AMAZING God

Amazing God

I have to tell the story because God is amazing!

We have been trying to get into this major assessment for church planting. It is the next step in planting a church so we NEED to do it. The original plan was to do it in August but miracles happened and God gave us a job for Alissa!

We needed to ask for days off and the we didn't have anybody to care for our girls while we were at the assessment/training. So by the time we had the days off approved the assessment was full and no further signups were allowed.

So we planned to go to the September one. It would give me time to complete my application and church planting profile. Plus, we now knew that we could get off from our jobs. However, we didn't have the child care figured out yet.

So we began to pray about child care. And also sitting on the couch going through the people we knew. Our first thought was my dad. He is retired and is family.

We called and it was a no go. There were too many things going on during that time frame for him to pull away. So we went back to the think tank.

I had some specific things that I were looking for for criteria. First, I wanted them to be safe for our kids. Family or good friends or well credentialed was going through my mind. Second, I wanted them to be invested in us. They needed to believe that what we were doing was important.

We thought of a church planter coordinator that had been instrumental in helping us see God's plan in church planting. His wife is such a sweet lady and so I called her. She said she would love to but that particular week she was watching her grandkids! It just seemed like it was hard.

Side note: I learned long ago that you do everything you can to pursue God's path. But don't pursue without God or get ahead of him. When life gets difficult it doesn't mean that the "door" (hate that analogy) is closed or open. It may mean that God is working but it isn't time yet. I believe that God's will is more fluid than some old door! /ramble

On Monday August 31, I got a text from a friend that learn so much from. He is a man of closeness with God. But, I didn't really have time to read it on Monday. So it lay dormant in my Messages app.

Tuesday came and here it was September 1st! No prospects to keep our girls. But I knew the time frame to register and get flights was getting shorter. I was starting to get antsy. I was talking to God on a daily basis about it and nothing was happening yet.

But God wanted to show us again that the easy way is not the miraculous way (most of the time).

On Wednesday, I woke up around 4 am. I couldn't sleep and like he normally does, I believed that God wanted to talk with me. So I went to my quiet prayer place and asked God to give us someone to watch our girls.

God responded by reminding me about my text message. The text said:

Good morning bro. I just wanted to let you know that God is impressing on me that we need to bring our prayers and petitions to him with FASTING. In case their is something you need to break loose. I encourage you to FAST and pray. I am doing this now and felt the need to share with you. Remember man of God, you are truly blessed!

I felt that God was calling me to fast over this. So I followed the leading to fast until dinner.

I got ready and headed off to work. I work around food and beverages all day long. Did you know when you are hungry that everything smells extra good??

But in my spirit, every time my stomach growled I would say to God, "You are all I truly need. I trust you, God." My stomach growled a lot.

I made it through the day and headed home.

I looked at my phone and had received a text from my wife 30 minutes earlier. It said:

I love it when God just hands us things on a silver platter!!

I called her and she told that a lady she works with, who I had meet the previous week, had come up and asked how the church plant was proceeding. (She has a friend that is going to a Wesleyan seminary and they had talked about the plant and this spurred her to ask my wife about it.) My wife told her about how we need to go to this major assessment/training for our next step and we have everything in place except . . . And the lady finished her sentence . . . childcare.

The lady simply stated, "Well, I will watch your kids."

My wife's jaw hit the floor. She is credentialed and safe. And she sees our kids everyday!

And now it is all arranged. We are going to the assessment/training! God is amazing!

I told my wife with what God had done that morning. See what he did there?? He grew both of our faiths. He gave glory and honor to himself. He provided a way (when there didn't seem to be one).

God's gifts are the best!

Last Sunday we talked about Genesis 21.

The Lord dealt with Sarah as he had said, and the Lord did for Sarah as he had promised.  Sarah conceived and bore Abraham a son in his old age, at the time of which God had spoken to him.  Abraham gave the name Isaac to his son whom Sarah bore him.  And Abraham circumcised his son Isaac when he was eight days old, as God had commanded him.  Abraham was a hundred years old when his son Isaac was born to him.  Now Sarah said, “God has brought laughter for me; everyone who hears will laugh with me.”

God dealt with Sarah. We talked about how the word "dealt" is sometimes translated remembered. Like when it says that God remembered Noah. It doesn't really mean that we have a forgetful God. (Can you imagine God forgetting his car keys???!) No. It means that it was time for God to turn his grace toward him. And that is the same case here.

God turned his grace toward Sarah. He gave her the child that they had both been longing for. The days of them being laughed at for being childless were over. 

So Sarah laughed. She rejoiced! And she knew in her heart that others would soon be rejoicing with her. 

But they waited 25 years for this incredible gift to arrive. 25 years!! How long has any of us waited that long for something of this importance. Not many of us have had to wait that long. 

Did you know that God wants to give gifts to you? He has a plan. (We already talked about this a few weeks ago.) He is extraordinary and has extraordinary for us (love, mercy, futures). (We talked about that last week.) And now, we learn that he is faithful to give us those gifts! He doesn't hold them back because he wishes us ill. He has a time and a place to release those gifts to us! They are there and in the best time God releases them to us. And they are always what we need. So, how do we respond when God has these gifts and he has or has not released them to us, yet?

Begs the question. Are you thankful for what you have? Have you looked at what God has given you, and I mean everything, and thanked him for it? Now, I know that we do that every year at Thanksgiving time. But I am going to throw a wrench in that. Here goes. I believe that there is an element of contentment in being thankful. I think that to truly be thankful for what you have your have to be content with what you have. Want an example? Think about: poorest Africa, single child, one ratty, broken doll. Now, contrast with: typical home in US, single child, 15 new, shiny toys. Process through level of thankfulness in regard to contentment. 

The response to God's amazing gifts is to be thankful. And to be perfectly content in each of them. Only then can we use them to their utmost and love the very giving of them to the degree they deserve.

God is a faithful gift-giver!

Dearly Imputed . . .

On Sunday we looked at Genesis 15. This is a great story of God having amazing plans for Abram and Abram's response to those plans.

Yes, he had questions. In fact, he cried out to God and shared his heart. Hey God, you have given me all these things but I still don't have a child of my own. A child through my wife Sarai. Where is that? When is that going to happen. But here is where Abram shows off what kind of character he has. God shows him the stars in the heavens and tells him that his offspring will be more than the stars in the sky. Some of us stop right here. But that would diminish the story. Because, this is when Abram says back to God, "I believe you." I mean he really believed God! And this is amazing. And God responded to him by taking his faith in God and reckoning it as righteousness. In the immortal words of Jerry Clower, "Whoooieee!" That's good.

But what does this mean? This phrase is an interesting one and I told you on Sunday that I would share a bit more about it. Did you know that the apostle Paul comes back to this specific story in Romans 4?

22 Therefore his faith[a] “was reckoned to him as righteousness.” 23 Now the words, “it was reckoned to him,” were written not for his sake alone, 24 but for ours also. It will be reckoned to us who believe in him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead, 25 who was handed over to death for our trespasses and was raised for our justification.

This verse in Genesis 15 that Paul is referring to intrigues me. I just keep reading it. I guess I am trying to understand it or maybe even soak in it. I feel that it is important. That somehow, I'm missing something about it. 

