For your listening pleasure, feel free to enjoy the Artist of the Week while reading this blog. I also encourage you to enjoy him when you can simply take in and reflect on his lyrics and music without distraction.
There are those times that pride unwittingly builds up within a person, and it has recently built up in me. Satan is crafty, and I am more wicked than I know, which is why the body of believers is so necessary in sanctification because they see the areas of our life that we have turned a blind eye too. "Where there is no guidance, a people falls, but in an abundance of counselors there is safety" (Prov. 11:14), and these "counselors" range from people directly in our lives to sermons to the books we read, and it is from a book that this rebuke came, Knowing God by J.I. Packer to be exact.
As Packer brings the reader into the forthcoming study of the Triune God he reminds the reader of the need for humility, quoting Paul he says, “knowledge puffs up” (1 Cor. 8:1). If one’s growth “in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” does not lead one to increasing humility due to the continued realizations of God’s awesome nature and character, then one’s study of God is in vain.
Cut down, realizing I had indeed allowed knowledge to “puff me up,” forgetting who God really is and that no matter how much I know I still “see in a mirror dimly [and only] know in part” (1 Cor. 13:12). Furthermore, whatever knowledge I gain ought to lead me into greater Christlikeness (Rom. 12:2).
Praying that God would again restore me to a state of humility is one that is a tad frightening to pray because you know that God will do so, and you know that it is either by trial or discipline that Christlike humility will be restored. Right now, it is confession and repentance. A good friend has told me there is rebuke coming. As I reflected in the situation and after, I said, “Thank you God for leading me back to humility that I may rightly serve you.” What other response is there when we as Christians are told,
“In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ” (1 Pet. 1:6-7),
And,
“‘My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, nor be weary when reproved by him. For the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and chastises every son whom he receives.’” It is for discipline that you have to endure. God is treating you as sons…He disciplines us for our good, that we may share his holiness. For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it” (Heb. 12:5-7, 10-11).
So, I seek humility to stand before God as His creation, as His son, being reminded of the prayer of Francis Chan, “God, make me more like Jesus Christ no matter what it takes.”
Here is a really easy way to share your enjoyment of this holiday season (maybe the year?) with your friends: Your very own "My Life is Christmas" (mlic) text updates. Simply, something happens to you during the day that confirms that your life is indeed Christmas. Just send a text to some friends with the story, and finish it off with a good ol' "mlic."
Inspired by other sites that encourage like particaption. There is one I will not name here, but it's for people who have something really bad and ridiculous happen to them. I just found out about another called "My Life is Average" (mlia), and there is another I have seen called "My Life is Twilight" (mlit); yes, it does exist, and people participate in it, though I believe it is an internet entity that should not exist.
So, share your Christmas joy with your friends (or annoy them with it) this holiday season, and feel free to create your own acronym categories. I have already added a "My Life After Moody" (mlam) for my friends to enjoy (or get tired of).
I got to see Avatar tonight. Overall, 4 out of 5 stars. If you can, spend the extra money and go see it in IMAX 3D, if you can't see it in IMAX, spend the extra money and see it in 3D, and if you can't do either of those, just go see it in theaters because this movie was made to be seen on the big screen and heard in surround sound. James Cameron's latest film (first feature length since 1997's Titanic) comes with great visuals, quality acting, and unlike Transformers 2, it's story actually lived up to its visual grandeur.
Avatar (for a summary of the film's story click here and read the "Synopsis") is far from just a movie and entertainment. James Cameron has a message, and it rings loud and clear.
For starters, I really enjoy movies, and I really enjoy talking about movies with others after we've seen it. It is a lot of fun to not only discuss the messages of a film but also bring it into contemporary life and ask, "If the message(s) of this film were really true, what kind of implications would that have," and other questions like it. This is my attempt to bring some of my thoughts and discussions from friendly conversation to thoughtful blog entry.
Cameron's worldview and gospel comes through via the characters and peoples in his new film. Viewers may even notice some fairly obvious similarities between this movie's message and the messages of The Lion King, Pocahontas, and Dances With Wolves.
Worldview
The optimal worldview put forth is pantheism (all nature is spiritual and there is a one, or ultimate unity; in Avatar, it is the Great Mother i.e. our own mother nature). Nature itself is spiritual, and the path to peace and enlightenment is one of true connection with nature, but not creation. In fact, there is no "creator" in this film. Everything simply is. The closest thing to a creator is a deity of nature, a spiritual being that is equally connected to all nature. As Richard Dawkins puts it, pantheism is a "sexed-up" atheism/naturalism. It just takes naturalism and religiofies/deifies it.
However, this view of reality is completely contrary to the view of God as the Creator in Christianity and cannot be accepted as truth: "For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Claiming to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things" (Romans 1:21-23).
Furthermore, this belief system falls apart on a very basic level - the value of human life. When Neytiri saves Jake from a pack of alien wolf-dogs, she tells him the killing of the animals is sad and awful, and he asks her, "Then why did you save me? Why didn't you let me die?" Her answer, "You have a strong heart." What does that even mean? Pantheism does not have a clear answer as to why the life of a person is more valuable than any other species in nature - plant or animal. There is no explanation as to why people intrinsically value human life over all other types of life or why they should value it more or if they should value it more.
Christianity
Sigourney Weaver's character is named Dr. Grace Augustine. Though she does not display any Christian practice or statement in the film, her name would seem to be intentional. In the film, Grace identifies with and sympathizes with the Na’vi (the alien species), as one should in light of the injustice and evil (done by the humans) under which they have suffered. However, she has no interest in changing the Na’vi. In fact, at her death she "converts" or becomes fully accepting of their beliefs by becoming one with Pandora (the planet) and with the Great Mother stating, "I am with her. She is real."
In my opinion, Cameron is using Dr. Grace as his messenger to Christians as to what his ideal Christian is like. He is telling Christians to stop trying to proseltyze and change people of different beliefs. This message conveys that other religions are just as good as Christianity, if not better, and Christians ought not claim that their religion is right. After all, all cultures are equally valid if they promote peace and harmony with others and the earth, and the Na’vi are certainly portrayed as a near (if not completely) sinless society.
Good Things
Without going into detail, it is clear that the prejudice and "depersonizing" of the Na’vi is evil, and the blatant destruction and disregard for creation and the lives of others in pursuit of the almighty dollar is evil as well (You will notice the similarities between what happens in Avatar and what took place in North and South America when the Europeans arrived.).
I loved that the mineral they were mining for was called "unobtanium." Again, an intentional name I believe. It would seem that Cameron's message here is that happiness, significance, purpose, security, love, and etcetera are all ultimately unobtainable through the functional savior of financial and material gain, and ultimately, this mineral was unobtainable to those who sought to take it by any means necessary. Likewise, the idols we build will always taunt us. We will never fully reach our created heavens and our functional saviors will never get us there. Just as the deity (the Great Mother) in Avatar crushed the idol the humans had created, so we need to turn to Jesus Christ who will crush our idols as our Lord and Savior.
