Work Crew Part IV: The Best Day of my Life

hey guys! sorry it's taken so long for me to finish this little series! life's been incredible and crazy these last few months!

if you missed the last couple of posts, this summer i was blessed to work for a month at a young life camp called windy gap. all of us on staff payed our way to get there, and weren't payed a dime for the work we did. our staff community became a family that reflected Christ to the 1500 high school students we served over the course of the month. the four weeks we worked there the Lord taught me so much about Himself and about how much He loves us.

the last week of camp, i experienced what was one of if not the single greatest moments of my life. we had an incredible couple of weeks, and i honestly didn't know how the Lord could bless my month any more. and then, He did.

that last week, we had a camper get caught with a very large amount of drugs in his possession. the camper had thought he would get bored and need a quick fix or two, and thought he would be able to get some extra cash by selling the drugs when he got a free minute. he hadn't sold or used any of the drugs through the whole week because he had been having such an incredible time. when he was caught, he freaked out. he thought he would be kicked out of camp and sent to jail. instead, he was forced to work with me and my work crew during one of our shifts. when the guy came into the kitchen he looked bewildered. he was happy he wasn't going to jail, but he was trying to prepare himself for the judgement he would most certainly get from a bunch of church-folk who were serving at a Jesus-camp! of course we would punish him, look down on him, and seem awkward or worrisome around him. when he came into the back, he was thrown off. these people were working, hard, and did so with smiles on. they danced, sang, and joked around as they work. he found that he actually enjoyed something about it. they treated him like family. i was never more proud of my work crew than the way they responded to this young man. he was literally openly astonished by the way they loved him. the Lord was present while he was in that hot, smelly, humid room.

we wrote our favorite Bible verses and notes of encouragement and placed them in the same fake peanut butter jar the drugs had been stashed in. the young man's leaders gave him the container later in the week.

and then, there was thursday. during the campers quiet time outside, as we began to sing and signal the campers to go back to their cabins, they all began to shuffle down the hill and into the buildings below. all but one. he was flat on the floor, sobbing, and absolutely incapable of getting up. all he could say was "my girlfriend is dead." we all prayed for him, and worshipped on that hill with passion and brokenness, joy and desperation. then one of my friends half-carried him to his cabin. the Lord began to tell me to take care of my brother, so i began to write him some encouragement, and grabbed a book we were given before we began work crew training. when my friend came back, i asked what his story was. he told me this:

he was a junior in high school. a few months ago he and his girlfriend, who had been his best friend for seven years, had died. they were running one day, and her heart gave out. without warning, the week before prom, he had been stripped of the closest relationship he had on this earth. he was a Christian leader at his school, and he would soon be working at another young life camp the next week.

once again, my team blew me away. they all wrote the boy encouragement of their own, and we placed them in the book. i waited all friday, but couldn't find him. finally, i gave up searching the camp. that night, during the big group meeting, who would be the first person to come in but the guy i'd been searching for all day. i was able to give him the book and notes. he took them with a confused look, and left the room.

finally, that friday night, i went into one of the cabins. the guys there listened to my testimony, and began to ask all sorts of questions. one of the campers in particular was obviously struggling. you could tell he knew the Lord was good, but had no idea how to survive in a world that is so overwhelming. you could also tell he was unsure whether he should talk about his issues openly. he kept mentioning them vaguely or generally, but never in detail. i left the room feeling blessed by how much they had all asked and how the Lord had moved, but i also felt like the work was unfinished.

and then came saturday.

it was my last day of work crew. we were all finishing up our last chores, our last dishes to wash, our last tables to set. and then, i passed the kid from cabin time again. i asked him if he wanted to talk more about what was bothering him, and to my surprise, he actually said yes. i looked for a chance to talk to him the whole morning, but couldn't find a chance. then, as i was just getting off to rest with my friends and get some ice cream, i saw him again. he was sitting with another one of the boys from cabin time, alone at a long table, and there in between them, was an open chair. i took the Lord's invitation. as i sat down, i silently prayed Jesus would take over. we began to talk about darkness, and his pain. his life without a godly father, his fears of the lure of alcohol and drugs in his home. his struggle with kleptomania. as we talked, i would answer a question, or ask one of my own, only to have an answer from a corner of the table or a voice beside me that i hadn't noticed before. after some thirty minutes, i realized that the table that had been empty before was packed, and there were guys sitting in chairs around us as well. i hadn't even noticed. the Lord had been speaking. i had been listening to what was coming out my mouth as much as they had. it came out without me thinking, and the words weren't mine. i realized that are time was up, and that some of the guys were getting tired, so i said goodbye and left.

as we sat in for our last big group session of the month, i watched something beautiful happen. the young man who had begun that week planning how to sell drugs spoke how the Lord had changed his life. then, as i left the room, the boy to whom we had given my book came up to talk to me. his eyes were bright, and he was grinning from ear to ear. he came up, called me by name, hugged me, and told me how the Lord had blessed him that week. he was thrilled. soon, he would be serving others at a young life camp of his own! as he left, a young man from my talk that morning came over and thanked me for talking with him. as he left, another one of the guys from that morning came up, and one by one, they all came out of the crowd of campers leaving for the buses to thank me.

as i walked back into our meeting room, i couldn't hold it in. right there, in the middle of the room, in front of all the other staff, i broke down. the month had been incredible, the week had been beautiful, and that saturday had been one of if not the very best day of my life. and i hadn't deserved it at all. the Lord had just decided to bless me in His time.

that's the funny thing about moving out in faith. the Lord never does things how you expect Him to. He rather enjoys showing us just how much He can blow away our expectations. our problem, i've found, is not that we hope for too much, but too little. we serve an infinite God who loves us and lavishes gifts on us we are absolutely unable to repay. we are allowed to be a part of the heavenly dance that will echo through eternity.