I think part of it is this concept of righteousness being reckoned to someone. How is that possible? How is it that because Abram believed he is somehow righteous? Can I see the math on that please? Believing=Righteousness? How is that? 

We use reckoning in the South all the time. I grew up there. I know. "I reckon so." "I reckon I best be goin'." So you see, I'm used to this idea. 

But this is bigger than my southern culture. It is bigger because I don't think we process it correctly. Let me explain.

The reckoning is not something that Abram did. The reckoning has everything to do with God. And I think that this concept is something called imputation. 

Imputation is, in reference to God, the work of God outside of us. That means, that whatever is imputed to us has nothing to do with us. It has everything to do with God. Here is one way to look at this. Let's say that every time I do a particular action, you give me $10 dollars. That is cause and effect. I do something, you give me something. The variables are defined. This is something like a transaction and this is how we think of many, many things in our lives. (Sometimes even the spiritual!!) However, let's change the scenario. Let's change it to more like a trust fund. You promise to give me the entire, unlimited trust fund. Now, the trust fund is not ours. We didn't put anything into the trust fund. We didn't cause it to happen. We didn't cause it to not be there. It is simply there and we, frankly, have not done one thing to affect it positively or negatively. 

So. How do we get access to the trust fund? Here it is. In order to have access to the trust fund, we must be related to the owner of the trust fund. Now, there are some problems with this relationship. First, you aren't really related. I mean, he loves you very much but you aren't naturally blood related. But the amazing thing is this. The owner of the trust fund has decided to adopt you! Now, this may be the freaky part, but he has gone further than adoption by law only. He has adopted you through transfusion! Through his son, you are now blood-related! You got it! The son gave his blood so that you could become a full-blooded son of the owner of the trust fund! Pretty amazing, right?

So what is our part in this? We have to believe in the owner of the trust fund and that his son gave his blood for us because both the owner and the son love us that much! 

This is the part of the blog where I put in a metaphorical disclaimer. No metaphor can really illustrate the relationship and total concept of imputation. So I am very aware that this metaphor cannot duly give justice to what Jesus Christ did for us on the cross and the relationship of love that God for us and with us. I get that. 

Let's come back to Abram. Abram did nothing to deserve God's righteousness. He didn't earn it. There was no way for him to earn it!! What could Abram give God?? God owns it all! No. That wasn't it. God's righteousness was freely given. Abram's belief in God united him to God so that God's righteousness was credited to him. Abram's faith did not produce the righteousness. Abram's faith in God fulfilled the other half of God's extension of relationship (love) that he had made to Abram in the first place! God began the relationship. Abram's faith sealed it. (Tangental aside:  which totally explains how we can walk away from God - the relationship unsealed - and God continues to seek us out, continuing to offer his love and relationship!)

Okay, I'm going to offer one more example from an article I read from www.desiringgod.com. It is another analogy and of course the previous disclaimer still applies. I put it here in case it makes more sense to some than my analogy.

Here's a very imperfect analogy. But I will risk it in the hope of greater understanding. Suppose I say to Barnabas, my sixteen-year-old son, "Clean up your room before you go to school. You must have a clean room, or you won't be able to go watch the game tonight." Well, suppose he plans poorly and leaves for school without cleaning the room. And suppose I discover the messy room and clean it. His afternoon fills up and he gets home just before it's time to leave for the game and realizes what he has done and feels terrible. He apologizes and humbly accepts the consequences.

To which I say, "Barnabas, I am going to credit your apology and submission as a clean room. I said, 'You must have a clean room, or you won't be able to go watch the game tonight. Your room is clean. So you can go to the game." What I mean when I say, "I credit your apology as a clean room," is not that the apology is the clean room. Nor that he really cleaned his room. I cleaned it. It was pure grace. All I mean is that, in my way of reckoning - in my grace - his apology connects him with the promise given for a clean room. The clean room is his clean room. I credit it to him. Or, I credit his apology as a clean room. You can say it either way. And Paul said it both ways: "Faith is credited as righteousness," and "God credits righteousness to us through faith."

I feel by writing this I understand it a bit more. I am going to have to continue to work through this because I feel that there is still so much more here than I currently able to process. I hope this has helped understanding this amazing verse(s) in the Bible and perhaps has helped you along your journey.

Under the Rug

The phrase I wanted people to remember this week was this:

God helps us put others first.

This is a sound biblical phrase. It was one of Jesus' greatest commandments. Put others first. How noble! How valuable! How incredibly counter to what our culture truly believes.

I was driving behind a vehicle the other day that had a bumper sticker. It stated something to effect of vote for equality for all in marriage. Basically it was saying (command form) that homosexual couples should be allow to marry in the name of equality.

How does this play into Put Others First? Isn't that the goal of this bumper sticker? Aren't homosexual couples a part of the others?

I have been meaning to go back and find the first use of a couple getting married in history. I don't mean the way we categorize marriage as such that it is. Huge ceremony. Big dresses. Large bills. I mean the first marriage where a covenant was made.

The earliest one I can think of is the Genesis example of God (as priest) presenting the bride, which he had just created, to Adam the first groom.

And I have been thinking.

Marriage is not and has never been an equality issue. God didn't make it to be one. It wasn't created to be one. Marriage has always been about the covenant of relationship between husband, wife and God.  Here it is: God created marriage. He created covenant. He created husband and wife. No, this debate has never been about equality. This debate must be about the real issue. The issue of marriage as gift. By placing and belittling marriage to the role of an equality issue, we are stating and propagating the myth that marriage is a right. An inalienable right. Something everyone should have access. However. And this is a big however. Marriage is not a right. We do not own marriage.

Maybe we should make a bumper sticker that says that the IRS should get out of my marriage. Ahhh, I could see it now. Divorce the IRS out of marriage! And didn't we allow the IRS to dictate what the advantage of marriage is? It started out okay. But over time this has become the issue of our age. The definition of marriage has become tied to tax deductions and equal rights. But that is not what and how marriage was designed to be. God designed marriage as a gift of relationship between a man and a woman before God. God did not make it a right, but it was truly the first bridal shower. The covenant of relationship before a holy God. And this is just one area. There are many, many more!

And doesn't it really come down to the context? Take putting others first as an example in context. If we put everybody first, even before God, then this becomes a massive failure of initiative. It takes what was meant as a servant song and creates a chromatic nightmare. For Jesus said that we were to love God first. Put God first. And then out of that relationship we could then put others first. But that isn't what we are in danger of doing. The danger is putting others first before God and to the exclusion of God.

I was counseling a couple and I noted that they put a great many things before their relationship with each other, but as we talked longer and had more sessions, I realized that they were putting a great many things before God! They were upside down in their relationships!! They had swept/allowed/shoved their relationship with God under the rug. It had been relegated to the place of apathy and irrelevance in their lives. Powdered with dust and coated with neglect.

It is time to pull our relationships out from under the rug and set them in the proper place of worth and honor in our lives. God: first and foremost.

Hold on Tight

This past Sunday we talked about Genesis 12 and Abram's trust that he had in God.

One thing that I have observed about God is that he is a responsive God. Are you familiar with responsive websites? That's what I think about. Ever taken your smart phone or tablet and gone to a website where it doesn't seem to fit your screen? You have to scroll this way and that. You have to scale and re-scale to make sure you see everything and can actually use the website. This is a website that is not made to be responsive. When you get to a responsive website (which is all the rage right now), the information and the theme of the website is made to fit whatever size browser or screen you are on. That is responsive.