In Summary
Cameron's "gospel" (his good news to the world) is an empty one. He has no basis for valuing human life over that of any plant or animal. Furthermore, there is no creator in his fable; only a mythical being that is somehow entwined with nature. In reality, there is no one in nature with whom to reconnect at death. There is only the personal, triune, Creator, God, and we, along with all the earth, all that is seen and unseen, are His creation. Cameron's "gospel" is no gospel at all. Unlike his message to Christians, Christians must refuse his "gospel" and his proclamation to stop proclaiming the name and exlusivity of Jesus Christ. "This Jesus is the stone that was rejected by you, the builders, which has become the cornerstone. And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:11-12).
To not critically engage such a film is to passively accept its messages, which, especially in this case, is not something that Christians should do.
For further reading on Avatar and James Camerson see:
It's been a long time since my last post, and I have had other blog entry ideas, but this is what I have been thinking about lately.
A couple weeks ago I helped host a vision and recruiting night for Josiah Venture at school. It was the first time I got see a couple people I haven't seen since the summer. My coleader, Bonnie Boyd, was one of them. I asked her about her missionary training with MTI in Colorado. One of the most useful sessions they had there was on saying goodbye well. She said that gave her a lot of insight on how she had not said goodbye well when she had left for missions in the past and how she can change that when she leaves in the future.
This small part of the conversation has gotten me thinking about saying goodbye well because I'll be saying goodbye to a good number of friends in few weeks since I'm graduating from college and headed back to Texas and all. I had written a blog on goodybes at the beginning of last summer - how being a Christian affects goodbyes, reunions, and new frienships, but I did not think about how do say goodbye well.
So I ask myself these days, "How do I say goodbye well? What do good goodbyes look like?" Part of it is respecting the weight of the goodbye, and it may weigh heavier on others than myself. It is entering into the emotion with them and saying goodbye in that place. I may be excited to leave and ansy. My mind may be on the journey ahead rather than on the relationship and the ensuing goodbye. I think it looks like being fully present in those moments of goodbye. I think recognizing the "finality" of it is important as well. Say a real goodbye and acknowledge it as a real goodbye. Do not hide under the potential of Facebook or Skype. Let the actuality of those speak for the potential that is there. Because it is goodbye, and it is unsure of when, if at all, we will see each other in person in this life again. That's reality.
Maybe this is a part of it. Maybe it is none of it. This is a new place for me. Saying goodbye after high school is far from saying goodbye at the end of college. So, what is a good goodbye, and what does it look like? I am praying I'll find out in a few weeks time.
I know it's been some time since the last post. I've come back from the Czech, finished the first 3 weeks of my last semester, and gone street preaching for the first time since I went to Ukraine in the summer of 2007. There's a lot I could talk about.
Spiritual warfare is real. Paul is right when he said, "For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places" (Eph. 6:12). I have experienced the reality of this twice now in the last two weeks. Many times you will preach the gospel to those who are dead in their sins, enemies of God, but twice in the last three weeks I have found myself witnessing to someone who is not only dead but being influenced and deceived and taught by those forces of evil (1 Tim. 4:1). It is a reality.
I believe God is teaching me something. Teaching me to speak truth in love well, to not speak truth in fear but in boldness, in the spirit of power, love, and self-control that He has given us (2 Tim. 1:7).
It is a fascinating thing to speak with someone about Christ who is being influenced and deceived by a demon. It is like no other kind of conversation I have ever had. It is different than any time I preached the gospel in Ukraine or The Czech Republic or the second week of our floor's (plus others) outreaches. It is unique. It is a spiral of conversation in order to escape the truth of God's word.
I believe God is teaching to really speak the truth. I think He is preparing the gift of prophecy - truth teller and proclaimer - I think. I believe God desires to make me a better teacher, a better proclaimer of His gospel, to His glory and the blessing of others, for His name's sake and the sake of the elect.
"For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, “The righteous shall live by faith” (Rom. 1:16-17). Christ is the rescuer of the captives. When He rose from death, He rose in victory over Satan, Sin, and Death. He conquered our greatest foes, and thus, there are now no lost causes with Christ. In and by the Spirit we preach life to those who are dead. In and by the Spirit through the death and resurrection of Jesus the Christ from the dead we stand united in His victory, and we preach from this victory, we love from this victory; thus, we can love rightly, purely, as He loved us first.
"But God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us...In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another" (Rom. 5:8; 1 John 4:10-11).
Only 15 days left. It's hard to believe I have been in the Czech Republic since May 26 and that it will all be done in just over two weeks. Since the last post our 2nd camp occurred and we are about to begin our third and final camp. A new sister in Christ joined the family, a young lady who had been to camp 7 or 8 times and God called her to Himself completely at the end of camp.
Tabor camp (camp #2) was great. It was incredibly smooth - a well oiled machine some would say. Our biggest issue was that the meal song person wasn't always on time. If that's your biggest problem at camp, it's a great camp on the program side of thins. What was also incredible was that it was also a spiritually focused camp. God moved in the hearts of believers and nonbelievers alike, and I believe there are quite a few that He is raising up to be leaders and quite a few more He is drawing to Himself, and all to His praise and His glory.
The American team from Oregon was also incredible, and I am blessed to personally know those brothers and sisters in the faith, and now, when I take a road trip, I'll have some great people to see and stay with in Oregon. They did a phenomenal job at camp. Whatever stewardship God and their leaders entrusted to them they succeeded in with flying colors. I did not see anyone bury their coins in the dirt but took them and doubled and tripled what God had given them.
The Tabor team also surpassed all expectations. They were intentional. They shared their lives and the gospel with the students at camp. They did not back down. They sought out conversations. They were not ashamed of the gospel of Jesus Christ for it is the power of God unto salvation.
L-R: Pirate Bonnie, Martina, Pavli, Me, Cory
It was a great gift to serve alongside and build relationships with those at this camp. Things to pray for now:
-That God would not only send laborers of His gospel but would also send laborers in His word and doctrine to teach and instruct the believers here -- that He would continually renew their minds to the transforming of their lives
-That the Christians in Tabor would continue to boldly preach the gospel of their Lord and Savior Jesus Christ
-That God would send those to disciple the young believers - spiritual fathers and mothers for our new brothers and sisters in the faith - specifically Adela and Maggie
-Continue to pray for Nina - that God would send laborers into her life, brothers and sisters and fathers and mothers in the faith; that He would continue to draw her to Himself, and that she would repent and believe
-For our final camp. There are 81 students and 21 leaders, the largest camp out of the whole summer. Pray that there would be a spiritual revival and awakening, that we would be salt and light, that our words would be gracious and seasoned with salt that we would know how to answer all who ask, that God would fill us with the knowledge of his will through all spiritual wisdom and understanding, and that the teams coming together to lead this camp would be of one mind and one purpose - fully united in one body as the pure bride of Christ - "all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another" (John 13:35), and that we would preach the gospel boldly, clearly, and accurate, in love, that we would be a clanging cymbal.
Thank you all for your continued interest, support, and prayers. God is moving in the Czech Republic and Eastern Europe to His praise and glory. I look forward to the time I get to see you in person and talk to you face to face again. May you be strengthened by the grace that is in Christ Jesus (2 Timothy 2:1). Amen.