"7“Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. 8For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.9“Which of you, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? 10Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake?11If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!" -matthew 7:7-11

praying that you see the Lord fill you up beyond anything you could imagine! God bless!

Work Crew Part III: Joyous Strength

hey guys! if you missed the last couple of posts, this summer i was blessed to work for a month at a young life camp called windy gap. all of us on staff payed our way to get there, and weren't payed a dime for the work we did. our staff community became a family that reflected Christ to the 1500 high school students we served over the course of the month. the four weeks we worked there the Lord taught me so much about Himself and about how much He loves us.

the third week of work crew, so we were told by our leaders -who'd been doing this for some time- is the hardest. it's the time when every team faces tension, when the exhaustion of multiple weeks of selfless and tasking labor, late nights, early mornings, and service begins to wear on a team. when their flesh goes to war against their hearts. when all their pride and selfishness becomes evident.

but our team, by some grace, seemed immune. that week, we grew closer, experienced more joy, and saw the Lord's grace even more. at the end of the week, we saw even more kids meet their Maker, and watched as miracles happened right before our eyes. there was less enmity and stress between us that week than there had been any week before.

our leaders seemed amazed at how we kept pushing through without pause. they thought we would have hit a brick wall by that point. but, like our Savior, we had something so much greater than sleep or an emotional high to keep us going.

"i have food to eat that you know nothing about... my food is to do the will of Him who sent me and to finish His work." - John 4:32-34

we were filled that week with the joy of the Lord, and it was incredible. every night, i went to sleep around two o'clock every night thinking "i am going to be exhausted in the morning, i'm not going to make it". every morning i woke up at seven awake and ready to go. the day was filled with work from sunup till sundown, cleaning, washing, being there for the campers emotionally, mentally, and spiritually, but it was like i was running on a full nights sleep. i never felt tired like i should have.

people often believe the Bible is being figurative when it says "the joy of the Lord is strength." (nehemiah 8:10). it's not.

there is nothing more real than God, and there is nothing more potent than His love. we have access to a power source that is incomprehensible in its capabilities. by His grace, we have been given access to that power. when we walk through life defeated, exhausted, and empty, we not only do we reject His gift of rest, but we limit ourselves through our selfish forms of introspection. that's not to say we won't be pressed and persecuted, but that we will never be crushed or abandoned. we may be struck down, but we will never be destroyed. we are blessed beyond anything this world can throw at us. His joy is our strength.

there is nothing more fulfilling than His love, and nothing more energizing than His passion.

"the Lord is my strength and my shield. i trust in Him with all my heart. He helps me, and my heart is filled with joy. i burst out into songs of thanksgiving." -psalm 28:7

praying that we experience that love that brings joyous strength! God bless!

Grow the Grass

hey guys! hope everything's going great!

have you ever laid down centipede grass? if you have, you'll know that, when you first make the lawn, it looks horrible. the grass will be littered with weeds, all over, filling every inch of soil the grass doesn't. the grass looks small and half-dead. it's a mess.

you can try to pull the weeds out, but all you'll do is put a lot of energy into ripping up the soil, and making the grass look even worse. the work will be endless; you'll just get worn out.

instead, grow the grass. give it weed-and-feed, make sure it's watered, and let it soak in the sun. within a few weeks, you'll start to see something incredible. the grass grows quickly, but the weeds will begin to look more and more dead. as the grass spreads across your yard, the weeds begin to get fewer and fewer, faster and faster. you suddenly begin to realize: the grass is choking the weeds. soon, you have a lush lawn, and every weed in it dies prematurely.

our souls are the same way. often, when people want to live better lives, feel better about themselves, be "better christians", or experience God more, they try to do more good works, and attempt to stop doing whatever sin they see in their lives. they try to rip out every heartache, scar, weakness, or temptation from their lives. they make themselves busy with nice church activities or go to cool church events. and they end up wearing themselves to the core.

the Israelites attempted the same thing, and listen to what their God had to say to them:

"this is what the Sovereign Lord, the Holy One of israel, says: 'In repentance and rest is your salvation, in quietness and trust is your strength, but you would have none of it." -isaiah 30:15

Instead of focusing on our fears or our faults and attempting to fix every aspect of our lives, we must simply rest in Him. we need only spend time with Him in prayer, fill our minds and hearts with His Word, and cling to His old rugged cross. as He fills us with faith, hope, and love, all lesser things are eclipsed in the glory of His Holy Spirit.

we cannot afford to be a generation simply of doers. doing things is wonderful, but doing accomplishes nothing without being. we must first be in Him before we can do anything through Him. we must let His light consume the empty void of our inner darkness. this is the meaning of the Christian life.

"my soul finds rest in God alone; my salvation comes from Him." -psalm 62:1

"It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery [...] but by faith we eagerly await through the Spirit the righteousness for which we hope. 6For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision has any value. the only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love." -galations 5:1-5

praying that He fills you up through your inmost being and gives you the ultimate rest! God bless!

