I am glad that my relationship with God is beyond emotions, because my emotions are not always solid ground, but my hope in God is.
Emotionally, I am so frustrated with God I could scream. We had a little argument in the van today. He is testing me. Don't get me wrong. Life is great. I'm not mad at God for putting me through a trial. He just continues to allow opportunities that are good. I am so tempted by good. I don't want to do a good thing, I want to do the best thing. My flesh wants the "good". I wish the option wasn't even there. It was better when it wasn't.
Thanks for letting me vent.
I'm not trying to fool myself into thinking that I know better than God. When I argue with God out loud, it only makes me realize how ridiculous my claims are. It is not bad to approach the throne in prayer with frustration and anger. But woe to me if I do not leave completely humiliated and broken. I sound ridiculous when I come to God in frustration. In this humiliation I find healing. In this humiliation God, not so subtly, reminds me that He is God and I am not.
When Job comes to God in frustration he is, not so subtly, reminded that God is God and he is not. "Brace yourself like a man; I will question you, and you shall answer me." (Job 38:3) This is Nate's translation: prepare yourself, because God's answer is going to feel like a kick to the groin.
"Where were you when I laid the earth's foundation?" (v4)
haha... yeah. Good point.
"What is the way to the abode of light? And where does darkness reside? Can you take them to their places? Do you know the paths to their dwellings? Surely you know, for you were already born! You have lived so many years!" (v19-21)
ouch...
"Can you bring forth the constellations in their seasons or lead out the bear with its cubs?" (v32)
Sunday, February 13, 2011
Thursday, February 3, 2011
That Guy
To all those wondering, I survived the blizzard of 2011. Nonetheless it was very exciting.
I normally post in here on Tuesdays, but this week got a little crazy.
I’m really jazzed about what God is doing in West Michigan. Revival. It’s happening. Are you coming?
When I talk about revival I’m not talking about some crusade where an evangelist travels the country and everyone sings Kum-ba-ya. Traveling evangelists have their purpose, I’m not here to discredit them, but that’s just not what I’m talking about.
People are realizing that Jesus is the Lord and Savior. This is a revival that takes place in a community, not a stadium or auditorium. This is neighbors praying for neighbors, classmates praying for classmates, churches praying for churches. We are trying to wake the dead here, and that only happens by the power of prayer folks.
We started praying for places like Calvin and Grand Valley and the Lord is moving. There is a group of students that have come together at Calvin that are praying in revival. A group of Muslims at Grand Valley just accepted Christ as their Savior. Do you see what’s happening here? Don’t miss it.
Two nights ago I specifically prayed for one person for 20 minutes. I prayed that God would break her heart. I’ve never even met her, but she is important to me. She’s a friend of a friend. During my prayer it happened. God broke her heart and my friend led her to Christ! That very night.
Prayer. Revival. Can you feel it? God is good.
This is something else that I’ve been thinking about. I think there are a lot of times that we don’t want to be “that guy”. Who is that guy? He’s the guy that talks about Jesus and the Bible all the time, and every time you talk about something he relates it back to scripture. Doesn’t that guy just get on your nerves?
Well I’ve decided to strive to be that guy. If it’s annoying or uncomfortable, then it’s because we love the darkness and fear the light (John 3:20). I think Paul was “that guy”. “For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified.” -1 Corinthians 2:2
I normally post in here on Tuesdays, but this week got a little crazy.
I’m really jazzed about what God is doing in West Michigan. Revival. It’s happening. Are you coming?
When I talk about revival I’m not talking about some crusade where an evangelist travels the country and everyone sings Kum-ba-ya. Traveling evangelists have their purpose, I’m not here to discredit them, but that’s just not what I’m talking about.
People are realizing that Jesus is the Lord and Savior. This is a revival that takes place in a community, not a stadium or auditorium. This is neighbors praying for neighbors, classmates praying for classmates, churches praying for churches. We are trying to wake the dead here, and that only happens by the power of prayer folks.
We started praying for places like Calvin and Grand Valley and the Lord is moving. There is a group of students that have come together at Calvin that are praying in revival. A group of Muslims at Grand Valley just accepted Christ as their Savior. Do you see what’s happening here? Don’t miss it.
Two nights ago I specifically prayed for one person for 20 minutes. I prayed that God would break her heart. I’ve never even met her, but she is important to me. She’s a friend of a friend. During my prayer it happened. God broke her heart and my friend led her to Christ! That very night.
Prayer. Revival. Can you feel it? God is good.