Finally, on Cory's blog are some great videos and entries about the summer as well, and he's put up some great new pictures. All really great stuff.
We just finished training for our second camp, and it has been so refreshing. The team from Oregon is great, and I love spending time with them. The leaders from Tabor are geared up too, and it is incredible to be ministering alongside them at this time.
There are many things I would like to write, but I will write them later, like how English is a gift, it really is. For now, I want to give you a few updates and prayer needs:
1. God has been answering the prayers to send laborers into Nina's life. She has been talking to Emily, Martina, Adela, myself, and my sister. Please pray that God would begin to send laborers from her hometown - Brno. Also, please pray for Nina and her mother. They are going on vacation today, but Nina's mom likes to drink, and when she does she is not someone you want to be around. I don't think I need to go into more detail. Also, Nina says she believes, but is not sure she has fully trusted yet. I think she has acknowledged the truth of the gospel, but it has not become beautiful to her yet (How John Piper puts it). Continue to pray that Christ would manifest Himself to her in prayer, scripture, and life.
2. Tabor camp begins tomorrow: pray for team unity among the 3 teams, that we would be connected to the vine (John 15), not relying on ourselves or others for ministry but on God alone, that our words would be seasoned with salt that we would know how to answer all who ask, for good weather, that there would be a spiritual awakening, a great awakening for Christ at this camp. PRAY BIG!
I love you all. I wish I could share my life in person with you. It is so hard to truly convey or communicate all that is happening. I think I am getting a taste of what Paul may have felt when writing letters. May the peace and joy that passes all understanding fill you through the work of Christ in your life - He lived, died, and rose in victory and reigns in heaven today - rejoice that He has written your name in heaven.
Camp 1 is officially over. Nine days sure flew by. So much happened. God stirred people's hearts. We have a new sister in Christ, and I believe we have more brothers and sisters on the way.
Where to start? Where to end?
God moved throughout the whole week, and His Spirit was definitely present. I saw God use Josh and Emily to pour into Adela's life, and God drew her to Himself, and we have a new sister named Adela. It's hard to imagine last Thursday, no sister, and Friday, new sister. I look forward to hearing and possibly seeing God mature her and lead her into truth and holiness.
Nina...so much I could say, and so much more I hope to be able to in the future. On day 2 of small group discussions, I let the students know we had Bibles for them if they wanted to read more of the stories, and she looked at me and said, "I think it's too soon." She then came up to me afterward and told me she was an atheist and only saw the stories as a fairytale, and today she is a young woman who believes in God and wants to be a Christian but is afraid of what it will mean for her life, how it will affect certain relationships...Jesus Christ rose in victory over Satan, sin, and death. He rose in victory over her fear, and because of this, there are no lost causes with Christ. She is a friend that I love as a brother, and a friend I hope and pray to one day call sister.
I also saw the first seeds of the gospel planed in many lives, and we have the greatest gardener, God Himself. God may and does bring us into the planting and watering, but He causes the growth, and I also am incredibly excited in anticipation as I look forward to the stories of many students who left camp not believing but will find themselves inexplicably drawn to the Father by His grace through the gospel of Jesus Christ.
I also prayed for God to raise up Moseses, Elijahs and Elishas, Peters and Pauls, from this camp, and I believe He will. I watch in prayer and hope for the day when God makes this a reality. Amen.
This is my greatest desire for these students -- that they would know God's personal love for them and love Him with all their heart, soul, mind, and strength. Can there be a greater desire for anyone?
So...what to pray for...
1. "After this the Lord appointed seventy-two others and sent them on ahead of him, two by two, into every town and place where he himself was about to go. And he said to them, "The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest" (Luke 10:1-2). Please pray for more laborers. That God would surround these students with Christians wherever they are. That they would not be able to escape the gospel of Jesus Christ.
2. I am looking for a woman, young or old, mom or daughter, any sister in Christ that wants to commit to praying for Nina. That God would send Christians into her life. That God would protect her from the birds of Satan, the stones of persecution, and the thorns of this life. That she would believe on Christ for salvation and begin to grow in Him. I can keep you updated on what she needs prayer for and hopefully connect you to her on Facebook or something like that. She needs prayer and more laborers for the gospel. With all that said, in the end, she needs Jesus Christ and to surrender herself to Him.
3. Pray that we would get rest. Camp 2 training starts tomorrow and camp 2 starts Saturday.
4. Pray that God would continue to stir passion within us for the students.
5. That God would protect our unity. There will be three teams at this next camp - intern team (us), Czech team (Tabor youth leaders), and American team (Good Shepherd Church from Oregon). Jesus tells us that they will know we are followers of the living God by our love for one another.
Picture coming soon and all that good stuff. Thank you for your continued prayer support. I don't know what this summer would be like without it, and I'm glad I never will. Thank you and God bless!
Well, camp is done, and we are heading into the first follow-up weekend. One girl was brought into the family yesterday. We all have a new sister in Christ named Adela.
God is continuing to draw others to Himself, of that I am sure. Continuet to pray for Adam, Nina, Tomash (2), John, Lucka, and many others.
Also, please continue to pray for us as a team, that we would honor God in the relationships that are formed, that we would be good stewards of the ministry He has given us, and that we would continue to grow in Christ-likeness.
A longer, more story oriented post with some picture links will be coming...just not yet.
Also, we have the great privilege of staying in a student's home this weekend, and his backyard is a small farm -- homegrown apricots, cherries, wheat, corn, tomatoes, grapes, onions, garlic, and then some. Fresh off the tree apricots and home jarred pears and apricots along with some cherries...God is good, and He has blessed us (Cory and myself) with a wonderful home to stay in (pictures coming soon).
Tonight at 8 p.m. Czech time (2 p.m. ETS) we will be telling the last two stories of Story of God. They are the death and resurrection of Jesus and the beginning of the church, and they end with the gospel message a call to salvation.
Please be praying for tonight: for those of us speaking, leading small groups, for the students. I love you all. Thank you.
There's internet here, but I can't get on very often. I wanted to update you with some prayer requests.
The Story of God is going really well, and spiritual conversations are happening left and right. Thank you for praying.
Please continue to pray for clear communication and wisdom as we speak, in large groups, small groups, or one on one. Our desire is that God would shine through us as He did with Stephen when he stood before the Jewish Sanhedrin, proclaiming the gospel. May our thoughts, actions, and words be light and salt to the students.
Please pray against the attacks of Satan: Bonnie is a main storyteller/teacher, and her voice is gone, against distractions when the word is being taught, and against disunity.
Please pray for more laborers of the gospel. That God would send more laborers into the lives of the students He is drawing to Himself, here at camp and when they leave.
Please pray for Nina, Adela, Lucka, Eva, Tomash, Radek, Radim, Adam, and Jon, and the many other students I cannot name here. God is doing a great work, and they are engaging. Pray that their the Holy Spirit would reveal truth to them as He did to Peter when he said that Jesus was the Christ.