Work Crew Part II: Be Still

hey guys! if you missed the last post, this summer i was blessed to work for a month at a young life camp called windy gap. all of us on staff payed our way to get there, and weren't payed a dime for the work we did. our staff community became a family that reflected Christ to the 1500 high school students we served over the course of the month. the four weeks we worked there the Lord taught me so much about Himself and about how much He loves us.

the second week the Lord chose to show me just how weak i am and just how great He is. for three quiet times in a row, the Lord kept bringing up mary magdalen and her sister, martha. both girls served Jesus, but went about it in very different ways. 

mary humbled herself and poured herself out at Jesus' feet... literally. she gave him her life savings: a jar of perfume she used to wash his feet. she broke open the nard and covered his feet with it, uncovering and unbraiding  her hair and using it in place of a rag to spread the perfume along his feet. in ancient israel, a jar of nard like the one mary gave to her Master was worth at least an average person's yearly wages. she was literally pouring almost all that she had in savings at His feet. to the average person, this looked like a terrible waste. it's no wonder Jesus' disciples rebuked her when they saw this! they thought all the money should at least be given to the poor. she was wasting the modern day equivalent of $40,000 so this man's feet could smell good for a few hours!

mary wasn't just wasting money, she was being inappropriate in her wastefulness. in ancient israel, women were supposed to cover their hair in public. it was considered indecent to be seen with unbraided, uncovered hair. when she washed his feet with her naked hair, she was essentially taking off her outer clothing and washing her Lord with it. the religious leaders nearby were appalled. this woman needed to put her clothes back on! 

yet Jesus commended her for this. He declared that we should all worship and adorn Him with the same extravagance and abandon. 

this is how, the Lord showed me, we were supposed to lavish His love on these campers. we worked at least ten hours a day - often more - cleaning campers dishes, setting their tables to the centimeter, cutting their grass to the inch, setting up events for them, cleaning up after them, cleaning their rooms... and most of them never even consciously considered it. no one thought about how they were being given clean plates every meal. no one saw the bakers waking up at 6:30 every morning to bake for hundreds of people at a break-neck pace. when other people heard about our work, they thought we were being somewhat ridiculous. the camp took thousands of dollars in upkeep, and gave nothing to commerce, never gave any money specifically to those in poverty, and could have been used in millions of other ways the world would probably consider more "productive" or "religious". but we lavished love on those students. it was incredible to watch the change His love made on them. these kids, coming from thousands of different walks of life, carrying countless pounds of baggage, weighed down by untold amounts of pain, struggling with terrifying sin, were astounded at the depths of His love. 

and then, mary did something even greater. when Jesus began to teach in her house, she simply sat at His feet and listened to what He had to say. she soaked Him in, and never worried about who she was or what she was. mary was a female. in her day, women weren't supposed to be allowed in the living room when men were having their "guy talks" or teachers were teaching. yet she simply stopped, and, even when everyone else was astonished at her audacity, simply let Jesus pour into her. 

martha, her sister, also tried to serve Jesus. she washed and cleaned, attempting to make her house as suitable for her Master as possible. this was commendable work for a woman in ancient israel. she was doing the job that looked righteous, and was doing it with excellence! the men in her house would have looked at her as such a great woman, and the women in the house would have thought she was such a great example! but she became obsessed with her work. she allowed for Jesus to be in her house without attempting to be as close to Him as she could. she was no longer following Him, she was working for Him. it stopped being worship and service, and became a job, and a religious exercise. when she finally broke down and came to Him, complaining of how her sister wasn't helping, Jesus rebuked her. 

the second week, my weakness and pride were shown to me very clearly. the first week, i had been reading in isaiah and a verse that the Lord put on my heart was isaiah 30:15

"this is what the sovereign Lord, the Holy One of israel says: 'in repentance and rest is your salvation, in quietness and trust is your strength,' but you would have none of it." 

i couldn't get it out of my head. early in the second week, as i was having those quiet times, i found out why: was also beginning to find out just how weak i was.  

i began to become obsessed with getting our work done, to the point where i was hurting my chances to encourage my friends or really pour into them. instead of slowing down and enjoying their company, i would move on to the next dish, or completely ignore them to get the job done. i was working at a break-neck pace, and other people, like my boss and some of the older staff around me, were commending me for working so hard. but, over time, it stopped being of the Lord. He brought to my mind just how much i was hurting and frustrating those around me in how i was approaching my work. that night, i finally hit my breaking point, realized i needed to get away for a while, repent, rest, be quiet and trust the Lord would do whatever i was attempting to do a whole lot better than i ever could. we all went up on a hill and had about twenty minutes of quiet while the campers went out and had some quiet time with their Maker. 

on that hill, i was absolutely humbled at my own foolishness, sat still for the first time in days, and listened. He told me: 

"be still and know that I am God." 

every fiber in my being wanted to say something, but again, He just told me to be still and listen to what He was doing. 

so when we started to pray together as a work crew and all i wanted to do was start speaking out loud, i held my mouth shut and listened, and friends who had struggled with talking with their Lord in a group before spoke in power and authority to their Father. and when we were asked as a group to talk about what the Lord was teaching us through our work and our bosses and each other, and all i wanted to do was speak, He told me again to be still. so i sat, and listened as prayers i had for my friends were answered before my eyes as they talked about how He was moving in their hearts. He never needed me to begin with!

so, just a real quick encouragement to pour yourself out for Him, lavish His love on those around you, and never get caught up in being a "good christian" or work. He loves you and those around you more than anything you do! God bless you guys and have an awesome week!

