Hungry and Thirsty

Life as Story & God as Author

2009-04-20T17:55:00.003-05:00

“Once upon a time...” That’s how we’re used to saying it these days; but it’s the same thing. “In the beginning...” It’s an opening to the history of our world which is still being written and read. Our English word “history” comes from the Latin historia, meaning, “a narrative, account, tale, or story.” The terms story and history weren’t even distinguishable until the late 15th century.

Naming the human experience not merely as history but also as story is helpful because of what the idea of story uniquely imparts to our conceptual understanding. It comes with the assumption that behind its pages is a personal author who, in writing, is pouring out his deepest perspectives, priorities, passions, and personality with every page. An author through whom “all things came into being” (John 1:3).

When the Enlightenment brought about the Age of Reason, western culture began segregating history's past, present, and future and began thinking about it largely apart from its origins. John’s gospel account helps us avoid that weighty error by reminding us, once again, that we are characters in an epic story that, like all stories, has a deeply invested and involved author who is committed to all his created characters and to the grand conclusion he has in mind for them.

Unlike other stories, however, the characters in ours are not merely passive reflections of the author’s pen but, rather, active and contributing participants. Our divine author has given us the ability to choose how we will participate in our own narrative. It’s a mysterious paradox that an author has written and is writing every detail of our story while we, the characters, have at the same time so much impact on the events and relationships in it. It can be confounding; but then, isn’t it good to know that God is bigger than our ability to contain him in our limited, mortal minds?

When the Apostle Paul writes about this mystery in Romans 9-11, he ends by simply saying, “Oh, how great are God’s riches and wisdom and knowledge! How impossible it is for us to understand his judgments and his ways! For who can know the Lord’s thoughts? Who knows enough to give him advice? And who has given him anything that he would need to pay it back? For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be the glory forever!” It’s humbling to recognize the bigness of God. And for those who know that his bigness works in favor of his creation, it leads to humble worship.

Of course being actual contributing participants in our own story can lead to problems. Sometimes we complain about how long it’s taking to get to that big conclusion we’ve heard so much about. You know the one... golden streets, sinless beauty, etc. Or sometimes we lament the nature of our present chapter when circumstances are troublesome and life has become hard. It’s as though we believe our author has made some wasteful mistake by allowing this present part of our story to go on or else has forgotten us all together. Of course, when you think about it, there is something very empty about reading the last few happy pages of a book without taking the surprising and often painful journey that gives those last pages their full significance.

Cinderella’s wedding is nothing more than a few snapshots in a Hollywood tabloid without her tragic beginning, impossible predicament, and magical intervention that led her from cruel slavery into the tender embrace of her Prince Charming via one very unique shoe. Her crown and those loving arms were made most meaningful because of the old chains that once bound her and the former arms that once struck her.

“Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial; for once he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love him” (James 1:12).

The perspective of human history as a real story with a personal author implies that the end product, our grand conclusion, is neither significant nor truly even possible without the many exhilarating and tedious, clear and confusing, joyful and tragic pages that make up the journey leading us there.

“Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing” (James 1:2-4).

It makes one think harder about the now... the right now. The now in which you read these words. The now you had this morning. The now you will have in a little while. The now with which we are interacting and to which we are contributing. The now that was wrought in the wisdom and imagination of our divine author. The authoritative author on whom we were designed to utterly depend. The author who lovingly breathed life into us with words and is still breathing words... even now.

And what is he saying? What is he saying now, in this present moment in which we breathe and think and choose and act? What does he desire to write in us, on us, through us, around us? Do you know? Have you asked him? It will be very hard for us to knowingly and willfully participate in the intention of our author if we do not know what it is. It leads to the realization that for us to successfully “run with endurance the race that is set before us,” we will have to run while constantly, “fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith.”

It’s true, “The mind of a person plans their way but the Lord directs their steps.” But how much better is it to pray, “To you, O LORD, I lift up my soul. O my God, in you I trust . . . Make me know your ways, O LORD; teach me your paths. Lead me in your truth and teach me. For you are the God of my salvation; for you I wait all the day” (Psalm 25:1-2, 4-5). Or, again, “Teach me to do your will, for you are my God; let your good Spirit lead me on solid ground” (Psalm 143:10)

Again and again God encourages us to seek his kind intention in our moment by moment decision making. He promises that if we seek we will find and if we ask it will be given to us. He continually offers gracious invitations of the biblical promise like this one, “Good and upright is the LORD; therefore he instructs sinners in the way. He leads the humble in justice, and he teaches the humble his way. All the paths of the LORD are lovingkindness and truth to those who keep his covenant and his words. For Your name's sake, O LORD, pardon my sin, for it is great. Who is the one who reveres the LORD? He will instruct him in the way he should choose. His soul will abide in prosperity . . . The secret of the LORD is for those who revere him, and he will make them know [i.e. experience] His covenant.” Those are the words of Israel’s King David... a sinner like us who, despite his habitual failure, continually returned to God with a compelling desire for his gracious author to lead him in “the way.”

Many of us forget that God actually has a way for us. It’s easier for us to grasp that, in broad terms, he has a kind of a way... one that can be expressed in practical generalities and taught to wide and diverse audiences. But then, he also has a specific way for each one of us. It’s been referred to as, “good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them” (Ephesians 2:10).

Jesus, living a perfect human life, knew that each living character breathed into existence is created with a uniquely crafted destiny revealed through moment-by-moment interaction with the Author. Allowing people to embrace their destinies as a matter of choice was God’s design for fostering cooperation, mutuality, and attachment. It was the design Jesus himself lived and often spoke of to his disciples.

“Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of himself, unless it is something he sees the Father doing; for whatever the Father does, these things the Son also does in like manner” (John 5:19).

“I can do nothing on my own initiative. As I hear, I judge; and my judgment is just, because I do not seek my own will, but the will of him who sent me” (John 5:30).

“For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will, but the will of him who sent me” (John 6:38).

“My teaching is not mine, but his who sent me” (John 7:16)

"When you lift up the Son of Man, then you will know that I AM, and I do nothing on my own initiative, but I speak these things as the Father taught me” (John 8:28).

“For I did not speak on my own initiative, but the Father himself who sent me has given me a commandment as to what to say and what to speak” (John 12:49).

“Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father is in me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on my own initiative, but the Father abiding in me does his works” (John 14:10).

How amazing would it be if we could all have access to the Father like that? Can you imagine pausing at any moment, asking God what he would have you say or do, and actually getting an answer? The remarkable truth of Christ’s example is that it is just that... an example. A life lived intentionally on display for all his followers to imitate.

Before his death and resurrection, Jesus explained the connection between his experience and the experience of his followers by describing the unique ministry of God’s Spirit.

disclose myself to him

keep my word

the word which you hear

the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things

Another way of understanding this reality is by Christ’s often misunderstood exhortation, “Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness...” (Matthew 6:33). I like how Dallas Willard clearly and simply defines the kingdom of God as, “the range of his effective will, where what he wants done is done”. In line with that, seeking God’s kingdom is about us surrendering and conforming the range of our effective will to his... where we do what he wants done. The thing about such a command is that it makes little sense if we’re not actually able to discern what God wants done.

Fortunately, God knows this.

“But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him” (James 1: 5).

So here is the first kingdom characteristic we discover... That since the beginning and even now, Jesus, our loving author, as God and with God, has been putting the living ink of history on the living paper of time, moment by moment, page by page, interacting with us as active participants in the grand narrative of creation, fall, and redemption.

“He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities - all things have been created through him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together" (Colossians 1:15-17).

The story is not ours, but his. He writes it according to the kind intention of his will in all wisdom and insight, and invites us as living, contributing characters in his story to seek, discern, and willfully participate in his author’s intent, partnering with him even as we utterly and dependently surrender our whole selves to him.

“May those who fear you see me and be glad because I wait for your word” (Psalm 119:74).

Where are the Miracles?

2009-03-18T10:50:00.015-05:00

For many of us in the satiated, scientific, self-sufficient west, life looks much different from the early church experience that was apparently much more frequently marked by the miraculous. But we are not the first people in history to have "lost" the miraculous in our midst.

After Israel's and Judah's continual rejection of God for their own selfishness, judgment comes in the form of the Babylonian destruction of the temple in 586 BC and mass deportation of those remaining in Judah. Despite the past promises and demonstrations of power in the midst of his chosen people, they now cry out,

"O God, why have You rejected us forever? We do not see our signs; there is no longer any prophet, nor is there any among us who knows how long. Why do You withdraw Your hand, even Your right hand?" (Psalm 74)

The reason "why" was because it was actually God who had been thoroughly rejected by Israel. His absence was simply a long-overdue response of withdrawal after generations of abuse, rebellion, and idolatry. He, along with the outpouring of His Spirit, were agreeing to the divide Israel had pursued for so long. And the consequences of that divide left for present and coming generations would be painful... seeming, from the subjective myopic human viewpoint, as though God had somehow changed.

"My voice rises to God, and I will cry aloud; my voice rises to God, and He will hear me. In the day of my trouble I sought the Lord; in the night my hand was stretched out without weariness; my soul refused to be comforted. When I remember God, then I am disturbed. You have held my eyelids open; I am so troubled that I cannot speak. I have considered the days of old, the years of long ago. Will the Lord reject forever? And will He never be favorable again? Has His lovingkindness ceased forever? Has His promise come to an end forever? Has God forgotten to be gracious, or has He in anger withdrawn His compassion? Then I said, 'It is my grief that the right hand of the Most High has changed.' I will remember the deeds of the LORD; I will meditate on all Your work. Your way, O God, is holy; what god is great like our God? You are the God who works wonders; You have made known Your strength among the peoples. You have by Your power redeemed Your people." (Psalm 77)

It feels to the psalmist as though God changed, rejecting His people like never before. And yet, this captivity song, like the last, arises from a suffering that was first and ultimately brought on by Israel's rejection of God... not the other way around.

Today, when we look for the signs and wonders of God, the healings and miracles promised and encouraged by Jesus and the Gospel authors, we see very little here in the west. Either they seldom happen, or some great hush prevents news of them from reaching our ears.

Could it be that we, like post-exhilic Israel, are experiencing the absence of the God we've rejected? If so, could it also be that our way back to the normal and normative experience in the NT description, is the same as Israel's? Deep sorrow and repentance... both individually and as the kingdom community?

What would such repentance look like? Maybe this would be a good place to start:

"O LORD, the God of my salvation, I have cried out by day and in the night before You. Let my prayer come before You; incline Your ear to my cry; for my soul has had enough troubles. I have become like one without strength. My eye has wasted away because of affliction. I have called upon You every day, O LORD; I have spread out my hands to You. I cry out to You for help; and in the morning my prayer comes before You." (Psalm 88)

"If My people, who are called by My name, will humble themselves and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land." (2 Chronicles 7:14)

Why Grieve?

2009-02-18T12:11:00.017-06:00

Why grieve when there is so much Scripture on hope and when hope is a so much more enjoyable and immediately (seemingly) rewarding experience?

Psalm 18:27 ... "For You save an afflicted people, but haughty eyes you abase."

We grieve because we are an afflicted people who need saving.

We grieve because we and our people are afflicted with satiation, distraction, consumerism, independence, isolationism, self-service, and a numbness that keeps us comfortable as our illness grows.

We grieve because the world of "others" - even those others in our own city - are afflicted by poverty, injustice, abuse, neglect, violence, addiction... and they are afflicted by our own inability to see them or know them.

We grieve ...
... because we need to be saved
from our affliction.

Championing hope while our hands are still so blood-stained with American idolatry, while the exiles still remain so far away and so invisible to us, seems the wrong response to our predicament.

I am a child of American privilege. Many of my people, my beloved friends, are children of privilege too. Our culture has shaped our assumptions and taught us to believe that such self-serving rhythms of life are normal and acceptable to God. We have been deceived in the subtlest of ways.

Through grief, we learn to see our affliction and the affliction of others. Grieving leans us toward sympathy, humility, and repentance. If grief takes hold, it can drive us to desperate prayer and motivate us toward obedient change that cultivates hope and reconciliation as we forsake our idols and rediscover Jesus.

And, by the way, grief is never to be a passive-aggressive cover for self-righteousness or judgment. It is to be the grief God feels for those he loves. The grief out of love that compelled him to the cross.

Matthew 5:3-4 ... "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who grieve, for they will be comforted."

Late Morning Prayer

2009-02-18T11:54:00.001-06:00

Abba, I long to know your kingdom...

...You have sowed the seeds of it in my heart. We were created for you, for life in your realm. The kingdom of God is imprinted on our souls and on the essence of every created thing.

Romans 8:19-23 ... "For the anxious longing of the creation waits eagerly for the revealing of the sons of God For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself also will be set free from its slavery to corruption into the freedom of the glory of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation groans and suffers the pains of childbirth together until now. And not only this, but also we ourselves, having the first fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our body. "

Even all creation longs for your kingdom, O God. How can you delay?

We suffer, and mourn, and grieve, and fast... increasingly...
... and some of us die, and die, and die until we are dead. Have mercy on us, Lord.

Abba, my own longing is a whisper and a shadow of a reflection of your longing. Make me to want like you want. Be more than my Shepherd and make me more than your sheep.

John 15:15 ... "No longer do I call you slaves, for the slave does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I have heard from My Father I have made known to you."

If we are indeed more than slaves, more than servants, even friends, then bring us in to share your heart, Lord.

John 17:21-26 ... That they may all be one; even as You, Father, are in Me and I in You, that they also may be in Us, so that the world may believe that You sent Me. The glory which You have given Me I have given to them, that they may be one, just as We are one; I in them and You in Me, that they may be perfected in unity, so that the world may know that You sent Me, and loved them, even as You have loved Me. Father, I desire that they also, whom You have given Me, be with Me where I am, so that they may see My glory which You have given Me, for You loved Me before the foundation of the world. righteous Father, although the world has not known You, yet I have known You; and these have known that You sent Me; and I have made Your name known to them, and will make it known, so that the love with which You loved Me may be in them, and I in them."

Make us one, Abba... with you, with each other. We have your Spirit, your Spirit who feels with you, longs with you, knows as you know, sees as you see, loves as you love, grieves as you grieve, and hopes as you hope. You, Spirit of God, are inside me, joined with my own human spirit as one new creation. Open my heart to receive all that you want to give... your own living experience of all things. And fill me with the ability to receive it and handle it well - unto life.

O God, change me, grow me, transform me, breathe into me and through me. I need more of you, Lord! Connect me, as a branch, more deeply to you, Jesus! Help me connect more deeply! Help me know how, make me strong and motivated, give me the will and the wanting to take me there.

Oh, that you had a tabernacle here, Lord. I would stand in it's gate all day. But now, I am your tabernacle. Your Spirit is in my body. How then do I stand at this gate, undefiled?

Psalm 25 ... "Make me know your ways O Lord. Teach me your paths. Lead me in your truth and teach me. For you are the God of my salvation. For you I wait all the day. . . Good and upright is the Lord, therefore he instructs sinners in the way. He leads the humble in justice. He teaches the humble his way. All the ways of the Lord are lovingkindness and truth to those who keep his covenants and his testimonies. For your name's sake, O Lord, pardon my iniquity, for it is great. Who is the one who fears the Lord? He will instruct him in the way he should choose. His soul will abide in prosperity and his descendents will inherit the land. The secret of the Lord is for those who fear him. He will make them know his covenant. My eyes are continually toward the Lord, for he will pluck my feet out of the net."

O Lord, please speak to me today. Please speak, Lord. Your servant is listening...

The Need to Grieve

2009-02-02T12:43:00.041-06:00

Imagine what it must have been like for those sincere worshipers in first century Israel who walked such a long way to be in Jerusalem to worship Yahweh in the temple. To their shock and dismay, when they arrive, they do not feel the awe, reverence, fear, and love they expected but, rather, when they enter the holy place it's like someone punched them in the stomach when they weren't ready. The smell of livestock and chaotic noise of ambitious traders and opportunistic swindlers make the place look like more like a 1st century version of Las Vegas than a temple of God.

They stand at the gate, dazed and hardly breathing as they take it all in - the crowd, the animal cages, the sales people, the frenzy of money changers. They see people wearing fine clothes purchase the finest sacrifices while those in humble rags receive only the most common and poorly looking creatures.

Most of all they see hundreds of faces. Faces that appear unconcerned and even annoyed as they stand in lines or hustle from one spot to another. Faces that don't know or care about the people standing next to them. Faces that reveal how normal and mundane this insane violation of God's person and purpose is. The temple of God has effectively been lost and no one seems to notice!

Grief swells in their hearts as they begin to hear themselves think, "How can I worship here when all I want to do is cry out in anguish? How can I praise God when my heart is so angry at what I see? Such self-centeredness and self-deception... This is not the God I worship! This cannot be his temple! And who are these people? Impostors? Victims of some deception? How can these things be?"

___________________

Thankfully, here in 21st century America, there is no market in our places of worship (unless you're watching Christian TV). Financially struggling people are not preyed upon by religious representatives (normally). In fact, in many worshiping communities, people hardly give any money at all. It must be nice to live at a time in the world when there is so little need.

We have high quality worship services in which we "get fed." We're served worship like a meal at a restaurant by professionals who make our experience enjoyable and meaningful. If the food and service pleases us, we come back. If not, we go somewhere else.

We're big on community too. No, we don't actually live in community or even see each other all that much; but we do have weekly or biweekly small groups where we read our Bibles and pray and judge the quality of our meetings by how pleased, comforted, or encouraged we feel when we leave. Sometimes we even volunteer, especially when the experience feels "rewarding." We fit these things into our schedules when we can because we're busy people with important things to do.

When we get really serious, we start "sharing Christ." We look for "divine opportunities" at the job, neighborhood, or gym to help people know what they should believe. Of course, the appointments aren't entirely divine because we already chose what job, neighborhood, and gym would be ours without God's input. That's sort of how we live all of life, though. We do what seems best to us and then we ask God to bless it.

___________________

Yep. We've come a long way in 2,000 years. Back then, it was all about those few people who had the leverage to make money and exercise power in self-serving ways. Now, we all make money and exercise power in self-serving ways. (Unless you're poor. If you're poor then it's often a lot like it was back then.)

It's great to live in a time when we feel so good about ourselves and our lives. Then again... maybe it's not.

Maybe the reason we feel so good is because we've effectively distracted ourselves from realizing how needy we and others actually are. Maybe we're so satiated by wealth and possessions and comfort and convenience and entertainment and gratification - even in our church experiences - that we've managed to silence the deeper cries of our hearts and the voices of those who suffer outside of our immediate vision. (It wouldn't be the first time. Remember the Tower of Babel and how positive its builders felt about themselves?)

Maybe we need to admit the possibility that we don't naturally see what's wrong in us or around us because we're so good at insulating ourselves from the pain of it. Maybe we need to think more seriously about how Jesus lived, about what he said, and ultimately about what God wants for and from us. Maybe we need to quit living in denial and begin grieving the corruption of God's temple (the Body of Christ) with such desperation that even worship becomes difficult as we cry out for God to save us. And, if we're very, very fortunate, maybe we'll do all that with others who feel the same way.

___________________

"And Jesus entered the temple and drove out all those who were selling oxen and sheep and doves, and the money changers seated at their tables. And He made a scourge of cords, and drove them all out of the temple, with the sheep and the oxen; and He poured out the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables; and He would not permit anyone to carry merchandise through the temple. And He said to them, 'It is written, "My house shall be called a house of prayer"; but you are making it a robber's den.' And the blind and the lame came to Him in the temple, and He healed them." (Mt 21:12-14; Mk 11:16; Jn 2:13)

On Becoming - Accessible

2009-01-31T14:05:00.010-06:00

Jesus was and is accessible and responsive, always welcoming to those who sought him, however needy, goofy, or messy they were.

I want to become like Jesus - the kind of person who answers his phone and replies to his emails with a welcoming and gracious tone and is accessible and responsive to those seeking meaningful relational interaction.

Desperate but Disciplined

2009-01-20T02:17:00.012-06:00

I'm desperate in what I don't know ...

"As the deer pants for the water brooks, so my soul pants for You, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God; when will I come and appear before God? My tears have been my food day and night ... Why are you in despair, O my soul? And why have you become disturbed within me? Hope in God, for I shall again praise Him for the help of His presence. O my God, my soul is in despair within me ... Deep calls to deep at the sound of Your waterfalls; all Your breakers and Your waves have rolled over me" (Psalm 42:1-7).

... while trying to be disciplined in what I do know.

"Discipline yourself for the purpose of godliness... For God has not given us a spirit of timidity, but of power and love and discipline... You have not yet resisted to the point of shedding blood in your striving against sin... All discipline for the moment seems not to be joyful, but sorrowful; yet to those who have been trained by it, afterwards it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness" (1 Timothy 4:7; 2 Timothy 1:7; Hebrews 12:4, 11).

I don't know life in the kingdom. I'm seeking it as commanded and thirsting for it as my spirit drives me and crying out for it as my heart grows more desperate; but I don't yet have it. I don't have plans for getting it. I don't know what needs to happen for God to move in forming it. So I cry out, without preconceptions except the one that unless the Lord leads clearly and empowers supernaturally, unless he builds the house, our labor will be in vain. In this, I cry out and actively wait for him because I'm helpless.