Thank you for all your love and support. Josiah Venture desires to be a part of a movement of God in the Czech Republic, and God is moving here.
Hey out there. This may be the last update for a while. Internet access is going to be spotty for the month of July. So, for the last one for who knows how long, here's a vid of prayer requests for you all. Thank you so much for all your suppot. I'll keep you posted as I can.
Only one more week until we're at our first camp training and on to our first camp with Bohumilice. Here's what we need prayer for:
Bonnie, Kevin, and I are the "storytellers" for the week, which means we will be telling the story of God - beginning to end and leading live dialogs with groups of about 20 and then splitting into smaller groups. Pray that we will be intentional in preparation - reading through the story, practicing reading it aloud, wisdom when leading the live discussions, etc.
Our final youth group visit is this weekend. We are going to Tabor. I will be teaching Friday in the youth group. Please pray that I would prepare and teach the lesson God wants me to teach and not what I merely want or am comfortable doing - God-prepped and not man-prepped.
Continual unity and growth as a team...we are all still very different and learning a lot about each other.
What is great is that we just got back from a two night retreat to this great cottage/house out in the woods with its own pond. It was incredibly relaxing and fruitful - got a lot done. I was able to read over half of Ender's Game. It was great. Couple movies, good food, ice cream with egg liquor poured over it (It's quite good.).
Yes, our room did have a hammock.
And Cory got some more great pictures of the scenery and the castle we got to visit. Enjoy!
It's been a full week since I've posted. Life's been busy and internet access limited, but I'm back.
Prayer requests: We are doing school visits this week in Strakonice to promote English camp. Please pray that God will provide many opportunities to capture conversations for Him and many would see the light of Christ shine through us.
Pray that our team would continue to grow in unity and patience with one another. No matter how great anyone is, when you've been with them for 3 weeks straight and you know you have another 6 or so to go, it can become quite tiring.
We would finish and accomplish what needs to be done with God honoring excellence - English lesson creation and prep, Bible studies, learning and reviewing the Story of God Messages we will be giving, and whatever else arises.
God would provide financial support for two Czech interns on another team - Babu and Vashek. They are both incredible people who have recently come to Christ (with in the last 3 years I believe) and have a passion to proclaim God's word. If you are interested in supporting them, please let me know and I will get you the information you need.
My coleader Bonnie has a lot on her plate. She is leading the first camp and helping to lead the other two. She is also one of the main teachers for English camp (Telling the Story of God and leading dialogs) as well as teaching English classes. Pray that she will be diligent in her leadership and seek renewal and rest in Christ alone.
For our first English camp coming up. It is the first 2 weeks of June - training and camp. Pray that the Christians will grow in their faith and tell others of Christ boldly and that the non-believers will come to repentance, that the Holy Spirit will fall like a waterfall over the students at the camp and many would come to salvation.
Also, some of you may be waiting for a team picture. Who are we after all?
L-R: Bonnie Boyd, Cory Dimler, Martina Pixova, and Myself. Feel free to look any of us up on Facebook.
God has been incredibly faithful. We just got back from our first youth group visit this past weekend. We went to the village of Bohumilice in the southwest of the Czech Republic. It is a village of rolling hills and farms, interesting insects, which I remember seeing in Ukraine as well, and some great people and lots of bread, fresh fruit, and no napkins.
Along with those things come some Czech culture lessons I want to share with you:
Something Czechs love is syrup. No, not maple syrup. Flavor syrup for water. Who wants plain old water when you can add a flavorful sugary syrup to it? They are kind of like the powdered mixex many add to water in the states, but it's syrup. The family we stayed with had their own special recipe, which was delicious. It was black elder flower lemon syrup. I know it sounds crazy. They make about 3 liters of it at a time. They get a tone of black elder flowers and put them in jars of water with either lemon slices or just lemon juice, couldn't figure it out. They let it sit for a couple days, add sugar, then simmer it get the water out and refrigerate it. Voila! Homemade syrup. I do want to try and make it back home, but I'm sure there will be plenty of trial and error.
We also discovered a new ingredient for potato salad - gummi bears. Do with that what you will.
Lastly, we discovered two new ways to have pasta. Forget what you've thought of variety. Leave behind tomato sauce and alfredo, scampi and the like. To enjoy this meal you simply need to make some butter pasta and have either ketchup or cocoa powder for hot chocolate and powdered sugar. I will admit, when I saw it all on the table, my first thought was the movie Elf and how he put maple syrup on the spaghetti. I can't imagine this was too far from that. Give it a shot. It's pretty tasty, but don't expect it to sustain you from lunch 'til dinner if you're planning on having an active afternoon.
We stayed with a great family whose home is attached to the church. They were an excellent example of Christian hospitality, the kind you picture when Paul and John tell believers to welcome and strengthen and encourage traveling brothers and sisters. We had a warm bed, warm showers, fresh cherries, a homemade dinner that was great, and some wonderful conversation.
I wanted to post something before we left and get some prayer needs out to you, but I was unable to do so. One of them would have been over the teaching I was asked to give Saturday night.
It was one of those times I felt completely stripped of all of myself and only left with God and His word. I had no resources, no extra materials, not a lot of time, no computer. It was just reading God's word and praying for Him to direct me toward the right passage of scripture because it's His message. I am merely a steward of it. God directed to Acts 3:1-10.
I then wrote the talk, which was completely different than any I had done before. This had no cool outline, to trick or strategic method. It was a story. It was also the first time I have manuscripted a talk and read what I wrote word for word.
I found myself empty. I had written a talk from a passage I did not study beyond reading and praying and listening. No commentaries here. I found myself reading a talk I wish I knew better. I found myself stiff and trying to read and have good eye contact, which is quite difficult. It was those times where you know God has asked something of you, and all you have are the 5 loaves and 2 fish, and by His grace and power multiplies it to glorify Himself and it happens to be what people need, and you did not know it until it was all over.
It was a great weekend. We got to meet and fellowship with brothers and sisters in Christ who are stepping out in faith and obedience, many of whom have family and friends that do not believe and are very hostile to the gospel. One of the main student leaders in the group moved out of her mom's house because she wouldn't let her got to church. We are only here for a summer, this is their life. They are part of a remnant here in the Czech, and they are standing God's foundation with Christ as their cornerstone. Their youth group is eight people. I go to a school where I live on a floor with 30 other Christian guys for 9 months of the year. They are standing firm. It is an honor to stand and serve with them.
So, thank you for all your prayer and support. I miss home a lot and friends and family. I feel your absence. God has used you in immeasurable ways to bless me and help prepare me for this summer, and I wish I could share it with you in the flesh. I look forward to the time when we get to catch up in person and not merely through blogs and instant chat.
Finally, if you haven't already, I recommend subscribing to my friend and teammate Cory's blog. It's very good, and he's got video updates. Also, feel free to peruse the many great pictures he's taken throughout our trip. There are definitely some good ones.