Work Crew Part I: Washing Plates... and Feet

hey guys! this summer i was blessed to work for a month at a young life camp called windy gap. all of us on staff payed our way to get there, and weren't payed a dime for the work we did. our staff community became a family that reflected Christ to the 1500 high school students we served over the course of the month. the four weeks we worked there the Lord taught me so much about Himself and about how much He loves us. 

the first week was crazy. we all began our jobs. i was placed in the jungle, which is a fancy way of saying that i washed dishes in the back of the kitchen. we washed every pan, plate, bowl, and cup the campers ate from, and cleaned every mixing bowl, spatula, and measuring bowl the cooks and bakers needed. we worked for about ten hours every day that week, and spent lots of our free time putting on events for the campers, and only got about five hours of sleep a night. we were never seen by the campers, and, like i said, were never payed. it was beautiful. 

have you ever thought about how Jesus washed his disciples feet? 

in ancient times, people traveled on their feet, walked on dirt roads, covered in dung and filth, and, if they wore anything to keep their feet somewhat clean, only wore sandals. can you get a picture of how gross their feet were? 

washing feet was the job of a slave. only slaves were lowly enough, considered worthless enough, to bend down and willingly clean another man's dirt and dung covered feet with their bare hands and, maybe, a small rag. it was disgusting, degrading, and pitiful work. 

here we see the God of the universe, the Being who made the stars in the sky, who spoke everything into existence, who made atoms, cells, mountains and lightning, lions, the sea, and the galaxies, the King of kings, the Lord of lords, the being who was regality and kingship before men ever attempted to form words to describe it, the Great Conqueror... bending down and doing the work of the lowest, most pitiful humans on earth.

and doing it gladly

how? how could the unfathomable God of all things humble Himself to such a pathetic level? 

He loves unconditionally 

"It was just before the passover feast. Jesus knew the time had come for Him to leave this world and go to the Father. having loved His own who were in the world, He wanted to show them the extent of His love...[]... so He got up from the meal, took off His outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around His waist. He then poured water in a basin and began to wash His disciples feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around His waist." -john 13:1 and 4

and He was setting an example

"i have set an example for you that you should do as i have done for you. i tell you the truth, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them." - john 13:15-17

the God of the universe called us to serve the same, selfless, humble, back-breaking way He did, and to do it gladly, all for the Kingdom of Heaven. 

that first week, Christ's words became very literal for me. we worked in a 90 degree environment, we had no experience and had no idea what we were doing, and on our busiest night, the power went out and for a while, we had to wash everything without lights, fans, or power washers. and i learned what it's like to wash something most people consider below them or disgusting. 

i can think of few things i've loved more than washing those plates. every plate i saw, God reminded me that right there, He was loving on a camper who had probably never met Him before. every spec of food we wiped off, He spoke of how He was moving through the camp, unseen with our physical eyes, the same way we were never seen. but so evident, like our cleaned silverware proved, and so incredible, like the smiles we wore in that back room. i was reminded of how far He went to serve me, and how, by providing these campers with clean kitchenware, they were being loved, even when they didn't consciously know it. in those moments, sweating, dressed in a yellow apron, hands covered in two strange latex gloves, wearing goofy rain boots, i knew a part of Christ. it was beauty like i have seen few times before.  

so, as Christians, we are called to wash the feet of others. sometimes, it looks like washing their dishes. sometimes, it looks like picking them up when no one else will. sometimes, it's as simple as saying hello. we are called to become less, so that He can become more. the release from the weight of self-gratification and the experience of understanding our Father just that much more is worth anything any selfishness can give us. 

just want to encourage you guys wherever you are to love on someone till it costs you. to quote one of my favorite bands: 

 "if it doesn't break your heart, it isn't love. if it doesn't break your heart, it's not enough." 

-switchfoot 

praying that you experience His love in  a crazy and radical way! God bless!

When the Clouds Burst

hey guys! just got back from some crazy trips! this summer, we went back to bong county, liberia. this was my third trip. the people of the village of balama knew me, and i knew them, but none of us knew just how much the Lord had in store for us. 

this year we had fewer people able to come on board with us. our budget was smaller than in years past, and our group was the smallest it has been in four years. most of our group had never been in a third world country, some had never been out of the states before, and one girl had never even flown on a plane. we were inexperienced, young, and by most people's standards, completely unqualified for the work the Lord had called us to. 

but this year, the Lord decided to move in a way unlike any i've ever seen. people's lives were radically changed, and the village of balama will never be the same. the Lord touched the hearts of so many of the students, He moved through the teachers and broke down cultural and spiritual barriers in a way that is unlike anything we had seen before, and we saw the buildings we have been praying to be completed were finally finished. 

God has taught me one powerful lesson: He is Lord. He works in His own time, in His own way, through whomever and whatever He wants to move through. He never works on anybody else's schedule. He can't be wooed into moving by good works or talented people, He simply works, unseen by most of us, the power of His Spirit and the work of His Saints building and building, like rain clouds gathering, almost utterly unseen till the last moments before the clouds burst. 

i watched the prayers, time, energy, wealth, ministry, and gifts of hundreds of God's people answered with the power of His Spirit in one short week. 

the great thing is, He hasn't stopped moving, and even when the change or impact may seem invisible, i know He'll still be moving. 

if you're like me and you get exhausted waiting to see the results of your labor for the Lord, don't be. He may show you the fruits of your labor today, tomorrow, a month from now, or years from now. you may never see the harvest of your labor till you see the Kingdom come. but it's not your plan you're attempting to accomplish. it is the Lord's  Spirit that makes you able to work, it is the Lord's plan He is accomplishing in His own way, and it is His gift to us to be a part of it. we are never promised the luxury of seeing God's plan unfold, we are only promised that all we do for Him will matter in eternity. 