This is something else that I’ve been thinking about. I think there are a lot of times that we don’t want to be “that guy”. Who is that guy? He’s the guy that talks about Jesus and the Bible all the time, and every time you talk about something he relates it back to scripture. Doesn’t that guy just get on your nerves?
Well I’ve decided to strive to be that guy. If it’s annoying or uncomfortable, then it’s because we love the darkness and fear the light (John 3:20). I think Paul was “that guy”. “For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified.” -1 Corinthians 2:2
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
How Did I Get Here?
It’s a bit bizarre when I look back at my life and think “how did I get here?” What I’m talking about is God’s grand orchestration. Sunday morning I am sitting in a church thinking this is, without a doubt, the church that I am supposed to be a part of. I’ve had a vision of a church plant for 3 years, and this is exactly the church I envisioned, every detail. So as I sit there and ponder this odd circumstance, someone asks me how I ended up their. I began to wonder, how did I get here? I found the answer, but it’s a long story, and God showed up every step of the way. I’m going to give you the abridged version of the story, and you can ask me sometime about the long version.
2 years ago I helped serve a meal, called the Love Feast, at a downtown ministry. I heard about a ministry called the Stockbridge Boiler Room and its sister ministry the Bridge Street House of Prayer. Soon after that meal I moved back to Ludington.
In December I went to the bookstore and came back with a book I had never heard of. It was an author I had never heard of. But I saw it on the shelf and the Holy Spirit nudged me to pick it up.
It changed my life. Rather, God used it to change my life and to see the power of prayer, surrender, and revival. I needed a place where I could pray. So I prayed for a place to pray. The Holy Spirit led me back to the Bridge Street House of Prayer. So I went on a Saturday, then I went on a Tuesday, then I went on Sunday. I didn’t have a trace of a clue what to expect when I first went that Saturday, and I brought along a whole van full of people. All I knew was that the Holy Spirit was leading me to go, so I went.
What I found were people who believed in the power of prayer. People that have a passion for seeing revival in themselves and in the community of Grand Rapids. A diverse group of people from young to old, outcasts and people that love them, and people that love coffee!
So how did I get here? Only by the guidance of the Holy Spirit.
If you think that’s a long story, it’s actually more complex than that.
2 years ago I helped serve a meal, called the Love Feast, at a downtown ministry. I heard about a ministry called the Stockbridge Boiler Room and its sister ministry the Bridge Street House of Prayer. Soon after that meal I moved back to Ludington.
In December I went to the bookstore and came back with a book I had never heard of. It was an author I had never heard of. But I saw it on the shelf and the Holy Spirit nudged me to pick it up.
It changed my life. Rather, God used it to change my life and to see the power of prayer, surrender, and revival. I needed a place where I could pray. So I prayed for a place to pray. The Holy Spirit led me back to the Bridge Street House of Prayer. So I went on a Saturday, then I went on a Tuesday, then I went on Sunday. I didn’t have a trace of a clue what to expect when I first went that Saturday, and I brought along a whole van full of people. All I knew was that the Holy Spirit was leading me to go, so I went.
What I found were people who believed in the power of prayer. People that have a passion for seeing revival in themselves and in the community of Grand Rapids. A diverse group of people from young to old, outcasts and people that love them, and people that love coffee!
So how did I get here? Only by the guidance of the Holy Spirit.
If you think that’s a long story, it’s actually more complex than that.
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
Fools Gold
As I continue in the book of Luke I am reminded of some fascinating parables. I think that sometimes we either brush off a parable saying it doesn’t apply to us, or we pretend like we don’t understand its meaning. Today I encounter one that, from the looks of our culture, has been pushed aside. I’m not just accusing everyone else, I fit into that category as well. Check it out:
The Parable of the Rich Fool
13 Someone in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.” 14 But he said to him, “Man, who made me a judge or arbitrator over you?” 15 And he said to them, “Take care, and be on your guard against all covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.” 16 And he told them a parable, saying, “The land of a rich man produced plentifully, 17 and he thought to himself, ‘What shall I do, for I have nowhere to store my crops?’ 18 And he said, ‘I will do this: I will tear down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. 19 And I will say to my soul, Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry.’ 20 But God said to him, ‘Fool! This night your soul is required of you, and the things you have prepared, whose will they be?’ 21 So is the one who lays up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God.”
(Luke 12:13-21)
Later in the same chapter (v34) He says “for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” We are deeply interested in something that we have invested in. If we put our money into stock for a company, all of the sudden we become strangely interested in everything that the company does. Why? Because that’s where we put our treasure. If we invest our money, time, and other resources into the Kingdom of God, rather than storing them up, we will care deeply about the work of the Kingdom. (Idea stolen from “The Treasure Principle” by Randy Alcorn).