This comes from last Saturday night. Our team is on our way back from a fun dinner out. I got pizza that had ham, spinach, mushrooms, and sea fruits. I ordered because I didn't know what sea fruits were. Martina got the translation and started laughing. Turns out they are octopus and shrimp. Good times. My nose was clogged because of the cold I got, so I didn't get to taste much of it...for better or for worse. Either way it was a good time.
Our apartment is right across the street from a nice park, which still has fun play ground equipment that kids can get hurt on that have been banned and eliminated from all the parks in the U.S. I call them dizzy destruction devices.
After playing on those for a bit, we ended up playing with a couple young Gypsies, Roman and Brian. They were fun and full of young 10 year old gangster. We then met their older brothers and cousins. Turns out, the older guys are on a break dancing team that is heading to Croatia for a competition in July. Pretty cool. They practice for 2 1/2 hours every day, and when school gets out it'll be 4 hours a day. Their mom and older sister came over to listen to the convo, and then the fun began.
Roman and Brian showing us their moves
Somehow we ended up getting to Ong Bak 1 and 2 (The Protector) and how cool and talented Tony Jaa is. One of the guys, Honsa, wanted to show me one of his kicks. Knowing he break dances, I was expecting a high flying kick, but it was a pretty normal one.
I thought, "I could one up this guy." Thought doing something would keep the conversation going, you know, build more of a bridge. So I did one, and the guys thought it was pretty cool...my leg didn't though. I can't do stuff like that cold like I used too.
Apparently the older sister thought it was the cooooolest, and she asked if I was planning on taking any girls home with me. Her mom standing right next to her, I was quite surprised at the question, and no, I'm not taking any girls home with me. She then jokingly/semi-seriously told me to call her and said some more stuff in Czech. We decided it was getting cold and needed to leave the park. However, we did get to tell them about English camps and the precamp party that's going in Strakonice in late June.
All in all, it was a good time -- park, people, conversations.
Apparently I'm slightly more attracive because a few days earlier I had gotten my face rubbed and kneeds patted by a 50 year old tipsy woman.
I was sitting on the train away from the group doing some reading, and this woman sat across from me. After a few minutes she started speaking to me in Çzech. I told her, in Czech, that I don't speak Czech, but this didn't phase her. She spoke more emphatically and proceeded to rub my face with the back of her hand and pat my knees. Another first...
I responded by telling, in Czec, I didn't understand, which again, did not phase her at all, and to my surprise, apparently encouraged her to rub my face a few more times and pat my knees.
Fortunately, Cory took this opportunity to grab Martina, our Czech teammate, to come over and help me out. Turns out it was the woman's birthday, and she though I looked humble, sympathetic, and attractive. Who knew? All that just from sitting quietly and reading the Bible.
Needless to say, those three adjectives have become a running joke between me and Martina. We figured the Gypsy girl also thought I was humble, sympathetic, and attractive. What are the odds?
A lot has been going on, which is part of the reason I haven't updated much. We are moved in to the apartment in Strakonice, doing some team building, and getting ready for our first youth group visit this coming weekend.
Please pray for team unity and spiritual growth, that we would have continued patience with one another and remember the gift and blessing each one is to the team.
Sorry for lack of details here, but they will come. In the mean time, check out lots of pictures from the trip thus far. Cory Dimler has gotten some amazing shots!
Love you all. Remember where our joy is found, that our name is written in the book of life (Matt. 10:17-20).
Well, first entry from the Czech Republic. It's been quite a journey so far. It's hard to believe I have a whole summer to go because so much has already happened. The Amazing Race makes one feel like they have been here much longer than just a few days.
We started in Vienna, Austria; and traveled to many of its most famous sights, overcoming obstacles like physical challenges, hedge mazes, photo scavenger hunts, and navigating the public transit system. We then traveled to Bratislava, Slovakia; which is where the hostel we stayed was.
Day 2 sent us to Budapest, Hungary. Huge surprise! I had no idea I would be traveling to Slovakia, let alone Hungary, during the Amazing Race. Budapest has some beautiful places, specifically the Liberty Statue at the top of this large hill that overlooks the whole city, which we had to climb up as part of one of our challenges.
Budapest was the hardest day by far. I don't think I have ever done more walking and stair climbing in one day in my life. I felt like I walked myself into a six pack. Forget crunches. Just walk from 8:00 a.m. until 2:00 p.m., and add a large hill/mini mountain climb and an umpteen amount of stairs with pretty much no breaks, and I guarantee you'll be closer to a six pack than you were before. Your feet will also hate you, but that's just a side effect.
We have been in Frydlant, Czech Republic at Hotel Malenovice. We will all be here through Thursday going through internship training, and then we're off for the summer -- writing English lessons, preparing Bible lessons, budgeting, traveling, preparing for camp, visiting youth groups, and all the surprises God usually gives us along the way.
Check out the video below for a slide show that Cory Dimler put together that chronicles the Amazing Race. He got some great photos.
I want to get into stories and lessons first this time. The prayer developments and requests and developments will be at the bottom of this post. Just scroll on down if you want to skip this stuff.
It's done, it's finished. My third year of college is complete. Only one more semester to go. Who knew it would go by so quickly or seem so slow while in the midst of it.
A life of ministry is a life of goodbyes...It certainly is. Those in ministry often led in new directions, and those being ministered to are just as often as well. It happens as one grows, learns new things, is revealed new things, and etceteras. As Donald Miller rightly notes, there is no bullet point list to figure out life lessons. Life happens and God is in the midst of it, and you grow and you learn and you are moved and you move and in all that there are goodbyes.
I imagine Paul knew this very well, as did all the apostles. John's brother was martyred, and puts a whole knew depth to the brotherly love language John employs in his letters. They were called the Sons of Thunder. You and your brother only get a duo name if you are tight, always by each other's side, always together, and passionate, and his brother was martyred for the fame and popularity of an evil king.
Peter stayed in Jerusalem, but many of the apostles and others were martyred (Ex: Stephen) or called to other locations. Tradition says Thomas went east toward India and John went to Ephesus to name only two of the ten others.
Paul was all over the Mediterranean and Israel. He spent a year and a half to two years in Corinth before leaving. His two letters to that church reveal how emotional his departure must have been. He wept with the elders of Ephesus upon his departure, a vivid picture of the bond of brothers in Christ.
In all times and places of life, a decision also demands sacrifice. We are not omnipresent; we are not even dipresent (present in only two places). While at school I cannot be home with family and other friends. While at home I cannot be with friends from school. While in the Czech, well, you get the idea. As excited as I am for this summer, I also remember the good times had at school and at home, with people here and there, and consider what good times may have been had with them had I chosen to stay and not go to the Czech.
But this is only half, if even that. A life of ministry is a life of hellos and reunions and surprises and eternity. Leaving home and going to school...a whole new world of people and relationships. Returning home from school...fun and joyous and blessed reunions. Going back to the school...quite similar. Going to the Czech for the first time... Returning to the Czech...
These are all part of the great picture. The goodbyes point us to Christ and his salvation and eternal glory with him and those I have said goodbye to, remembering that no matter how long or short the time we get to spend together here, eternity is a long, long time. The new hellos do the same. Meeting a fellow brother or sister in righteousness for the first time... There is something special about meeting someone and realizing you will be eternity together, praising the king, realizing they have been doing the same thing you've been doing a world away. We are indeed united in Spirit.