"stand firm, let nothing move you. always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain" - 1 corinthians 15:58

praying that you're filled with His Spirit overflowing and know just how much He is changing the world through you! God bless!

Why Did He Stay?

recently, we had Easter. we celebrate the the passion of Christ and the Cross where He bore our sin. we celebrate the Third Day and His resurrection. but, as i thought about these events, this year, i also started to think about the days He spent with His followers afterward.

people so often think that Jesus just came back to life and then left to Heaven. they imagine He came up from the grave and ascended straight into the sky. that's just not the truth.

Jesus spent about forty days on earth after coming back from the dead. why? what did He have to prove? better yet, why did He even come back from the dead?

we like to think that Jesus came back from the dead because He didn't like it there. contrary to popular belief, Jesus had gone beyond the tiny speck of dust we call earth. as He promised one of the two men who were crucified with Him "today, you will be with me, in Paradise." -luke 23:43

He didn't just sit there in the grave for three days waiting to come back. on the contrary, He had plenty to do. revelation describes Him taking the keys of hell from satan, and we know that through His sacrifice on the cross, He payed the price for our sin. He had obtained "all the power and wisdom of heaven and earth" that He deserved from the beginning (matthew 28:18), crushed the devil under His heel (genesis 3:15), and He had taken a seat at the right hand of God the Father, His rightful place. why in the world would He come back?

i'm now less than two weeks away from graduating high school. it's been an incredible trip, filled with unforgettable moments. i've learned and grown a ton over the last four years, and i'll leave my school with no real regrets, and a lot of blessings from a lot of people who love me. but it has been an incredibly hard period in my life. high school was filled with struggle after struggle for me. i've been mistreated, misunderstood, attacked, and struggled with loneliness for four long years. it's been amazing, but if someone told me i had to do it all over again from day one, i don't know if i could. less than a week after graduation day, i'm heading out to africa, and then, when i get back, i'm traveling again to young life camp for a month, and then, after a few weeks of rest, i'm moving on to college. i can't wait to know that my job is done, and move on to bigger and better things. so when i think about Jesus' situation, to have given everything He had for us, to have given up His life for fallen humanity, to have experienced nothing but hatred from those He loved so much, to say to sin and the brokenness of the old covenant "it is finished.", and then, to experience physical and spiritual death... when i received the glory and honor and praise i deserved in Heaven, i would not have come back. why in the world was there a resurrection?

FOR US

the resurrection wasn't for Jesus at all. He had nothing to gain by coming back. He did it for two simple reasons.

"and Jesus Christ our Lord was shown to be the Son of God when God powerfully raised him from the dead by means of the Holy Spirit. through Christ, God has given us the privilege and authority to tell gentiles everywhere what God has done for them, so that they will believe and obey him, bringing glory to His name." - romans 1:4-5

He came back to show His disciples that He was the Messiah, God Almighty. when He came back, He proved exactly who He was. the giver of life, the lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world. to show us what we could have in Him. to make sure we knew who He was and just how much He wanted to give us the same power, peace, hope, and love He had on this earth, and in the world to come.

but far more importantly, He came back to tell the disciples, and you, and me, in an unforgettable way, one very special message:

"I LOVE YOU!"

He came back to tell you that He loves you, and nothing could ever keep Him from loving you.

no amount of wealth was worth choosing not to love you; He chose to be born to two dirt poor peasants in a feeding trough in the middle east.

no almighty nature or perfection was worth choosing not to love you; He gave it up and became a helpless baby in a manger, without the ability to speak or even go to the restroom, to tell you He loves you more than any power or knowledge.

no all knowing security was worth choosing not to love you; He gave it up in the garden of gethsemane, as He cried out to His Father "take this cup away from me! but not my will, but yours be done."

no invincibility was worth choosing not to love you; He suffered beatings, a crown of thorns, and 39 lashes for you.

no good reputation or honor was worth choosing not to love you; He was betrayed by His closest friends, falsely accused, and when given the chance to save Him the crowds chose a murderer as more fit to live than Him. He allowed it to happen to show you just how much He cares.

no sin could keep Him from loving you; He experienced all the guilt, shame, depravity, and darkness of humanity when He took our sins on that cross.

His own life could not keep Him from loving you; He gave it up as He bled and suffocated on golgotha.

on that resurrection sunday, He told the universe that not even death itself could keep Him from loving you. He would go right on living just to tell you He cares.

"where o death, is your victory? where o death, is your sting?" -1 corinthians 15:55

"... and i will always be with you, to the every end of the age." - Matthew 27:55

"no, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. for i am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord." -romans 8:37-39

He loves you! God bless!

In His Steps

w.w.j.d.

ever seen a necklace, bracelet, or book with these letters on it? ever been asked the question "what would Jesus do?"

when i was younger, i had a horrible temper. there was a point in my early life when i got into fights with kids of all ages over the tiniest things. needless to say, i got into an incredible amount of trouble for trying to beat kids up (i won out a good bit too...). adults and even some of my classmates would sometimes look me in the eyes after i'd gotten in a fight or tried some other crazy stunt, and ask me:

"now daniel, what do you think Jesus would do? would he have hit that kid...?"

and i would anwer slowly...