Quickly we begin to reason, “If I give all of my money to God, how then will I survive?” Our first problem would be saying “my money”, because everything belongs to God to begin with. We would just be giving it back to him.
Interestingly, the very next passage (more like a continuation of the same passage) is given the title “Do Not Worry”:
“Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat, nor about your body, what you will put on. 23 For life is more than food, and the body more than clothing. 24 Consider the ravens: they neither sow nor reap, they have neither storehouse nor barn, and yet God feeds them. Of how much more value are you than the birds!
(Luke 12:22-24)
Oh, we have so little faith. Why don’t we take Him at his word? Would you do it? Could you do it? Can something be so simple and so difficult at the same time?
Why do I have an entire drawer full of socks? Why do I own somewhere around 50 T-shirts? Why do I have more than one pair of shoes? Because I’m human and I’m attached to my possessions. Sometimes I’m emotionally attached, sometimes I just think I “need” it. God, please help me to see everything as yours.
"’Tis so sweet to trust in Jesus,
Just to take Him at His Word;
Just to rest upon His promise,
And to know, “Thus says the Lord!”
The Parable of the Rich Fool
13 Someone in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.” 14 But he said to him, “Man, who made me a judge or arbitrator over you?” 15 And he said to them, “Take care, and be on your guard against all covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.” 16 And he told them a parable, saying, “The land of a rich man produced plentifully, 17 and he thought to himself, ‘What shall I do, for I have nowhere to store my crops?’ 18 And he said, ‘I will do this: I will tear down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. 19 And I will say to my soul, Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry.’ 20 But God said to him, ‘Fool! This night your soul is required of you, and the things you have prepared, whose will they be?’ 21 So is the one who lays up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God.”
(Luke 12:13-21)
Later in the same chapter (v34) He says “for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” We are deeply interested in something that we have invested in. If we put our money into stock for a company, all of the sudden we become strangely interested in everything that the company does. Why? Because that’s where we put our treasure. If we invest our money, time, and other resources into the Kingdom of God, rather than storing them up, we will care deeply about the work of the Kingdom. (Idea stolen from “The Treasure Principle” by Randy Alcorn).
Quickly we begin to reason, “If I give all of my money to God, how then will I survive?” Our first problem would be saying “my money”, because everything belongs to God to begin with. We would just be giving it back to him.
Interestingly, the very next passage (more like a continuation of the same passage) is given the title “Do Not Worry”:
“Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat, nor about your body, what you will put on. 23 For life is more than food, and the body more than clothing. 24 Consider the ravens: they neither sow nor reap, they have neither storehouse nor barn, and yet God feeds them. Of how much more value are you than the birds!
(Luke 12:22-24)
Oh, we have so little faith. Why don’t we take Him at his word? Would you do it? Could you do it? Can something be so simple and so difficult at the same time?
Why do I have an entire drawer full of socks? Why do I own somewhere around 50 T-shirts? Why do I have more than one pair of shoes? Because I’m human and I’m attached to my possessions. Sometimes I’m emotionally attached, sometimes I just think I “need” it. God, please help me to see everything as yours.
"’Tis so sweet to trust in Jesus,
Just to take Him at His Word;
Just to rest upon His promise,
And to know, “Thus says the Lord!”
Sunday, January 16, 2011
Can Ya Feel It?
I feel like I need to write this down.
God is on the move and I can feel it. There is a fire that is beginning to consume me. Oh what joy! God is setting the stage for revival. This generation is on the verge of something not seen in over a hundred years. Can you feel it?
I've been reading a book about revival, it's changing how I see things. I go to church in Muskegon last week and the pastor is speaking about the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit filling us and bringing revival. I went to the worship gathering at the Bridge Street House of Prayer last night and not only did I listen to the speaker talk about revival, I saw revival.
Revival in ourselves starts with recognizing the sovereignty of Jesus Christ. We must realize that Jesus is on the throne. He is King! We must worship the creator simply because he is almighty. I'm not talking about sitting in your recliner and saying "yup, God's still King." I'm talking about falling prostrate on the ground in worship of the King.
Revival in our community starts with prayer. Let me restate that. Corporate revival starts on the floor. We have to want it. It will mean sacrifice. Discomfort. It will mean that life will not be what it was before. Church will not be what it was before. Change.