And yet, I do know I'm being personally pruned and disciplined. I do know that the Father has told me to surrender my appetites, specifically those of food, sleep, and physical comfort. While I don't pretend to know what path will lead to the kingdom reality God desires for us, I do know this one next step he's set me to. In this, I prayerfully choose and act because I am not helpless, but rather - responsible.

So I'm desperate, open to anything, needy for Christ and his kingdom, crying out as a blank canvas hungry for the Lord to create in beautiful and unexpected ways. And I'm disciplined (or trying to be), set on something specific, the small thing I can do that is before me. I don't know how they relate. Then again, how does walking around a city seven times relates to its walls falling down.

Mission Produces Community

2009-01-18T09:49:00.009-06:00

Alan Hirsch recently wrote the post, "Mission as an Organizing Principle," in which he talks about joining the Mission of God before us as the beginning for bringing kingdom community together. The post and comment-discussion that's resulting is pretty interesting stuff.

Two Things

2009-01-18T07:45:00.015-06:00

Two things I am coming to believe in this season of pain and rebirth.

1) The greatest thing you'll ever learn is just to love and be loved in return.

It wasn't Moulin Rouge that coined those famous words, but songwriter and hippie idealistic practitioner, eden ahbez, in his song, Nature Boy, performed by Nat "King" Cole.

There was a boy

A very strange enchanted boy

They say he wandered very far, very far

Over land and sea

A little shy

And sad of eye

But very wise was he

And then one day

A magic day he passed my way

And while we spoke of many things

Fools and kings

Then he said to me

"The greatest thing

You'll ever learn

Is just to love

And be loved in return"

Jesus says that life is all about community. Loving God, loving people, living in intimate unity, utterly dependent on God through Christ. I can't think of any other reason for living that doesn't leave any loose ends or unsatisfied desires in my heart. Enjoying and expressing mutual love with God, his people, and his creation is what I want more than anything else.

... And I can't have it now. That's the other thing.

2) I will never fully know that kind of community this side of glory.

There is too much independence competing with the Spirit of shalom. Too much shared ground with self-centered realities. Too much distance and disconnection in our relationship with God. Too many distractions. Even in the best kingdom community experience available on this earth (for which I long with tears), I believe we will still feel the lack of and longing for a community that is fully surrendered to and loving God while fully loving each other. As an alien and stranger surrounded in a world, a nation, a culture that is fiercely devoted to independence and the worship of self, I suspect I will always feel lonely and disconnected... even as I rejoice for the Christ I do experience, both alone with him and in community.

So here I am, seeking first the kingdom of God on earth, a reconnected kingdom community in which we love and are loved, while simultaneously realizing I will never fully find it until Christ sums up all things. We are "looking for a city with foundations whose architect and builder is God . . . longing for a better country, a heavenly one" (Hebrews 11:10, 16).

Lynch Update - Season of Surrender

2009-01-11T05:38:00.018-06:00

I know these updates are coming in bite-sized pieces; but, such is life for us right now. Today, it's nice to be able to name what God's aiming at in us right now; so we're eager to share it.

For me, it is the arena of appetites (thus the recent blog post on the topic). Specifically, the idolatry of appetites. I have much to surrender that still rules over me in the place of God. Examples include sleep, food, rest, and physical comfort.

For Aleta it is the issue of fear. The Lord continues to lead us on into increasingly risky contexts for life and ministry. Trusting him for safety while walking, home alone, etc. as an attractive, young, woman in a poor neighborhood with increased crime brings some very real fears into focus.

For both of us, our aim is the same. Aleta and I desire for our self-service and self-reliance be replaced with an utterly overwhelming love for God that outweighs and redefines the false beliefs our hearts, minds, and bodies have been trained in.

In the words of our friends Dave and Pam... We long for the "expulsive power of a new affection". A love so big that it pushes our current devotions, idolatries, assumptions, etc. off the throne of our lives. Radical surrender. The kind of utter dependence that lies at the heart of abiding in Christ and allows his life to flow in and through us.

Thanks again for praying. This is so much more than merely increased spirituality. We need this change to take our next steps into his life. Without it, we whither and die.

Lynch Update - Tough Month

2009-01-06T15:13:00.014-06:00

This last month has been a tough one for us.

It feels as though the Lord has placed us on pause, setting us aside. The lack of next steps in this last month as well as a sense of distance from God in me has left us feeling that specific calling, context, and community are all hidden from us.

We're left feeling discouraged, but also that maybe God is leading us to focus on areas of surrender in us before he moves us onto the next outward steps toward calling, context, and community. Aleta and I have both identified areas in our lives that God has been calling us to give over to him. Areas in which that kind of abiding surrender is difficult for us.

And without the institutional structure that can often artificially roll on even without the presence and power of God, we are left naked and utterly dependent on his provision. The life we've begun moving into is like that. If God doesn't hold us up, we fall down. It's that beautifully and terribly simple. And for God to hold us up, we must be all his... entirely surrendered in his hands.

That's my best attempt at explaining what's happening right now. Thanks for praying.

Appetites

2008-12-19T03:42:00.061-06:00

In the long list of God’s gifts to humanity stands the awesome bestowal of … the barbecue. I must confess, I love to grill. There’s just something good and right about standing over a smoking barbecue in my “Kiss the Cook” apron, wielding those mighty tongs. I open the lid and smokey goodness billows out, filling the neighborhood with the delicious smell of sizzling steaks. Even my vegetarian friends seem to have a special place in their hearts for that savory aroma. Eyes brighten, mouths water, appetites are aroused.

Appetites are a pretty normal part of the human experience. Stomachs grumble to be filled. Nostrils breathe deeply to smell the fragrant air. Eyes widen to behold something remarkable. Ears strain to hear a beautiful song. Bodies desire sexual release. We all have cravings that call out for satisfaction.

One time, Israel's King Solomon commented on how persistently these natural desires stick with us, “The eye is never satisfied with seeing nor the ear ever filled with hearing” (Ecclesiastes 1:8). Appetite and satisfaction. It’s a cycle that grows and wanes, but never really goes away. With various measures of strength, every physical sensation we have comes with an accompanying itch that longs to be scratched.

Our immaterial senses are much the same. Minds hunger to discover, organize, and choose. Hearts thirst to love and be loved. Imaginations long to discover and create. Souls crave meaning and destiny. Spirits long to know God.

The wanting we carry inside is inescapably embedded in our humanity. Inescapable and, in fact, good, when understood and stewarded correctly. When left to its own independent, unsupervised impulses, however …

Amidst the beautiful and joy-giving cycle of hunger and satisfaction, our appetites come with a warning. When unrestrained or misdirected, these things that move us toward motivation, growth, and joy can become unthinking masters that drive us to excess at great cost to our person and community. Hunger becomes gluttony. Sexual intimacy becomes lust. Rest becomes laziness. Organization becomes obsession. Enjoyment becomes hedonism. What was once good becomes a destructive force of evil, hostile to us and those around us.

“For many walk, of whom I often told you, and now tell you even weeping, that they are enemies of the cross of Christ, whose end is destruction, whose god is their appetite, and whose glory is in their shame, who set their minds on earthly things” (Philippians 3:18-19).

When appetites turn self-centered and indulgent, they quickly become what the Bible calls, “the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the boastful pride of life” (1 John 2:16). On one hand we’re reminded that, “Everything created by God is good and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with gratitude, sanctified by means of the word of God and prayer” (1 Timothy 4:4-6). On the other, we’re challenged to, “Put on the Lord Jesus Christ and make no provision for the flesh in regard to its lusts” (Romans 13:14).

The tension between gratefully participating in the satisfaction of our appetites and restraining them from becoming chaotic masters of our personhood has caused great angst for many. Some have gone so far as to vilify appetites all together, prescribing various systems of ascetic self-denial in the hope of liberating themselves from all desire, internal and external.

From the 9th century BC, Jainism or Jain Dharma has taught that the soul’s true divine nature is accomplished and freed from reincarnation when the inner enemies of desire are conquered. Buddhism, beginning in the 4th century BC, teaches that the experience of suffering is ultimately from appetites or attachments to desire that should be transcended. Greek Stoicism, starting in the 3rd century BC, considered all passions evil and to be overcome. Even many Christian monastic groups, including the Desert Fathers (3rd century AD), have embraced similar philosophies in an attempt to become more holy and wholly surrendered to God. The common belief these systems share is that human effort or will power can effectively conquer appetites and cravings.

With such religious ambition to be rid of the cravings that trouble us, it might be surprising to hear that the Bible says, despite the measure of effort applied, such legalistic methodologies do little to set straight our demanding appetites. “These are matters which have, to be sure, the appearance of wisdom in self-made religion and self-abasement and severe treatment of the body, but are of no value against fleshly indulgence” (Colossians 2:23). Sure, some cravings get shifted around or hidden, some behaviors get redirected or subverted; but ultimately the result is simply the rise and indulgence of yet another appetite… the appetite for independent control and the vanity of external appearance.

And there’s the rub.

While practitioners hope for liberation from their appetites, the great irony of legalism is that it actually becomes a form of bondage in itself (Galatians 4:21-26). The ten commandments are famous symbols of Christian faith; but the Bible explains that the real reason God gave them to Israel, along with the rest of the Mosaic Law, was, “so that every mouth may be closed and all the world may become accountable to God. No flesh will be justified in his sight by the works of the law; for through the law comes the knowledge of sin” (Romans 3:19-20). God’s law was never intended to be a path to liberation, although it did help curb at least some measure of destructive indulgence. The primary purpose of the law, however, was and is to reveal the impossibility of overcoming self-centeredness and appetite-idolatry through mere human effort. It was designed to reveal our great need for a Forgiver, a Helper, a Savior.

What’s so great about Jesus (among the many things) is that he came to set us free not only from the destructiveness of self-centered appetite-indulgence but also the impossible demands of the law. “It was for freedom that Christ set us free” (Galatians 5:1). “Therefore, brothers and sisters, you also were made to die to the law through the body of Christ and were joined to him when he was raised from the dead so that we might bear fruit for God. We have been released from the law, having died to that by which we were bound, so that we serve in newness of the Spirit and not in oldness of the letter. For what the law could not do, weak as it was through the flesh, God did: sending his own son in the form of sinful flesh and as an offering for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, so that the requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who no longer walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.” (Romans 7:4, 6; 8:3-4).

What we could not do, Jesus did for us. And what we cannot do now, God’s Spirit, given to those who receive him, does through us - leading and empowering us in supernatural ways to live a life that is otherwise impossible. Ultimately, through this functional union, both our appetites and our will are reconnected in utter dependence to the God who directs and empowers them in life-giving ways. And that’s where the tension is resolved - in the person, presence, and power of God, living in and through us. In him is the perfect balance between satisfying appetites and denying their idolatry. And in living that balanced self-stewardship through us, Jesus achieves his desire, “that my joy may be in you, and your joy may be made full” (John 15:11).

Once again, reconnection to - and utter dependence on - God are revealed as the most beautiful, enjoyable, life-giving realities humanity could imagine.

As we continually entrust ourselves to God through Christ, we are increasingly freed to celebrate our experience of appetite and satisfaction while empowered to subject those appetites to his lordship through periodic exercises of self-denial, reminding our appetites that they are good but not god. So, in the supernatural leading and power of God's Spirit within us, we savor food, resisting gluttony, and at times we fast. We enjoy marital sex, resisting immorality, and at times we are celibate. We engage in learning and intellectual reflection, resisting pride, and at times we are still. We welcome comfort, resisting sloth, and at times we intentionally choose hardship. We appreciate fashion, resisting vanity, and at times we are purposefully plain. We delight in good music, resisting compromise in the message or mood, and at times we are silent. The only craving we do not periodically cease from is the one for which satisfaction is actually God. It’s the appetite for God himself. That’s a craving we can never indulge enough.

While all this is, indeed, good news, there still remains the question of how to practically enter in to the reality of God directing and empowering our will and appetites in life-giving ways...
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Lynch Update 11/24/08

2008-11-24T05:52:00.005-06:00

This is the abbreviated, 4:45am version of the update (headed to work)...

Living downtown has been the single most fruitful step we've taken so far. Being close to the people God is calling us to join in kingdom community and reach out to in his loving ministry of reconciliation has changed everything. We take several prayer walks a week, all of which yield awesome conversations and opportunities for relational next steps that, we pray, will soon lead to spiritual interactions and "Yes!" responses to Christ.

4 weeks ago, the Spirit told us to plug into Neighborhood Ministries; so, despite our institutional wariness, we are diving into that community every Sunday and several relational and service moments in-between. We're excited to see where that leads. It appears that some significant portion of the kingdom community God is calling us to are from the relationships he is developing for and with us there. We'll be gathering with Billy Thrall, one of the staff members there, soon to talk about where we might begin plugging in and serving more there. Aleta and I are full of prayer on that one... especially for me. She's already serving in the food pantry; but I've not found a place yet - nor am I sure if a place exists in their structure. We're trusting God for that one.

Zack and Kelli Newsome, who live across the street, have found a partner in a brother and friend who is moving down here in the very near future. He'll also be partnering with Neighborhood Ministries once here; so we look forward to more overlap there.

Monday night prayer gatherings are awesome. We meet every other week at our place and opposite weeks at Dave and Pam's place in the North Valley. Meghan, Dave, Pam, Aleta, and I gather to pour it all out to each other and the Lord in wonderfully life-giving ways. Additionally, Gwen will most likely be joining us as we partner with her to pray for God's complete healing of her in the months to come. Also, another friend, Lorri, will be with us tonight.

We've connected with Rocky and Meredith, two awesome people we've befriended and look forward to going much deeper with. I'll be inviting them to tonight, too. They're both fresh back in town from a five month Alaskan endeavor and both need jobs (and a place to live). We're praying diligently over them as well.

Please continue to pray for the relationships God wants to connect us to, that kingdom community continues to form and that the lost would find Christ! Also, please pray against the Enemy as he continues to work to discourage and distract us from our daily focus on and surrender to Christ. And as usual, the evolving dream of a central community space made up of cafe, apartments, art gallery, and studio space continues to swell in my heart and mind. Please pray for the Lord to do whatever he desires in relation to that. It's a major passion in my heart.

In all things, may God have the victory in, to, and through us.

In Christ's love, John.

Worship of Feelings

2008-11-22T19:19:00.006-06:00

This question of feelings and idolatry and worship sounds so theological, philosophical... even theoretical. But the more I think on it, the more I see it's practicality... and it's sobering to me.

We know TV consumes our time, removes us from community interaction, dulls our minds, feeds our consumerism, and shortens our attention... but we feel inclined to watch TV... so we keep them, upgrade them, and continue watching them.

We know that Jesus refused opportunities for personal wealth, told those who would follow him that they would have to give up expectations for money and financial stability, lived and ministered mostly among the poor, and explained that real discipleship means imitating his lifestyle... but we feel inclined to security, self-sufficience, comfort, control, and convenience... so we enlarge our lifestyles and remain detached from befriending and relating to the poor.

We know that prayer is powerful and the Word renews our minds and feeds our soul... but we feel inclined toward entertainment, uncomfortable with silence and solitutde, and waiting, and we find reading tedious... so we neglect substantial and meaningful one-on-one time with God.

We know that many who will cry out, "Lord, Lord!" will be revealed as having never actually known Christ... but we feel more comfortable with a "safe" religion we can control than a "dangerous" relationship we cannot... so we keep our distance from the God who rescues.

We know that we need real love... but we feel fear of pain in the depths of our broken hearts and inclined to hide ourselves from it... so our relationships remain largely shallow, deep counsel never has opportunity to heal us, and community has no ground in which to take root.

We know we need authentic community... but we feel inclined toward independence, privacy, and the appearance of strength... so we fail to be truly honest, vulnerable, and available to others - preventing the possibility of kingdom family from ever forming around us.

We know we need life... but we feel inclined toward the selfishness that prevents us from gaining it... so we never sacrifice our self-life and never experience the treasure we were made to have.

We know God... but obey our feelings. So whom do we truly worship?

Luke 9:23-25... "If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross daily and follow Me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake, he is the one who will save it. For what is a person benefited if he gains the whole world and loses or forfeits himself?"

2 Peter 1:10... "Therefore brethren, be all the more diligent to make certain about His calling and choosing you."

Luke 18:8... "When the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on earth?"

Connection Event

2008-11-18T19:32:00.004-06:00

15th Annual Artfest of Scottsdale.

This weekend, bring your neighbors to this fun, laid back Scottsdale event... grab an iced-coffee... and pray that God opens a conversational door to areas of the heart. Shared experience, space, and time are key to real relationships. Events like this are easy ways to come together with those you seek to bring Christ's love to.

A Giving Opportunity this November

2008-11-10T09:21:00.004-06:00

Operation Christmas Child is a unique ministry that Samaritan's Purse (Franklin Graham's organization) runs every Christmas. I love participating in it because it's a really easy way to give during the holidays and also reach out to the impoverished across the world.

To summarize the program, you put together a shoe box full of little toys and school supplies for a girl or a boy, and then drop it off at one of their local drop off locations (nationwide.) They collect these boxes from people all over the US and send them out around the globe to kids in need. It's a super easy way to give at the holidays and make a maximum impact. I love seeing the photos on their website of kids who just received a box of goodies! The joy on their faces says everything.

The shoe box collection week this year is November 17 - 24. Check out this link on how to assemble a box, and where you can drop it off.

How Does God Speak?

2008-11-09T10:11:00.007-06:00

One of the unfortunate results of our present postmodern cultural shift toward idealistic uncertainty is a new skepticism regarding the ability for a Christian to hear God speak to them in real time. Even more frequently questioned - and rejected - is the notion that we might actually understand his words with any measure of certainty.

Consequently, when I ask people what God's been saying to them, they generally respond in several predictable ways. First, they frequently begin by explaining they don't hear an "audible voice" - a way of casting the notion of definitive real-time communication from God as something inaccessible and even a little silly. Second, they often cite their circumstances as the primary way through which God leads and confirms their course of action. Third, they generally infuse their response with a healthy dose of what they personally want and the rational reasons for it.

Now hear this... Divine audible voices, circumstantial leading, and the desires of our hearts are all good and fine; but God has gone to great lengths to put in us his very personal, constantly speaking Holy Spirit. If we do not have two-way communication with the Spirit of God inside us, then we ought to recognize the great opportunity before us to deepen our relationship with him - which, at present, we must confess would be lacking communication (a fundamental element of any healthy relationship).

Here are a few things Scripture says on the topic and what our expectation of two-way communication with God's Spirit should be:

Romans 8:14 - God's kids hear and follow the Spirit's leading
Romans 8:16 - God's Spirit and ours speaks to remind us we're born again
Galatians 4:6 - God's Spirit is in our hearts calling out, "Abba!"
John 14:26 - Jesus promised the Spirit would be in his followers, teaching us Christ's words.
John 16:13 - Jesus promises that the Spirit will teach us what he, himself, was unable to teach us in person.
1 John 2:27 - The Spirit, living in those who have received him, teaches us directly
Revelation 3:20 - Jesus waits for us to hear his voice
James 1:5 - If we lack wisdom (i.e. God's insight or instruction for us) we're instructed to ask expectantly, since God is eager to give it.
1 John 4:1 - As we hear internal speaking, we are to "test the spirits" to see if it's God we're hearing or a deceiving voice.
Hebrews 5:14 - Discerning internal voices is the result of practice and training, a product of spiritual maturity

Additionally, the frequent audible communication of God to his people in the Old Testament indicates that he desires to speak and be heard. Now that his Spirit, once an external reality, lives inside those who have received him, it makes sense that his continued communication would also be more internal than external.

What I am beginning to hear among my "emergent" Christ-following friends is a discontentment with the apparent lack of the visibly supernatural in their midst, and yet, simultaneously, a refusal to pursue or receive God's immediate communication that lies at the heart of such miraculous events.

There is such an overwhelming treasure God has laid before us in this. He is eager to speak, if only we will learn to listen. Can you imagine living each day, hearing God's voice in your heart and mind? Hearing him lead you, encourage you, correct you, and give you insight into people and circumstances you interact with? This is part of living daily in the kingdom! I'm interested in hearing if any might be willing to seek such a gift God so eagerly desires for us.

Where Life Happens

2008-11-01T15:10:00.010-05:00

If I had to describe God in a single word, I would choose "love." Then again, I more often say, "life." In the depths of his person, it seems the two concepts are interpenetrating and largely overlap. Anyway, the word I'm thinking of today... is "life."

Jesus once told a story about life and how it happens. It went like this, "Once a sower went out to sow. As he sowed, some seeds fell around the road; and the birds came and ate them up. Other seeds fell on the rocky places without much soil and immediately sprang up; but they withered when the sun rose because they had no root. Others fell among the weeds which choked them out. Finally, some seeds fell on good soil and produced fruit, some a hundredfold, some sixty, and some thirty" (Matthew 13).

Later, Jesus explains this parable is really about spiritual life. The kind of inner life source that gives new life to our heart, mind, and (soon enough) bodies. He says the seed is the message of God's "kingdom" and the soils are the kinds of people who hear it.

The soil "around the road" is the hard heart, made impervious to life's seed by the habitual action of closing it off, ignoring it, desensitizing it, and shutting it down. It's not open or perhaps even able to receive life because of its previous conditioning. It was once good soil; but now, it's the hardest soil of all.