God makes it so we can respond to his action. He is the maker of our spiritual website. He makes it responsive. We point and click and act and God enables us to respond. He scrolls with us and he pans where we are. He zooms in on our life to give us perspective and then zooms back out to help us see his work. God initiates. We respond. That is the nature of our God.

God reached out to Abram. Abram responded by choosing to leave his father and extended family. He left so much. In fact, he left more than he took with him. And he did it because he was responding to God telling him to go. He trusted God.

And that is how our God is. He builds trust by giving us opportunity to respond to what he is doing. Without God's action in reaching out, Abram had no response. There was simply nothing to respond to. However, God did reach out and when Abram responded, trust was made, created, built and stored. That is what I mean by saying that God puts trust in our way. In many ways, God creates the trust in us, faith if you will, by creating an opportunity for us to trust in him.

Faith and trust cannot exist if God does not act to cause them or grow them. God does the action. Our job is to respond to that action.

Our God is a god that over promises and over delivers. Have you heard that phrase before? Probably not in that order. Usually it is used to say something about good customer service. Something like, X company underpromised and then over delivered. They went above and beyond what they had said. However, have you noticed that God normally over promises? He promises to do amazing things, things that we simply can't even imagine. And we are wow-ed by God's promises, to the extent that we can't believe that he would even do those things? Why is that? But then, it comes. God does even more than he promised. He does something that goes far beyond what you could expect. He over delivers on promises that were over promised! That is our God!! And only he can do that!

That is what Abram experienced. Read the passage and follow Abram through the story of God. You will see it. It is truly amazing.

This is no different for us. God has a story with each of us. This is a story where God wants us to grow in and through all things. A plan for our lives that will astonish us. He wants the very best for us. And we need to be prepared, seek him and then . . . Hold. On. Tight.

Reality of Redemption

Yesterday, Oswald Chambers (here) wrote about Paul's Gospel. How it means something for Paul that others may not understand. He calls it the Reality of Redemption. 

Here is a quote from that writing:

"The fact that we can experience redemption illustrates the power of its reality, but that experience is a byproduct and not the goal of redemption."

Most weeks, as I study, I struggle for a title for the message that God has for me to deliver. I struggle for the key image of that message. Professors in seminary taught that the title doesn't matter because no one will see the title. For me, this is like saying that the title of a book doesn't matter. Frankly, I believe it does. I believe that a title to a message matters. And of this to say, I struggled with the title this week and God gave me this one. The Reality of Redemption. Many weeks I know why I get the titles I get. Why I get the images I get. And they are supposed to be linked to help the main point of the message that God has given. 

This week I choose them separately and frankly, I could think of a lot better titles for this image.

However, it wouldn't be what God gave me. So Reality of Redemption it is/was. 

On this side of yesterday, I see the point. I understand after the fact. Which, I think, is common with how God works. 

He was teaching me something. Yesterday, I referred to the poem by Lord Alfred Tennyson, Charge of the Light Brigade. In it, this is written:

Theirs not to make reply,
Theirs not to reason why,

Theirs but to do and die:

(If you want to read more about this famous event, go here.)

Basically, they received orders and no matter what they thought about the orders, they followed them. They received them and carried them out. 

This is sometimes called blind obedience. And is in human terms, not wise. Namely because the person giving the orders could be wrong.

However, as we know, God is not human and only has the best in line for you life. Therefore, to blindly follow and instantly obey God is his ultimate desire for your life! He wants the best for you and plans to guide you there, if you will let him and follow him. 

This is the nature of obedience to God. It is the nature of a relationship with God. And why shouldn't we obey him?!! 

Obedience keeps us devoted to him. Dependent. Aware that our very existence is because of our loving God that, when we submit our will and seek out his, we are blessed. We are redeemed. And that is the reality of redemption. Blessed Redeemer. 

The title, to me, did not make sense. But, to a God that wanted to show me to trust him, and in a small exercise to do so, list a title that didn't make as much sense to me, it made perfect sense to him. 

Greetings and Exhortations!

Exhortations sounds like something a horse would make. But it is a great word. It means to urge to act. 

And that is the purpose of the joy that we have if we are followers of Christ. As I said on Sunday, it doesn't seem like Christmas to talk about axes, sacrificing, fire and fruit. In fact the whole story of Jesus doesn't seem like something that would bring joy. Or hope. Or love. It rather seems like a tragedy. Not the festive light filled fun that we call Christmas. 

We were watching Merry Larry, a Veggie Tales movie, last night with the kids at small group. It was talking about this exact topic. Christmas is about our joy found in Jesus turning into joyful acts that show Jesus. The inward transfers to the outward. The church becomes mobile and ready to impact those around it. 

I hope your week has been full of offering joy to others. I hope God has laid an opportunity in your path this week that he wanted to change you through. I hope you listened and followed through. 

I hope it encouraged you and grew your faith. 

In fact, if you followed through, I know it did. If not, why not? Did you miss it? Do you wish you had listened and followed through on what God was trying to do through you? 

Your heart does. 

God wants us (exhorts us!) to show others acts of joy because of the joy we have in us. God doesn't ask the impossible from us. He gives us everything we need to succeed in the plan that he has for us. 

I exhort you to go into your Friday, Saturday and into Sunday filled with God's joy and his purpose. 

Don't miss it. Seek him tomorrow morning before you go to work or school. Listen and receive his presence, his love, his hope and his joy for you. Treasure it and then show that joy to others. 

May God richly bless you this week.

Amen.

The East Gate

Sunday we talked about the next to last gate in our journey to go around the gates of Jerusalem. It is the East Gate and it faces, well, you guess it, east. Directly east of Jerusalem is the Mount of Olives. It is referred in the Bible that when Jesus returns it will be on this mountain. This explains the large number of people (Jews) that want to be buried right in front of the East Gate.

We learned that word, Maranatha, which means Come, Lord Jesus. And how even in Paul and John's time, people were already scoffing about Jesus' return. They didn't believe that it was going to happen!! But Paul, Peter and John told them that it would happen. To expect it! To look forward to it!

My question is: What are you looking forward to? What is it that you want to happen so bad that you think about and dream about it and "yearn" for it? Followers of Christ yearn for his return!! More than anything else! I read a pastor that wrote, "If you don’t long for the King to get the honor He deserves, then maybe you haven’t really recognized Him as your king."

Wow. That is challenging! If we aren't looking forward to the end of evil and all that Jesus brings with him when he comes back then maybe we don't really see him as king of our lives.

The point? Christ's return brings judgment and joy.

There will be both when he returns. There will be the end of death and the end of evil's days. Those that are followers of Christ will recieve a Crown of Righteousness (1 Timothy 4:8). We will be judged worthy for that crown or unworthy for that crown. Judgment. Joy.

So, if you looked out your peephole tomorrow morning, and Jesus was on the other side, what would you feel? Joy? Or fear? Joy and judgment are coming whether we want them to or not. Knock. Knock.

 

Troubled Waters Reboot (Rebubble?)

On Sunday we talked about the Water Gate from Nehemiah's time. How Hezekiah ordered a tunnel dug so that Jerusalem would have water during times of siege. 

This tunnel and the water that flowed through it lasted for centuries and continues to bring water into the city. Ever heard of the Pool of Siloam? It was fed by this spring. The Spring of Gihon. 