Do you want it? Can you feel God moving? Do you see a generation rising up? I do, and I'm not going to miss it.
God, use me as an instrument of your will.
When I began writing this post, I was just going to talk about the House of Prayer. Apparently God had other plans for my train of thought.
God is on the move and I can feel it. There is a fire that is beginning to consume me. Oh what joy! God is setting the stage for revival. This generation is on the verge of something not seen in over a hundred years. Can you feel it?
I've been reading a book about revival, it's changing how I see things. I go to church in Muskegon last week and the pastor is speaking about the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit filling us and bringing revival. I went to the worship gathering at the Bridge Street House of Prayer last night and not only did I listen to the speaker talk about revival, I saw revival.
Revival in ourselves starts with recognizing the sovereignty of Jesus Christ. We must realize that Jesus is on the throne. He is King! We must worship the creator simply because he is almighty. I'm not talking about sitting in your recliner and saying "yup, God's still King." I'm talking about falling prostrate on the ground in worship of the King.
Revival in our community starts with prayer. Let me restate that. Corporate revival starts on the floor. We have to want it. It will mean sacrifice. Discomfort. It will mean that life will not be what it was before. Church will not be what it was before. Change.
Do you want it? Can you feel God moving? Do you see a generation rising up? I do, and I'm not going to miss it.
God, use me as an instrument of your will.
When I began writing this post, I was just going to talk about the House of Prayer. Apparently God had other plans for my train of thought.
Friday, January 14, 2011
Sense
I’ve been thinking, and I have to be honest. I’m tired of hearing the phrase “what makes the most sense?” when it comes to making decisions. It’s been all around me for a couple months, mostly dealing with my great aunt’s estate, but for other things as well. It seems like it’s catching on. It’s like the phrase of the month around me.
Forget what makes the most sense.
Since when does God’s will always make sense to us? It so often doesn’t. Did it make sense to Peter when Jesus told him to step out of the boat? Did it make sense when Jesus washed the disciple’s feet? Nothing makes sense from a human perspective. We need a God perspective. I will do things, and have done things, that don’t make any sense to the people around me. Why? Because I felt led to do it. Will we live by what makes sense? Or will we live by the Holy Spirit?
Forget what makes the most sense.
Since when does God’s will always make sense to us? It so often doesn’t. Did it make sense to Peter when Jesus told him to step out of the boat? Did it make sense when Jesus washed the disciple’s feet? Nothing makes sense from a human perspective. We need a God perspective. I will do things, and have done things, that don’t make any sense to the people around me. Why? Because I felt led to do it. Will we live by what makes sense? Or will we live by the Holy Spirit?
Wednesday, December 8, 2010
Social Justice
I would like to share this paper that I wrote about social justice. It is my personal thoughts about the role of Christians in social justice, or holistic ministry. The Haugen that I refer to is the founder/CEO of International Justice Mission. I have recently changed my viewpoint on this issue slightly, so I invite you to read this.
Holistic Ministry
There is a role for the Christian in social justice. This is an issue that I have been struggling with all semester long. Toward the beginning of the semester I began ready a book called Revolution in World Missions. Before reading this book, I was unaware of the dangers of holistic ministry. This danger, which Guthrie points out, is that of losing our focus of evangelism. Feeding the hungry, rescuing the slave from oppression, and caring for the sick are all very Biblical activities commanded of Christians. The danger comes when they become the end, the focus, the purpose of ministry.
We are to be a light to the nations. As Haugen pointed out, actively seeking social justice is part of the “good deeds” in Matt 5:16. However, the end goal in that verse is so that they may “glorify your Father in heaven.” Evangelism and conversion are the goal of missions above all other goals. Clearly, this does not mean that we put social justice on the back burner and give it less priority. The scriptures are very clear, as Haugen argued, that seeking social justice is very important to God. Not only so, but we are his primary means of doing this. Psalm 35:10 says, “My whole being will exclaim, “Who is like you, LORD? You rescue the poor from those too strong for them, the poor and needy from those who rob them.” Furthermore, Isaiah 1:17 commands our involvement in this process, “Learn to do right; seek justice. Defend the oppressed. Take up the cause of the fatherless; plead the case of the widow.”
Missions should work toward the freeing of people from spiritual and physical bondage or oppression. It should work towards feeding people spiritually and physically. In doing this, the spiritual needs should always come first. As we see in Mark’s account of the feeding of the 5000, Jesus teaches the people before he feeds them. In fact, it was the disciples that seemed initially concerned about the people’s physical need to be fed. The disciples were not wrong in being concerned about this, and Jesus did not neglect to take care of this need. Nonetheless, we see that Jesus’ priority was on the spiritual nourishment rather than the physical. I know of many “ministries” that spend the overwhelming majority of their time, effort, and resources on caring for people’s physical needs, while hardly evangelizing. If this happens, we are wasting our time.
