Amendments and Prayers

I must amend my previous post with a few clarifications. I still stand by what I said, but I can understand how things can be taken wrongly.

- If you were unsure that I was speaking about you, then I wasn't. I can say this because those whom I referred to have been spoken to regarding this.
- If you think I'm being hypocritical, it's because I am a hypocrite. So it is perfectly understandable that you would come to this conclusion.
- Am I a cynic regarding cynical people? Unfortunately yes, from time to time. But it is a cycle I am trying to break myself from.
- When I say that I am avoiding these people, it is not meant to be taken that I am giving up on them or our relationship. I love my brothers and sisters in Christ. I pray for them. Rather, I would liken this to a pastor who needs a sabbatical. He is not giving up on his people. He simply needs a break from them to regroup, re-energize, and return. In my struggle to become less cynical I must temporarily distance myself from people who negatively influence me in this area. However, the emphasis is on temporary.
Thanks for bearing with me on this.

..................................................

If you haven't noticed, I am right in the middle of the craziest, most chaotic part of my life thus far. I am half-way through my final traditional semester, followed by an early summer internship. The workload is tremendous. I live from week to week for deadlines. There is just no other option. If I had a major project due in 2 weeks, I wouldn't even begin to think about it for at least another week.
I say this all to say that God has used this season of my life to bring about massive change in me. He is still working on me, and I've got a long way to go, but when I look back at who I was, I don't even recognize myself. For this I am incredibly thankful.

I covet your prayers for my near future. I am hardly concerned about where I'll be 5 years from now, because it is difficult to see past the giant standing in front of me; that is, the next 4 months. I am not praying for a smooth ride or for less chaos. Rather, I am praying that God continues to use the chaos in front of me for His glory and His sanctifying work in my life.
As chaotic as these months are, I will soon need to make important decisions regarding my future. So please also pray that I will have a clear mind, amid the chaos, to make Spirit led decisions that will effect the course of my life. His will is greater than my will; His wisdom is greater than my wisdom.

Grace and Peace

Worn out by Christians

I'm worn out. I'm not talking about physically, though I am tired. I'm not talking about school work, though it is a burden. I'm talking about negativity. I wrote about this before, but this time there is change.
I've identified the issue that has the most effect on my attitude. The cynicism around me. Sometimes I feel on top of the world, filled with the Spirit, motivated to press on for Jesus and love everyone I come in contact with. Then the cynic walks into the room and sucks it dry. Quenches the fire. Removes the hope.
It has a noticeable direct effect on my attitude. I hate it.
It doesn't bother me when an unregenerate is cynical; could I expect anything more? I love countering their cynicism with my joy that is in Christ.
It drains me when the Christians around me are cynical. They are my brothers in Christ! Where is the edification? Where is the joy? Where is the peace? Where is the hope? Where is the love?
I have made the choice to avoid cynical Christians as best I can. They are hindering me from being everything I can be in Christ. They are quenching the Spirit. I will tell them that this is why they see less of me. If God grabs ahold of their heart, then I will come back and be graced by their company once again.

-Nate

Paralyzed

Sometimes we read stories of the Israelites in the Old Testament and pass judgment on them. God would show them his faithfulness and they would quickly forget it. Take, for instance, the story of their grumbling and complaining in the desert. Did you forget already that I led you out of captivity, that I parted the sea? Reading this story with the benefit of hindsight makes us look down on the Israelites, but aren’t we the same?
How quickly I forget the Lord’s faithfulness.

Thursday night I came to the Lord in prayer. I laid my worries, cares, and anxieties down at his feet. I poured it all out; it took and hour and a half. As a result, I was filled with the peace of God that transcends all understanding.
How quickly I forget, like an Israelite. Yesterday and today, I have been consumed with worry and anxiety. It’s almost paralyzing. I haven’t been able to get my work done because of it.
“We say, Israel, how could you forget after only 30 days? Come on!”
30 days? I forgot after 1 day.

Then the Lord reminded me. Gently.
“The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:5b-7

This is one of God’s most beautiful promises. Why can’t I remember it everyday?

Brace Yourself Like a Man

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)

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

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.

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!”