The school year is well under way and I am a little more overloaded than I would like to be. Nevertheless, I am going back to posting regular blogs, because it makes me write my thoughts down (which is healthy), and it allows me to keep anyone who reads this in the loop.
In my studies I have struggled with the concept of being a slave to sin, then breaking free of those chains as a result of putting faith in Christ, but yet still stumbling into sin again and again. I had a hard time putting into words a distinction between the before and after of sins control in our lives.
Romans 6:6
"For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin"
I was life guarding the other day when my thought process led me to credit card debt. When someone has a massive amount of credit card debt (an impossible amount to repay), they become a slave to it. The interest raises the debt faster than they can pay it. It causes a downward spiral in their life. Their slavery causes them to continue to use the credit card to pay for stuff. Maybe, they even give up hope, so they continue to use the card knowing they would never be able to repay it anyway.
So lets relate the debt to sin. When we put our faith in Christ, his death payed the debt in full. gone. The downward spiral begins to stop. The money we were pumping into the interest payments can be used for food and rent (instead of using the credit card for all that). We are no longer bound to using the card, we have the choice of putting it away. Maybe sometimes we stumble and swipe the card here and there... but Christ's payment covered all future debts as well.
To make matters worse... it only takes one sin to accumulate this massive debt.
John 8:34
"Jesus answered them, 'Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who commits sin is a slave to sin'."
Thank you Jesus for paying off my debt and breaking the chains of my enslavement!
Thursday, September 24, 2009
Friday, July 24, 2009
The moral: I don't matter.
Another season of camp comes to an end. For the past 4 summers this has probably been the hardest part of the year for me. I spend the first part of the summer building this beautiful picture of Christian community. Then the end of July comes around and it gets torn down. It's almost like I go through a period of grieving. I suppose that's a good way to describe it, because something that meant a lot to me is gone forever. There will never be that same community until the new earth.
A healthy part of the grieving process is holding on to the memories. So my favorite part of the rest of the year is getting together with camp friends and laughing about our memories from camp.
I am relieved to hear that, from the outside, people were saying how much better the staff seemed this year. That they were more united, and that they reflected the attitude of Christ. It was an encouraging thing to hear after finishing what might have been my hardest summer. It's hard to compare because the previous summers seem so long ago. Being in charge of the waterfront was something I wasn't looking forward to, but it turned out to be fine. Sometimes it felt like an escape for me from other parts of camp.
I struggled a lot with pride this summer. I would be helping with something and I would get frustrated because I wanted it done my way. If you were there this summer you might not have noticed, at least I hope you didn't. Whether it was the right thing to do or not, I began to do my best to avoid helping with things that would exacerbate this attitude. The waterfront was different, because it was in my job description for things to go my way there; so it was never a struggle. That's probably why it became my escape, in a way.
This struggle was not a surprise to me going into the summer, but it was a little harder than I thought it would be.
Before I finish up this update, I want to make sure that you don't think it was all gloomy for me this summer. It was an excellent summer! I had a great time. It actually doesn't matter if I had a good time or not. What does matter is that a very large number of kids and teens were eternally impacted for Christ. It was a very exciting summer of surrendered lives. Lots of parties in heaven going on. One counselor shared that 9 of his campers accepted Christ at one of their Bible studies. Praise God. I also appreciate your prayers regarding spiritual warfare. It was a very real thing, but Jesus came out victorious time and time again.
Philippians 2:
1If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, 2then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose. 3Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. 4Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.
5Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus:
6Who, being in very nature[a] God,
did not consider equality with God something to be grasped,
7but made himself nothing,
taking the very nature[b] of a servant,
being made in human likeness.
8And being found in appearance as a man,
he humbled himself
and became obedient to death—
even death on a cross!
9Therefore God exalted him to the highest place
and gave him the name that is above every name,
10that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
11and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father.
A healthy part of the grieving process is holding on to the memories. So my favorite part of the rest of the year is getting together with camp friends and laughing about our memories from camp.
I am relieved to hear that, from the outside, people were saying how much better the staff seemed this year. That they were more united, and that they reflected the attitude of Christ. It was an encouraging thing to hear after finishing what might have been my hardest summer. It's hard to compare because the previous summers seem so long ago. Being in charge of the waterfront was something I wasn't looking forward to, but it turned out to be fine. Sometimes it felt like an escape for me from other parts of camp.
I struggled a lot with pride this summer. I would be helping with something and I would get frustrated because I wanted it done my way. If you were there this summer you might not have noticed, at least I hope you didn't. Whether it was the right thing to do or not, I began to do my best to avoid helping with things that would exacerbate this attitude. The waterfront was different, because it was in my job description for things to go my way there; so it was never a struggle. That's probably why it became my escape, in a way.