People relied on this water and still do! This is a symbol of how we are to depend on God's Word to give us nourishment! It is there to fill us and prepare us for presentation to God. 

This was the purpose of the Pool of Siloam. To cleanse those that were going to hear the Word of God. People would be cleansed in the water so that they could be cleansed by the Word of God! It was a time of preparation for presentation!! 

We find in Ephesians 5:

"Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, in order to make her holy by cleansing her with the washing of water by the word, so as to present the church to himself in splendor, without a spot or wrinkle or anything of the kind—yes, so that she may be holy and without blemish."

The "word" referred to here is the Good News. The Gos Pel of Christ. Through the word of the Word Incarnate (That's Jesus!), we are made clean. We are made pure. We are made ready to be presented to the Holy God of Israel! 

Wow. That's amazing stuff. Did you know the Word does all that? That is why the Psalmist writes in 119:105:

"Your word is a light unto my feet and a light unto my path."

God's word gives us direction, cleansing and encouragement. 

And that is a promise from God. 

Where is God when things fall apart?

In the movie, God's Not Dead, that we watched last Friday night, one of the questions that was discussed was the question of how a loving God can allow innocent people to be hurt so badly.

As I shared on Sunday, C.S. Lewis' quote - "Evil is atheism's most potent weapon against the Christian faith," illustrates this burning question that seems to turn many away from believing in God.

If you were not here on Sunday, it might be good to go and listen to the my message before perusing the rest of this information. However, if you were there, then you know that I intended on posting the information below as supplemental to the message because there is SO VERY MUCH to discuss on this topic. One Sunday really doesn't do it justice! (no pun intended)

Besides the point I shared on Sunday [that God knows all and sees and it is our perspective that needs to change about God - not the other way around], no matter what the point is that is supposed to substantiate that feeling of forsakenness when bad things happen there is no head knowledge that is going to help out us feel better. It is only through the heart that God will show us that He is there and does in fact care about what is happening to us.

That being said, here is the additional background information (not heart/not feeling) that I offered on Sunday to be posted here. (Note: This post is LONG! Read the whole thing!)

The Seven Pillars

1.  God’s character is loving, good, and righteous.
“Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right (Genesis 18:25)?”
As we see in the movie, “God is good…all the time.”

2.  He has given us freedom to choose to love Him, or reject Him.

True love must be a choice, or it is robotic.

3.  This freedom resulted in a fallen world with evil, sin, and real dangers.
“Therefore, just as through one man sin entered into the world, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men, because all sinned (Romans 5:12).”

Everything is broken and the world is not how it was intended to be originally.

4.  He intensely desires restored fellowship with us.
“Come now, and let us reason together," says the LORD, "though your sins are as scarlet, they will be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they will be like wool (Isaiah 1:18).”

God longs to be gracious to us, and to be reunited in fellowship.

5.  His love is so great that He gave up His only Son to restore that relationship.
“But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us (Romans 5:8).”

He didn’t just say He loved us; He showed it by giving up His very best.

6.  But sin remains in our fleshly body and the physical world temporarily.
“For the flesh sets its desire against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; for these are in opposition to one another, so that you may not do the things that you please  (Galatians 5:17).”

The effects of the curse remain, but it has now lost its power and permanence.

7.  We can trust His finished work because He defeated death (sin) by resurrection.
“By this will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all (Hebrews 10:10).”

The empty tomb proves His triumph over sin and death, and our own empty graves.


As you can see, each of these could be their own sermon topic!

I did like this analogy that was in the supplement:

Imagine it like this, the baby that you and your spouse created has diaper rash, and not only a rash, but a horrible, painful rash that is so bad that it is cracked, swollen, and red beyond even being able to touch it without a scream from your beloved baby.

Do you ignore it, wrap on a new diaper, and call it good?

Not if you love your baby.

You go to the doctor, who causes more pain with an examination, prescribing baths and ointments that require more touching with towels and lotions.  

In the midst of this painful ordeal to heal the rash, your baby turns to you and says, “WHAT ARE YOU DOING TO ME?  HOW CAN YOU SAY YOU LOVE ME WHEN YOU ALLOW ALL THIS TORTUROUS RUBBING?!  YOUR ACTIONS MAKE NO SENSE!  STOP HURTING ME!”

Further than the 7 Pillars, there are 7 suppositions as well. Here they are:

The Seven Suppositions

Supposition 1:  Evil is real and people are blinded by their sin 

“And you were dead in your trespasses and sins (Ephesians 2:1).”

This shouldn’t require much corroboration if you’ve ever driven in rush hour.  People are selfish, mean, and spiritually dead.  Doubt it?  

Then why do we all have locks on our cars and homes?  Policeman carry guns, metal detectors are everywhere, and we see murders every day on the news.  Or whom do you look for first in your family photo?  You!  

Evil is real, sin is real, and mankind is infected with a self-centered nature.  

If you have any doubt about evil, just check out some of the comments on the God’s Not Dead trailer on YouTube.  

Supposition 2:  His ways are higher than our ways

“For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways," declares the Lord.  For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways

and My thoughts than your thoughts (Isaiah 55:8-9).” 

As ironic as it seems, our indignation, confusion, and questioning of God’s intent, motives, and ultimate purpose for our lives demonstrates our own rebellious nature.  We question His goodness and so prove our unworthy state of brokenness in doubting His goodness.

He has a purpose and a plan as Jeremiah 29:11 says, “For I know the plans that I have for you,' declares the LORD, `plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope.”

We cannot explain the why of God’s ways, but A. W. Tozer comes close:

“All God's acts are done in perfect wisdom, first for His own glory, and then for the highest good of the greatest number for the longest time.  And all His acts are as pure as they are wise, and as good as they are wise and pure.  Not only could His acts not be better done: a better way to do them could not be imagined.  An infinitely wise God must work in a manner not to be improved upon by finite creatures.”  

Supposition 3:  There is no innocence; we are all guilty

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“Nobody’s perfect” is an old adage that sums up our fallen condition nicely.

At its very heart, this is a faulty question to ask God why He allows “innocent” people to suffer.  We are all guilty before a holy God.  None of us are innocent.  Everyone has broken God’s law, and as James says, “

This is not to say that He takes any delight in our suffering or is not sympathetic, but He would be just to do whatever he deems right to do with His rebellious creation.  We have broken His holy laws, ruined His paradise, thumbed our nose at Him, and when tragedy strikes we ask why He allowed it to happen.

He asks the same thing of us…“how could you let this happen when I have done so much for you?  I gave you my Word to show you how to live and My only Son to redeem you.”  Anything we receive in this life is pure grace because we are criminals before a holy and righteous God Who has every right to punish our sin.  

Supposition 4:  Suffering can lead to repentance

2 Corinthians 7:10 says, “For the sorrow that is according to the will of God produces a repentance without regret, leading to salvation, but the sorrow of the world produces death.”

“Or do you think lightly of the riches of His kindness and tolerance and patience, not knowing that the kindness of God leads you to repentance (Romans 2:4)?”

Sometimes breaking our hearts, breaking our self-dependence, helps us to see our need for God.  This is the biggest point of all…suffering can result in salvation which is His ultimate goal for us.