The rocky, shallow soil is the emotional believer. They have no root, no depth, no real relationship with the seed or sower, and so no sustainable life. There is a temporary rush of excitement that looks life the promise of life; but it's quickly extinguished when the person loses interest or when the life and relationship behind it are tested. Soon, it becomes clear that the kingdom life had never actually penetrated the heart. It had only caught the fleeting fancy of the person, as countless other stimulating experiences have done in the past and will do in the future.

The weedy soil is the one who wants to add Christ's life and kingdom to another life and kingdom they already have living in their hearts. Soon, however, the individual discovers that the two kingdoms aren't compatible with each other. One focuses on Christ and is utterly dependent on him. The other focuses on self and clings to independence. One life must go. Unfortunately, in this case, it's Christ's life. The weeds stay, growing and depleting the soil while offering no fruit in return.

And then there is the good soil. It's ready. It is either done with rocks and weeds or was fortunate enough to have few of them to begin with. The seed falls on this soil and the message of Christ's life and kingdom is understood and received. The seed grows and grows and continues to grow... becoming a strong, deeply rooted life, that produces life-giving, life-sustaining fruit.

When this soil and seed come together, it results in ever-increasing life. It results in a life that flows in and life flows out. It results in a life that was once a ready recipient but has now become a mature sower of seeds.

Many of us have become, by God's love and grace, matured (while still growing) sowers in this world. We meet people and love them but never fully know what kind of soil they are or what kind of soil they will become. Some were hard, but, by God's loving intervention, are now merely weedy or rocky... perhaps on their way to becoming ready, or "good" soil.

I used to work with a young, hard- and weedy-soil kind of guy named Justin. During our months together, I had many opportunities to share Christ, pray, and express some love. When I left that job site, I was sad at the thought that Justin would probably never find Christ. Yesterday, Justin called me. He's in the Army now and has either accepted Christ or is about to at any moment. Staunchly anti-anything God... he's now eagerly participating in both Catholic and Protestant services and seeking Christ with a fervor I never thought I would see. He is becoming (or has perhaps already become) ready soil. Life is about to take root in him.

Seeds get sown. Soils change. Life happens in strange places. It takes root in the small patches of ready soil that are peculiarly not too far from roads or rocks or weeds.

Abba, thanks for Justin! Keep going, Lord! And make these hard, rocky, weedy soils ready for you! ...Linda, Liz and Charlie, Tracy, D, Jeff and Matt, Evelyn, Brandon and Gina, Samantha, Ash and Janice, Sue.

You are the God who "gives life to the dead and calls into being that which does not exist" (Romans 4:17). You can make these soils change. You can make them ready. We're asking you to do that, Abba. We need you to do that! And we love you for wanting to do that.

One last interview

2008-10-31T21:11:00.000-05:00

For those of you who are still doing research on the candidates in these last hours before casting your vote, I'd like to highly recommend Rick Warren's interviews of the candidates hosted at Saddleback. They're posted at the Relevant Magazine political web page, along with a host of other campaign related articles. I hope that they're helpful for many as we all move prayerfully towards this big day!

Sister Gayle Williams, Martyred

2008-10-21T13:48:00.005-05:00

Our sister, Gayle Williams, was martyred in Kabul, Afghanistan yesterday by two Taliban gunmen who accused her of spreading Christian propaganda. The attack will likely further discourage humanitarian activities in Afghanistan where Taliban insurgents are increasingly targeting aid workers.

Gayle's life and death are testimonies of glory that give witness to how far God's love will go in his attempts to reach the lost with his life-giving love and work of redemption made available to all through Christ. May the Lord shine his light increasingly to that wartorn area through Gayle's story and the lives of others still there. And may kingdom seekers around the world be stirred by her testimony to live a life that matters.

Our First Walk in the Way

2008-10-05T11:04:00.007-05:00

Abba, thanks for finally putting us in this apartment, in this part of town, and for all it means and does in us... humility, simplicity, trust, grace, nearness, vision, purpose, community, flexibility, contentment, love, cheer, peace, etc. Only you can sanctify your earth to become all this and more. And we get to participate in your anointing here! Thanks so much.

Thanks for our walk yesterday in this new neighborhood of ours that you have provided. It was great meeting Wayne and being invited to his huge Day of the Dead party this month. It was fun meeting D and teasing him about being on his phone every time we passed each other on the block. It was rich talking with Ash and Janice in their front yard and being invited to call them out in the future as we’re out and about. And our curiosity was fired up when we met Marcus, the friend from Minnesota who bought and is working to sell that run down house on our street that we’ve talked about as having such great potential. We walked and we prayed as we will countless times again, Lord. Please unleash your life and Spirit in this place and in these people!

First Friday was awesome too, Lord. Spending time hanging out with friends on Zack and Kelli’s front porch was made even more wonderful by the fact that we only had to walk across the street to get there. True community expression. And I loved connecting one-on-one with Jake. I'm eager to see you bless and grow your life in him. And Aleta loved her time with Jake's wife Kim.

And as for your contextualized mission for us in this place, the formation of real local kingdom community, our connection to the poor and needy, and your protection and providence for us in this culture of such intense joy and pain... We simply confess with our brother David, “I trust in you, Lord; for you are my God. My times are in your hand” (Psalm 31:14-15).

We don’t have to make it happen. It’s all you. We don’t have to worry about safety or finances or next steps or personal harm. Again, it’s all you. “In peace I will both lie down and sleep; for you alone, O Lord, make me to dwell in safety” (Psalm 4:8).

In a world that seduces us so powerfully to serve self, security, status, false self-esteem, wealth, and fleeting happiness, we are humbled and overjoyed to have stumbled onto your way. A way in which we know, “God is able to deliver us - and he will - but even if he does not, we will not serve your gods” (Daniel 3:17-18). A way in which, “everything works together for the good of those who love God, being called with a purpose” (Romans 8:28).

Please keep us humble and make us more so, Abba. Make us better vessels for your Spirit... better friends who know love more than we do now. Write your story in our hearts and through our bodies, God. You alone are the author of all these great things. And please bless those who watch us and pray for us... drawing them into the same radical vision of kingdom life that Jesus calls us all to.

Thanks for your love, Abba. Once again, it's saved the day.
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The Trendy Thing To Do

2008-09-28T13:04:00.013-05:00

My wife and I are taking adoption classes and discovered this week, in the class with us, a pastor of a local church we've visited and his wife. Both are passionate for the Lord and for his justice on behalf of the victimized. Naturally I was immediately hopeful for a new kindred friendship.

As we shared each others' stories, they asked us where we went to church. When I explained that we regularly engage in corporate worship, prayer, and fellowship but have chosen not to identify with any particular church institution, the wife replied curtly, "Yeah... That's the trendy thing to do."

Ouch.

Without needing any explanation from us at all, she had already decided that we were merely drifters floating in the currents of modern day western trends. I could feel the defensiveness swell inside me.

In my gut, a stormy argument whipped up saying how identifying church with formalized church services is actually more of a worldly trend than an authentic, biblical mode of kingdom community. I wanted to explain that our decision is more than an expression of some short-lived, postmodern cultural upheaval. I wanted to explain our reasons for rejecting institution identification... it's reinforced worldly paradigms of power, hierarchy, performance, consumerism, stage-and-audience, passive posture, self-serving atittudes, and Christendom.

I know... pretty reactionary thoughts. Fortunately, by God's grace, I didn't say any of that. I don't think our new friends were very interested in our reasons anyway. It seems they had already categorized and labeled us. Anything we might've said would've just been white noise.

To be honest, it hurt. And it still stings a little.
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Is God Really In Control?

2008-09-24T20:35:00.009-05:00

Over how much in this life is God really in control? I'm not asking over how much God could control... but how much he actually does control. Over how much of your life, your day, even your actions right now is God in control? Did He cause you to visit this blog post right now or was that your idea ... or maybe just a happy accident? (Thanks for visiting, by the way.)

After all, doesn't Proverbs 16:9 say, "The mind of a person plans their way but the Lord directs their steps."

It's the famously core question of free will and predestination that leaves honest and aware biblical students confessing the great paradox that Scripture intentionally and unapologetically teaches both... although reason seems to indicate that they are mutually exclusive realities. Just one more tantalizing thing that reminds us of our mortality and the unfathomable bigness of our God.

Still... the question remains; and it's invasively practical. Especially in the present day, in which we are ever more fiercely committed to independent choice and the "right and responsibility" of personal free will.

Psalm 24 says, “The earth is the Lord’s and all it contains - the world, and those who dwell in it.” It's all his. The clouds that water and drown. The sun that sustains and burns. The winds that refresh and destroy. It's all firmly in his possession and under his control.

This one got me... Psalm 74 says, “Yours is the day; Yours also is the night. You have established all the boundaries of the earth; You have made summer and winter.” As a former Chicago resident, it's hard for me to imagine how such a brutal, painful, unforgiving, unrelenting season as the Midwestern winter could be God's innovation. But there it is.

Then there's the often quoted Romans 8:28, which says, “And we recognize that everything works together for the good of those who love God, being the called ones of purpose." At first blush, it's a Hallmark statement designed to fill the hurting with comforting, warm feelings of hope. But then we see that word, "everything"... and it becomes a statement dripping with scandal.

Everything works together for the good of those who love God? What about our Christian friend who was raped in her own apartment, on her own bed, with her own Bible sitting on the nightstand right next to her? What about the young child who is continually beaten and told that he's worthless shit by his own father? What about the teenage Christ follower in Southern Sudan who's body is gang-raped by a band of militants right before they mutilate her sex organs with knives and machetes?

Everything? ... Really? ...Come on!

There are no Hallmark warm fuzzies in those words when we think of the many extreme evil circumstances that still roam and rule our earth today.

A few chapters later, Paul presses his point of God's total sovereignty into even more practical and challenging waters. Romans 13:1-2 says, "Every person is to be in subjection to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those which exist are established by God. Therefore whoever resists authority has opposed the ordinance of God."

Remember, Paul was talking about Rome, here. Famous for their regional injustice, life-sucking taxation, public crucifixions, and advocacy or tolerance of such murderous movements as the one Saul (later called Paul) was participating in against Christians before Jesus appeared to him on that grace-filled road to Damascus. And he is saying that as tyrannical as it was, it was "established by God."

Where does this leave us in our current methods of justice work? As Christians, how do we participate in Christ's work of redemption amidst our day's corruption in the same way he worked in the climate of his own corrupted age? Does standing with the exiled, weak, oppressed, tortured, and murdered mean standing against the government that does all these things? What of Israel's very physical and forceful example of standing for justice? In what way to we oppose? Certainly we pray against evil, don't we? How does that fit into Paul's theology?
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The Shack

2008-09-06T12:03:00.008-05:00

I just finished one of the most powerful novels I've ever encountered. The Shack was written by William Paul Young as a truth-informed work of fiction intended to help his kids encounter God. But, although the events of story aren't factual (the foreword and epilogue are both part of the fictitious story), I'm left feeling that I have just had a deep encounter both with truth and with God, himself.

Through it, I've discovered areas of fear and distrust in my heart and have been challenged deeply to think about God and his involvement in my life and this world in powerfully new ways. Most painful, for me, is the rift this book has helped me discover between the ever-near God my mind believes in and the not-so-near God my heart believes in. It's an open wound that I need him to come and heal.

In some ways, the book is like one of Jesus' parables... A form of teaching that reaches deeper than the mind to answer the painful cries of our wounded and shut-up souls. I encourage you check it out. You won't be disappointed.

(Also... See the author's helpful blog entry explaining the factualness vs. the truthfulness of this book.)

Faith and Politics

2008-09-04T14:45:00.007-05:00

(In response to a conversation taking place at my Facebook...)

Admittedly, I've been engaged and perhaps even a bit swept away with the coming election and the political, governmental, and social issues it stirs up. Here are a few fresh thoughts God's been working out in my heart these past few days as I've slowed down to reflect on it all.

1) Politics as we know it - a human institution based on human control - is a reality separated from God's plan for the world. Even Israel's move toward monarchy, the first formalized political institution in their national history, was a move away from God... one that he judged was actually a form of rejecting him.

That being the case, God graciously works within the broken structures we imagine (even our institutional religious models). It's influencing me to feel differently about my political / governmental involvement. Instead of assuming involvement based on principles and ideals, I'm beginning to lean back toward a less formulaic and more moment-by-moment dependence on God's leading as to whether or not, and then how, I should involve myself politically. Perhaps even every voting opportunity should prompt us to ask him what he wants to do through us. At times, he may will that we abstain from voting. At other times he may lead us in unexpected voting directions.

2) With that new attitude emerging in me, I'm discovering a new level (and challenge) of trust in God's presence and involvement in all human affairs. If there is any universal principle, it seems to me that it has less to do with "right vs. wrong" than with love. To truly love requires utter, moment by moment, dependence on God. A rejection of our independence and personal rights. Perhaps even our independent right to vote.

3) To stray a bit from this direction, I might suggest a thought regarding the abortion issue simply to open up our minds to whatever surprising ways God might work. I'd like to suggest it may not be so much a question of whether or not a president is pro-life or pro-choice but, rather, what effect will they have on the number of abortion-related deaths during their term. I believe the last time the issue came before the Supreme Court was in 2000. It's difficult to say when, or even if, it might ever come up for vote again.

On that note, John McCain seems to suggest he would push for tighter restrictions on abortion. Barack Obama seems to suggest he would push to eliminate the source causes for unwanted pregnancy and abortion to begin with. Ironically, it may be the latter which reduces the overall abortion numbers more than the previous.

** Even so, I return to my first thought... I might be pushing too hard to control and influence government as an expression of my own independent self-reliance. Here I think of two contrasting examples: 1) Martin Luther and 2) the Anabaptists. Whom do you think is closer to the heart of God for human living?
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Barack Obama DNC Acceptance Speech 8/28/08

2008-08-29T11:43:00.013-05:00

After the initial few minutes of formalities and thank you's, Barack Obama launches into one of the mightiest political speeches I have ever heard. Republican, Democrat, or otherwise disillusioned, it's hard not to be moved by this compelling address.

Also, check out the biographical video that preceded his speech.

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Congo Connection

2008-08-27T15:45:00.008-05:00

If you'd like to get involved with what God's doing in Congo, here's one personal, relational way to begin checking things out. My friend Adam is starting to go and minister over there with a few others, including his dad. Adam's dad has years of history in Congo and has recently become impassioned again to invest in the lives of those in need there. You can reach Adam at his blog, Watching Gravity. He lives in Chicago at present; so if you're there, he always welcomes a pint and a sit-down.

Here's a recent email from my friend Adam and his dad:

Hey Friends -

Below is a letter my dad sent out regarding our upcoming trip to Ndjoka Punda, Congo in equatorial Africa this September. It's a fundraising letter, but I'm not asking for money from you. (The Lord is already providing in great ways.) I just wanted to give you a little insight into why I'm going and what we'll be doing there.

This is my first overseas trip so I'm excited and nervous. Congo is broken and corrupt in ways that would blow you away. In the USA where things seem to run themselves, I have a hard time grasping what my parents recounted from their trip to Congo last year. I stand in Target looking at travel-sized shampoo bottles and realize that the people I'm going to meet couldn't dream of such convenience (or imagine the complex infrastructure and logistics of putting that bottle in that aisle).

I digress.

I'm excited about this opportunity to make some sacrifices to join in with God's mission in the world. Congo is a big country with deep problems, but God is bigger and goes deeper. I'm not going because I believe I can change the world. That's God's job (and promise). I'm going because I believe I can change something.

So without further adieu, let me introduce to you my father:

Last fall, my brother Stan and I returned to our childhood home: Congo . We traveled to the Congolese communities where our parents served as missionaries. From 1950 to 1964, our parents served helping to build and expand the witness of the church in Congo . Since then, the Democratic Republic of Congo has seen an entire generation grow up under a dictatorial fist and is living in the aftermath of a 10-year civil war in which five million people lost their lives. For us, traveling back was more than just a walk down memory lane. We quickly came to the unsettling realization that Congo over the last 40 years had taken significant steps backward in time.

I commute five miles to work every day in a climate-controlled car, hardly noticing the few potholes that bite at my wheels. It’s a ten-minute drive. In the Congo , the idea of potholes does not exist. Instead, we traversed dirt paths in an old Toyota SUV, an equivalent two-hour trip from Des Moines to Kansas City took us ten hours in Congo .

I recently sliced my finger open at home in my garage. The two-inch gash required ten stitches and two hours in the emergency room, just minutes from our home. When we visited the hospital in Ndjoka Punda, Dr. David Ishunga, a medical doctor passionate about meeting the physical and spiritual needs, told us that it was the only hospital within 50-60 miles. People walk 2-3 days for medical care, including childbirth.

I’m recharging my laptop’s battery as I write this letter. It’s as simple as plugging it in at arm’s length. However, in the Congo , Dr. David told us that the injured and ill could only be treated by the light of day. If patients arrived at dusk in need of emergency treatment, Dr. David was powerless to do anything until the sun came up the following day.

I have a new Blackberry, supplied by my employer, so I can call or e-mail anyone from anywhere in the U.S. at anytime, day or night. However, Dr. David has no computer access in Ndjoka Punda. Instead, every 45 days, he travels a day to write and respond to e-mails—making it a three-month reply time for any communication.

We returned to our comfortable lives here in the states committed to help improve theirs. We had seen a hospital with no electricity and only basic medicines. We saw classrooms without roofs, students without textbooks, a sawmill without reliable means of getting lumber to market, and a brick-making effort in need of the most basic man-powered tools. Travel, medical care, electricity, and long-distance communication are basic amenities for us, but they require immense amounts of effort every day in Congo .

Thanks to many of you, our family and friends we have begun to address some basic needs such as a generator for the hospital, a brick press for making bricks, carpentry and masonry tools to assist with maintenance and construction efforts. These improvements are not changing the world. They are changing individual lives. Today we are asking for your help again as we plan to take on more in September, when we return. There, we will follow up on these strategic initiatives and assess future projects with the hospital, educational needs and improving means of communication.

These basic efforts require time, money and prayer. We (Stan Graber, Brad Graber, Adam Graber and David Rocke) are asking for your heart, your prayers, and your investment in our strategic effort to come alongside the body of Christ in Congo and provide hope for the next generation.

Travel to Congo is very expensive and very risky. We are asking you to venture out and take some risk with us by way of your prayers and money. Each of us need $3,000 for international travel and $1,000 for in-country travel. In addition to these expenses, we hope to commit $3,000 toward a laptop computer with solar charging capability and a autoclave sterilization unit to replace a 60 plus year old unit that is being operated over an open fire.

To give to this effort send your checks payable to AIMM and designate it as the Graber Initiative. Feel free to earmark it for travel or strategic initiatives. Your prayers and support are greatly appreciated.

Sincerely and to the praise of His Glory,

Brad, Stan, Adam & Dave

Mail to checks to:
Africa Inter-Mennonite Mission
P.O. Box 744
Goshen , IN 46527
(Memo: Graber Congo Initiative)

Michelle Obama's 8/25/08 Speech

2008-08-26T11:30:00.016-05:00

Check out Michelle Obama's 17 minute speech on the opening night of the Democratic National Convention. I've never heard a first lady give such a personal, passionate, and poignant message.

Also, watch Donald Miller's powerful, Christ-centered closing prayer! Amazing. These kinds of solid and bold speak are unheard of in the last several decades the Democratic political tradition.

Irrational Creativity

2008-08-26T11:19:00.005-05:00

What kind of God creates monsters as unstrategic and yet wonderful as this? What do creatures like this tell us about the heart and joy of our Maker? How does it affect our awareness of and feelings about the natural world in which we live? Does it not draw us into humble and joy-filled worship? Is there any God like our God?

Romans 1:20... "For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made."
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Overthinking Worship

2008-08-23T14:08:00.008-05:00

There is a line of thought among postmodern, emergent, missionally experimental Christ-seekers that resists identifying worship with singing songs to God. It actually leaves a number of passionate Christians resisting the practice of singing praises in community, all together.

Many earnest Christ-seekers today recognize that worship in the past was often misunderstood as exclusively indicating singing, especially emotionally charged, expressions of romanticicized intimacy resulting in a nostalgiac, self-centered, feeling-based spirituality that overlooked reverent fear, humble authenticity, and obedient action. Unfortunately, a number of those who have rightly made this observation have reacted by viewing all worshipful singing (especially praise choruses) with suspicion. This is what overthinking our theology does to us. It swings us from one extreme to the other without conforming our actions to God's clearly and simply articulated desires.

Biblical worship includes loving adoration, humble fear, and obedient service. The three primary Hebrew and three primary Greek words most frequently translated "worship" support this understanding. So singing, even emotionally charged, heart-warmed love songs, is actually a wonderful aspect of worship to engage in - just not the only aspect.

Psalm 92:1-3... "It is good to give thanks to the Lord and to sing praises to Your name, O Most High; to declare Your lovingkindness in the morning and Your faithfulness by night with resounding music!"

Here's a simple, biblical observation... It's good, even necessary, to sing, out loud, to God... both individually ("I will sing praises with my soul." - Psalm 108:1) and corporately ("I will praise you in the midst of the assembly." - Psalm 22:22).

Here's another thought... Worshiping in the assembly of Israel meant singing praises to God among priests and people who were often hypocritical, self-centered and inauthentic. Even so, the command to praise God remained. We can sing, whole-heartedly in praise, even if our worship leaders, their medium, and those standing near us are tainted (as though we are not!).