And those blessed reunions! Do we have anything that compares to such feeling, a catalyst of joy within us? You know what I am talking about. That person, that friend, your brother, your sister, your mom, your dad, your girlfriend, your boyfriend, your spouse...reunited after a time of separation... Is there anything like that first hug? Is there anything like that first smile at the sight of them? And this is only a shadow of what is to come. We have been separated from our Father since the Fall, and Christ came to us 2000 years ago, and has brought us back into a right relationship with God that brings Him glory, and we wait. We are in his presence, but the time will come when we are brought bodily into his throne room. What a reunion that will be! Will there be anything like that first smile when we see him as he is, face to face? No, there isn't, for this is what the deepest longing of every human heart is, foreshadowed by the many reunions we are blessed with in this life.
Come to Jesus! Are in a right relationship with God that brings him glory? Are your goodbyes blessed with the peace of eternity? Are your hellos blessed with the hope of great things to come? Are your reunions blessed with knowledge that the greatest reunion is on its way?
God has put eternity into the heart of every person, an eternity with Him. Sin has separated us from God, has broken the relationship he desired to have with us. We became enemies of the living God, the God who loves us, and He sent his Son to live the life we could never live, to die the death we deserve, to take the punishment and wrath we willingly brought on ourselves, and rose from the dead in triumph over sin, death, and Satan...that we may be with Him. Have you believed this? You need to. Believe it! It is the truth. It will set you free. Set you free of the bondage of sin. Set you free of the meaningless and selfishness of this life into the joy filled life of glorifying God, your creator who gave his life that you may have a full one, an eternal fulfilled life. And if you already believe, if you are already one of His, this is your cornerstone. This is who chose you, and He has sealed you unto eternity, to be with Him forever and to tell others until that time this message, this message of salvation and hope, of relationship and peace with our Lord and Savior Jesus, the anointed one of God.
My prayer request is that you dwell on this truth. That you dwell on the reality of your salvation, and if you have not yet believed, that you talk to Jesus for the first time, recognizing that he has saved you and enjoy your first prayer with he who saved you.
For the sake of Christ, that many may come to salvation...Amen.
I leave for the Czech in 13 days. I'm in a wedding in 11 days. I move out of my dorm in 2 days. I have my last final in 1 day. It all seems overwhelming. It isn't because I know it isn't, but it seems so sometimes.
It seems like a dream that I leave so soon. I have received some more support. God has provided $7,000+ for this summer, and all of the surplus to likely go for next. I am blown away and humbled and incredibly blessed by the family that has surrounded me in their support. Thank you. I check the updated support on Wednesday and Friday, and I see the growing list of supporters, members of this team, and I am silenced before the grace of God. I do not deserve this grace. I do not deserve a family such as I have, but He in his great mercy and kindness has decided to give such a family to me. You, my brothers and sisters, are a daily reminder of God's grace, of his blessing and faithfulness in my life.
I don't know what to call this section. I don't like "Answers to prayer" because all prayers are answered. Every request is answered with, "No," "wait," or "yes." Maybe I'll call them requests that have been granted:
1. Katherine will be going to the Czech this summer for at least three weeks. 2. Finals have been going well. 3. As stated earlier, financial support continues to come in.
Prayer requests: 1. Please pray that I will be a man of prayer as the internship approaches and throughout it. 2. We may be getting a Czech woman, Martina, on our team this summer. She would be a huge blessing. 3. That I would be diligent in accomplishing what needs to be done and not over commit myself during the time between school ends and when I leave. 4. Please pray for God to provide my sister with enough money to attend Johnson and Wales University in Providence, Rhode Island. 5. Please pray for the believers we will be encouraging and teaching as we travel throughout the Czech this summer. We will be in the cities of Bohumilice, Strakonice, and Tabor. 6. Please pray for the lost we will be preaching the gospel to and building relationships with. Our desire is that many would come to salvation that God may be glorified. 7. Pray that I would get some good solid rest - spiritually and physically
This semester has not been one of great books. The books have all been alright, but this semester has been one of good conversations and excellent lectures from incredibly wise professors. I learned so much in the classroom this year as opposed to the material I read. Sometimes reading here is like drying to drink from a fire hydrant. You don't end up getting that much sometimes and it's difficult and intense and you're all wet and uncomfortable by the end anyway, and it's not even summer, so you're not in a swimsuit partying it up in the hot streets with your friends and some super soakers.
The classroom was a time to soak and to let wisdom wash over me as I and my friends engaged with it intellectually and sometimes verbally. Discussing it outside of class, especially with my roommate, has been a great privilege. We'd talk about all our doctrinal learnings and applicational challenges while we jogged for our jogging fitness elective. Fitness and God...few combinations compare, which may not be true because I don't like jogging, but it's alright with friends, but even then I don't find it that great...maybe this is the false part of the blog. Just give a frisbee and a beach or a grass field and some people, and I'll run all day.
In closing, to give credit where credit is due, the title of this blog comes from the title of mewithoutYou's forthcoming CD release. Go to www.myspace.com/mewithoutyou to listen to three new songs from the album. They're really good.
A week and a half left of school. Books, papers, finals, Czech prep, all of it is going on.
Answers to prayer: 1. God is providing financially for the interns to go this summer. 2. Papers were finished on time, and I think they are pretty quality. 3. God has provided even more funds for this summer and future ministry with Josiah Venture then I ever could have imagined! There is one special person I need to thank deeply and seriously for her incredibly generous donation. In line with that, I have been very blessed by all of you who have prayed and given to allow me to go this summer and support this ministry and proclaim the gospel. 4. God has provided a place for me to store all my stuff - the garage loft of Paul and Stephanie. They are incredible.
Prayer requests: 1. Please pray that I will be a man of prayer as the internship approaches and throughout it. 2. Tomorrow we will be able to give Katherine a decision point. She can go if she wants to. Pray that God would giver her wisdom and discernment and peace about whatever decision she makes. 3. We may be getting a Czech woman, Martina, on our team this summer. She would be a huge blessing. 4. Please pray for God to provide my sister with enough money to attend Johnson and Wales University in Providence, Rhode Island. 5. Please pray for the believers we will be encouraging and teaching as we travel throughout the Czech this summer. We will be in the cities of Bohumilice, Strakonice, and Tabor. 6. Please pray for the lost we will be preaching the gospel to and building relationships with. Our desire is that many would come to salvation that God may be glorified. 7. Pray that I would get some good solid rest - spiritually and physically
School has been crazy busy this whole semester but especially these last few weeks. I thought I had some stories to tell, but my mind is blank right now. It may be because I'm tired because I know I haven't been leading a completely dull life.
Also, I am stoked to go see Dan Deacon play at The Metro tomorrow night. It's going to be a blast!
Like the title says, so much has been going on since the major update I last posted. Let's get started.