Suffering alerts us to our need for help, a cure for our illness when it becomes so acute that it motivates us to go to the doctor.  Pain drives us into His arms for solace, answers, and help. 

Being flat on our back, our last resort can result in finally looking up to Him.  In the film, we see an apparent tragedy in time and space is really an act of God’s mercy for eternity.

Supposition 5:  Suffering can lead to a deeper dependence on God

“But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit (2 Corinthians 3:18).”

If you are a Christian, times of trouble can bring you closer to God.  It can also be a training ground in character or faith to trust Him more (James 1:2) to be more holy by being pruned and transformed to be more Christ-like (John 15:1), or as a way to comfort others who are now going through a problem you faced already (2 Co 1:4).

God even uses our suffering for His glory and eventual good (Romans 8:28).

Supposition 6:  Let’s blame the right guy

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An elderly man had to endure his wife’s dementia, stroke, and eventually her death.  When his son asked him if he blamed God, he said, “God?  Why would I blame Him?  It’s not His fault we get old and die.”

In short, we ignore that there is a real being who is evil who should take the blame for this messed up world, not God.  But how quick others are to blame God for evil, and its resulted death sentences.

God allowed for our free choice to love Him voluntarily and part of that free will choice means some will choose to rebel, as Satan did.  It must be so to have true love.

The Bible, however, puts the blame correctly on a rebel named Lucifer, a real spiritual villain who deceived Eve (remember Adam sinned knowingly) by questioning God’s word in order to wreck God’s Paradise, or so Lucifer thought.  And so, this world is a broken creation, as are we…spiritually dead…but it was never God’s fault.

Supposition 7:  Consider God’s past dealings

“For whatever was written in earlier times was written for our instruction, so that through perseverance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope (Romans 15:4).”

In the Bible there are several tragedies that the people of that time must have wondered our same question, Where is God when life falls apart?

Think about Noah and the flood, the Egyptian enslavement of Israel, the destruction of Jerusalem by the Babylonians in 586 BC, Joseph being sold into slavery, the murder of babies by Herod, and even the crucifixion of Jesus Christ.  These were horrendous events that God turned around and used for the ultimate good of mankind.

When we consider past tragedies in the Bible, and how God used our bad choices, we get a glimpse of how His purposes can result for our good.  We get a peek behind the curtain, so to speak, and see the Wizard at work.

- - - - - - - -

So after posting all of this information, I think it helps us understand why but it doesn't help our hearts feel better about the junk in the world. 

What helped me the most was what I found and shared on Sunday. That we only see dimly, foggy and fuzzy what God's purposes are in this world and that I have to trust God to be who He is when junk happens. He has always been faithful to me. He has always been there when many have emotionally or spiritually fled from me. God was there. Is there. So the answer, at least for me, to the question of "Where is God when things fall apart?" is that God was right there with me all the time. All the time  God held me during the junk of life. All the time He carried me, walked beside me, comforted me and cried with me. Just as He did when His Son died on the cross. God is good. All the time.

UnFair Prayer

This week is the first in our series about injustice in the world. The UnFair Series. Here is the prayer you were challenged to pray this week. Also, re-read Psalm 73 and see how Asaph handles this question of unfairness in the world.

Dear Lord, help me not to be a whiner. Help me, when I am tempted to complain and grumble about how life is not fair, to remember that to “follow you” means life will not be fair. It was not with you. May I respond to my difficulties and trials in life with your grace, knowing that you will sustain me just like you did your Son. I thank you that when all I have left is you, you are enough. Amen.

Serve

We have been talking about our vision process for a while now. Two week ago we talked about Know.

This is the idea that we need to know God (informationally and experientially) more and more.

Then last week, we talked about Grow. After coming to know God more we will also want to seek to grow in our relationship to other followers of Christ. There is also the idea that as we do that, we will also grow closer to God as well.

Sunday, we talked about Serve. The text was from 1 Peter 4:7-11. In fact, you can listen to it here if you would like. : ]

The point I wanted all of us to remember is this:

Greatness fits like a glove when we serve God and others in love.

Catchy, right?

If you like that, then get this! Living the liturgy of life from a follower of Christ perspective is encompassed in a word:  leitourgia. Sound familiar? It should. It is actually where we get the word liturgy. Originally, liturgy was considered a service or ministry to others in a community. Pretty cool, huh?

The idea of liturgy is that of serving others! Or at least, that is what it started out as being.

Back to greatness . . .

There are lots of things that we think of that might make us great. More money? More prestige? More authority? More _____???? Did you think of a few things? I thought of a statue. It just seems that we tend to make statues for people that were great. Hmmmm, wonder where Alexander's statue is?

Anyway, the Bible says that we are truly great when we are not great. It says that we can only be great when we serve others. When we leitourgia. That is counter cultural. So it would seem that we have to give up some things to actually be great in a Christ perspective. I guess we can't sit on the right hand of Jesus after all. (Mark 10:42-45)

So we are actually great when we lead others to greatness. So that means . . .

As followers and disciples of Christ we are most like Him when we serve and love others. If that is true, and I believe it is, when we share Jesus with them by telling them of this sacrifice for them, his love for them, his service to them, then we are serving them and loving them in the most powerful way! Sharing is an act of serving!

Telling others about Jesus is sharing his sacrifice with them. It is truly serving them because we are looking out for them from the most loving perspective we can. We love them so much that we care about their spirituality. And more specifically, which kingdom they will spend eternity.

For me personally, my "statue" will be getting to spend eternity praising God with as many people as I can share Jesus' sacrifice with.

Verses about Faith

Today the weather was great! I had asked God to make a time so that I could go hiking again today. I worked on the vision this morning and after lunch I was ready to go hike. I looked outside and the sky was clearing and the temperature was 63 degrees! Thank you God!

So I decided to head over to Frontenac State Park and go up the bluff. It was going to be a longer hike. With my boot rubbing a little on my heel I decided to push it anyway.

I ended up hiking 6.3 miles! It was wonderful. I talked to God and listened and praised him. I saw a squirrel and birds and then I saw two sets of deer.

Here are the links to see my walk yesterday and today also:

Yesterday: http://s3.amazonaws.com/accuterra/1334806372.kmz

Today: http://s3.amazonaws.com/accuterra/1334781767.kmz

Here are my stats, which was kind of fun to know:

Trip 1:

Adventure Statistics:

Time:

 

Start: 1:34:44 PMStop: 3:19:22 PMDuration: 1 hr 44 min 38 sec
Distance: 4.2 milesSpeed:
Average Speed: 2.4 miles/hrAverage Pace: 24:38 mm:ss/mile
Elevation:
Minimum: +662 feetMaximum: +823 feet
Trip 2:
Adventure Statistics:
Time:
Start: 1:17:45 PMStop: 3:45:23 PMDuration: 2 hr 27 min 38 sec
Distance: 6.3 milesSpeed:
Average Speed: 2.6 miles/hrAverage Pace: 23:26 mm:ss/mile
Elevation:
Minimum: +715 feetMaximum: +1131 feet
 


 


 

Panoramic from Bluff

I did end up getting a blister on the back of my heel. I'll live. : ]

Great day with God today. Tomorrow I head back in the afternoon. Although I video chatted with my family both nights, it wasn't the same and will be glad to get back to see them.

Have a great night all!