Singing isn't the whole of worship, but it remains an important part. Let's not overthink it too much. Instead, let's simply be obedient, engaging our hearts and singing praises to the God who deserves and desires it.
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Lonely

2008-08-21T22:21:00.009-05:00

Sometimes, although I believe in the real possibility of Christ's kingdom community here on earth, I am wracked with the ache of overwhelming loneliness while that kind of community remains unrealized in my experience. It is terribly painful and discouraging. Where are God's lovers in this world?

"Abba, please raise up a people and count us among them!"
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Articles

2008-08-14T12:33:00.004-05:00

Article 1

"How to Start a Ministry to the Poor in Your Community"
- by Keith Giles (blog 1, blog 2):

Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
Part 5

Article 2

"Why I Left the Institutional Church" - by Frank Viola
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Simple Strategy

2008-08-14T10:19:00.010-05:00

Christians are so good at over-complicating things. There are a ridiculous number of methods and formulas and acronyms for ministry these days. Everyone seems to have the latest definitive system.

Here was the apostle Paul's system ...

"I did not come with superiority of speech or wisdom; for I have determined to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ" (1 Corinthians 2:1-2).

I like Paul's method... just Jesus. Just follow him, know him, love him, be close to him. Just do what he does, go to where he goes, say the things he says, focus on people he focuses on, etc. Just agree with him and submit to him as he lives his life through us.

Does this sound too mystical? Perhaps even impractical? I would humbly suggest that those who believe this to be a fantastical oversimplification have perhaps never actually experienced a life of intimately knowing and following Christ.

We all, myself included, are so easily seduced by methods and systems that center on ideas and ideals, often finding ourselves more focused on the teachings of Christ rather than the actual, living person of Jesus. The power of the incarnation and resurrection challenges us with the powerful reality that Jesus not only described and exemplified a way but offered, and continues to offer, his own living person as the Way.

"I am concerned that, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, your minds will be led astray from the simplicity and purity of Christ" (2 Corinthians 11:3).

"I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me" (Galatians 2:20).

American Pluralism

2008-08-10T16:07:00.001-05:00

"Christians: No One Path To Salvation" - 6/23/08, TIME Magazine

Making Oneself Ready

2008-08-09T13:15:00.006-05:00

I'm learning another simple but powerful principle in this moving toward a supernaturally led and empowered lifestyle of missional destiny. It's this... Sanctification precedes Sending.

2 Timothy 2:21-22 says, "Therefore, if anyone cleanses himself from these things, he will be a vessel for honor, sanctified, useful to the Master, prepared for every good work. Now flee from youthful lusts and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart."

The implication is that if we're not prepared, not free from willful compromise, then we will never experience the destiny God has for us.

And Jesus prays in John 17:17-19, "Santify them in the truth; Your word is truth. As you sent Me into the world I also have sent them into the world. For their sakes I sanctify Myself that they themselves also may be sanctified in truth."

There is no compromise in this lifestyle of following Jesus. If I knowingly hold onto compromise (i.e. hold onto sin or selfishness in any area) then I restrict the flow of Christ's life in me and cut off myself from my only Source for life, love, leading, power, etc. No knowledgeable compromise. Not even in the small stuff.

It's not a legalistic thing. That would bring only death. Rather, it's a choice of loves. If I love God and love others, I will surrender the things that oppose those relationships. I want to be a vessel for honor, sanctified, useful to God, prepared for the destiny of life-giving work he's prepared for me. I want to be ready for what he wants to entrust me with. And I need Christ's person, leading, and supernatural power to go with me in all that.

This breathes new power into Christ's plain challenge in Matthew 5:48, "Be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect." I think Jesus might've actually meant what he said.

All to Jesus I surrender
All to Him I freely give
I will ever love and trust Him
In His presence daily live

All to Jesus I surrender
Humbly at His feet I bow
Wordly pleasures all forsaken
Take me Jesus, take me now

All to Jesus I surrender
Make me Savior, wholly Thine
Let me feel the Holy Spirit
Truly know that Thou art mine

All to Jesus I Surrender
Lord, I give myself to Thee
Fill me with Thy love and power
Let Thy blessing fall on me

I surrender all
I surrender all
All to Thee my blessed Savior
I surrender all

The Latest (7/29/08)

2008-07-29T13:37:00.014-05:00

Kingdom Community with the Newsomes

Formerly, I mentioned an email from our much loved friends, Zack and Kelli, in which they explained their conviction that the primary partnership-in-team they're aiming at is different than the relationship God is cultivating between them and us. Since then, Zack and I have talked several times and Aleta and I had the opportunity to fellowship with them in person at length. The picture God has painted through it all is beautiful.

Through our interactions, the Lord has created opportunities for us to ask permission and blessing from Zack and Kelli regarding our move into their area. I became convicted to seek that last month when God helped me realize that he led them there first and was leading us to honor his precedent in them. Their response was thrilling.

In Zack's gracious words, "We totally want to validate, and are ecstatic about, your move into this area. Move wherever you feel called. We will help the move as we can. Let us know. I personally am ready to begin exploring what a relationship as two couples called to mission in this area will look like, moving on from what it won't look like." This kind of God-honoring, body-building response is typical of the humble, open, authentic, and loving way in which Zack and Kelli have shared their journey into the destiny God is leading them into.

In sum, through these unexpected weeks of dialog, our sovereign God allowed us to esteem them by asking permission, affirm our move to their area, and free them from concern that we might have specific expectations for partnership contrary to where God is calling them. It's the kind of thing that could have led to division; but in God's grace and love, has actually led to a deeper bond of love and unity in His name. Praise God in Christ who works all things together for His glory and our good.

The Layoff and Housing Miracle

Now another surprise with blessing at the end... Two weeks ago, Aleta was laid off from her job in North Scottsdale. Saturday, as we were looking for rental houses, we realized that, with only a single income, we would no longer be able to afford a house and would need to begin looking again at apartments - of which we have found none in the area for months.

I was uncharacteristically disappointed and it took me the rest of the day (and next morning) to finally give it to God. In speaking of our new budget restrictions and the seeming impossibility of it all, I finally told my wife, "It's an impossible situation... a question I just can't answer. We'll have to leave it where it is and see what God does with it."

There are few apartments in the part of town we're aiming at and none that have been available since we began looking nearly four months ago. I left a message with the one complex located exactly where we're looking, but with little expectation since we've repeatedly pursued that one place with no success. Then Sunday, just one day after my call (and on a weekend no less) I received a return call explaining that they have a two bedroom unit undergoing remodeling that will be available in two weeks - the exact time of moving we've been praying for for months.

An hour after that call, I received a message from another realtor saying that the guest house we had rejected two months earlier for want of repair is being remodeled. And, it's only $100 more than the apartment we were just offered. Both properties are in our budget range and, within 100 feet of each other, in the exact area we've been praying for. All this only a week after Aleta's job loss, a day after realizing we needed to stop looking for an unaffordable rental house, and hours after I finally surrendered it to the Lord (a point my wife beat me to by a long shot).

And Furniture Too?
As if all that provision wasn't enough, Aleta just received a message today from a friend of ours who was recently married and needs to get rid of much of his furniture as he and his wife combine their things. "Are you kidding, God? Furniture too?"

"Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and unfathomable His ways! For who has known the mind of the Lord; or who is His counselor? Or who has first given to him that it should be paid back to him again? For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things To Him be the glory forever" (Romans 11:33-36)!

"Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us, to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever" (Ephesians 3:20-21).

Thank you, God! I'm sorry for ever doubting you. Thanks for all this and the way in which you've done it... achieving the best glory and the greatest good! I'm deeply humbled and grateful! Thank you for humbling us, uniting us, growing our faith, providing for us, and confirming your presence and leadership in this path we're following! Thank you, God!"
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The Latest (7/2008)

2008-07-09T20:47:00.008-05:00

I've discovered these past few weeks that there are a number of friends who follow this blog and have continued to prayerfully lift Aleta and I up as we journey with the Lord on the path he's leading us. Because of that humbling report, I'm gratefully eager to share the latest in what's been happening with us during the past couple months.

It has been a long process in which Aleta and I have sought to discern the leading of God into a specific context and mission in the Phoenix area. In response to the conviction we believe he's laid on our hearts, we'll soon be moving to Central Phoenix. Many of you already know about that. What you don't know is that, while we've been planning on moving near and partnering with some good friends in fellowship and mission, we've recently learned that at least some aspects of that partnership are no longer a possibility.

While Aleta and I are surprised, we remain confident and free from disappointment as we learn, ever more, to set all our hopes on God alone and on his assured plan. This recent event does stir a persistent ache in our hearts, however, something of a loneliness in our pursuits. We are diligently working to surrender and follow the Lord into whatever context he leads us. Partners on that journey, however, remain few. We are so very hungry for a living and local community of brothers and sisters who are utterly sold out to living life in Christ. Our deepest prayers are that God provides those as he forms a missional movement in the Central Phoenix area.

We would really appreciate your prayer as we continue to move forward, striving to obediently follow the call the Lord has compelled us toward. We're praying for clarity, humility, and faith to go wherever he calls while also asking that he leads us into the kingdom community and mission-minded team he has ordained. We're especially praying for radical, kingdom-minded Christ-followers with whom we can join in following Christ into his missional intent for this part of the world.

In all things, we remain confident that God is at the helm, confessing that "unless the Lord builds the house, the builders labor in vain." May he be glorified in all we do!

Thanks for your love and prayerful support.
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Side Note

2008-06-01T15:09:00.004-05:00

My apologies to those who have been tracking with Hungry & Thirsty for my recent lack of writing. I've been working on a book that's consuming most of my writing passions, energies and time. I'm not sure when I'll begin posting again regularly. Hopefully it'll be soon. Until then, I believe my wife will be occasionally posting ministry news and updates.

As a less relevant side not... to all my fellow LOSTies out there, here is an awesome theory summarizing what's happened in the hit ABC series so far. Eat it up!

Peace in Christ.
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Morning Prayer

2008-05-24T12:44:00.004-05:00

"O send out Your light and Your truth, let them lead me; let them bring me to Your holy hill and to Your dwelling places. Then I will go to the altar of God, to God my exceeding joy" (Psalm 43:3-4)

"Abba, the point... the whole point... of everything I do is to experience the life that flows only from You, the Source and Sustainer of all things. On You and You alone, am I utterly dependent. Send out Your light and truth so that my words and actions might be rooted in life and be life-giving.

Without Your daily, hourly, moment-by-moment provision, I am profoundly lost. Send it out, Lord God; and incline me to receive it. I am Yours to shape as You desire. I invite You to do just that in Your faithful love. Let my life praise You."
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Cousins in China Earthquake

2008-05-17T11:58:00.004-05:00

My cousins, serving in C h i n a, were in last week's earthquake. Here's their most recent update so you can join us as we intercede on their behalf. Thanks.

Hi all,

We are still doing pretty well in our city after the quake. To fill you in on some details, Monday we were home for the initial big earthquake. We rode out the several minutes in the bathroom with the kids in the bathtub. Then we grabbed shoes and our hiking carrier for our youngest and ran outside. (fortunately we had some diapers in the carrier bag.) Before we went in the bathroom I had grabbed a cell phone and keys. That was about 2:30pm. K a t i e was in the middle of a language tutoring session so her tutor was with us for this time.

After standing around with a crowd of people in a clearing a few blocks away for an hour or two, we walked over to the University that I am is studying at. On the way we were able to buy some water and food to snack on. We found some friends there on campus. We sat around in an open grassy area on campus until about 9:30 that evening. The school opened up a cafeteria kitchen to feed the crowds. We decided to go back to our apartment and see what it was like.

When we got there no one was inside and the power was out. They let me go in to get some things as long as I came out right away. I was able to get another bag full with clothes for the kids, diapers, flashlights, umbrellas and rain gear, more money, and blankets. We then went back to the campus as they wouldn’t let anyone stay in our building.

At about 11:30 I heard that some foreign teachers were going to try and stay in a brand new dorm building on campus. I went with them and fortunately already knew the administrators that were handing out the keys (I got to know them because of the track and field competition that I did last month). They gave us an open dorm room to stay in – with some furniture, power and running water! The plaster had some cracks but the building was inspected and cleared to use.

We slept there with only one big interruption from 4-6am when we had to evacuate, into the rain outside, due to a big aftershock. At about 9am we went back to our apartment and the power was back on. We have been staying at home since.

It really makes one think about how much money you normally have in your pocket, how charged your cell phone is, what clothes you and your kids wear around the house, how quickly your family can leave the house prepared to be gone for many hours, etc.

The biggest issue lately has been water. Yesterday there were a lot of rumors and fear of the water being turned off and/or being polluted. Some think it might be polluted because of the two chemical factories that were destroyed in the earthquake. So, periodically the city has been shutting the water off for testing. So far it has only been off for between 30 minutes to several hours at a time for us. Other people have had it off for several days. It has been shut off for us at least once during the day, every day for the past three days.

Yesterday it was on for most of the day so we had a chance to fill a lot of bins/buckets up in case it goes off for a while. Fortunately, we have some very large Rubbermaid bins that we packed our stuff over in when we moved here. We have filled 7 of them with water throughout our apartment, and we used some of it today when the water was turned off. Some of the rumors are saying it could be 2-7 days of being off at some point. Thankfully, so far they are not true.

That is just the tap water, which is not safe for drinking without treating it. Bottled filtered water was sold out around us within 2 hours of the announcements that they were turning off the water. I (Neal) went down when we found out to buy some more 5 gal. jugs of filtered water. I waited in line at the water distributor shop for about an hour before a small truck arrived with more, since they had run out. It was a crazy scene with people arguing, pushing, and stressed over waiting in line. Fortunately it didn’t get too bad. They handed out numbers to help know who was there waiting.

When the truck arrived they mobbed with people trying to grab the bottles and run. (I heard that water bottles were being stolen all over the city.) The workers pushed the people back and started going through the numbers to sell 2 jugs to each number. So, I got two. We already had 2.5 at home so that helped us have a decent supply for a little while. With normal water use we go through about 1 per day, but we’ve been doing well to conserve.

This has been our first extended earthquake experience. It has not been a very settled couple of days since aftershocks and tremors are still continuing. Mostly just minor tremors at this point. It is a strange sensation to feel that we are moving. The wife is especially sensitive to feeling the movement. She feels just about every tremor and aftershock. The other night she was feeling somewhat like she was ‘sea-sick’ from it. I really only feel the minor ones when I am sitting or standing still.

The girls are doing pretty well considering this crazy week. Our oldest has been much more nervous and on an emotional edge since Monday. She also got some bad mosquito bites when we were outside Monday afternoon and evening. They both got colds and congestion from our afternoon and evening outside. It has especially made it hard for our littlest to breathe easily and to sleep well.

It’s hard to know what is going to happen next. Classes have been canceled through today (Thursday). We’re not sure if we are going to have them tomorrow. Today, people seem to be getting back closer to ‘normal’ life. We still have some ‘go’ bags packed by the door in case we have to run out again. Hopefully we don’t have to use them!

As you can see throughout this email, many things were ‘fortunately’ happening for us this week. We recognized that these were gifts from the Father to help us through this time. For us the tense time seems to be winding down. For many others they are still in the chaos and destruction. We have some good friends going up to help with the medical and relief efforts. It is so bad in some areas. Please lift them up as you remember us over here. Praise Him that we just heard this group of friends was able to help pull 5 live people from the rubble in the last day!! Miracles are happening in the midst of the tragedy.

Grace and Peace,

N e a l - K a t i e - H a n n a h - L y d i a

Story of Hope

2008-05-15T11:21:00.003-05:00

For those of you who have followed the genocide in Rwanda, this is such a hopeful story of reconciliation. I find it hard to wrap my mind around, actually! Check it out here:

http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/africa/05/15/amanpour.rwanda/index.html

For those of you who haven't followed much of the story of Rwanda, I highly recommend the movie "Hotel Rwanda." It follows one man's story through the genocide of 1994 where between 800,000 and 1 million Rwandans died in the time frame of 100 days.

Lord, bring more hope and more healing to these your people.

Update from our friend Colleen on the World Race

2008-05-03T12:03:00.007-05:00

Here is the latest from Colleen Foley, our friend who is currently on the AIM "World Race" service trip around the world. Please check the link to her blog for photos and more updates. It sounds like she could also use some more support as she wraps up the trip in August and needs funds for things such as her flight home! (You can support her through the following link: http://colleenfoley.theworldrace.org.)

From her time in Africa:
"Botswana is amazing. It has by far been my favorite time in Africa. God has made it clear that this is where He has wanted us all along. Since we have been in Africa, we have had the freedom to hear from God and follow where He wants us as a team. This has been a really amazing experience because it has allowed us to just trust Him and follow Him as a team. I will never forget the way God closed and open doors to get us here. There hasn't been a World Race team in Botswana yet, and God clearly has plans for the World Race and Botswana. While we were at Alabanza (outside Pretoria), waiting to make our next move (initially Lestotho, but God closed that door), God opened up a door in Botswana with a woman named Mama Elizabeth. She lives in South Africa, but was willing to travel to Botswana to serve with us and her grandson who is a pastor here. We were all excited and thankful to hear this news. We traveled by bus to Botswana, met up with Pastor Musa (Mama Elizabeth's grandson) and God gave us excitement and joy for what He has in store for our two weeks here.

Since we have been here, I have been amazed by the people here. Their hospitality, their generosity, their yearning and love for the Lord and His presence, and their love for each other. This is the most amazing example of real community I have ever seen. It has challenged me in the way I love, in the way I pray, in the way I seek God, in the way I reach out to people. When I hear them pray for their country is has pushed me to pray for my country. When I see them spend hours on their knees praising God and crying out for His presence, it has pushed me to seek His face more each day. I am humbled by their devotion. I am amazed by Jesus in them...and as I told them on Sunday morning, I can see it in their eyes that they love the Lord.

Lately I have been praying about a passage that I see lived out here... "But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumphal procession in Christ and through us spreads everywhere the of the knowledge of him. For we are to God the aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing. To the one we are the smell of death; to the other, the fragrance of life. And who is equal to such a task? Unlike so many, we do not peddle the word of God for profit. On the contrary, in Christ we speak before God with sincerity, like men sent from God" (2 Corinthians 14-17).

These people are the fragrance of life because they want to see Jesus change hearts, restore lives, and revive their country...and most of all, they just want Him.

A few days ago Mama Elizabeth took our team to a hospital so we could pray for the sick and talk with people. I was a little nervous because hospitals are hard for me to visit...they bring back difficult memories of my mom being sick. But, when I woke up that morning, God gave me an excitement and joy to see what He was going to do. We went to the hospital and prayed for many different people...I was able to sit with and pray for a woman who is sick and her three daughters. As I saw my team praying with different people, as I saw Mama Elizabeth walking through the hospital, praying for and encouraging people, as we left the hospital...I saw the fragrance of life pouring out of our team and out of Mama Elizabeth. Bringing life to a place full of sickness and death. Only Jesus can do that.

"May our praises rise as fragrance....to You Lord, to You."
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Enlarging Our Hearts

2008-04-30T18:12:00.004-05:00

As we grow deeper in Christ and bind ourselves more intimately with Him we find our hearts remember and loving others in ever-expanding ways. Our infinite God cares beyond our imagination for all that He has created... especially His children. As we join Him, we increasingly follow Him into His infinite knowledge and loves. What a God who breathes such renewed and enlarged life into us!
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God Enters thru the Heart

2008-04-29T20:18:00.005-05:00

God enters through the heart.

Does that sound too abstract? Perhaps even suspicious? If God is engaged through the heart, what is to prevent us from falling victim to the whims and deceptions of our circumstances and emotions?

And yet, how do any of our greatest loves enter us? How do we engage our spouses, our children, our dearest friends? Are not such meetings given life as they come together in the fertile soil of our hearts?

The body is real. The mind is important. But the heart is from where our most important values emerge.

He is invisible to our eyes, although we see the works of His hands. He is beyond our minds, although He has continually spoken to us through the prophets and His Son. But with all this, God's presence is most real and most powerfully experienced in our hearts.

It's the same with our deepest loves. We would never deny the compelling experience of true love. Why then do we so often demand more physical appearance or more easily perceivable evidences of God? Of course we have more than we know of those; but the reality of true encounter with God is a lot like love... occurring in the undeniable reality of our hearts.

Today, I spoke with a friend from work about God. He confessed casually that he is simply uninterested and that if God wants to make Himself known than all He needs to do is make it more obvious. All our conversation fell back to this. When I asked him what he lived for, he said it was his kids. When I asked what would happen if he had no kids, he had no answer and seemed not to mind the paradox.

But when I asked what if God was a loving father, desperate for His kids to know him, sending the witnesses of creation, His Son, and even other of His kids to share that core desire with His children not yet found... it gave him pause.

God enters through the heart. May we learn to awaken the hearts of others as our own and speak His words there.
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Phoenix & Calcutta, In Rain & Dreams

2008-04-25T18:52:00.011-05:00

The convolution of God's unfolding plan affords even the most spiritual people little more than a glimpse into His unfathomable doings. Yet even mere glimpses through windows of eternity yield such glorious light as to bring us to our knees crying out, "Holy!"