"no..."

and then they would say

"now daniel, what should you do now?"

and i would say, with a heave and a long, drawn out sigh

"say i'm sorry..."

and the rest is history.

i grew up with those words meaning that i should be sorry. even though my elders had a point when they told me that i needed to apologize, forgive, make amends, and ask forgiveness for what i'd done wrong, they also simultaneously made in me a disposition towards that phrase that wasn't altogether too attractive. the words, "what would Jesus do" were associated with apology and confrontation with guilt. not horrible things to do or think about, but, as i look back, their not at all what those words are really about.

the phrase "what would Jesus do?" comes from a book called "in His steps" written by a pastor from the 1890's named charles sheldon. the book is incredibly simple. it's a story about what happens when a single church community begins to ask "what would Jesus do?" before every action they take. the church members are normal middle and upper class members of society, they live ordinary middle and upper class lives.

they aren't altogether different from thousands upon thousands of christians in the churches of america today. some of them are talented, others are very simple. some have incredible wealth, others live more modest lives. they live comfortable lives, give money to charities, go to church regularly, sing in church choir, and some of them even preach on sunday. but they never really ask the question, what does it mean to be a disciple of Christ.

when they take up their pledge to stop simply being "christians" on sundays, and start following Christ in all He calls them to do, they can't escape the example Jesus set for them, or the words he spoke to the world concerning his followers:

"not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. ²² many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’ ²³ then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’ -matthew 7:22-23

^"23 Then he said to them all: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me." -luke 9:23

as they ask the question, "what would Jesus do?" they come to realize just how much He sacrificed for them, and just how much His sacrifice demands that they do. it's not that they must do something to attain His forgiveness, His faith, or His love. it's that once they realize His forgiveness, inherit His faith, and receive His love, they recognize the change it instantaneously brings about in their lives. they cannot be appeased by temporary happiness or material wealth; they desperately desire eternal beauty and heavenly treasures. they can no longer sit by and watch humanity tear itself apart, they must fight, struggle, and sacrifice all they have to save whatever and whoever they can. they suffer financial destruction, social isolation, they give up their life dreams, they are estranged by their own families, and are forced to live in the very places they fear the most. and through it all, God's love sustains them.

people in our world want a how to guide to better relationships, stronger friendships, healthier lifestyle, and inner peace. they want ten simple steps to get whatever they desire. contrary to what a lot of people seem to be saying, Jesus never gave us any of that.

the majority of Jesus' talks were filled with examples, metaphors, similes, and short, powerful statements. the majority of the times He actually said to do or not do something, it was almost always straight out of the old testament. the few times He ever gave a command that was original, it was always in response to how God treats us.

Jesus never gave us a system of how we are supposed to live this life. He gave us His life instead. He's the perfect example of what life looks like when God is allowed to do exactly what He does best in our lives in the most extreme way: share His love with us. even better, He is our connection to the Father. because of Him, we have freedom to touch the God of the universe!

so, only two questions remain. they are incredibly simple to answer, and absolutely terribly in their implications.

do we really know Jesus?

are we walking in His Steps?

these questions are so terrible because they get down to the heart of everything we do. are we really living for the God we claim to know? better yet, are we who and what we claim to be? the word christian itself means Christ-follower. are we really doing things like He did?

"³ We know that we have come to know him if we keep his commands. ⁴ Whoever says, “I know him,” but does not do what he commands is a liar, and the truth is not in that person. ⁵ But if anyone obeys his word, love for God is truly made complete in them. This is how we know we are in him: ⁶ Whoever claims to live in him must live as Jesus did." - 1 john 2:3-6

i was once asked the question "if God is so good, why does He let bad things happen?"

that question is easy enough to answer. if God really loves us, He has to allow for us to do what we want to, even if it means hurting ourselves or those around us. and He has to make sure that He never forces us to believe Him, even if it means we suffer through this life never knowing just how radical His love for us is. He has to allow for bad things to happen to us, even if they are avoidable. because He has to give us freedom to choose who we want to be and whether we want to love Him. if He doesn't, He can't also be a God of love. He won't be loving, merciful, gracious, or good.

the question i cannot answer so easily is why are these horrible things never fixed in a world filled with so many people claiming to be christians? why, if we are the salt of the earth and the light of the world, do we seem to be so comfortable with the way the world is? Jesus fought for the lonely and afraid. He spent time with tax-collectors and sinners. He gave up all His glory to save a broken race that hated Him.

i look around me, and wherever i go, no matter where i am, i see suffering. from the rich party boy who suffers from extreme insecurity and lack of purpose, to the outcast dying inside from loneliness, to the over-achiever desperate to find relief from the pressures put on her at the slightest hint that she might not be perfect, to the poor boy in the projects who never grew up with a dad, to the starving orphan in africa hanging on to life by a thread. no matter what school, town, state, or nation i go to, suffering humanity is everywhere. and we have the power to conquer it. not with money or positive thoughts or dreams, but with the love of God expressed in a radical lifestyle that reflects the passion of the great God-Man. He is the only hope humanity still has left, and He's just waiting for us to allow Him to work in our lives and in the lives of those around us.

i just wanted to encourage y'all to step forward in His faith. it will cost you everything you'll never need, and you'll find something more incredible than anything this world has to offer. He loves you through it all! praying that we follow in His steps!

^"1 therefore if you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from His love, if any common sharing in the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, ² then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind. ³⁴ not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others. do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. rather, in humility value others above yourselves,

⁵ in your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus:

⁶ who, being in very nature God,
did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage;
⁷ rather, he made himself nothing
by taking the very nature of a servant,
being made in human likeness.
⁸ and being found in appearance as a man,
he humbled himself
by becoming obedient to death—
even death on a cross!

⁹ therefore God exalted him to the highest place
and gave him the name that is above every name,
¹⁰ that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
¹¹ and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father." -phillipians 2:1-11

God bless!