This struggle was not a surprise to me going into the summer, but it was a little harder than I thought it would be.
Before I finish up this update, I want to make sure that you don't think it was all gloomy for me this summer. It was an excellent summer! I had a great time. It actually doesn't matter if I had a good time or not. What does matter is that a very large number of kids and teens were eternally impacted for Christ. It was a very exciting summer of surrendered lives. Lots of parties in heaven going on. One counselor shared that 9 of his campers accepted Christ at one of their Bible studies. Praise God. I also appreciate your prayers regarding spiritual warfare. It was a very real thing, but Jesus came out victorious time and time again.
Philippians 2:
1If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, 2then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose. 3Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. 4Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.
5Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus:
6Who, being in very nature[a] God,
did not consider equality with God something to be grasped,
7but made himself nothing,
taking the very nature[b] of a servant,
being made in human likeness.
8And being found in appearance as a man,
he humbled himself
and became obedient to death—
even death on a cross!
9Therefore God exalted him to the highest place
and gave him the name that is above every name,
10that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
11and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father.
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
A day off
So I'm sitting in the Shay Station (coffee shop) because today is my day off.
There is so much I could write about right now, since I haven't written anything in a long time. I suppose I will start with the two things that hold the biggest place in my heart.
Jessica's House has been really interesting in the past month and a half. The walk across Michigan was successful and I was able to raise $1000. This money got them caught up on all the expenses, so she was able to break even. More recently we learned that the owner of the warehouse was kicking them out because they didn't want the children around. Jessica had found a house that they could stay in for $200 a month, but they needed a deposit of $800 to move in. I was a little discouraged by this because I didn't know where it would come from. Nevertheless, I was trusting God to provide. I worked harder at selling the Jessica's House T-shirts and was able to come up with about $150. Then, my dad talked to me yesterday and told me that people from his church got together and came up with $800 to send over there. God bless them. I was blown away. I am so excited right now. The last I heard, Jessica was planning on moving the children into the house today!
We still have to come up with $200 a month for the rent, but I have complete faith that the Lord will provide. Please let me know if you are interesting in being a monthly blessing to this ministry.
The second piece of my heart is camp, of course. Camp is going very well. Kids and teenagers are being impacted for eternity! I get to witness life change taking place everyday. I really think I have the best job in the world.
If you are asking how you can pray for us, this is how. Most people see camp as a safe "Christian bubble", and in some ways it probably is. The reality is, we are on the front lines of a massive spiritual battle. The evil one is not at all happy about what takes place at camp. He does everything he can to prevent it from happening. So please pray that God would bind the evil one from interfering in the work of the Lord here at camp.
I get excited when strange things happen because I know I'm doing something right. Satan's usual tactics continue to fail at camp. He normally finds success in causing disunity, bitterness, and resentment among Christians. These things prevent the work of the Lord. Praise the Lord, rarely do these evil strategies work among our staff, so Satan gets desperate. That's when strange things happen. Sometimes frightening things. Sometimes just really really frustrating things. So pray that God would give us the perseverance to press on regardless of what comes our way.
There is so much I could write about right now, since I haven't written anything in a long time. I suppose I will start with the two things that hold the biggest place in my heart.
Jessica's House has been really interesting in the past month and a half. The walk across Michigan was successful and I was able to raise $1000. This money got them caught up on all the expenses, so she was able to break even. More recently we learned that the owner of the warehouse was kicking them out because they didn't want the children around. Jessica had found a house that they could stay in for $200 a month, but they needed a deposit of $800 to move in. I was a little discouraged by this because I didn't know where it would come from. Nevertheless, I was trusting God to provide. I worked harder at selling the Jessica's House T-shirts and was able to come up with about $150. Then, my dad talked to me yesterday and told me that people from his church got together and came up with $800 to send over there. God bless them. I was blown away. I am so excited right now. The last I heard, Jessica was planning on moving the children into the house today!
We still have to come up with $200 a month for the rent, but I have complete faith that the Lord will provide. Please let me know if you are interesting in being a monthly blessing to this ministry.
The second piece of my heart is camp, of course. Camp is going very well. Kids and teenagers are being impacted for eternity! I get to witness life change taking place everyday. I really think I have the best job in the world.
If you are asking how you can pray for us, this is how. Most people see camp as a safe "Christian bubble", and in some ways it probably is. The reality is, we are on the front lines of a massive spiritual battle. The evil one is not at all happy about what takes place at camp. He does everything he can to prevent it from happening. So please pray that God would bind the evil one from interfering in the work of the Lord here at camp.