One such window, like something far off and just faintly coming into view, is some strand of connection between Christ's people in Phoenix and His people in Calcutta. He is forging something together ... An alliance. An extended family and an extended partnership. He is filling dreams with His own breath and weaving them together into a tapestry of destiny.

Two cities on opposite sides of this terrestrial sphere. Two peoples separated by oceans and mountains. Two places... on which the same rain of God's grace falls.

"O God, make it so! Bless Sarah as she serves Your loved ones there. Bless her to connect with local partners; and bless us to connect more fully with her in this great thing!"
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For Phoenix

2008-04-20T10:16:00.024-05:00

Abba, for You my soul was created;
My heart earnestly loves You.
You are sweeter to me than the breeze;
I have loved You from my youth, and evermore today.

Therefore, hear my prayer to redeem this city;
Stretch out Your life to the lifeless.
Listen to my cry for Your reconciliation in Phoenix;
Do not withhold Your salvation!

For we are perishing before You.
We are dying without You.
We are failing in despair and distraction
Wrought in this desert, broken and far from You.

We are wealthy and blind to Your suffering.
We are powerful and blind to our nakedness.
We are rebellious and blind to Your kingdom.
We are proud and blind to our futility.

We have sinned greatly against You Lord.
In Your lovingkindness, humble our hearts.
We have turned our fattened eyes toward our own vanity;
In Your mercy, incline us toward repentance.

O God, break forth in this city as living water;
You alone can heal hearts!
Awaken Your forgotten ways among us;
And flood this place with Your glory!

For I suffer without Your hand among us.
Awake, O city, and cry out your desperate prayer!
How long, God of my redemption?
Arise, people, put on your ashes and cry out!

Christ with us, Christ before us, Christ behind us,
Christ in us, Christ beneath us, Christ above us,
Christ on our right, Christ on our left,
Christ when we lie down, Christ when we rise up,

Christ in the hearts of all who think of us,
Christ in the mouths of all who speak of us,
Christ in the eye that sees us,
Christ in the ear that hears us.

Christ our Life,
The All in All!
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The Lorica of St. Patrick

2008-04-19T08:29:00.009-05:00

This prayer of Saint Patrick is stirring something deep inside me this morning. In it, Patrick confesses utter dependence on God, radical connection to His communal Person, interconnected participation with His whole creation, fierce opposition to the real battle waging all around, and uncompromising commitment to Christ as the All-in-all. There is resonance in my soul with these words. There is weight in their theme. This is how I am created to rise every day.

I arise today
Through a mighty strength, the invocation of the Trinity,
Through a belief in the Threeness,
Through confession of the Oneness
Of the Creator of creation.

I arise today
Through the strength of Christ's birth and His baptism,
Through the strength of His crucifixion and His burial,
Through the strength of His resurrection and His ascension,
Through the strength of His descent for the judgment of doom.

I arise today
Through the strength of the love of cherubim,
In obedience of angels,
In service of archangels,
In the hope of resurrection to meet with reward,
In the prayers of patriarchs,
In preachings of the apostles,
In faiths of confessors,
In innocence of virgins,
In deeds of righteous men.

I arise today
Through the strength of heaven;
Light of the sun,
Splendor of fire,
Speed of lightning,
Swiftness of the wind,
Depth of the sea,
Stability of the earth,
Firmness of the rock.

I arise today
Through God's strength to pilot me;
God's might to uphold me,
God's wisdom to guide me,
God's eye to look before me,
God's ear to hear me,
God's word to speak for me,
God's hand to guard me,
God's way to lie before me,
God's shield to protect me,
God's hosts to save me
From snares of the devil,
From temptations of vices,
From every one who desires me ill,
Afar and anear,
Alone or in a mulitude.

I summon today all these powers between me and evil,
Against every cruel merciless power that opposes my body and soul,
Against incantations of false prophets,
Against black laws of pagandom,
Against false laws of heretics,
Against craft of idolatry,
Against spells of women and smiths and wizards,
Against every knowledge that corrupts man's body and soul.
Christ shield me today
Against poison, against burning,
Against drowning, against wounding,
So that reward may come to me in abundance.

Christ with me, Christ before me, Christ behind me,
Christ in me, Christ beneath me, Christ above me,
Christ on my right, Christ on my left,
Christ when I lie down, Christ when I sit down,
Christ in the heart of every man who thinks of me,
Christ in the mouth of every man who speaks of me,
Christ in the eye that sees me,
Christ in the ear that hears me.

I arise today
Through a mighty strength, the invocation of the Trinity,
Through a belief in the Threeness,
Through a confession of the Oneness
Of the Creator of creation

St. Patrick (ca. 377) / Source
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Trip to South Asia

2008-04-14T14:42:00.005-05:00

As you may already know, I just got back from a two week trip to Bangadesh and India where I got to serve with a friend's ministry that aids women in leaving the sex trade. It was amazing, exhausting, exhilarating and at times also scary! While I was there I was overwhelmed by the struggles the women face, definitely placing them into the "least of these" catagory.

Here are some of my favorite resources for learning more about the specific struggles these women are living in:
Born into Brothels - an excellent Documentary specifically about the struggle of children in the Red Light District of Kolkata. You can buy this used for around $7 at half.com: (CLICK HERE). As far as books, I reccommend Escaping the Devil's Bedroom. It's written by one of Sarah's board members, Dawn Herzog Jewell, and can be pre-ordered for it's July release by following this link.

There are many more free trade organizations created specifically to employ women who have left the sex trade. One of them is called Made By Survivors. Purchasing products that these women have made keeps them employed at a living wage and actually helps them more than you know because the US dollar goes very far in these countries. Programs like my friend Sarah’s and Made By Survivors go beyond a fare wage to help in other ways like sponsoring the womens’ children in school, helping them find safe places to live, providing them with emotional resources like counseling, etc.

Please visit my friend Sarah's website to learn more about her specific ministry and the story of these women she works with. You can also purchase the blankets the women make through this site, or you can do that directly through me. (You don’t have to purchase a blanket to make a donation though, donations are accepted in any amount and are all tax-deductible). Her site should be updated again in the coming months: www.hathakabana.org

Lord, show us how to love these precious ones that are our "neighbors" on the other side of the globe. Show me how to remain sensitive to their concerns and needs even while I am surrounded by such abundance here. Help me remember what I saw on this trip, Lord, and may it move me to a lifestyle of ongoing action.

Shaping our Feelings, & our Lives

2008-04-13T11:05:00.010-05:00

Feelings are SO POWERFUL! And yet, as a responsive mechanism, our feelings are never an originating source of experience, but rather a previously-inclined high-octane reaction that ignites when something throws the metaphorical match onto it. That means that, as responders, feelings can be shaped and led - even by one's own self! Here's the breakdown as I understand it:

Awareness opens the door to a breadth and depth of igniting realities and begins to organizes those realities into a coherent interpretation. (Emphasis on the heart.)
Attention moves toward some aspect of awareness (some reality) on which we wish to dwell and from which we desire to interpret other realities. (Emphasis on the spirit and mind.)
Action ties the heart and mind together in a direction that shapes both belief and the default filter through which we interpret those things we'll come aware of in the future.

Awareness, Attention, and Action... shape our feelings.

This is true even in moments of existential crisis or uncovered pain from past hurts. Engaging our awareness, with emphasis on the speaking heart, allows us to ask and answer questions like, "Why do I feel this way? Where did these feelings begin? Are these feelings true?" Engaging our attention, with emphasis on the speaking spirit and mind, gives us understanding and realization and helps us interpret the painful things we have come more fully aware of. Action (both internal and external) begins reshaping and reinforcing new filters for interpreting our past, present, and future... including all our significant relationships therein.

So, how shall we strive to expand or protect our awareness?
How shall we direct and fix our attention?
How shall we act?

The path of the righteous is like the light of dawn - shining brighter and brighter until the full day. The way of the wicked is like darkness; they do not know (no awareness) over what they stumble. Watch (attention) over your heart with all diligence, for from it flow the springs of life. Let your eyes look directly ahead and let your gaze be fixed straight in front of you. Watch the path of your feet (action) and all your ways will be established. Do not turn to the right nor to the left; turn your foot from evil (Proverbs 4:18-19, 23, 25-27).

Potential

2008-04-09T17:37:00.001-05:00

"We all have the potential to be the one who baptizes. We all have the potential to be moved to action. Today let us make straight the way for the Lord."

from Threads of Paradise in the Fabric of Everyday Life, by Christopher De Vinck

Colleen's Post

2008-04-01T20:35:00.002-05:00

Awesome post from Colleen, a friend currently on a 1-year, around the world, missions trip...

One by one, I see them come...these monsters to be named.

My friend Cody has a song called Monsters to be Named....it is a song that I listened to a lot around the time of deciding whether or not to go on the World Race. Something in me knew the risk of going on the World Race was huge, but worth it. Something in me knew it was going to take everything...cost me the things I hold so tightly. The lyrics resonate in my heart as God continues to pull out these monsters from my closet, name them, and remove them from my life. Looking back on the past seven months, I can't help but reflect upon all the Lord has done.

Our team is currently staying at a place called Alabanza, outside of Pretoria, South Africa before we head to Botswana. During this time here, I had the pleasure of meeting a girl my age from Indiana. Last night we talked and she shared with me about her experience as a first year missionary. She shared with me that when she first arrived at training in Africa she realized as God started poking at her wounds, that she allowed a lot of her pain to heal in a very unhealthy way. She compared it to a deep scrape on a knee, that is scabbed and infected. She was used to her pain, she was used to her bitterness, she held onto her unforgiveness. As she said these words, I knew exactly what she meant because it is exactly what the Lord has been doing in my life this year.

One by one, I see them come...these monsters to be named.

God has used my team mates, leaders, host families, songs, sunsets, miracles, Scripture, fun, horrible days, amazing days, sickness, restless nights, confusion, pain, tears, hugs, prayer, frustration, fear, His still small voice...to bring me to my knees and face who I really am, and name these monsters in my life that I have deceived myself into being comfortable with. He's healing my heart, He's showing me it's possible to live without bitterness, unforgiveness, and anxiety...and He is instilling in me a passion to share with people that this is possible. It's not an unrealistic goal in life to live freely...He offers it and we can either walk in it, or walk away from it. I don't have everything together in my life, I certainly don't have God figured out, and I don't put myself above anyone else...all I know is God offers this as a gift...an abundant life.

When I read in Jeremiah about God's promises to His people, I am in awe that these promises thousands of years ago are still offered to us today...every moment of every day.

Nevertheless, I will bring health and healing to it; I will heal my people and will let them enjoy abundant peace and security. I will bring Judah and Israel back from captivity and will rebuild them as they were before. I will cleanse them from all the sin they have committed against me and will forgive all their sins of rebellion against me. Then this city will bring me renown, joy, praise and honor before all nations on earth that hear of all the good things I do for it; and they will be in awe and will tremble at the prosperity and peace I provide for it. (Jeremiah 33:6-9)

It's a scary thing to pray for God to reveal the dark parts in our hearts, these monsters that cause anxiety, distrust, insecurity, sin, fear. These monsters that keep us from living the lives we are meant to live. It's a scary thing to throw it all away and run full force towards the unknown. But it's worth it...because He's there. Because He knows what He is doing. Because He loves us.

Brighter & Brighter

2008-03-30T18:07:00.013-05:00

God gave me this passage a week ago; and it's continued to burn hotly in my heart and mind...

The path of the righteous is like the light of dawn that shines brighter and brighter until the full day. The way of the wicked is like darkness; they do not know over what they stumble. (Proverbs 4:18-19)

It struck me deeply - the idea of growing to see and understand more of reality on the path of the righteous contrasted with becoming increasingly confused in the false perception of reality that is the way of the wicked.

I'm interested in how this word affects others... how they hear it, where it takes them, and how it encourages and/or convicts them.
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Can't Give What We Don't Have

2008-03-30T09:03:00.024-05:00

We can't give what we don't have.

St. Patrick entered Ireland (the land of his previous slavery) with a small band of brothers and sisters to bring Christ into their midst. In less than 30 years, he was responsible for starting over 3,000 churches across the isle.

His strategy was relatively simple. In the leading and power of God's Spirit, his group entered a community, extended love, lived the rhythms of kingdom life in their midst, and invited them into it. Locals would see Patrick and his community and notice something special and good in it. They interacted with it, came to belong, and - in the process - discovered that they believed in Patrick's Christ - this God who affected people so wonderfully.

Believers would be baptized, give public proclamation of their belief, and continue in their discipleship journey of growth. It was a communal affair in which belonging led to belief. People were not convinced by words but experienced the communal, life-giving, kingdom of God, first-hand. Just as Jesus says in Luke 17,

The kingdom of God is not coming with signs to be observed; nor will they say, "Look, here it is!" or, "There it is!" For behold, the kingdom of God is in your midst (within you).

If that's the kingdom - a supernatural, communal, "in your midst", expression of Christ - then how many who proclaim the kingdom are experiencing it?

Do our communal lives look so different from the relationships of the world? Is there a supernatural difference in our love, interaction, generosity, accountability, sacrifice, conversation, power, travel-agendas, housing arrangements, meal-taking, resource-sharing, difference-making... Is there any more life? Or is our witness of a radical, life-giving God little more than hyper-individualistic, self-helping, empty words that aim at heaven while missing earth?

We can't give what we don't have.

Christ's kingdom-life is waiting for us. He calls us to it... He commands us to it. It's here to be embraced right now. God is ready to lead each of us into it if we will only trust and obey. It's a lifestyle that will change us and change our witness. May we have the wisdom of St. Patrick - who traded away his life of worldly preference for an eternal kingdom, and reached a nation because of it.

Holy Father, be honored as we obey You.
Incarnated Son, be glorified as we imitate You.
Guiding Spirit, be pleased as we follow You.

Passion & Choice

2008-03-26T17:36:00.013-05:00

The heart is filled with both great and terrible passions. It lives in us as both gift and liability - pushing and pulling us here and there. It feels what the eyes see, what the ears hear, what the skin touches, what the nostrils smell. In both physical and imagined forms, as well as the realm of the spiritual, our hearts constantly react to our experiences.

The mind is our chooser, empowered by God's Spirit to surrender our hearts and bodies despite our often contrary passions and drives. It discovers and learns and decides. It binds and looses attention and action.

At times, the heart and mind compete for authority over attention and action. But it is the mind that is charged with the responsibility of choice. The mind has the office of stewarding the heart as the very well-spring of our life's essence.

The heart and mind can be terrible enemies; but they were made to be intimate traveling companions. Without passion, we implode. Without restraint, we explode.

Some people are imploders who must intentionally nurture their feeling hearts to keep the passion fires stoked and focused. Others, like me, are exploders who must intentionally exercise our empowered will to restrain those fires from burning out of control.

Risk, reckless obedience, emotional awareness and expression - these are the passion-stirring paths that bring renewed life to imploders. Spirit-filled self-denial, fasting, and abstinence of all kinds - these are the tempering companions that guard exploders like me from our otherwise certain destruction.

I desperately desire to walk closer with these latter friends. I fear I am insufficiently surrendered in my passions and, consequently, dangerously inclined toward "exploding".

Holy Father, bless my heart and save me from my heart.
Living Son, lead my heart and crucify my heart.
Indwelling Spirit, fill my heart and conquer my heart.

1 John 2:15-17, "If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but from the world. The world is passing away and also its lusts; but the one who does the will of God lives forever. "

2 Peter 1:4-9, "He has granted to us His precious and magnificent promises, so that by them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world by lust. Now for this very reason also, applying all diligence, in your faith supply moral excellence, and in your moral excellence, knowledge, and in your knowledge, self-control, and in your self-control, perseverance, and in your perseverance, godliness, and in your godliness, brotherly kindness, and in your brotherly kindness, love. For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they render you neither useless nor unfruitful in the true knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. For he who lacks these qualities is blind or short-sighted, having forgotten his purification from his former sins."
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Lynch Update (Breaking News)

2008-03-23T14:39:00.004-05:00

Yesterday I had an amazing time with my friend Zack Newsome, a brother who, with his wife Kelli and their family, has moved to Central Phoenix (7th St. and McDowell) to be an incarnational, missional presence of Christ among lost and broken people in that high-need, high-crime area. Afterward, I spent a couple hours checking out the community along with some nearby apartments, homes and ministries. It was powerful and continues to be more so in me as I reflect and pray on it today.

Zack gave me a book as well, The Celtic Way of Evangelism, by George G. Hunger III. It's an awesome testimony of how God launched a dynamic, life-giving redemptive movement among the "barbarians" of Ireland. I'm half-way through and it's only compounded my conviction of a way of life that now seems to have a concrete context in which to engage it.

I'm eager for Aleta to return home from Bangladesh so we can fellowship on this and reach a shared sense of God's calling in all of it. What a God!
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Lynch Update (March 2008)

2008-03-09T13:20:00.009-05:00

Six months ago, Aleta and I responded to God's call for us to leave paid church work and move into a replicable lifestyle of following Christ... the kind of lifestyle regular folks juggling jobs, families, and other responsibilities can imitate. The Lord led us to Phoenix and has continued to explain to us this new and yet ancient vision of life.

It's been humbling and amazing to have "ministry" as simply a normal part of our daily lives, "church" as something that happens when we gather with our Christ-following friends to worship, pray and learn together, "jobs" as ordinary, industrious contexts where we build things, earn money, and love on those who don't yet know Jesus or his love. The segregations that used to frustrate us have begun blending together as overlapping relational spheres that make up a single, integrated lifestyle.

What a God! He pours out such overwhelming grace on us as he patiently humbles us and opens our blind eyes to this simple and yet supernatural way of living! It's like we're closer to the life humanity was made for than we've ever been before. I can't adequately explain how full of praise we are for all this! It's all the work of our Master Architect God. Like Solomon says in Psalm 127:1, "Unless the Lord builds the house, the builders labor in vain."

It all continues to be such an incredible and humbling journey! One that leaves us more in love with Jesus and full of his peace and purpose than ever before. It increasingly convinces us that Christ's kingdom is radically different from what many hear about in their churches. Far from the institutional realities most think of, it's more of a lifestyle and a people than an organization or religion. It was demonstrated largely by how Jesus and His disciples lived. It's the "Way" Jesus referred to - a surrendered, selfless, available, gracious, courageous way in which a person entrusts him/herself to God alone while delighting in his followers, living and working among the needy while bringing the light of God's loving redemption to the darkest, most overlooked corners of humanity.

Aleta and I continue to long for the visions God has given us of intimate, local kingdom community living in proximity, ministering and doing life among the needy, and creating spaces in which community can grow. But while our passion for such things swells within us, we remain in a formative season of waiting. It's been over 1/2 year since we began chasing this vision; and the path forward still seems somewhat mysterious. The Lord continues to bless us at our jobs and appears to be leading us soon to move into what may be our permanent local context for life and primary relationships. It appears to be a huge answer to prayer that's different from our previous three ideas of Tempe, Guadalupe, or North Phoenix. So typical of our surprising and faithful God.

We continue to gather Fridays at 6pm at the Fritz's house for food, fellowship, worship, prayer, and learning. We love Dave, Pam, Jeremy, Emily, Brandon, and Dawn and are ever-grateful for the opportunity to grow these family relationships. We're still not sure what the long term future is for the group is, especially if we move further away. Even now, though we all live in North Phoenix, we're somewhat scattered. It's an imperfect middle step, but still an overwhelming and sustaining blessing for the season. Ultimately, Aleta and I are praying that the Lord will lead each of us on paths toward regaining the reality of Acts 2 and 4 in each of the locations God calls us to. It's our prayer for the whole people of God - a prayer we invite you to join us in.

We continually thank God for his generous provision in:

* Aleta's trip to Bangladesh / India
... leaving tomorrow, Aleta will be three weeks in Southeast Asia encouraging and partnering with our friend Sarah as she brings Christ's loving redemption to women locked in the sex trade. This is a praise and a prayer. Updates will be posted on this site in coming days and weeks.

* Friends, old & new
... those who continue to hold us up in prayer and encourage us over the phone and email. Edward and Kim (soon to be married), Mike Moore, Mike & Ali (also soon to be married), Bobby & Hope (heading toward Africa), Sarah (living, loving & serving in India), Colleen (on a 1 year trip serving around the world), and more. New and reconnected friendships like Dawn, Pam, Dave, Brandon, Jeremy, Emily, Zack, James, Aaron, Randi, etc... People we love who are hungry for more.

* Our jobs
... Aleta and I continue to be prospered financially and ministerially in our work contexts.

* Our temporary home
... for basically free - thank you Zack.

* A down payment for a home
... thanks to our jobs and other financial provisions.

With such praise, we remain full of fervent prayer for things that lay heavily on our hearts:

* God's leading in where to buy a home near missional Christ-followers and among the needy.

* A locally connected team of partners who embrace this radical vision of kingdom community and for us to join with as kindred hearts.

* An artist community for Aleta to break into.

* Massive spiritual awakening in Phoenix, in Arizona, in the nation, and in the world. That God's kingdom comes on earth as in heaven.

Lynch Update (Feb, 2008)

2008-02-24T08:22:00.015-06:00

Hey all! We' re missing you scattered abroad terribly but have grown used to the upsides of spending winter in Phoenix, Arizona while our Chicago mates hibernate away amidst this season's blizzards!