Answers to prayer: 1. God is preparing me for leadership and that I believe I am growing in my sensitivity to the Holy Spirit's leading 2. I believe God has been doing the same for Bonnie, my co-leader 3. THIS IS HUGE!!!! ALL MY SUPPORT IS IN, AND I ALREADY HAVE A SURPLUS! God indeed answers prayer (Luke 18:1-8; 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18; James 5:16b)! More on this to come in this entry. 4. I will now be making phone calls to donors to thank them for their support. What a blessing!
Elaboration on 3 and 4: Alright, God has provided a small surplus of funds thus far, and I have sent out about 60 more support letters as of today. I am incredibly excited and grateful for this opportunity. Supporters are more than faces, people with money. They are partners in this ministry. They are part of a team that desperately needs their prayer and financial support. I am grateful and honored that my supporters have the opportunity to affect the ministry in the Czech Republic that is bigger than myself. They get to help send others and support the ministry as a whole. What a blessing! You have been part of the answer to prayer of many other interns.
Thank you so much for praying. We are seeing God answer prayers in incredible ways.
Prayer Requests 1. Continue to pray that Bonnie and I walk by the Spirit and grow in wisdom as the internship approaches. We both are striving with God in prayer to be Godly leaders this summer. 2. Many other interns still need support to come in. Please pray that God would provide for them to go this summer. 3. I have two big papers due this coming Monday. Please pray that I would not do them for a grade but that I would learn and grow from doing them and that they would prepare me for ministry this summer. 4. Please pray for God to provide my sister with enough money to attend Johnson and Wales University in Providence, Rhode Island. 5. Please pray for the believers we will be encouraging and teaching as we travel throughout the Czech this summer. We will be in the cities of Bohumilice, Strakonice, and Tabor. 6. Please pray for the lost we will be preaching the gospel to and building relationships with. Our desire is that many would come to salvation that God may be glorified. 7. Please pray for our team member, Katherine. She is seeking the Lord for discernment on whether or not to go to the Czech this summer. We really want her to come, and we are praying God would provide financially for her, but we ask that His will be done and not our own.
What a week it has been. Friday, the 17th, I had about $2,000 for the Czech. On Monday, the 27th, it had more than doubled! Not only did God answer prayer, but he blew my expectations out of the water, which is what God usually does.
That's all for now. Enjoying school and friends and life in general here. Can't believe I leave in four weeks.
Also, feel free to comment on here, email me, or call me. I would love to here what is going on in your life. Pray for you and pray with you.
Wow! A lot has gone on since my last update. This necessitates some context before I jump into prayer requests and then more details.
I have been promoted to co-leader of the intern team this summer. I will be leading alongside Bonnie Boyd who is going to the Czech for two years. This means I will be a part of the training and decision making and spiritual care of our team in a greater capacity and with more responsibility. This is an opportunity I am extremely excited about. Bonnie is a great young woman of God, and to have the opportunity to learn from her and lead alongside her is such a blessing.
Also, we now know who is on our team. Currently, there are four of us: Bonnie, my friend Cory Dimler, Katherine Robertson (from Arkansas and goes to Baylor), and myself. The Josiah Venture staff is also looking for one or two Czech interns to join our team. What a great team. I am also incredibly grateful and excited to serve, serve with, and be a part of leading this team.
On to prayer requests and answers to previous prayer requests after. "The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results" (James 5:16b), and your prayers are doing just that. Thank you!: 1. That God would continue to prepare me for this new leadership and that I would be sensitive to the Holy Spirit's leading 2. That God would do the same for Bonnie and fill her with supernatural wisdom as the summer approaches. 3. Support: I, Cory, Katherine, Bonnie, Dan (another intern), and Amanda (another intern) are all raising support, and all of us need more. I currently have $2,015, and I need $4,500 by May 1st. All the other interns are at about the same level or less, and we all have the same deadline. Please pray that God will provide for all of us to go to the Czech and minister this summer, that His name may be praised and many would come to salvation. 4. I will likely be making phone calls to potential donors this coming week. Please pray those conversations would go well, and at the very least I would be able to have a good time of prayer with those I call.
Answers to prayer: 1. I am nearly completely better from my cold. Thank you! 2. More support has come in. 3. Junior/Senior banquet was wonderful, and everything was great. 4. I have been praying more and being more sensitive to the Spirit's leading in this area, and I am seeking out intentional time in the World. Thank you.
Stories and such: Life has been quite a ride lately. It is increasingly difficult to make time for the important small things - prayer and reading scripture, fellowship, phone calls, and letter writing. The stuff that may only take an hour or less, but there are no due dates or grades, and those things that do have due dates and grades at least are much bigger and seem more important (papers, reading assignments, meetings, etc).
Junior/Senior Banquet (JSB) was great. The guys looked sharp, and all the girls were absolutely beautiful. Dinner was nice, and Dr. Dyer's message was good. It was about suffering and how it produces sanctification and wisdom. He used the illustration of block of steel. Just as it was, it would probably be worth a few dollars, but if it was melted and hammered into horse shoes, it would be worth about $30. However, if it was melted down and made into needles, it would be worth about $350. However, if it was melted and made into high tension springs for Swiss watches, it would be worth about $2,000. This upward value produced by blast furnace after blast furnace and shaping after shaping. What a good picture of sanctification and wisdom through suffering.
Our group at JSB went bowling and to IHOP afterward. It was a ton of fun.
I have been taking Romans with Dr. Zuber this semester, and it has been incredible. I have learned so much and the Spirit has spoken to me in many ways through His word and the wisdom of Dr. Zuber. We just finished Romans 6 (No, we won't finish the book, but his depth is worth it.). I wish I could give you all of it, but I can't. I will give you what will hopefully carry into some good study of the book for yourself.
It comes down to indicative and imperative. The indicative is reality. It is what is true. It is what you ARE. The imperative is what ought to be. It is the implications and commands. Too often, are Christian walk puts imperative before indicative, which is completely wrong. Doing this builds our foundation not on Christ but on what we can or can't do, which we all know is no foundation at all.
Romans 1-6:14 is indicative. Read that again. Romans 1-6:14 is all about what IS. What Jesus has done. Who we are as Christians. Paul makes sure this foundation is firmly laid before any imperative is brought up. In short, here is the indicative: if you are a believer, Jesus lived a perfect life, died on the cross, and rose again three days later. Through this He righteoussified (justified) you. This means you are justified by grace through faith ALONE. This means you stand in the righteousness of Christ. This means you died with him, were buried with him, and were raised with him, and God views you as such. Thus, you are united with Christ in His death and resurrection, and thus, His righteousness. Christ died to sin, and you ARE dead to sin. This means you do not need to die to sin or you are dying to sin. It means you ARE dead to it. This is a fact, it is reality. This means you DO NOT have to sin anymore. We were once not able to not sin, but now through Christ's work, we are now able to not sin. Living out of this truth, out of who you ARE produces sanctification.
Now, the imperative: Stop sinning! Just stop it! Christ has brought you to new life. Don't hang the dead corpse around you and drag it around. Christ has given you sight. Don't cover up your eyes and claim to be blind. Christ has given you hearing. Don't cover your ears and claim to be deaf. YOU DO NOT HAVE TO SIN ANYMORE! You have been broken free from sin and death's chains.