 

Vision Meetings

We have been holding vision meetings every month. Well, almost every month, we took December off and then January had a small snow storm that night. Minnesota, who knew?

The purpose of the vision meetings is to cast a vision for this church and to begin to apply that vision to what we are doing for God's kingdom on this earth. The vision meeting is a hatching ground for a comprehensive vision to then give to the church board for complete gestation and implementation.

We started with dreaming what the church could be and talked about what we are now. We continued as we talked about goals for the next year and then goals for five years from now. We knew that we already agreed on Beliefs and Values. Mainly because we are a part of a denomination that has stated beliefs and values.

So, our next journey was to talk about Purpose. Purpose is answering the question of Why are we here? Why do we exist as a church? Some would mock and say that this is simple. However, things are seldom short nor are they seldom simple. In fact, I would argue that creating something simple takes more work than creating something complex. Because creating something simple doesn't mean that it actually simple, but rather that so much thought has gone into it that is simple to those experiencing it and is simple in application or praxis.

We did after a few meetings arrive at a Purpose. Our purpose is also our process. They are the same. We are using these words to communicate this: Know, Grow, Serve. Allow me to exegete a bit.

Know means to worship God. Our journey above all has to start with worshipping God. It is in the worshipping that we become aware of His great love for us.

Grow means to be a disciple of Jesus. This is twofold. First, we are to be discipled to grow in our application of Jesus' life to ours. Second, as we do this, we will become aware of the imperative to disciple others to do the same.

Serve means to think outside of ourselves. It means that we are to love others through acts of service. It might mean that we help those less fortunate than us with blankets and/or food. It might mean that we volunteer to minister to kids. It might mean that sponsor those activities in places that we cannot go.

After this, we have now moved to Core Values. Andy Stanley said that core values are "an organization's essential and enduring tenets - a small set of general guiding principles."

According to Audrey Malpuhars, 10 reasons Core Values are important are:

1. Determine Ministry Distinctives
2. Dictate Personal Involvement
3. Communicate What is Important
4. Embrace Positive Change
5. Influence Overal Behavior
6. Inspire People to Action
7. Enhance Credible Leadership
8. Shape Ministry Character
9. Contribute to Ministry Success
10. Determine the Ministry Vision

Core Values then feed into what strategies we use to accomplish our vision. 

All of this to say these two thoughts I had this morning.

First, and this is a difficult one, what would the community be missing if we closed the doors of the church?

And second, what is our purpose?

My thoughts teem more with the second question first. Some would say that we are here to disciple others. Our goal centers around this. However, it goes to some sort of egg versus chicken attitude, doesn't it? I mean, if we are to center on discipleship then our definition of discipleship must indeed be broader. Most of us, I believe, think that discipleship is about edifying those of us that are already Christians (and I use this term knowing the cultural dubiousness of it). This cannot be so. 

Making disciples must center around the initial act of having a disciple to disciple. Without a disciple to disciple our discipleship plan falls on ears that already "know" way more than enough to be a follower of Christ. I heard recently that the average Christian knows enough about God after the first year of discipleship to go and disciple others. Our purpose then has to be to larger and more grand than this. It has to include, but not limited to, actually going and making disciples! Making implies a level of creation. Not a level of maintenance. I think, perhaps, that we get bogged down in discipling and forget that the biblical text includes the word "make." 

Ouch. Did I say that out loud? My own paltry experience over the years causes in my own level of following Christ. 

We are to make disciples in all the nations. This carries with it a heavy charge to make disciples by leading people to the throne of Jesus but also to disciple them to maturity. Are we as a church doing that? 

This is not my vision for this church. This is God's vision for all churches. My hope and prayer is that my vision is God's vision for our church. And by acknowledging that we aren't sharing the Gos Pel, the Good News of Jesus, then it is an acknowledgment that we are failing at our Commission. 

These thoughts then lead me to the former of these two questions. If our ultimate purpose is not to make disciples and then disciple them, or rephrased, not pursuing our ultimate purpose, then this question answers itself. 

If we are not loving people in the community (through service, through worship, through discipling), then I wonder if people would miss those things that we aren't doing? 

Don't get me wrong. We are in the visioning process in order to center ourselves in God's purpose for this church. So we are on the road. We are moving forward. And it is better to spend time planning and storm the castle effectively and with intensity than it is to storm the castle and not know which castle. The vision casting process is critical!! 

No. What I am hoping to communicate is that when the Bible says GO and MAKE disciples, it means that the activities of going and making are the purpose of the church and that we cannot lose sight of it. We cannot forget it. We cannot ignore it. We must pursue it!

Person of Interest

On Sunday we talked about and asked the question, Who is the person of interest in our lives? This question is essential when we think about our spiritual condition!

We are called to disciple others. We are called to be discipled by others. These two things are essential to our spiritual life having growth in it. So to ask who is the spiritual person of interest in our lives has to be done.

We can't sit back and not be interested in others and allow others to be interested, spiritually, in us. It is a mandate.

One of the questions that was asked is who are we discipling?

And I wonder. Have you answered that question yet? It is Thursday night and most of the week is gone. Have you thought about it some more?

Who is around you that you could disciple? What does that look like for you? My belief is that by the time we have been discipled intentionally for about a year, we know most of what we need to know to disciple someone else.

That means that most of us could have discipled about 20 people by now if we had only discipled one person a year!!

And think. Jesus had 12!

Have you considered this question then? Have you really thought it through? What is keeping you from discipling someone right now?

In small groups, the question is how do we define discipleship?

Here are some verses to help you out:

John 21:15-17
1 Peter 5:2-4
2 Timothy 2:1-2
John 6:45
1 Peter 1:15-16
John 13:15
Ephesians 4:20-5:1
Great Commandment - Mark 12:29-31
Great Commision - Matthew 28:19-20

And these are just to get you started!! The Bible has a LOT to say about discipleship!!

See what you find in the Bible that defines discipleship.

See you Sunday!!

Clay Feet

Two weeks ago, I titled the message "Clay Feet." This was my image. This a reference to a passage in Daniel that I wanted to expound upon slightly. 

Daniel 2:31-45

“You were looking, O king, and lo! there was a great statue. This statue was huge, its brilliance extraordinary; it was standing before you, and its appearance was frightening. 32 The head of that statue was of fine gold, its chest and arms of silver, its middle and thighs of bronze, 33 its legs of iron, its feet partly of iron and partly of clay. 34 As you looked on, a stone was cut out, not by human hands, and it struck the statue on its feet of iron and clay and broke them in pieces. 35 Then the iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver, and the gold, were all broken in pieces and became like the chaff of the summer threshing floors; and the wind carried them away, so that not a trace of them could be found. But the stone that struck the statue became a great mountain and filled the whole earth.
36 “This was the dream; now we will tell the king its interpretation. 37 You, O king, the king of kings—to whom the God of heaven has given the kingdom, the power, the might, and the glory, 38 into whose hand he has given human beings, wherever they live, the wild animals of the field, and the birds of the air, and whom he has established as ruler over them all—you are the head of gold. 39 After you shall arise another kingdom inferior to yours, and yet a third kingdom of bronze, which shall rule over the whole earth. 40 And there shall be a fourth kingdom, strong as iron; just as iron crushes and smashes everything, it shall crush and shatter all these. 41 As you saw the feet and toes partly of potter’s clay and partly of iron, it shall be a divided kingdom; but some of the strength of iron shall be in it, as you saw the iron mixed with the clay. 42 As the toes of the feet were part iron and part clay, so the kingdom shall be partly strong and partly brittle. 43 As you saw the iron mixed with clay, so will they mix with one another in marriage, but they will not hold together, just as iron does not mix with clay. 44 And in the days of those kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that shall never be destroyed, nor shall this kingdom be left to another people. It shall crush all these kingdoms and bring them to an end, and it shall stand forever; 45 just as you saw that a stone was cut from the mountain not by hands, and that it crushed the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver, and the gold. The great God has informed the king what shall be hereafter. The dream is certain, and its interpretation trustworthy.”