We continue to be ever-grateful for our temporarily free housing situation while we remain uncertain on where God wants to plant us here in the Valley. We have Christ-loving, mission-minded friends in North Phoenix, Tempe, and now Central Phoenix that give us ideas, but nothing definitive yet. That last one is particularly interesting because it's the first real potential urban partnership we've discovered.

There's something about urban life and opportunities for Christ's relational gospel there. Ethnic diversity, outdoor socializing, expectations for outdoor interactions, etc. As we drove around the area last week, my heart was stirred with a fondness for city life and the rhythms of its people. Maybe there's something there. We're still checking into it and remain open to anything.

One of our steadfast convictions since arriving is that God desires for us to live in community with other passionate believers with whom we would partner in reaching our neighborhood, city and world. We're aiming at close proximity to one another, even within walking distance, in the middle of some area of social and/or economic need. Please pray with us for our discernment in this and for these partners to be made known!

Our frequent gatherings with friends for worship, prayer and Bible study have blossomed in new ways these last several weeks. The Lord keeps bringing new folks to the group; and an energetic, grace-filled, love-focused, Christ-centered, ethos is taking shape among us. It's sweet, loving and mighty. Praise God.

Aleta leaves in two weeks for India and Bangladesh where she'll be visiting a friend ministering to prostitutes in Calcutta's red light district. We 're confident that God has something special for her and our friend as they serve and edify one another. Please pray for travel details and safety and that God has his complete way with the experience.

Also this month, Aleta moves to full-time employment with her design firm while I move into my new construction position as a field engineer. These are crazy blessings for us. Aleta's job, for example, is far above and beyond what we had been praying for. It's a stellar work environment with tons of affirmation and relational opportunities. The financial implications are that we'll finally be able to become aggressive on getting out of our student loan debt - an earnest desire for us. In addition, my site assignment will change in April; so please be praying that the Lord places me strategically where he wants me. We know he will.

We miss our Chicago friends and family very much and are ever-grateful for your love and prayer. And to our new and emerging Phoenix family, we are deeply humbled and full of praise for you. May the Lord shape us into the community his heart smiles at.

In Christ's love with you, John.
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God Is All About ... Life

2008-02-23T09:28:00.013-06:00

To really understand God (and ourselves) we must begin with this one thing: God's purpose in all of creation is... LIFE.

The first and last books of the Bible (amazingly encompassing the whole of human history on this earth - beginning to end) are marked by two trees, the trees of life (Genesis 2 and Revelation 22).

God created human life... "Then the Lord God formed man of dust from the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being" (Genesis 2:7); and then redeemed it through Christ... "For God so loved the world that he gave his only son so that whoever believes in him might not die but have eternal life" (John 3:16).

God's all about life. Life for the body, life for the mind, life for the heart, life for the spirit... eternal life. Sounds reminiscent of God's commandment in Deuteronomy 6:5 quoted by Jesus in Mark 12:30, "Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength." It's the command Jesus explained as the one that embodies the very heart of God for humanity (along with loving others as ourselves).

Good and evil are defined by God's heart for life and against death. That's the standard that dictates what is "right" and "wrong" in his eyes. "The mind set on the flesh (i.e. sinful nature) is death but the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace" (Romans 8:6).

Does this change how we feel about God and his plan in human history? Does it help us unlock some of the mystery surrounding our understanding of him? Does it help us see some of the raw essence of his heart? How do our hearts connect with all this?

(P.S. Real life is far more than mere survival. Our tendency to reduce things to their unrecognizable minimum is maybe why Jesus emphasized in John 10:10 that he came to give us life "abundantly".)

God is all about life. Everything flows out of this one thing... But then again, there is one other reality even deeper than this. More on that in the next post.
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Seeing the Invisible God (3)

2008-02-14T16:57:00.018-06:00

Listening.

My wife always tells me to do more of that. I'm so eager to fix and contribute (or maybe just judge and control) that I often jump into her personal stories to offer my solution to her challenges... sometimes discovering I didn't really understand her challenges in the first place. I hadn't listened enough.

Everyone must be quick to hear, slow to speak, and slow to anger (James 1:19).

Listening is a dynamic exercise implying both attention and intention. Listeners selflssly devote their attention to an other with the intention of understanding them. It expresses our belief that someone is: 1) acceptable enough to capture our heart's attention, and 2) significant enough for us to invest what's needed to understand them.

When these attitudes are combined with affective, loving action, listening becomes a profound relational step forward that recognizes and celebrates the glory of another.

Be doers of the word, and not merely hearers (James 1:22).
If anyone thinks he is religious, and yet does not bridle his tongue but deceives his own heart, this man's religion is worthless. Pure and undefiled religion in the sight of our God and Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world (James 1:26-27). Who among you is wise and understanding? Let him show by his good behavior his deeds in the gentleness of wisdom (James 3:13).

Listening is inherently humble, the attitude necessary for cultivating life-giving relationships. It's, by nature, opposed to the pride that drives much of human speech.

Let not many of you become teachers for as such we will incur a stricter judgment. For we all stumble in many ways If anyone does not stumble in what he says, he is a perfect man, able to bridle the whole body as well (James 3:1-2). Humble yourselves in the presence of the Lord, and He will exalt you (James 4:10).

The point of all this is simply: To experience our invisible God we must quiet ourselves and spend time really listening from the heart.

I know... genius, right? I didn't say it was a complicated reflection (most of mine aren't). The prophet Elijah learned this simple lesson on Mt. Horeb in 1 Kings 19 when God humbled him through powerful winds, earthquakes, and fires before finally showing up in "a gentle blowing". God came in the kind of quiet breeze you must be very still to experience.

"Be still and know that I am God" (Psalm 4:4). Or as Jesus says, "They who have ears to hear, let them hear."

"Abba, teach us to listen."
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Seeing the Invisible God (2)

2008-02-14T15:00:00.012-06:00

The Sixth Sense.

How can we see an invisible God? I'm talking about perceiving God, about knowing him in real-time... here and now. Not knowing about him or even believing in him but encountering him in relational dialog that extends beyond mere words into deep and intimate interaction.

It's tragic how we've relegated our spiritual sensibility to the realm of mysterious diversion. Human beings are spiritual beings as much as we are physical. Our spiritual sense is a sense... a mode of interaction not unlike sight or taste or smell. It's as real as physical touch and as necessary to our intimate experience of God as physical touch is to our intimate experience of our mate.

If a man joins himself to a woman, he becomes one body with her, for the Scriptures say, “The two become one flesh.” In the same way, the person who joins themself to the Lord is one spirit with him. (1 Corinthians 6:16-17)

Perceiving God, knowing him in real time, is a relational reality. That sounds so simple, but it's nothing short of amazing. The lessons from this realization are profound. For example, as a relationship, intimately knowing God grows with time and faithfulness. Other biblical terms for faithfulness include righteousness and obedience. Maybe that's why Jesus so frequently called his disciples to abide in his love by remaining obedient. Look for the elements of time and faithfulness in the following passage and for how they relate to perceiving God:

Hebrews 5:11-14 … There is much more we want to tell you about Jesus but cannot because you've become spiritually hard-of-hearing. By now you should be teaching but you still need to learn the basics of God’s word - like infants who still need milk and aren't ready for solid food. Milk is for infants who can’t understand the word of righteousness; but solid food is for the mature who have trained their senses through practice to discern the ways of good and evil.

I've been married to my wife for only five years, but the growth we've enjoyed through our increasing time and faithfulness to each other has yielded a depth of awareness and intimate experience of each other that is difficult to explain. It's humbling, amazing, and far sweeter than I ever imagined. This is the reward that awaits all who invest time and faithfulness in their relationship with God: depth of awareness and intimate experience.

With the mature, we speak the hidden mystery of God's wisdom that is far beyond the wisdom of this perishing world and its rulers. The wisdom predestined before the ages to our glory which this world's rulers failed to understand and so crucified the Lord of glory, just as Scripture says, “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined what God has prepared for those who love him.” But to us God has revealed it by his Spirit; for his Spirit understands everything, even God’s deep secrets.

A person’s spirit penetrates their thoughts just as God’s Spirit knows His thoughts. And we have received God’s Spirit - not the world’s spirit - so now we can know the things God freely planned for us. We don't interact in human wisdom but speak from the Spirit, spiritual words and spiritual wisdom. People who aren’t spiritual can’t understand God’s Spirit. It's foolishness to them because they don't have a spiritual sensibility and aren't spiritually aware. Those who are spiritual understand God's mysteries and even appear, themselves, mysterious to the world.

Scripture says, “Who can know God's thoughts? Who knows enough to teach him?” But we, unlike before, now have the mind of Christ. (1 Corinthians 2:6-16)

The goal of our faith is not miraculous power or worldly prosperity (so popular in our culture). The goal of our faith is the culmination of a love relationship with God and with all who share that pursuit. It's a goal achieved as the result of a relational process of time and faithfulness.

"Lord, please develop our spiritual sensibility so that we might know You more as we commit ourselves to loving, faithful obedience to You over time."

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Seeing the Invisible God (1)

2008-02-14T13:48:00.030-06:00

Humility.

100 years ago, Albert Einstein had a faith crisis. He admitted that the complexity and organization of the universe implied a powerful and organized source at its origins. Ultimately, however, he couldn't get over the question: If God is real, then where is he? Einstein concluded that whatever this source was, it must be impersonal; for if a personal God truly existed then surely he would reveal himself to his creation, right?

2,000 years ago, a man named Jesus claimed to be one of three united persons making up the one person of "God". He said he came to take on humanity so that he might pay the consequences of human moral guilt and reconcile us to God. To reconcile is to reveal, to uncover a relationship that was lost.

John 14:19-26 … Jesus said, “Soon the world won’t see me but you will because you will be alive like me. In that day [when you have the Spirit] you will experience intimate unity with me and my Father. You who love me and so follow my words and obey them will receive my Father’s love and my own and I will reveal myself to you.”

Judas (not Iscariot) said to him, “Lord, why will you reveal yourself only to us and not to the rest of the world?”

Jesus replied, “Those who love me trust and follow me and so are open to my Father’s love so that we might come and live inside of them. Anyone who doesn’t love me rejects me and my words which are ultimately from the Father. Even now I'm speaking to you from the Father who sent me while I'm still with you; but when the Father sends the Holy Spirit he will speak to you and explain everything I'm saying.”

Where is God? He is hidden behind the wall of our loveless, arrogant, independence. He is concealed by our pride that will not submit to such exhortations as "obey me" and "follow me". As we swim in the muck of our self-destructive ambition, God stands in the bordering meadow, inviting us home, reaching out his hand that we might simply grasp it, be cleansed, and discover what we have shut ourselves off from.

God loves those who open up to his love. God reveals himself to those who allow him to be revealed. God becomes visible to those focus their attention on him.

Is it hard to understand? The prodigal son could not see the father not because the father had gone but because the son had run away. The father remained waiting at the gate, full of love, eager to welcome his lost son home. Would you not do the same? God waits at home, at our home, the home we left... calling us back to it. Back to himself. He reveals himself, in Spirit, to those who respond to that homecoming call. To lost children who recognize themselves as just that... children.

"Unless you change and become like children, you cannot enter the kingdom of God" (Matthew 18:3).

"Lord, please make us open and humble through Your Spirit's help... that we may be the children we are."
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What Is Ministry?

2008-02-08T15:10:00.000-06:00

A great discussion is happening on this question over at "kingdom grace". Check it out!
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Psalm 139

2008-02-08T13:37:00.000-06:00

O God,
... You have searched and known me.

You are mindful of my thoughts even from far away,
examining my journey and my rest,
intimately aware of all my ways.
You know my whole heart ...
... even before I speak a single word.

You are all around me, covering me behind and before ...
... and laying Your hand over me.

Such intimate knowledge is beyond me!

Where could I go from Your Spirit?
Where could I flee from Your presence?
Whether I am in heaven or the nether world,
in the glory of the dawn or hiding in the depths of the sea,
You are there ... leading me with Your faithful hand.

You even see my darkest fears and You overcome them all
because You value me as one of Your wonderful works.
You created me fearfully and wonderfully
and my soul knows it!

Everything I am is totally from You.

You knew me even before I existed.

I long ...
to know Your precious thoughts
... even though they overwhelm me.

I long ...
to know Your nearness.

I long ...
for You to cleanse this world and my own person
of things that oppose You.

Search me, O God, and know my heart.

Test me and know my many thoughts.

See if there is any hurtful way.

And lead me in the way that lasts forever.

"Abba, I ask that You make us to know You much, much more. Please reveal Yourself to Ben & Dierdre as You provide him with the best job for this season. Please reveal Yourself to Dave & Pam by giving them new revelation into Your desire for their experience, life and ministry. Reveal Yourself to Dawn by liberating her from her setting past into her rising present. Reveal Yourself to Brandon with strength to overcome. Reveal Yourself to Jeremy & Emily by restoring new hope and uniting it with a clear and compelling vision from Your heart to theirs. Reveal Yourself to Grant & Christianne through wisdom in where to go and through Your abundant provision of new community and new life for them. Reveal Yourself to James & Casey by breathing new, utter, life-giving, soul-uniting surrender into both of them. Reveal Yourself to Aleta by providing deep and mutually life-giving female community. Reveal Yourself to me by showing us where to move and partner with. We all long Lord God, for You and the life You created us for. We are knocking and we will not stop. We are waiting and we will not relent. We are seeking and we cannot turn away. Please, please, please... do not ignore us. Do not leave us as orphans. Do not abandon us. Do not disappoint us. Be who You are. Do what You do. Not seeing from afar but near and involved, opening our eyes to see Your hand all around us. We need You, Abba, like oxygen. Holy Spirit, pray for us with tears more bitter and sweet than we can make. Pour them all out on the feet of the One we worship...

John 13:20

2008-01-28T19:19:00.000-06:00

Jesus says in John 13:20, "Truly, truly, I say to you, he who receives whomever I send receives Me; and he who receives Me receives Him who sent Me."

What does this mean?
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The Suffering of Waiting

2008-01-20T13:36:00.000-06:00

They crept into the foreign land at night. From shadows and cloaks the twelve spies saw what wonders filled this place of promise. But after seeing the land God had promised to Israel, ten of their twelve told only of giants in the land, too mighty to overcome.

“Then all the congregation lifted up their voices and cried, and the people wept that night. All the sons of Israel complained and the whole congregation said, ‘Would that we had died in the land of Egypt! Or would that we had died in this wilderness! Why is God bringing us into this land, to fall by the sword? Our wives and our little ones will become plunder; would it not be better for us to return to Egypt?’ So they said to one another, ‘Let us appoint a leader and return to Egypt.’ … Joshua and Caleb (two of those who had spied out the land) tore their clothes, saying to all the congregation of the sons of Israel, ‘The land which we passed through to spy out is an exceedingly good land! If God is pleased with us, then He will bring us into this land and give it to us--a land which flows with milk and honey. Only do not rebel against the Lord; and do not fear the people of the land, for they will be defeated! Their protection has been removed from them; and God is with us; do not fear them!’ But all the congregation said to stone them with stones…” (Numbers 14).

The result of that climactic event was 40 years of wandering in the desert, enough time for the entire generation, minus those who were willing, to die in the wilderness (ironically, that which they said they preferred). It would be their children and not they who desired to return to Egypt (that land of worldly slavery) who would return and obediently follow God into that great land through the same point of entry encountered by their parents a generation earlier.

Only this week have I considered how greatly Joshua and Caleb must have suffered during those 40 wandering years. They had actually seen and tasted the goodness of the promised land, the land Scripture explains as a symbol of God's coming kingdom; and they had to leave it for 40 years of waiting. How hard it must have been for them to wander, waiting to experience what they had seen and tasted! But they did wait, and suffered in the waiting, because God would not let them enter in without His people.

There are some that have seen and tasted the vision of Christ's kingdom on this earth. That supernatural, love- and light-filled life with God and His people possible for us even here and now. That life Jesus tells us to pray for, "Your kingdom come, Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven" (Matthew 6). Some of us, like Joshua and Caleb, are eager and willing to set aside everything to enter in and yet are held back because many of our brothers and sisters in Christ are too bound to "Egypt" and too fearful of the kingdom. We are held back because God will not let us enter in without some other portion of His people. Entering in is a community affair.

But there is great purpose in this difficult time of waiting... another aspect of Joshua and Caleb's story and the prayer Jesus taught in Matthew 6. It is that experience of daily bread... "Give us this day our daily bread". Joshua and Caleb's 40 years of wandering in the desert was accompanied by a lesson taught through the daily provision of manna, that strange supernaturally provided food that settled on the ground with the morning dew. They learned utter dependence on God. Maybe that's why, in Jesus' prayer, He immediately follows the prayer for the kingdom with a prayer for daily bread. We need supernatural daily sustenance from God while we suffer through our waiting. As we take of Christ, our daily bread (John 6:51), we too are refined to trust in utter dependence on God's provision through any circumstance... even when we "walk through the valley of the shadow of death..."

So as we pray relentlessly for the kingdom, hastening our entry into it, we simultaneously embrace the refining of this waiting season, this season of suffering, because it's bringing us into utter dependence on God - a habit we will desperately need to hold onto in the potentially distracting abundance of His lavish kingdom blessing which is coming!
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My Aching Unquenched Thirst

2008-01-14T17:12:00.000-06:00

Today I discovered a friend had added The Shaping of Things to Come to his Facebook library. It's the amazing book that wrecked my life by opening my eyes and killing my ability to be satisfied with the "normal" Christianity when Christ offers and instructs us toward something much more. I'd like to say life's been rich, rewarding, and full of redemptive leaps forward since then; but so far it's been mostly painful. Painful because my heart has been awakened to love something that remains still far away. Painful because, like lovers separated, I am separated from experiencing significant aspects of Christ's kingdom by things that are out of my control. After five months in Arizona, still we lack connection with like-minded people with which to live in kingdom family and team while pursuing Christ's kingdom cause among and through us.

We've been praying mostly these days for God's leading on where to make our home here in Phoenix. We're so hungry to land in a community of need where God can use us as an incarnational presence of His life-giving love and light in this hurting, dark world. The practical implication is that whoever we partner with must either already live or be willing to relocate to a community of need. It's been tough finding partners for that vision... really tough.

We've done this small group thing on Fridays and a mens group on Sundays; and we've reached into several other social and ministry spheres in search of potential partners. What we've found is that most people, even people hungry for the kingdom, refuse to even consider the possibility of leaving their suburban home, downsizing, and moving into a community of need. The points of struggle seem particularly focused on 1) family safety and 2) the houses they own.

That last one is particularly poignant for some reason. People are really committed to their houses. They say things like "I'm right where I want to be." and "We really love the area." It sounds fine at first, but the unwillingness to even be open to God's call to leave all that for something else makes such personal agendas and material commitments appear idolatrous. Safety and houses. Fear and comfort. These are our gods now. Seeing it, saying it, crushes my heart. I hate it. I hate seeing that these same people, people I love, speak at the same time of a nagging unfulfilled desire to experience more of Christ. One sister put it plainly, "They're not hungry enough." It leaves me whispering prayers like, "Starve them Lord. Dry them up until they will do anything to have Your living water."

All of this sharpens my awareness that the initial team we partner with must be sold out to this radical kingdom cause. Radical people who are radically committed to Christ and each other and radically free from the trappings of this world. That's the community example that testifies to Christ's reality and can change the world both locally and beyond. If only I could will that into being! I long with tearful eyes and an aching heart for at least one or two others to join us in this vision. People who will pray for what community God wants to plant some of His people in to be seeds of redemption. I'm crying out, "Here am I Lord! Send me!" But still I wait... wanting... wanting kingdom community. Wanting Christ to be lived out among His people. Wanting to be His body practically again and not simply in name or ideology. I want it so bad it physically hurts.

"O God, please show us the place where You would have us go and unite us together with kingdom partners You've already chosen. May Your kingdom come... here on earth... through Your people!"
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Rest ... for the Soul

2008-01-13T11:07:00.000-06:00

"As the deer pants for the water brooks, so my soul pants for You, O God. My soul thirsts ..." (Ps 42)

....... It waits ...
.............. It wants ...

"Blessed are those ...
who hunger and thirst for - r i g h t e o u s n e s s
for they will be satisfied" (Mt 5).

"The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want (i.e. for something else) ...
... In green pastures, by quiet waters, He restores my soul" (Ps 23).

"Come to Me all who are weary and heavy-laden
and I will give you rest ...

... Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me
for I am gentle and humble in heart
and you will find rest for your souls" (Mt 11).

"He guides me in the paths of righteousness ...
... for His name's sake" (Ps 23).

"Abba... I long for You ... for Your rest.
In the midst of this stormy season, give me Your peace.
Let me not want for anything other than You.
Quench my thirst and revive me in Your word.
Your are my life, my very breath.
What is one day with You? I cannot bear it."

"Beloved, I urge you as aliens and strangers to abstain from fleshly appetites which wage war against the soul."

John 16:33 ... "These things I have spoken to you so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation but be encouraged for I overcame the world."

Lynch Update (Aleta) 1/6/08

2008-01-06T11:55:00.000-06:00

Hi friends!

Update time... As some of you know, I got a job! It's something that just kind of fell into my lap through a friend of a friend, and it's definitely not something I expected. It's a graphic design position with an upscale design firm in Scottsdale, and it's a freelance position, so every week my schedule changes according to their need for designers. It seems like a really great fit for me, it's challenging design work, with a really creative group of people, but it's a really laid back work environment which is what I've prayed specifically for since my last job was so stressful. So praise God!