In addition, do not struggle with sin. This will only frustrate you. You are DEAD to sin. Instead, struggle with walking by the Spirit (Romans 8), and by doing so, you will sin less, you will gain moral discernment. Live as who you really are (Romans 1-6:14). Don't try to defeat sin with the law, with a list of do's and don'ts (Romans 7), but instead learn to walk by the Spirit (Romans 8).
What a message, the message we are called to preach and teach, the message I will be bringing to the Czech, the message I am called to tell my friends, the message you are called to tell your friends. May we step out in trust of the Spirit, empowered by Him to reach the world. This is THE message. No other way of salvation for this life and the next exists. May we live boldy as the Spirit has empowered us to do. You are Saints my brothers and sisters. You do not have two natures. You are no Jekyll and Hyde. You are alive to Christ, united with Him, and dead to sin. Thank you Jesus. Amen.
Just prayer requests this time, in no particular order (can't truly say that though, guess there is somewhat of an order):
- That support funds would continue to come in. God has currently provided $915.00 through generous donations, and I need $3,585.00 more.
- That I would be sensitive to the Spirit's leading and teaching these last 5 1/2 weeks before I leave. I am completely convinced that what I am going to learn and experience during this time is essential to my ministry this summer.
- I would be devoted to prayer. That I would intentionally seek out times of communion with Christ.
- Junior/Senior Banquet is this Friday, and I and the other guys in the group want everything to go smoothly and for the girls to have a wonderful evening.
- Nik and Cory are also raising funds, and they both still need more. Please pray that God would indeed provide for this summer.
- I have a bad cold, and it has affected my energy level, and it makes daily tasks for tiring and annoying.
Thank you for praying. Money moves material goods and services, but prayer moves the sovereign King and Savior of the universe. Thank you.
Again, prayer requests first, followed by those more interested in stories and details/have the time to read longer blogs.
Prayer requests: My friend Cory Dimler has been accepted to Josiah Venture and will be going to The Czech Republic. Please pray that he will be sensitive to the Holy Spirit's lead in all aspects of his life as Jesus prepares him for the wild road of ministry this summer. I ask for the same prayers for Nik Walborn and myself. Pray that I would continue to grow in understanding of the Gospel -- Jesus' life, death, and resurrection and the salvation he offers through justification by faith, both being an incredible grace from Him, greater than I will ever conceive. Please pray for support to come in for my friend Nik Walborn and Cory and me, being thankful for whatever extra God provides for any of us because it will be able to support any who need more. Please pray that I continue to be diligent in my walk with God, remembering that He is the center, the rock that makes the ripples in the lake of my life. Everything ought to flow from Him, and I desire this to be true each moment of my life.
It's hard to believe I will be in another country in 6 1/2 weeks. This semester has been kick in the face. It has definitely been the hardest semester yet, and I believe even that is preparing me for this summer. I am pretty sure this summer will be the busiest most pressing time of my life to date, and I believe God is teaching me to experience spiritual rest in the midst of the lack of physical or emotional rest.
In preparation for the summer I am reading Vintage Jesus by Mark Driscoll, and I will be reading his Death By Love as well. These are both to give me a further grasp of Jesus Christ, his life, death, and resurrection. My responsibility as a believer is not to convert anyone. That is the Holy Spirit's responsibility. My responsibility is to preach the gospel, which means I need to get it right. I will be preaching the gospel to many teenagers who have never heard it before, and by God's grace, even when I get it wrong the Holy Spirit still works. It is amazing that he has called me into this legacy of standing for truth and preaching the gospel.
I read of Athanasius today. He is pretty much the one responsible for making sure the doctrine of the Trinity became just that, Christian doctrine. Those preaching heresy had political power, and he spent 17 years in flight and exile, all the time writing against the heresy and for the truth. I thought to myself, "God is calling me to a legacy of witnesses such as Athanasius. Who am I to be called to such a task?"
This Good Friday I am reminded that it was for my sin that Jesus died (1 Cor. 15:3), and indeed [his] grace is sufficient for [me], for [his] power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me (2 Cor. 12:9). It is with this confidence and hope that I take steps boldly into the future, putting faith in the in Him who has promised to be the power in my weakness.
It is incredible. My brother in Christ, Cory, is going to the Czech Republic. Nate had sent me an email asking me to continue casting the vision of the summer internship and JV to guys I knew because they still needed more guy interns. I asked many people, and then I asked Cory. God works in incredible ways. He went through two international ministry opportunities, and God brought him to JV. It is incredible to see my brother taking up the mantle of Christ and taking His message to the lost. I am incredibly grateful for his friendship and the opportunity to serve alongside him, whether on the same team or knowing we are both seeking the same goal - the glory of God in Christ - in different places in the country, separated by time and space but together in spirt. The same goes fo rNik Walborn as well. He is a brother I have been blessed by beyond measure.
I have grown more and more thankful for eternity. Not only to see my savior face to face and live with Him forever, but I get to spend lifetimes unending with brothers and sisters who have gone before me, walked beside me, and come after me.
Prayer requests: Wise and intentional with my time: that I would not marginalize time with God or fellowship or other very important but not urgent things for the sake of grades, but that I would also be diligent in my studies. I have a systematic theology mid-term on Tuesday; it's going to be a killer. Czech internship: raising of funds and prayer support, finish getting all my paperwork, and getting international insurance worked out. That God would continue to use His word, prayer, those around me, and classes to prepare me for my internship coming up, and that he would continue to sanctify and mature all of us serving their this summer and prepare each student we meet to meet with Him.
Mid writing P.S. (guess that makes that an M.W.S.): I also regularly update my Twitter (www.twitter.com/rosenministries), and you can subscribe to it in the same way you do blogs.
I have sent (well, my mom has sent) my support letters out, and it says to check this blog for updates and prayer requests. I put my prayer requests at the top for people who do not have time for all this nitty gritty detail stuff. I completely understand. It's hard to keep up with a lot of blogs that are filled with multiple paragraphs each. So, for those that want the quick updates and prayer requests, you do not need to read further. For those that want more details and all those things, feel free to continue.
Spring break was great. I have an incredible family and amazing friends. It was a blessing to be home again. Long days, late nights, movies, games, running, cooking and putting on a formal dinner; it was great.
This weekend I ran my first 5k with my roommate and a friend of his in Winona Lake, IN, which is pretty much Grace College and Seminary. 3.1 miles in 28:17. I'm pleased, but my right knee isn't. It was fun and relaxing being off campus for a night and a day, meeting new people, and resting for a bit (5k's lead to great naps and enjoyment of guilt free large meals).
I've been thinking about writing a new post quite a lot, but most often I have changed my mind or simply not had much content, and I also decide my time is better spent elsewhere, but I am regularly reminded (by myself) that I need to write something, and I want to. So...a good, solid, thoughtful, intentional, and up to date post is on the way, and I will have it out by Friday afternoon.