This is a great image! It is meant to illustrate a weakness or character flaw. 

And it is this image that see Solomon. The great and wise Solomon, who has never had an equal before or after in regards to that wisdom, did not stay the course in his relationship with God. Instead, he listened to his 700 princesses (wives) and worshipped their gods. In doing so he broke the commandments in Deuteronomy 17. Go ahead. Read chapter 17 and then read about Solomon. He does everything that he is not supposed to do according to the Law. 

In 1 Kings 9:6-9 we see the pronouncement of what will happen as a result of Solomon turning away from God. 

Look at your feet. Are they clay? What character flaw have you been ignoring, are you blind to? 

How is that keeping you from living the life of a conquerer? Read Revelation 2 below:

 4 I also know that you are enduring patiently and bearing up for the sake of my name, and that you have not grown weary. 4 But I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first. 5 Remember then from what you have fallen; repent, and do the works you did at first. If not, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place, unless you repent. 6 Yet this is to your credit: you hate the works of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate. 7 Let anyone who has an ear listen to what the Spirit is saying to the churches. To everyone who conquers, I will give permission to eat from the tree of life that is in the paradise of God. 

Shake the dust and clay off your feet. Come back to you first love. Repent and come back to God.

The Cali Experience 2013

It has been almost a month since we got back from our trip to Cali. I wanted to put into words some sort of wrap of concerning the trip in its totality.

A lot of what you hear when you get back is, "How was the trip?" And to be forthright, it is hard to answer that. How does one sum up an experience as full as a two week trip to another country.

I know my propensity to be verbose when I talk. I like to tell stories. I am aware of the problem so I tend to want to be sure that I am answering what is truly being asked.

So when I answered that question it was mostly to respond however I was feeling at that particular moment. You know. The short answer.

I had one person ask to meet with me over lunch and talk about the trip. Of course, I felt bad for them because I was still in the throws of being EXHAUSTED. So I don't even know if I can recall any part of that conversation. I hope I was coherent!

In short, I would say that the trip was incredible! I would say that it was eye-opening and heart-opening. I would say that it felt so good to be a part of a church, however briefly, that could teach me so much about prayer. So much! About what it is. About what it isn't. How to pray! Oh. Bless Nineje for being the prayer admiral she is!!

My expectations for this trip were to learn about the Master's Plan, help build a part of church (to bless them), and tell one person about Jesus Christ. If you have been reading this blog you know that all three of those were given to me in amazing ways. And there was so much more God had for us.

The hand of God was on me (us) the entire time. He moved in our hearts to refresh us (me) He rejuvenated me. Specifically, we got to be a part of a God movement that has been 30 years in the making. In some ways, it was like being brand new to the team and you get put in for the last quarter of the game. And yes! You get to be a part of the team that is winning the game.

I have felt in the past that I was sitting on the sidelines. Watching the game. Hoping to play. Hoping to make a difference in the goal of this team we call disciples. And to be in Cali for those two weeks was such a gift. We were just visiting, but we were in the game. God used me while we were there. He showed me and taught me.

And some of those things that God taught me, while it might edify others, are so personal that they won't be typed or listed here. My journal has daily entries about God's glory and his provision for me.

I will share this from a journal post on September 24th. I was reading our devotional book for the Cali trip and I started noticing some "themes" that God had been doing a work in me. Here are the themes that He gave me.

God is my Revealer.
God is my Redeemer.
I am to be a Life Builder.

He gave me these verses in Psalm 37:
          Our steps are made firm by the LORD,
    when he delights in our way;
    24      though we stumble, we shall not fall headlong,
    for the LORD holds us by the hand.

And this from Psalm 100:
          Know that the LORD is God.
    It is he that made us, and we are his;
    we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.

And this from Luke 2:
And Jesus increased in wisdom and in years, and in divine and human favor.

I am God's child. And my primary purpose to be on this planet is build life into others. That is a Life Builder. That is my role in being a disciple of Jesus. In being a parent. In being a husband. In being.

In summary, I loved going on this trip. And if you ask me, "How was your trip?" I will answer that it was fulfilling. Because on it, God filled me up. Infused me. An experience that I wish for all of you.

Start saving now. Go on a Work and Witness trip. You will never be the same.



If you would like to see some of the results of what we did in a concrete, analytical view. Go here!

The Journey Home - Cali Edition 2013

Tuesday morning was a very, very early morning! We had to be at the airport by 5 am. But even more important than that was that we get to go to 4 am prayer at the church. We didn't want to miss it!! 

So we got up at 3:15 am and got our bags downstairs to be ready to load. Then we walked to the church to pray. We climbed into the van and, after hugs, said goodbye to Vince.

After the van ride to the airport we got in line to get our tickets and board the plane. And said goodbye with hugs to Sandra.

After going through Immigration (Customs) with agents and guards, we found ourselves by an Oma Coffee Shop waiting to board. I could not go without trying a coffee from an actual Oma Cafe. After all, I had Oma coffee in my suitcase!  I got a latte de arequipe which is a caramel latte. And just so you know, very good!

After the plane took off we got some great pictures of the mountain ranges we were flying over! I think they are called the Faraliones de Cali and the Cerro Calima.

We were all exhausted but between the customs form, the juice cart and the breakfast meal going through the cabin I wasn't able to sleep any. I don't anybody else in our group got any sleep. I don't sleep well on planes! Never had. I was slightly jealous of the two asia girls in the seats behind me. They were zonked out the whole time!! 

After we landed, some of us (ahem, Ron!) got to go straight through from the airplane to the next boarding area. All the rest of us had to go exit the terminal, get our luggage and then go back through security. I think it was God showing Ron that he doesn't have to be too concerned about international travel, because with God all international can be easy. 

It was difficult (again, read frustrating) to have to do all that again, but we got to where we needed to be with a little extra time. Since we were all going back to our respective home arenas, Genell, Steve and Bob were headed out on a different airline at a different time. I think their layover was only 2 hours. The rest of us had a six hour layover. Which was fine. 

This is a good time to mention what the effects of those little bugs from the day before were. I do not and have never liked mosquitos. I hate the idea of mosquitos. I don't like that they transmit diseases. You get the idea, right? Well, I will take mosquitos over those little bugs anytime! Those of us that had bites were itching intensely!! All day long, beginning when I woke up, they itched!!! Bad! 

And the only thing I had to put on them? Sanitizer!! It would do some good for a while but ultimately all it did was sting bad enough that I forgot about the itching. 

Genell let me have some hydrocortisone to rub in and it did almost no good. So I just put up with them. (Edit- They finally went away three days after this!!) 