In other news, John's job is going well, he continues to be promoted and moved around, learning new stuff at every turn. The project he's on now will soon be coming to an end and he'll start on a new site. Right now it's looking like he's going to be promoted at that time to yet another position, perhaps that of "field engineer" (he's says they use the term "engineer" loosely so I shouldn't get too excited about it). He's working to learn what he needs to know now about reading plans, understanding the terminology, etc., so he's ready for it when the time comes.

We're still meeting with a handfull of people on a weekly basis to pray and also to fellowship, dig into the word and worship together. It's going really well and it's clear that the Lord is knitting our hearts together as we get to know one another and as we walk together through the ups and downs. It's still unclear where we're supposed to be looking for a home, and how we're going to be living in community with one another. Right now this specific group we're meeting with is spread out all over the valley, and other friends of ours are also scattered in different directions. That's a big prayer request.

We're still learning through all of this to really "wait," and what that means. John has numerous posts on this blog about that topic. It's been a rich learning opportunity for us, and we still feel very much in the middle of it.

For Christmas we were in Texas with my brother's family, my dad and his wife, and my uncle from London. It was GREAT. We hadn't seen my dad and his wife in a while, and it's been even longer since we've seen my uncle. It was wonderful spending the holiday around the kiddos and with everyone in one place.

Thank you so much for your personal updates and for your continuing prayers for us and our transition here. We definitely feel the support from all of you - our precious family - no matter how far away we are! Keep the prayers coming as well as your prayer updates. We wage battle on your behalf even as you too pour out your portion on us.

Much, much love, Aleta
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Missional Living & Effective Leadership

2008-01-01T09:47:00.000-06:00

I'm reminded that moving toward mission, even in small numbers, requires - from the very beginning - strong and passionate leadership by gifted leaders who can see and communicate the missional destination and path with compelling clarity. Without that, people flounder.

"Where there is no vision, the people perish" (Proverbs 29:18).

Check these other real-time testimonies of missional living:

On Feelings

2008-01-01T08:13:00.000-06:00

"I do not understand what I do; for what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do... I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature; for I have the desire to do good but I cannot carry it out. For what I do is not the good I want; no, the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing... So I find this at work: When I want to do good, evil is right there with me. For in my inner being I delight in God's law; but I see another law at work in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within my members. What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? Thanks be to God—through Jesus Christ our Lord!" (Romans 7:15-24)

Paralyzing fear, unrelenting anger, sexual addiction... even late night munchies demonstrate the mysterious power of feelings. At times, our urges even seem to overpower our intellectual and volitional faculties. Some attempt to forsake and deny their feelings because of their untrustworthy reputation. Others follow them unquestionably in the name of personal authenticity. But where is wisdom and life when it comes to interpreting and responding to our feelings and drives?

It's a textbook tactic for Mormons to suggest praying for God's Spirit lead one's feelings on the validity of their message, following whatever inner conviction we might receive. "Ask God, the Eternal Father, in the name of Christ, if these things are not true; and if ye shall ask with a sincere heart, with real intent, having faith in Christ, he will manifest the truth of it unto you, by the power of the Holy Ghost" (Moroni 10:4). Many sincere seekers fall victim to this enticing invitation, failing to remember that Scripture nowhere honors such a method of discernment but rather challenges us to "test the spirits" based on better criteria. (By the way, the method of determining what is good based on subjective feelings is not new but is actually a popular and flawed system of ethics known as emotivism.)

I love that even the super-apostle Paul struggled with this issue. In Romans 7 He takes the sum of his sensory tides pushing him toward indulgence and self-exaltation and calls them "flesh", perhaps because Christians shed it when we die physically or perhaps because physical and emotional feelings are frequently partners. Paul then goes on to identify the part in himself desirous of God as the "mind". The Greek word he uses shows that he's not talking about the supremacy of intellectualism but rather the general human capacity for sound judgment. (Intellectualism as preeminent is another flawed system of ethics rooted in Stoicism and championed in our culture by people like John Locke.) Paul explains that the forces of feeling and judging are at war within us and suggests that good consistently loses to evil without the divine intervention of Christ.

I can relate. Internal turmoil, desires that wage war on each other, the battle for the will... they are inherent to both the Christian and human experiences. I'm reading a biography of Abraham Lincoln that looks at his voluminous reflections on his recurring emotional agony and the war that waged in his emotions from the earliest age. Praise God that as spiritually reborn Christ-followers we have the promise of 2 Corinthians 10:4-5, "The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ."

But lest we grow too harsh, let's remember that our feelings are created by God... who feels deeply Himself. "Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption" (Ephesians 4:30). "These things I have spoken to you so that My joy may be in you" (John 15:11).

It can even be convincingly argued that our feelings often reveal the deepest convictions of our hearts... the things we really believe. Feelings motivate us, move us to action, and speak to us about what our hearts are truly experiencing. They are the language of the heart and body - which, while not the best leaders, are valuable partners with the spirit and mind in the human person.

So, 1) our feelings are created by God as good. 2) They are susceptible in our present sinful state to evil influences. And yet, 3) they remain valuable assets to be reflected on and stewarded by our responsible faculties - namely our God-bound spirit and our choosing mind.

"The thoughts of the heart are like deep water, but a person of understanding draws them out" (Proverbs 20:5). "Watch over your heart with all diligence for from it flow the springs of life" (Proverbs 4:23).
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My Ultimate Question

2007-12-29T09:04:00.000-06:00

Planet earth has around 6.5 billion people. Of that, 5 billion live in poverty while the wealthiest 20% consume more than 80% of the world’s resources (reported by United Nations & World Bank). The United Nations has officially stated that “runaway growth in consumption among the wealthy in the past 50 years is putting new strains on the environment never before seen.” War, terrorism (including America’s own brand), and genocide covers more of the globe than ever in human history. Death is taking over; and not just physically. Dehumanizing experiences like depression, substance abuse, domestic violence, rape, pornography, and the more subtle soul-killers are stripping life from the hearts of people throughout the world. What's driving this widespread and ever-increasing force of entropy?

The Bible says that, in the beginning, God, as a living and communal being, created all things within a life-giving web of interconnected relationships that drew their substance from Him as the Source and Sustainer. That interconnected web was broken when the first humans chose to abandon God in pursuit of a more thorough independence. That fateful decision disconnected them and all who would follow from the Source and Sustainer of life, casting us, and the world we were charged to steward, into a chaotic reality of death. In contrast to God's plan for life-giving community, that selfish act of independence brought about disconnection wherein we became estranged from God, self, others, even the created order. Every problem in our experience is a manifestation of death stemming from this ongoing state of disconnection.

This realization goes a long way in helping us understand Christ's work of redemption. God's aim in the redemptive process is to reconcile and reconnect all things through Christ's work of atonement and the Holy Spirit's work of regeneration. But experiencing that reconnection is a progressive task, beginning with the spiritual rebirth Christians frequently call "salvation" and perfected through ongoing submission and participation with God's new-life reality... the reality Jesus calls "the kingdom of God". Consequently, the fullness of human life is only possible through a radical transformation of both personal identity and lifestyle. A reconnected identity and a reconnected lifestyle.

That's why Paul says Christ gave us His "ministry of reconciliation" (2 Corinthians 5:18). Jesus calls us into a lifestyle of partnership with Him as He reconnects all that is disconnected. He calls us to a lifestyle that’s both reconnected and reconnecting, one full of hope and grace-filled promise. Our world is dying for such a hope! Even vast portions of the self-proclaimed Christian community are desperate for an antidote to their self-centered, soul-killing lifestyles of independence, safety and control.

As things are now in what most people see as Christianity, the religious remain disconnected from irreligious and the “righteous” remain disconnected from “sinners”. Protestants remain disconnected from Catholics (and from other Protestants). Conservatives from liberals. The wealthy from the poor. The educated from the uneducated. The powerful from the oppressed. The white from the black and brown. Oversized church buildings, denominational boundaries, expensive schools, suburban living... these are the faces of disconnection. And where is Jesus in all this? He’s with irreligious, the sinners, the poor, the uneducated, and the oppressed. And if Christians are not with them then they are not with Jesus. The world and the body of Christ continue to suffer the destructive consequences of their disconnection from not only other people, but also from God Himself.

So here’s my question: Given that self-centered disconnection is the primary killer of life - which is based on life-giving, interconnected community - what can we do to overturn this current of disconnection and begin moving toward personal and communal reconnection? This is the question I ask along with those increasing numbers who long to regain life by reconnecting dependently with God, interdependently within His kingdom community, graciously to the unreconciled, and hopefully to the whole created order - with special emphasis on the poor and oppressed as provided by Jesus’ example. With this, we also ask, given Christ’s call for a communal identity and response, how do we accomplish such a task together, in a communal way?
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Believing God / Experiencing Love, Light, & Life

2007-12-23T11:27:00.000-06:00

As an old man, the Apostle John penned his gospel as one of the last things he would write. I imagine him writing slowly, pausing often to reflect on the significance of all that he had witnessed and experienced in the presence of Jesus and in the outpouring of His Spirit after His ascension.

John would think deeply... prayerfully... and then write slowly. As ink filled the space on his empty parchment, certain ideas began to grow obvious in the theme of his writing. Love, Light, and Life. He would weave them together with such organic, interpenetrating, inspired artistry that merely listing them in such linear fashion might actually detract more than enhance their understanding. Once tasted, as John himself had done, one realizes they are the kind of stuff that cannot be seized but must rather be moved into... deeply... personally.

In his gospel, John remembers Jesus as the life-giving light of the world who was moved by his loving grace to become flesh. He remembered him living among us so that he might end our present death and offer us new birth and life. The reality overwhelmed the aged apostle. Such love... how could people still fail to respond to Jesus as light of the world?

Again and again, John’s returns to this simple and yet profound idea that new life begins with God's loving light. That God's love presents light (truth) which opens the door to true life. A life that pulses and overflows with love perfected.

Throughout, John points to belief as the action of humanity moving us into that love-light-life reality of God. Choosing to risk opening our hearts in faith to Christ's promise of love, light and life for us, inviting him to reveal those things to us as we act on what he says, is what catalyzes our participation in those precious experiences. "I am the way and the truth and the life; no one comes to the Father but through me" (John 14:6).

“Do not let your heart be troubled,” Jesus tells His followers in John 14. “Believe in God, believe also in me.” He goes on to say, “Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father in me… he who believes in me will do greater works than Me.”

In that movement of believing, Jesus explains the emergence of a new reality, relational knowledge. “From now on you know My Father and have seen Him” (John 14:7). “You know the Spirit of truth because He abides with and will be in you” (v.17). “Because I live, you will live also. In that day you will know Me in My Father and you in Me and I in you” (v.20).

Finally, through this knowledge, John explains that the original intent of divine love, the perfection of life-giving love, is finally accomplished. “He who loves Me will be loved by my father and I will love him and will disclose myself to him” (vs.21). “Abide in my and my words in you… Just as the Father as loved me I have also loved you. Abide in my love… These things I have spoken to you so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be made full” (John 15:7-12).

The Love-Light-Life of God is the promise. The practice of Believing unto relationally Knowing Jesus - is the path that takes us there.

What strikes me personally about this is the idea of belief as movement. An action taking us into God's life-giving reality. It is not a feeling or even an inner-conviction... things which perhaps belong more to the relational knowledge experience belief leads to. Rather, belief is the simple step-by-step motion that closes the gap between us and the life God longs to give us. Conversely, unbelief is the opposing trajectory, the movement away that widens the gap. As motion, belief requires only volitional assent, the sincere "Yes" that moves our legs as well as our lips.

For some reason this one thought has given me great pause this morning.

Merry Christmas, everyone!

Lynch Update December 2008

2007-12-20T20:59:00.000-06:00

It's been such a ride these past two months. I feel like I say that a lot... but it's always true. Aleta now has a stellar design job. I've been promoted and have received a few raises. Our Friday gathering continues to take shape. I've begun encountering opportunities to help some friends discover the emotional freedom we all so desperately need. The Lord's begun developing in me a drive for some specific friendships.

Meanwhile, as we live in this temporary house in Phoenix, we've seen no further leading or confirmation that Tempe is where God wants us. Not even a scratch-your-head kinda-cool open door in that direction. With that, we're forming a number of relational connections right here in North Phoenix. Not sure what to make of all that.

My job has become more demanding (temporarily) and time management has become an ever-increasing struggle for me. I recognize that God has called me to live a replicable life of discipleship that any ordinary person could imitate; but this is tough! Even without kids!

I've been resting heavily in the theme of God's love. Reading through the Gospel of John... in John 13-ish these days. Rich stuff that speaks life to my heart and helps me understand more fully the gospel I'm so gratefully participating in. Such love... such grace... such glory... such is our God. In the presence of such personal overwhelming love for me, for His children, and for all His creation, how can I not but love Him with all of my person?

I've also been thinking more about simple, relational, Christ-demonstrated rhythms of discipleship and less about the notion of starting a movement or community or missional / experimental whatever. Eager to continue increasingly investing in those God leads me to and places near me. I have a few already He's allowed me to give myself to... the theme I understand to lie at the very heart of discipleship.

Aleta and I are still growing together... still loving each other. I'm still adoring her and am eager to love her better with each week. Another pressing reason for me to figure out this time management thing. Life is a deep struggle... and an intense joy. God's Spirit breathes and moves amidst all of it. "O God, how I thank You for that precious Gift!"
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Giving Opportunity / Friend in Need

2007-12-09T09:01:00.000-06:00

The following is an email I received from a good friend with a stunning heart for God and His mission among people. She needs some financial support to finish her year-long trip. As someone who knows her, her story, and what she's doing this year; I strongly encourage folks to help her out. Thanks!

Sent: Friday, December 7, 2007 2:24:29 AM
Subject: Colleen needs your prayers and support

Hi everyone!

Sorry for the mass e-mail....but it's kind of a desperate e-mail. I am desperate for prayer and financial support. I found out last night that I basically need a miracle in order not to be sent home at the end of the month from the World Race. They allowed me to come on the world race without enough money hoping that it would come in the first few months. They informed me that if I don't raise $2,000 by the next 2 weeks, they will need to make plans for me to fly home in three weeks and not go on to China. Basically, I need to raise a total of $13,000, and I have about $6,500 raised. I may run into this issue several more times in the next months, but I am hoping for a financial miracle. I know this is where I am supposed to be. God is turning my life upside down and has given me such assurance and peace about my life and what I am doing...I can't imagine going home right now. Please pray for me, and if you want to join in on our fast, we are going to be fasting December 13th.

If you want to give financially, my website is: www.colleenfoley.theworldrace.org or you can mail a check to:

Adventures in Missions
P.O. 534470
Atlanta, GA 30353-4470

Thank you for your love and prayers....I am really struggling with anxiety reguarding this, so please pray that the Lord will calm my heart.

Love in Him,
Colleen
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Waiting on God (1)

2007-12-02T18:04:00.000-06:00

Culturally, and perhaps even inherently, human beings are impatient creatures. Waiting is far from virtuous in our marketplace-driven social self-awareness. Fast food, express grocery lanes, 15 minute oil changes... we don't like waiting. Especially when it matters... like when we're waiting on God. And yet the practice of waiting on God appears to be a core practice in the experience of those who truly know Him.

A friend of mine recently assembled a brief study on the practice which can be viewed HERE. I've added more of my own thoughts below:

Biblically, it seems there are a number of different kinds of waiting...

Waiting on God's sustaining person - (the basic action of faith for our dependent personhood)

"Surely every man walks about as a phantom; surely they make an uproar for nothing; he amasses riches and does not know who will gather them. And now, Lord, for what do I wait? My hope is in You" (Psalm 39:6-7).

"I waited patiently for the Lord; and He inclined to me and heard my cry. He brought me up out of the pit of destruction, out of the miry clay; and He set my feet upon a rock making my footsteps firm. He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God; many will see and fear and will trust in the Lord" (Psalm 40:1-3).

"The Lord is good to those who wait for Him, to the person who seeks Him" (Lamentations 3:25).
Waiting on God's justice

"For Your salvation I wait, O Lord" (Genesis 49:18)

"To You, O Lord, I lift up my soul. O my God, I trust in You; Let me not be ashamed; Let not my enemies triumph over me. Indeed, let no one who waits on You be ashamed; let those be ashamed who deal treacherously without cause. Show me Your ways, O Lord; teach me Your paths. Lead me in Your truth and teach me, for You are the God of my salvation; On You I wait all the day" (Psalm 29:1-5).

"Rest in the Lord and wait patiently for Him; Do not fret because of him who prospers in his way,Because of the man who carries out wicked schemes" (Psalm 37:7).

"Never take your own revenge, beloved, but leave room for the wrath of God, for it is written, 'Vengeance is Mine, I will repay' says the Lord" (Romans 12:19).

"Therefore do not go on passing judgment before the time, but wait until the Lord comes who will both bring to light the things hidden in the darkness and disclose the motives of men's hearts; and then each man's praise will come to him from God" (1 Corinthians 4:5).

"And so, having patiently waited, he obtained the promise" (Hebrews 6:15).

"He who testifies to these things says, 'Yes, I am coming quickly.' Amen Come, Lord Jesus" (Revelation 22:20).
Waiting on God's forgiveness and redemption

"Do not remember the sins of my youth or my transgressions; according to Your lovingkindness remember me, for Your goodness' sake, O Lord... Guard my soul and deliver me; do not let me be ashamed, for I take refuge in You. Let integrity and uprightness preserve me, for I wait for You. Redeem Israel, O God, out of all his troubles" (Psalm 25:7, 20-22).

"For the anxious longing of the creation waits eagerly for the revealing of the sons of God. And not only this, but also we ourselves, having the first fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our body. But if we hope for what we do not see, with perseverance we wait eagerly for it" (Romans 8:19, 23, 25).
Waiting on God's strength

"Yet those who wait for the Lord will gain new strength; they will mount up with wings like eagles. They will run and not get tired,They will walk and not become weary" (Isaiah 40:31).
Waiting on God's leading in a specific action or decision

"Moses therefore said to them, 'Wait, and I will listen to what the Lord will command concerning you'" (Numbers 9:8).

"Gathering them together, He commanded them not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait for what the Father had promised, "Which," He said, "you heard of from Me" (Acts 1:4).

"But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him" (James 1:5).
Total waiting on God - (the cessation of all activity like work, eating, and sleep for want of a prayerful interaction with God, generally in desperate circumstances.)

"For You I wait all the day" (Psalm 25:5).

"As the deer pants for the water brooks, so my soul longs for You, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God; when shall I come and appear before God? My tears have been my food day and night while they say to me all day long, 'Where is your God?'" (Psalm 42:1-3).

"Save me, O God, for the waters have threatened my life. I have sunk in deep mire, and there is no foothold; I have come into deep waters, and a flood overflows me. I am weary with my crying; my throat is parched; my eyes fail while I wait for my God" (Psalm 69:1-3)

And by the way, as mentioned in the previous post, it also seems that the waiting that honors God and yields fruit normally occurs simultaneously with the active and ongoing doing of good.

"Wait for the Lord and keep His way and He will exalt you"(Psalm 37:34).

"Therefore, return to your God, observe kindness and justice, and wait for your God continually" (Hosea 12:6).

"If anyone is serving Me, he must follow Me; and where I am, there My servant will be (i.e. wait) also; if anyone serves Me, the Father will honor him" (John 12:26).

"Keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting anxiously for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to eternal life" (Jude 1:21).
Also, I'm amazed that not only do we wait for God, but God waits for us.

"Therefore the Lord longs to be gracious to you, and therefore He waits on high to have compassion on you For the Lord is a God of justice; how blessed are all those who long for Him" (Isaiah 30:18).

Conversely for us, there are times in which waiting is unwise and even evil...

Waiting to do good

"Then they said to one another, 'We are not doing right. This day is a day of good news, but we are keeping silent; if we wait until morning light, punishment will overtake us. Now therefore come, let us go'" (2 Kings 7:9).
Waiting to obey a direct command of God

"Now Elisha the prophet called one of the sons of the prophets and said to him, 'Gird up your loins, and take this flask of oil in your hand and go to Ramoth-gilead. When you arrive there, search out Jehu the son of Jehoshaphat the son of Nimshi, and go in and bid him arise from among his brothers, and bring him to an inner room. Then take the flask of oil and pour it on his head and say, "Thus says the LORD, 'I have anointed you king over Israel.'" Then open the door and flee and do not wait'" (2 Kings 9:1-3).

So, aside from a general classification of these different kinds of waiting, what do they actually look like in practice?
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On Service (2)

2007-12-01T13:29:00.000-06:00

Service & Waiting

A group of us who gather weekly talked a lot last night about seasons of waiting on God to encounter Him and thus be changed forever to live intimately with Him in life and mission. This isn't the waiting like during a session of silent prayer; Rather, it was being referred to as a season of life in which all we do is pray and wait on Him before moving into service. The idea is that we would be transformed like in Acts 2 so that we can move into service with His power.

The more I reflect on the idea, however, the more I'm wondering about it. I see an expanded set of elements and more-overlapping chronology in how Scripture deals with the matter...

"We know that when He appears we will be like Him because we will see Him just as He is" (1 John 3:2). "But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image" (2 Corinthians 3:18).