Often, the argument against such strong evangelizing action is concerned about resistance. People suggest that if we introduce a clinic or hospital into an area that is anti-Christian, we can slowly build their trust, and ever so slowly begin to evangelize. I see this as a lack of faith. Where in the Bible did Paul ever so slowly evangelize? His sense of urgency was strong and he outright preached to people who were stoning him. If our focus is evangelism and winning souls for the Lord, we are trusting that God will prepare the way, rather than a hospital preparing the way. Maybe God will use a Christian hospital to prepare the way, but our trust needs to be on God rather than on the hospital.
There are definitely circumstances that demand immediate action and an effort to improve the physical before the spiritual. We must rescue the girl from the brothel before making an effort to minister to her spiritually. We must free the captured slave before we can proclaim the good news of spiritual salvation to them. IJM’s ministry is fantastic; I am entirely behind all that they do. Nevertheless, is physical emancipation required for spiritual freedom? Most definitely not, as exemplified in Haugen’s story of the child prostitute who inscribed verses on the brothel wall. What a testament to faith during trials this is. It is important that Christians seek out social justice in the world with the end goal being “that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.”
Holistic Ministry
There is a role for the Christian in social justice. This is an issue that I have been struggling with all semester long. Toward the beginning of the semester I began ready a book called Revolution in World Missions. Before reading this book, I was unaware of the dangers of holistic ministry. This danger, which Guthrie points out, is that of losing our focus of evangelism. Feeding the hungry, rescuing the slave from oppression, and caring for the sick are all very Biblical activities commanded of Christians. The danger comes when they become the end, the focus, the purpose of ministry.
We are to be a light to the nations. As Haugen pointed out, actively seeking social justice is part of the “good deeds” in Matt 5:16. However, the end goal in that verse is so that they may “glorify your Father in heaven.” Evangelism and conversion are the goal of missions above all other goals. Clearly, this does not mean that we put social justice on the back burner and give it less priority. The scriptures are very clear, as Haugen argued, that seeking social justice is very important to God. Not only so, but we are his primary means of doing this. Psalm 35:10 says, “My whole being will exclaim, “Who is like you, LORD? You rescue the poor from those too strong for them, the poor and needy from those who rob them.” Furthermore, Isaiah 1:17 commands our involvement in this process, “Learn to do right; seek justice. Defend the oppressed. Take up the cause of the fatherless; plead the case of the widow.”
Missions should work toward the freeing of people from spiritual and physical bondage or oppression. It should work towards feeding people spiritually and physically. In doing this, the spiritual needs should always come first. As we see in Mark’s account of the feeding of the 5000, Jesus teaches the people before he feeds them. In fact, it was the disciples that seemed initially concerned about the people’s physical need to be fed. The disciples were not wrong in being concerned about this, and Jesus did not neglect to take care of this need. Nonetheless, we see that Jesus’ priority was on the spiritual nourishment rather than the physical. I know of many “ministries” that spend the overwhelming majority of their time, effort, and resources on caring for people’s physical needs, while hardly evangelizing. If this happens, we are wasting our time.
Often, the argument against such strong evangelizing action is concerned about resistance. People suggest that if we introduce a clinic or hospital into an area that is anti-Christian, we can slowly build their trust, and ever so slowly begin to evangelize. I see this as a lack of faith. Where in the Bible did Paul ever so slowly evangelize? His sense of urgency was strong and he outright preached to people who were stoning him. If our focus is evangelism and winning souls for the Lord, we are trusting that God will prepare the way, rather than a hospital preparing the way. Maybe God will use a Christian hospital to prepare the way, but our trust needs to be on God rather than on the hospital.
There are definitely circumstances that demand immediate action and an effort to improve the physical before the spiritual. We must rescue the girl from the brothel before making an effort to minister to her spiritually. We must free the captured slave before we can proclaim the good news of spiritual salvation to them. IJM’s ministry is fantastic; I am entirely behind all that they do. Nevertheless, is physical emancipation required for spiritual freedom? Most definitely not, as exemplified in Haugen’s story of the child prostitute who inscribed verses on the brothel wall. What a testament to faith during trials this is. It is important that Christians seek out social justice in the world with the end goal being “that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.”
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