Syvelle and Lovie

"grey hair is a crown of glory; it is gained by living a godly life." -proverbs 16:31

"i write this to you, elders, because you have known Him who was from the beginning..." -1 john 2:13 and 2:14

"i have fought the good fight, i have finished the race, i have set the pace." - 2 timothy 4:7

in our society, youth is prized above almost anything else. we do all we can to stay looking young, to keep our bodies fit and lean, to keep our hair full of color, and our wardrobes stuffed with the newest trends. in our culture, we desire to stay somewhere between the ages of 18 and 30 for as long as we can (or can fake it).

there's nothing wrong with staying healthy or looking young, but it does foster the illusion in our world that old age is something to be feared, or that the elderly are clueless or lost in their past. we begin to focus all our energy on the immediate and temporary, on the here and now.

the truth is, we should be thinking often of our futures, not just in an immediate sense, but for the long hall.

i can't count how many times people have asked me lately: "what college are you going to?" or "what do you want to major in?" or "what do you want to be when you grow up?". the truth is, i know where i'm going to college, but can't decide what to do when i'm there; i know what i want to do with my life, but have no idea how i'm going to get there; i know what i'm about, but have no clue where that will lead me in the next four years, much less in the next forty or fifty years. essentially, i have next to nothing figured out. but i'm absolutely fine with that, because, honestly, i think these questions, as important as they are, are the wrong ones to be asking.

the real questions someone must ask themselves when they think about their future are:

"what will people say of me at my funeral?"

"what will i be able to say at the end of my road?"

"who will i be at the end of my life?"

i say all these seemingly random thoughts because i was just blessed with a visit from the two greatest saints i have ever known.

syvelle and lovie phillips have been in the ministry since they were my age. when syvelle was 18, the Lord called him to go into full-time ministry, which, back in the 1940's, involved preaching 6 days a week. as a young man, he was sent to preach in a po-dunk town in southern florida, with no real experience whatsoever, and no credentials but God's calling. God turned his little tent where his congregation met into an enormous church, on fire for the Lord, while his church was simultaneously working in missions in Liberia helping lepers in the poverty-stricken nation. God then called him to leave his thriving church again to move to dozens of churches, all with the same result. he moved to california to work in a church that the Lord turned it into one of the biggest mega-churches in the nation. he then called syvelle - who had done mission work in almost every part of the world - to start a Bible translation and missionary support foundation. because of his work, millions of people who were never able to read the Bible in their own language have been given His Word, and even more have been saved through its words and through the dozens of missionaries syvelle has mentored, supported, and trained.

lovie's story is much the same. she felt the Lord tell her to begin to support 12 children after a trip to india, and, 37 years later, she takes care of over 4,500 children in 15 locations in 5 different nations around the world who all know her as "momma lovie". she's not only provided these kids with education, financial backing, a home, food to eat, and connections for their future, but with a hope that endures for eternity and a peace that surpasses understanding.

in their sixty years in ministry, they have experienced everything this life can throw at two people. from church rebellions, to having their home and all their possessions burned to ashes, to having false accusations placed on them, through the loss of two of their children, through move after move into the unknown, through countless sleepless nights, through every temptation this world could offer them; they have endured stress, exhaustion, pain and persecution like few people ever do... and through it all, they have remained true to each other and to their King.

speaking to them is like nothing else you'll ever do. they no longer have the capacity for small talk; they're lives are too big and beautiful to speak of anything less than the extraordinary. when you ask them how they've been doing, lovie will tell you about one of her children who was saved from the utmost poverty and just became one of the leaders of his nation, or about some headhunters they lead to Christ who are going to college this year. syvelle will talk with you about his missionaries and the work they're doing, or how a church he founded is holding up. they'll tell you story after story, miracle after miracle, grace after grace. they don't say it with any pride, they don't say it snobbishly, they don't speak with a sense of superiority. they say everything with excitement and awe. they walk with humility but confidence, as only those who know just how weak they are, but just how strong their father is, can do. they speak with meekness, but with authority, knowing that, even though their stories are incredible, they have nothing to do with their own greatness. they ask for nothing, but offer everything. they are utterly unshakable, yet absolutely gentle. they expect nothing, but deserve everything. their bodies are frail and dying, but their souls are filled with more life than any i have ever known. they are living monument to the greatness of Jesus Christ and His power in a life. and, near the end of their road, all these two saints wanted to tell this 18-year-old child was:

"there is a God in Heaven, He is faithful, He is a God of love, and He will sustain you through
anything."

in as much as i just said, i said far too little and didn't even begin to do justice to them or the God that made them. i say this all just to give you a glimpse into the lives of a couple who have seen the hand of God throughout their days, and are preparing for their trip home. at the end of their days, they are filled with peace and hope, love and life.

more than anything, that's what i desire. regardless of what it costs or entails, i want to live this life experiencing that same God and all that He can do in my life and in the lives of those around me. i want to experience warfare on the supernatural level, to fight for a country and king that's actually worth living and dying for. i want to experience grace and mercy and passion in my life that chaos, confusion, pain, and time itself cannot wear down. i want to experience a love that holds onto me till the end of my life and beyond, and fills me till it overflows and spills out into those around me. i want at the end of my days to be at peace, to want nothing more than to prepare those coming after me, and to be able to say on my death bed, like paul, "i have fought the good fight, i have finished the race, and i have set the pace."

i know life seems so crazy and painful. don't get wrapped up in the temporary. so often i give into the lie that this is all there is. i forget my homeland, or, worse, i forget who my Father is. His greatness is beyond all this world is or has to offer, and His grace is sufficient.

i guess, to sum all this up, i should just ask the question:

who do you want to be when you grow up?