As we see God more, see Him in spirit and truth, we are changed to become more like Him.
"But an hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for such people the Father seeks to be His worshipers" (John 4:23).

Worship - our active, right response to God's true person - inclines us to see God as He is.
"Present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship" (Romans 12:1).

The spiritual service of real worship is caught up in active surrender - also called obedience.
"He who has My commandments and keeps them is the one who loves Me; and he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and will disclose Myself to him" (John 14:21).

Obedience, flowing from surrendered, active worship in truth, opens us up to experience and participate in God's love and behold Him as He truly is.

Jesus summarizes all this in John's gospel as follows:

"If anyone serves Me, he must follow Me; and where I am, there My servant will be also; if anyone serves Me, the Father will honor him" (John 12:26).

Life-giving obedience is about following Christ into loving service.
The life-giving motivation and reward of such action is that we might be more with Him.
The result is that the Father honors us... our experience of increased life in Him, the fruit of our transformation.

Therefore waiting to behold God so that we might be transformed requires us to actively move into the realm of obedient service.

Waiting on God, as a biblical concept, is about inclining ourselves to Him so that we might be more with Him in His person, position, and work. There are special times when God commands to do nothing; but more often are the innumerable biblical examples of waiting on God while serving Him.

When the children of God move into obedient service, they join with Christ where He is. It is the very criteria upon which we will be judged... Not our faithfulness in waiting and doing nothing, but rather our faithfulness in waiting on God while carrying out His command to lovingly serve (see the Matthew 25 parables).

I've not heard it better said than by Paul Hewson (U2's Bono) who explained at a Presidential prayer breakfast that, while God is everywhere, He is most certainly with the poor; and if we are with them, then He is with us.

When we are with God in such a combined waiting/serving reality, that's when we behold Him more as He truly is. That's when we are transformed to become more like Him. That's when we are empowered in new and radical ways... along the way - while we wait and obey and follow and serve and love and worship.

So in general, it strikes me as a profound truth that the Christian experience of waiting on God along with the fruit of it is accomplished on the way of obedient service.
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On Service (1)

2007-11-24T12:31:00.000-06:00

"If anyone serves me, he must follow me; and where I am, there my servant will be also; if anyone serves me, the Father will honor him" (John 12:26).

I've been thinking a lot about service these past several months. Recently, however, God's led me into a new kind of reflection on it. These words by Jesus speak my heart open with their three statements:

If anyone serves me he must follow me,
Where I am there my servant will be also, and
If anyone serves me the Father will honor him.

I'm captured by the second statement here because it's unquestionably the greatest desire of my seeking heart right now. I want to be more with Jesus. I mean really with him. I don't want to be far from him where his person, his touch, his word seem vague amidst the competition of this world's other persons, touches, and words.

According to Jesus, that kind of intimacy requires embracing servanthood. That is, the ongoing practice of my design in relationship with him as his servant. I can't have intimacy with Christ without being his servant. I wonder how many will sacrifice the most precious reality in human existence so they might not have to think of themselves as servant to anyone... even the infinite, eternal God?

In his sermon, Service and Honor, 19th century preacher Charles Spurgeon said the following:

You cannot claim to have Christ as your Lord if you will not serve Him. If you take Christ as your Lord and Savior, you must take Him for all that He is, not only as a Friend, but also as Master; and if you are to become His disciple, you must also become His servant. I hope that no one fights against that truth... one of our highest privileges on earth... and also our joyous occupation heaven itself: "His servants will serve Him. They will see His face" (Revelation 22:3-4).

Our Silent, Slow God (Part 2)

2007-11-17T03:02:00.000-06:00

There are so many ways in which the story of Lazarus feels familiar.

A personal crisis emerges, which - unknown to us - God lovingly intends to use for his glory and our greatest good.
We, like Mary & Martha, ask God for help; but he delays and our problems grow worse.
Finally, God arrives and invites us to trust him; but we, like Martha, have real trouble.
Sometimes we're like Mary - too angry or disappointed with God to even open up at first.
God keeps calling us to himself, like Jesus does with Mary, until finally we respond honestly and ventilate our frustration and pain to him.
He enters into our suffering and weeps with us.
Some take comfort in his empathetic presence. Others blame him for not intervening.
In his time, he meets our deepest needs in unimaginable ways.
The result is glory for God and amazing new life for us and others... two sides of the same coin. In hindsight, we hope to never go through that sort of thing again, but wouldn't trade what we've gained for the ease of avoiding it.

I've lived through this process a few times already. And while it gets easier every time as my faith grows, it never really makes sense until it's reached its conclusion in glory.

I think that's a big problem for us today. Too often we judge God's activity prematurely, before the story is over. We pause in the middle of our darkest hour (or that of a loved one) and decide that He must be untrustworthy instead of waiting to see what he does in our present circumstance while trusting his impeccable resume throughout the millenia.

I find comfort in knowing that Jesus himself went through the anquish of this kind of "middle chapter". In Matthew 26, he prays in desperation, "Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; yet not as I will, but as You will." The stress of his approaching separation from the Father during his torture and crucifixion was overwhelming to the point of sweating blood. Simply put, he didn't want to do it. And yet, because he trusted the Father's judgment, he did it anyway. The result, for Jesus, was overwhelming glory and joy (John 12:23; 15:11; 16:20). A glory and joy he would've never known but that he obediently suffered the dark middle chapter of the cross.

Hebrews 12:2... "Jesus [is] the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God."

Jesus suffered obediently, waiting on God. The result was glory for both the Father and the Son. God's glory and man's good. Just as Scripture promises in Romans 8:28, "God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose."

So when we suffer and seek God and he seems nowhere to be found, it's not that God is careless or neglectful or silent or slow, but that he loves us too much to sacrifice our biggest blessing simply to save us from the pain of our temporary suffering. Healing Lazarus would've saved Mary and Martha from the pain of experiencing their brother's death. And yet, without Lazarus' death, there could've been no resurrection. Martha and Mary could not have known Christ as the imminent, ever-present life-giver. Countless witnesses would not have believed in Christ and experienced spiritual rebirth.

God traded away the lesser good to gain the greater. Can we not expect him to lovingly do the same with us?
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Our Silent, Slow God (Part 1)

2007-11-12T19:58:00.000-06:00

The story of Lazarus is a striking example of what is, in many ways, the normal Christian experience. Listen to this story from John 11:

Lazarus from Bethany, the brother of Mary and Martha, became sick. (This is Mary who poured perfume on Jesus' feet and wiped them with her hair.) The two sisters sent word to Jesus saying, “Lord, the friend whom you love is dying!” When Jesus heard this he said, “Lazarus’ sickness is not for death but for the glory of God so that the Son will be glorified.”

Jesus loved Martha, Mary, and Lazarus, so he stayed an extra two days before telling his disciples, “Let’s go to Judea.” Then he told them, “Lazarus is dead; and for your sakes I’m glad I wasn’t there, so that you may believe.”

When he arrived at Bethany, Jesus was told that Lazarus had been in the grave four days. Martha, hearing that Jesus was near, hurried to him; but Mary stayed in the house. Martha, finding Jesus, cried out, “Lord, if only you had been here my brother would not have died...” Jesus replied, “Your brother will rise again.” “I know he will," she answered, "in the resurrection at the last day.” Jesus said, “I am the resurrection and the life. Anyone who believes in me will live, even after dying. Everyone who lives in me and believes in me will never ever die. Do you believe this, Martha?” “Yes, Lord,” she told him. “I believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God who comes into the world from God.”

So Martha returned to her sister and told her secretly, “The Teacher is here and is asking to see you.” On hearing this Mary rushed to him where Martha had left him. When she saw Jesus she too cried out, “Lord, if only you had been here, my brother would not have died!”

When Jesus saw her weeping and those who wept with her, he became deeply troubled and asked, “Where have you laid him?” Then he too began to weep. Some who saw this said, “See how much he loved him.” But others said, “He healed a blind man. Couldn’t he have healed Lazarus?” Jesus, still troubled, arrived at the tomb and said, “Roll the stone aside.” But Martha protested, “Lord he's been dead for four days; and the smell will be horrible.” Jesus responded, “Did not I say that you would see God’s glory if you believe?”

So they rolled the stone aside; and looking to heaven Jesus prayed, “Father, thank you for hearing me. You always hear, but I say it out loud for the sake of these who are here so that they might believe you sent me.” Then Jesus shouted, “Lazarus, come out!” Emerging from the tomb, the dead man stumbled out, his hands and feet bound in graveclothes, his face wrapped in a headcloth. Jesus told them, “Unwrap him and let him go!" Those who were with Mary were astonished and many believed.

There are aspects of both Mary and Martha's experience that I resonate powerfully with here. And at first reading, the story leaves me with a host of troubling questions. I'm guessing I'm not alone in this... right?.
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Why Doesn't God Answer?

2007-11-11T12:45:00.000-06:00

I have a friend who's who's prayed for years for something he believed God promised. Last month it was denied him... again. He's disappointed with God. Can you relate?

When I was young I believed God promised me a certain woman to be my wife. I trusted Him for her even before we dated, while we dated, and after she broke up with me... twice. (Ouch.) I trusted Him for her after she started dating someone else and even after they became engaged. And when they married... well, I stopped trusting. In fact, I pretty much stopped praying after that too. I had suffered enough disappointment and was unwilling to risk trusting God again when He failed me in such a heartbreaking way.

Since then, I've learned some things that have healed my experience of prayer and launched me, anew, into a life of fervent listening, asking, and waiting on God.

I've learned that sometimes I get it wrong. Hey, we're fallen people, right? And learning to discern the voice of God over the noise of our sin and selfishness can take a lot of practice and time. So why should it surprise us that we get it wrong once in a while? Hebrews 5:14... "solid food is for the mature, who because of practice have their senses trained to discern good and evil."

I've learned that my fickle feelings can sound a lot like God. I need to be watchful for when I'm tempted to substitute my wants for His words. Jeremiah 17:9... "The heart is more deceitful than all else..."

I've learned to set my life's aim on serving God, not on getting Him to serve me or my agenda... no matter how seemingly righteous it is. John 6:15 says the crowd was "intending to come and take Jesus by force to make Him king." The result was that Jesus withdrew from them. The problem wasn't that they were forceful but that they wanted to make Him king of their kingdom, not His. Jesus celebrates forcefulness in Matthew 11 and Luke 16, but only that kind by which people forcefully enter His kingdom. See the difference?

James writes, "The source your conflict is the desires waging war inside you... Understand this, you do not have because you do not ask. And you ask and do not receive because you ask with selfish or worldly motives... But Scripture means what it says that God 'jealously desires the Spirit which He has made to dwell in us'. Just as it also says, "God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble." It's time to surrender totally to God... Focus on drawing near to Him and He'll draw near to you. Afterall, that's the point! Therefore, wash your sinful hands and purify your selfish hearts!" (James 4:1-8 / paraphrased)

These lessons have empowered me to pray boldly...
1) Focusing on drawing near to God before any other desire,
2) Listening for His agenda before developing mine,
3) Guarding my heart from selfish motivations (2 Cor 10:5),
4) Asking courageously in faith as I believe He's leading, and
5) Knowing that I'm going to hear Him wrong at times but He'll still accomplish His glory and my good in response to my prayer.
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A Giving Opportunity

2007-11-07T10:48:00.000-06:00

Operation Christmas Child is a cool ministry through Samaritan's Purse, Franklin Graham's organization. They collect shoe boxes full of toys from people all over the US and send them out to kids in need around the world. It's a relatively easy way to give this Christmas for maximum impact. The shoe box collection week is November 12 - 19, and there are drop off locations all over the place.

For more information on how to put a box together, where you can drop yours off, etc., visit www.samaritanspurse.org/OCC_About.asp?OCCPath=1

Blessed

2007-11-05T13:23:00.000-06:00

I've just realized that I used to use the word "blessing" connected to money a lot. I'd find myself saying things like, "we're blessed to be able to afford this large apartment," or "we're blessed to be able to bring in such a great salary," it was almost an excuse in times when I felt I was living too well. It was as if I was saying, yes, I feel guilty living this way so I'm going to rub a little gratefulness and god onto the situation to make myself feel better.

So anyhow, I realized this the other day because lately I'm really feeling blessed, and suddenly it has nothing to do with money at all. In fact, my husband and I are living off the smallest income we've ever brought in, and I find myself feeling more blessed than ever. It's kind of hard to describe, but it is a fullness, an overwhelming feeling of love and peace despite being in the midst of transition and instability financially and emotionally. It's a peace and joy that laughs in the face of momentary circumstances. For me to feel peace and joy in the midst of questions like "what's next?" I know it has to be a gift from God.

So lately I've been feeling really blessed ...

Full.
Loved.
Pursued.
Steadied.

... Blessed in a whole new way.
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Lynch October Update

2007-11-04T08:59:00.000-06:00

Wow! Now that we're finally hooked up with internet, Aleta and I are eager to share all that's been happening lately! It's been almost three months since we followed God to Arizona; and He continues to reveal His plan in surprising ways.

A few weeks ago I mentioned a gathering planned for Friday, October 26 that emerged out of our weekly prayer time with Dave and Pam and a biweekly guys breakfast Dave and I go to. Aleta and I were stoked about it as we've continually asked God to assemble and lead us to a local community for life and mission here.

The gathering was awesome. A dozen of us came together for a time of deep sharing and passionate prayer. In response, we’ve begun meeting weekly. In just the two gatherings we've had, God has already begun moving mightily... exposing, dealing, and leading us. Maybe the best part is that none of it was forced or programmed. It just happed as people prayed and talked with a ready attitude to obey Christ!

We're still waiting on God to provide a job for Aleta despite my impression a few weeks ago that He was bringing one in the very near future. Interestingly, the only job-related interaction since then has been a single interview last week with a great-looking design firm in Tempe, just blocks away from where we’re considering focusing our life/ministry presence. Aleta has a second interview with Aleta early this week. Who knows?!

God continues to bless my job at Sundt Construction. Initially I thought it would be a short-term way to learn some skills; but the job has become a much more solid long-term possibility as God increasingly showers favor and encouragement on me there!

Also, we’ve shifted our search for immediate ministry involvement to those most invisible to us. People I wouldn't normally consider investing into for various rational reasons that you'll never find in the heart of God. It's all part of how God's reorienting our paradigm on life and ministry to reflect His core driving impulse of total LOVE. We’ve started calling homeless outreaches in the Valley with the plan of volunteering soon.

Every other Sunday we keep checking out churches. Gotta be honest... It's discouraging. I'm growing more convinced that the vast majority of Christian communities are actually working to quench Christ's kingdom in their midst without even realizing it. Can so many be so blind? May God have mercy and rescue us all.

Those are the biggies. In all of it, we're growing and learning to simply live in the flow of God's love. It's so easy to get lost in impersonal talk about faith and hope; but as Scripture reminds us, "the greatest of these is love" (1 Corinthians 13:13). That's the biggest news of all. God's teaching us to participate in the flow of His overwhelming, relational, transformational, world-changing love.

I hope this and other updates encourage you to increasingly step out in risky faith as we're learning to do, trusting that God really does provide for those who follow Him in radical, "unreasonable" ways. Thanks again for praying for us.
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Just Jesus, Himself

2007-10-20T16:18:00.000-05:00

“I have determined to know nothing . . . except Jesus Christ and Him crucified” (1 Corinthians 2:2).

Late 19th century preacher A. B. Simpson writes, “It is the person of Jesus Christ we want. Plenty of people get the idea and get nothing out of it. . . [I too previously] thought that the Lord would take me like the old run-down clock, wind me up, and set me going like a machine. It is not thus at all. I found it was Himself coming instead and giving me what I needed at the moment. . . He said, ‘My child, you must come to Me for the next breath. Because I love you so dearly I want you to come all the time. . . [So now] I am like a little bottle in the sea, as full as it will hold. The bottle is in the sea and the sea is in the bottle; so I am in Christ and Christ is in me. . . And the bottle has to be filled over again, every day, evermore.”

I'm encouraged by these words to look first and foremost to the breaking forth of Christ's person in my life before I look to the breaking forth of His kingdom in my world. “For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul” (Mark 8:36)? It reminds me to fix my eyes not on the world nor even on the faith but rather on the “author and perfecter of faith” – that is, simply Jesus, Himself (Hebrews 12:2).

Jesus demonstrated this in the coolest of ways through the image of bread. (I love food analogies!) In John 6, He multiplies fish and bread to feed thousands, simultaneously explaining the meaning of the manna described in Exodus 16 where God provided bread from heaven for Israel, saying, “gather one day’s portion every day.” Any who gathered more discovered that it would not keep overnight. Manna, they learned, is only good when it's fresh from heaven.

So then Jesus provides all this bread miraculously and begins to teach, saying, “Do not work for food which perishes but for the food which endures to eternal life which the Son of Man gives. . . Truly I say, it's not Moses who gave you bread from heaven but My Father. . . For the bread of God is that which comes down out of heaven and gives life to the world. . . and I am that bread of life. . . I am the bread that came down from heaven. . . I am the living bread from heaven; if anyone eats this bread they will live forever; and the bread which I give for the life of the world is My flesh. . . Unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood you have no life in yourselves. He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life and I will raise him up on the last day. . . Just as it is the Spirit who gives life, for the flesh profits nothing, the words that I have spoken are spirit and life.”

Breath-taking. "Eat my flesh. Drink my blood." A little metaphorical cannibalism to drive away the hard-hearted. Meanwhile, Christ teaches the life-changing practice of receiving His very person inside ourselves to those "with ears to hear". Not the product of His person... just His very person, moment by moment, day by day. An ongoing, repeated reality of receiving Christ into every aspect of our personhood.

Later Jesus said of the Blessed Sacrament, “This is My body which is for you. . . and this is the cup of the new covenant in My blood. Do this, as often as you drink, in remembrance of Me” (1 Corinthians 11:24-25). Again, the symbol describes taking Christ inside of ourselves. It's an intimate internal exercise.

Additionally, I recently recognized the wording here, “as often as you drink.” Not, “as often as you take Communion” or “on the first Sunday of each month,” but rather an open-ended reference to every wine-drinking occasion - which, for ancient Israel, was daily. In other words, Jesus uses the Sacrament of Communion to remind us to receive His personhood into ourselves frequently… even daily. Is it any wonder that 1 Thessalonians 5:17 challenges the Christ-follower to “pray without ceasing”? Or that our inner renewal is described in 2 Corinthians 4:16 as “day by day”?

Pretty sweet. It provides me with new insight into Paul’s words in Philippians 3, “I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus”! Again... just Jesus, Himself.

Paul goes on to say, “. . . Jesus my Lord for whom I have suffered the loss of all things and count them but rubbish so that I may gain Christ.” Apparently there is a losing and a gaining in this process of "receiving Christ". What’s lost and gained? Jesus says in Mark 10:29-30, “There is no one who has given up houses or brothers or sisters of mother or father or children or farms for My sake . . . but that they will receive a hundred times as much - now in the present age, houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and farms, along with persecutions, and in the age to come, eternal life.” Or again, “Whoever wishes to save his life will lose it; but whoever loses his life for My sake will save it” (Matthew 16:25; Mark 8:35; Luke 9:24). Apparently we gain the same things we give up, but with a radical reorientation in our relationship to those things.

Instead of clutching our lives, relating directly to them and ultimately losing them, we clutch just Jesus, Himself, gaining both Him and the life He brings! Instead of grasping for money or food or clothing or family or ministry, turning those fine things into soul-stealing idols, we simply grasp Jesus, Himself, gaining His person as well as all the resources and relationships He brings. (Awesome!)

It should be less surprising to me that by focusing exclusively on Christ we receive all things. After all, He is the “Alpha and Omega, beginning and end” (Revelation 1; 21; 22), He who “fills all in all” (Ephesians 1:23; 4:10). It’s a total reorientation of our relationships. When we attempt to relate directly to self, family, friends, enemies, material things, etc. – we claim those things without surrendering to God and without embracing the redemptive key of Christ’s sacrificed person that breathes life into them… Consequently, those good things become toxic to us. Shadows of the real. But if we embrace just Christ, Himself, who possesses, fills, and redeems all things, then we have, in Him, all things! Just as Paul says, “... all things belong to you. Whether Paul or Apollos or Peter or the world or life or death or things present or things to come; all things belong to you and you belong to Christ and Christ belongs to God” (1 Corinthians 3:21-22).

Even Scripture becomes a problem if we fail to approach it with our eyes fixed not on the page but on the person they speak from and of. As Jesus said, “You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; but it is these that testify about me” (John 5:39).

Once again... just Jesus, Himself.

I've been learning to practice this thing - prayerfully receiving Christ’s person as my daily, moment-by-moment wisdom and righteousness and redemption (1 Corinthians 1:30), my way and truth and life (John 14:6), my daily everything - because I'm learning to see myself as a “partaker of Christ” (Hebrews 3:14). And I'm finding that He truly is becoming, in a super-practical way, my love, joy, peace, humility, power, material provision, relational connector, my future, my impact on the world... my everything!

All because I'm asking less for His power and provision and more of His person with everything He embodies... blessing, suffering, whatever. I sense that in so doing, Christ is changing me and will change my world. In so doing, I am becoming more fertile soil in which Christ can be formed in me (Galatians 4:19).

All this from receiving just Jesus, Himself.