I get excited when strange things happen because I know I'm doing something right. Satan's usual tactics continue to fail at camp. He normally finds success in causing disunity, bitterness, and resentment among Christians. These things prevent the work of the Lord. Praise the Lord, rarely do these evil strategies work among our staff, so Satan gets desperate. That's when strange things happen. Sometimes frightening things. Sometimes just really really frustrating things. So pray that God would give us the perseverance to press on regardless of what comes our way.
Sunday, May 10, 2009
walk update 2
Check out LiveTheJesusRevolution.blogspot.com for the rest of the walk updates. Thanks for your support!
Friday, May 8, 2009
Walk Across Michigan: Update 1
Hey all.
I wanted to post an update on here before I left, but I couldn't get online at the library in St Clair Shores.
Day 1
I have to say, I got a lot of strange looks walking through the outskirts of Detroit with my huge backpack on. Overall, it was a fairly uneventful day until I was about ready to call it a night. I walked into a neighborhood planning to go up to people's houses and ask if I could stay in my tent in their yard. A guy across the street yelled at me asking what I was doing (I get that a lot), so I told him. He invited me in for dinner and then let me sleep in his backyard. He was Philippino and had all kinds of stories from back home. When he was a teenager, the rebels came through his property and asked (at gunpoint) if he would cook up some food for them. The problem was that if the other soldiers came by and saw them, they would have accused him of harboring rebels. Yikes... It was a good evening with some quality conversation.
Day 2
Just before noon, my weather man (Mike Johnson) called me and let me know that there was a storm on the way. I had just enough time to find some shelter before the sky let loose. It lasted about an hour, and then I was on my way again. In the evening, I tried to find a yard to stay in, but no one would let me, so I kept walking. I finally came upon a park. It had a nice dark corner where no one went, so I laid my sleeping bag out and went to sleep.
Day 3
This brings me to today. Since I was sleeping in park, I woke up bright and early before people would use the park (6:00am). Waking up so early gave me enough time to get all the way to Novi before lunch. This is where I am now, and my parents have met me here so my dad can walk with me for a while.
I will bring you up to date the next time I happen across a library.
I wanted to post an update on here before I left, but I couldn't get online at the library in St Clair Shores.
Day 1
I have to say, I got a lot of strange looks walking through the outskirts of Detroit with my huge backpack on. Overall, it was a fairly uneventful day until I was about ready to call it a night. I walked into a neighborhood planning to go up to people's houses and ask if I could stay in my tent in their yard. A guy across the street yelled at me asking what I was doing (I get that a lot), so I told him. He invited me in for dinner and then let me sleep in his backyard. He was Philippino and had all kinds of stories from back home. When he was a teenager, the rebels came through his property and asked (at gunpoint) if he would cook up some food for them. The problem was that if the other soldiers came by and saw them, they would have accused him of harboring rebels. Yikes... It was a good evening with some quality conversation.
Day 2
Just before noon, my weather man (Mike Johnson) called me and let me know that there was a storm on the way. I had just enough time to find some shelter before the sky let loose. It lasted about an hour, and then I was on my way again. In the evening, I tried to find a yard to stay in, but no one would let me, so I kept walking. I finally came upon a park. It had a nice dark corner where no one went, so I laid my sleeping bag out and went to sleep.
Day 3
This brings me to today. Since I was sleeping in park, I woke up bright and early before people would use the park (6:00am). Waking up so early gave me enough time to get all the way to Novi before lunch. This is where I am now, and my parents have met me here so my dad can walk with me for a while.
I will bring you up to date the next time I happen across a library.
Friday, April 17, 2009
Crazy Life
Things are happening and life is flying by!
I am leading worship at Voice Of Hope Church in Wayland on May 24th to see if I would be a good fit to be their worship leader. Praise the Lord.
I am still planning on walking across Michigan in May... and that is coming up really quick... kinda crazy.
I have a lot of homework coming due and it's making me nervous that I wont get it done...
Happy Velociraptor Awareness Day!
Susan Boyle Rocks!
Paintball scenerio this weekend!
Peace out.
I am leading worship at Voice Of Hope Church in Wayland on May 24th to see if I would be a good fit to be their worship leader. Praise the Lord.
I am still planning on walking across Michigan in May... and that is coming up really quick... kinda crazy.
I have a lot of homework coming due and it's making me nervous that I wont get it done...
Happy Velociraptor Awareness Day!
Susan Boyle Rocks!
Paintball scenerio this weekend!
Peace out.
Thursday, April 16, 2009
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