"You take over. I'm about to die, my life an offering on God's altar. This is the only race worth running. I've run hard right to the finish, believed all the way. All that's left now is the shouting—God's applause! Depend on it, he's an honest judge. He'll do right not only by me, but by everyone eager for his coming." -2 timothy 6-8

hoping and praying we'll all will run straight through the finish line! God bless!

A Glimpse of Heaven

hey everyone! sorry it's been so long! january and february have been wild and crazy!

have you ever really felt home? i almost never do. i just don't fit in the places i find myself in. there's just something missing in them. most lack freedom in the air, order in the architecture, grandeur in the scenery, or love in the faces of the people that live in them. that's not to say i don't feel God's freedom within my heart, i simply don't feel the same freedom mirrored within most of my surroundings; that's not to say that i don't feel his security comfort me, but that i almost never touch anything that's sure around me, be it physical, mental, or spiritual, within this world we live in. that's not to say that He doesn't shower me in love, cause He never fails to cover me in more ways than i can imagine, and He has surrounded me with incredible people filled with so much of His love within them. but, at the same time, there are also so many people around me who walk around defeated, insecure, hateful, and downtrodden. why do i feel so often like this place, however incredible, is so different from the God who made me?

maybe it's just because this isn't where i'm made for.

"if i find in myself desires nothing in this world can satisfy, i can only conclude that i was not made for this world." -c.s. lewis

this past weekend, i got to go for the seventh time to an incredible retreat called sharptop cove. every time i go, God fills me with hope, not just while i'm there, but even more when i get home. because, while there, you feel so comfortable, so loved, so enamored with the mountains around you, the crystal clear lake, the sapphire sky, and the love in the eyes of the students that lead the camp, you quickly forget just how special it really is. it just feels like home, like life is supposed to be. when i get home, i realize just how empty the world i live in is. i've forgotten my homeland, the place where i really belong.

Heaven.

there are so many misconceptions of the place. we think of our own little hobbies, trinkets, pets, vices that might be there. we think of meeting incredible people who've gone before us, of reuniting with loved ones passed away. but have we really considered what Heaven really is?

the place where God is.

can we imagine that? to be in the presence of God, almighty, omniscient, all-loving, with no hindrances, no distractions of the flesh, no hatred, no lesser fears. to stand before utter goodness, justice, power, and love; naked before your Creator. can we really imagine the beauty of a land literally consumed with His presence, splendor, and majesty. geography, nature, creation beyond our most awe-inspiring sights. all consumed with the love pouring out from His Holy Spirit...

every year for the past seven years, i've spent some of my time at camp underneath a tree with a trunk that curves like a seat, talking with God, looking at His creation, and listening to what He has to tell me. this year, as i sat under that tree, i realized "this is my last time doing this. i will never return to sharptop as a camper."

His response was immediate and shell-shocking: "This is nothing. This is a glimpse of what i have for you. See these stars? Just wait and see the lights i have waiting for you when you get Home. Just wait for the Talks we'll have someday."

for all the beauty in that place, it is less than a glimpse of my home. for all the love within the people there (including me) it is nothing compared to the love He will pour out on me and all those with me when i arrive at my homeland.

i'm a child who's tasted one little chocolate bar in his entire life and is about to inherit willy wonka's factory.

this life is beautiful, but this is nothing compared to what's to come.

"but there's far more to life for us. we're citizens of high heaven! we're waiting the arrival of the Savior, the Master, Jesus Christ, who will transform our earthy bodies into glorious bodies like his own. He'll make us beautiful and whole with the same powerful skill by which he is putting everything as it should be, under and around him." -phillipians 3:20

"since everything here today might well be gone tomorrow, do you see how essential it is to live a holy life? daily expect the day of God, eager for its arrival. The galaxies will burn up and the elements melt down that day—but we'll hardly notice. we'll be looking the other way, ready for the promised new Heavens and the promised new earth, all landscaped with righteousness." -2 peter 3:11

"i saw Heaven and earth new-created. Gone the first Heaven, gone the first earth, gone the sea. i saw Holy Jerusalem, new-created, descending resplendent out of Heaven, as ready for God as a bride for her husband." -revelation 21:1-2

if you're exhausted, fed up with your surroundings, or bogged down by the weight of this world, know that this isn't it. there's so much more in store for you than this world! look ahead to what's to come, and know He's made it just for you!

"each one of these people of faith died not yet having in hand what was promised, but still believing. How did they do it? they saw it way off in the distance, waved their greeting, and accepted the fact that they were transients in this world. people who live this way make it plain that they are looking for their true home. If they were homesick for the old country, they could have gone back any time they wanted. but they were after a far better country than that—heaven country. you can see why God is so proud of them, and has a City waiting for them." -hebrews 11:13

"we all arrive at your doorstep sooner or later, loaded with guilt, our sins too much for us— but you get rid of them once and for all. blessed are the chosen! blessed the guest at home in your place! we expect our fill of good things in your house, your heavenly mansion. all your salvation wonders are on display in your trophy room. Earth-Tamer, Ocean-Pourer, Mountain-Maker, Hill-Dresser, Muzzler of sea storm and wave crash, of mobs in noisy riot— far and wide they'll come to a stop, they'll stare in awe, in wonder. dawn and dusk take turns calling, 'Come and worship.' " -psalm 65:2

praying that y'all all catch a glimpse of Heaven! can't wait for our homecoming! God bless!