine the physical picture of this and do this with you words, emotions, and actions toward your wife. There is nothing more romantic. This love is not weak; our love is to come from the strength of Christ. We are to nourish and wash her with the word and truth. We are to love as men and are to shepherd our family towards Christ. It is a love that has amazing strength and integrity to it but is also full of tenderness. We are to live with her in an understanding way learning how to cherish and nourish her. Our words and actions should build her up, not tear her down. And just as Christ's love is effectual in sanctifying our hearts, our love through Christ will be effectual in changing our wives. God says that an ungodly man can be changed by a godly wife's respect (1 Peter 3). An ungodly wife can be changed by the love of her husband. So whether or not she is godly or not, we are free to passionately love her, knowing that our love is effectual.

Husbands, when we act in our flesh to "fix" our wives, we are responding just as bad as the nagging wife. We are in sin. We must also be careful; we are to wash our wife gently with the word, not our desires. And we are to do this in an understanding way that honors her. In fact the scripture says that if we respond with our flesh, God will not hear our prayers. "Likewise, husbands, live with your wives in an understanding way, showing honor to the woman as the weaker vessel, since they are heirs with you of the grace of life, so that your prayers may not be hindered."

So men, walk in freedom and extravagantly love your wives.

effectual calling

Some will question God's effectual calling of men, saying that we must uphold the "responsibility of man". Man does have free will and responsibilty to choose God, but our free will is enslaved by our desires. We are born in sin and our desires are evil, we do not desire God. Man by his free will has rejected God, suppressing the truth and has made himself an enemy of God. This is where the "responsibility of man" takes us. We by our own free will reject God and all have become guilty and under the wrath of God. But then God who has determined to have a people for Himself, has also determined to save them through Christ. We are sinners by nature and therefore must be saved by God's grace.

"I have no hope at all but in thy great mercy. Grant what thou commandest and command what thou dost desire." --Augustine

flying

Click picture to make bigger

Written Thursday, September 6, 2007

I wouldn’t stay inside the warmth of a cozy home and leave my pinky finger outside in the freezing weather. And yet this is what often happens in the church. We neglect the outsider, the person who is different, or the person who is a burden. We leave them outside in the cold instead of bringing them into the warmth and love of fellowship. They are part of our body and we need them. They are a vital part of the body. God is not neglectful in His design.

Lord, help me to be a place of warmth and love for others and to pursue them with Your love.

fads

Written Thursday, September 6, 2007

There are many fads and methodologies in the church. There are fads on what a church is to look like, how it is to be run, what methods are to be used in ministry, how we are to witness, how we are to reach people in other countries, how we are to pray, how we are to worship, how we are to council others, and many more. I know I personally think many of these are good and wise and I plan on using them. But there is a great danger in these fads and methodologies. We are in danger of Idolatry and Pride. We don’t follow a methodology or fad. We follow a person, Jesus. Christ is the center, not a fad. And when we loose that center, we loose objectivity and soundness in the scriptures, in life and in ministry. Our site is skewed and we loose our focus and solid foundation. Our walk with God is God centered. It is about Him and being known by Him. We are not to follow fads, but are to walk with Him and to get to know Him through the scriptures and obedience. We are to deny ourselves, take up our cross, and follow Him. Oh, what great joy it is to follow Christ! In Christ alone will I stand! “Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”

“He has shown you, O man, what is good; and what does the LORD require of you but to do justly, to love mercy, and walk humbly with your God.”

"But I am afraid that as the serpent deceived Eve by his cunning, your thoughts will be led astray from a sincere and pure devotion to Christ."

Written 2003

There she stood clothed, yet naked
Before Him who looked into her
heart.
Fire and judgment stirred relentlessly
-----And searched . . .

She looked into His eyes and saw
-----severity
He did not penetrate her heart purposelessly
-----But was determined

She could no longer stand and fell . . .

His arms wrapped around her and
-----He held her close
“My child, my child, come close”

She looked into His eyes once again
-----And was consumed by His love.
And yet His gaze had not changed.