Then, it was time to say goodbye to our friends that were leaving early. Again, hugs went around. I will miss them. But I know I'll see them again at various district events. So only shortly parted. : ] 

While we were waiting we got an email from Vince about the house. The price had started out about twice what they could afford (found this out on the way to the airport in Cali) and by the time we were in Miami and waiting to board the plane, it had dropped to about 40% of the price! It was the elusive extra 10% that was not happening. But what a major drop in price! God was working!!

Time passed and we got on the plane. I know I was seriously dragging. But yet, wide awake. I think Ron was too. : ] 

We got to our seats and it was time to close the hatch. Yet, strangely, the back row of the plane was vacant. Hmmmm. So Ron and I asked to move to those empty rows. Accepted. Happy! 

The flight was not very eventful and I still couldn't sleep!! But we were getting closer to home!!!!

After landing and then getting our bags, it was once again time to say goodbye to each other. Ron, Bill, April and I gave hugs and said our farewells. What a trip together! God was so very good to us.

Turning my phone off airplane mode yielded an email from Vince! The price had dropped down to exactly the price they could afford! It could still be a little cheaper but what an amazing answer to prayer! Look what God did in only 36 hours!

My original plan was to stay at a friend's house in Minneapolis and then drive home the next day. But I felt pretty awake and after a sandwich I decided to hand on home. I mean, I was this close to my family. I think Ron inspired me, as he did the whole drive home thing too and he had even further to go than I did. 

I got pretty tired around Rochester and had to pull over for some milk and those awesome Hostess chocolate donuts. You know the ones I mean!! Goodness in a row.

About five minutes from home, I debated whether to text Alissa and tell her. I decided not too. What are the chances she would even be awake at 2 am?

I drove up and the house had the extra lights that my wife leaves on when I am not home. I got my stuff and as quietly as possible I entered the house. 

I think I freaked her out a bit. Fortunately, I was NOT hit over the head with a baseball bat and am currently writing this, so you know I survived. 

But man, it was so good to be HOME. I crashed. At the time I arrived home, I figured out that I had gotten something like 6 hours sleep in 48 hours. And I needed to get up in 4 hours to help get the kids ready for their day. WOW. I was so tired. 

But that is for another post, another day. I plan on doing one last post that sums up the trip for me and the recovery time. As for this series, it is almost over and I am so glad that it may help you or entertain you or at the very highest of goals, inspire you to go on a mission trip of your own. 

May it be so.

(Will post a video of the trip home when I have more pictures to complete it.)

Surprise Monday!

(Note: This post has been backdated. I plan on doing two more posts after this one to complete the Cali Series of blog posts. Videos will follow as pictures are available.)

Monday began by finding out what we were going to be doing that day.

Our hosts (Vince & Alyson) and logistics officer (Miss Sandra) informed us that we were going out to Pastor and Pastora's family retreat house in the surrounding countryside of Cali. In fact, all the international attendee's of the Master's Plan were going!

So we all got ready and Vince also shared that they would like to go by a house that they have been praying for. This is a pretty neat story in itself and deserves more space than I can give it. They have been looking for a bigger place to do ministry out of God is moving to get one that they found that would do nicely. The trick is the price!

We went by the house and were able to go inside. We walked through and then met on the roof to pray for God's blessing in securing it for the right price. I'll have more information to share tomorrow!

After going by the house it was time to get to the church to catch our bus to Pastor's house.

It was a little bit of a trip out to their house. Backspace. Re-type. . . their AMAZING house! It was beautiful! I'll have pics in the video. So check that out.

We got to relax a bit and tried some fruit that looked like little "tommy toes" tomatoes. They weren't! They were some sort of little fruit that tasted like a cross between grapes and baby tomatoes. Tangy and then full and rich. Very good. I ate too many of them I think!

We sat and relaxed and talked to those we could talk to. Then we came inside. Pastor and Pastora talked to all of us and told us how excited they are to see this Plan going to other countries to help spread the Kingdom.

Then it was time to eat. (Eat? What's that? We didn't ever eat or have too much food!! LOL!)

Did I mention that we ate??!? It was a plate full of food. Four kinds of meat. Potatoes. Plus more. Also, we were offered soup that had a leg of chicken in it. This was not a Weight Watchers portion, people! Ugh. S-t-u-f-f-e-d!

The best part for me was talking with a youth pastor from Guatemala. Often on this trip, we would find ourselves, despite Vince's best attempts, at a time where we did not have an interpreter and a desire to communicate. I have decided I would like to study Spanish more and become fluent. God is gonna have to do something to work that out!! I digress. The point is that I found myself tired often and not knowing enough Spanish (often) to really have a conversation. So, I found it difficult (that's frustrating spelled differently) to communicate with any meaning or depth without Vince or Alyson or Linda Kimberly or Cesar or anybody else that translated for us. Not their fault, just part of it.

But here I was sitting at a table with Pastora's brother who spoke VERY little English and this youth pastor. As we tried to communicate with each other, I began to understand him and he began to understand me. We figured out that we both knew enough of the other's main language to sort of patchwork a conversation together in which we could get our meanings across. It was really fun to talk and laugh and tell stories. God was working in that I believe.

After that, the Cali 8 (that's us gringos from the Prairie Lakes District) got together to cogitate with Dr. Kraemer about the future and how all of the things we had experienced had changed us. And what we were going to do with it.

I have to insert one thing here. While we were talking, there was, unbeknownst to us, a small almost invisible bug that was biting our legs! It wasn't a mosquito. I think they call them (excuse the spelling) seczundos. They didn't suck your blood out. They bit you and left round blood marks on your legs, arms, chests or wherever! Nasty little buggers! But the bites aren't that bad besides looking yucky all over you. It was the next day that was horrible!! We were told that we would really start itching the next day and they were not kidding!!! But I get ahead of myself. : ]

After our talk and a wait for the bus, we left to go back to our "casa." We did see a flame eater guy at one of the intersections! That was cool. Or hot. Depending. Eh.

We got back and we were told that they normally do a banquet for the team's last night there. So there were little boxes on the table for us and instead of Alyson's awesome cooking, they told us they had heard us talking about missing pizza. So they had ordered us pizza, Cali-style!!

It was very good! One was a chorizo, ham and cheese pizza and the other was plantain pizza. Don't make that face!! It was pretty good. Surprisingly. Different, but good. There ya go. That's a good description! Well, you didn't have to eat it. So there. : p

Next, we gathered around the table again. Vince, Alyson and Sandra presented each of us with a box and a verbal accolade that highlighted how they had experienced us during the past two weeks. Nutshell alert:  They said nice things about us.

I think I speak for everyone when I say, we had grown together as a team, including Vince, Alyson and Sandra. This was the official moment in time when I realized that the trip was done. And we would miss them. They had become people that we had grown to love. Further, for me at least, it was a realization that the people that we had grown closer to, that lived all over three states, would be going back to those places and the closeness of serving/learning together would be a little more distant.

That part wasn't fun. It was sad.

We had experienced something together and there is a bond there. God orchestrated it. Train of thought here. Then, what is He going to do with it? God does amazing things. Wonder what He knows about this, that we don't know about it? Hmmmmm.

Lastly, we all went upstairs and packed and packed and finally - went to sleep. If you can count going to sleep for three hours (from 12:30 am to 3:15 am) as actual sleep.

Stay tuned for another post tomorrow!