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October 10 From a Psalm to the PhilippinesPsalm 46:1-3 (ESV)
God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. though the earth gives way, though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea, though the mountains tremble at its swelling. Selah[1]
In light of who God is and who he is to us who believe, "Therefore we will not fear." He is our refuge and strength. He is a "very present" help in troubled, disturbing times. That is, he is a real help, tangible help, not far and distant but near, close, powerful and personal.
This is the reality that galvanizes the soul of the faithful. This is how they (we) sail through seasons of storm, tsunami's that rock our souls.
We will not fear, though the earth gives way (sounds like earthquakes and mudslides) though the mountains be moved into the heart fo the sea (ditto) though the waters roar and foam (sounds like storms and tidal waves and floods) though the mountains tremble at its swelling (ditto)
Yet, because of who he is, becasue of who he is to us, because of how we hold on to him who is our refuge and strength, we are not capsized but like Jesus asleep in the front of the boat, we have a peace that surpsses all human understanding (Phil 4:7).
Pray for your brothers and sisters in the Philippines. Pray for the flood ravaged, mountain-melted, storm tossed bays, and storm-surge devastated areas of Manila and the north. Pray that believers there would be beacons of hope. Pray that they would hold on to Jesus. Pray that God would protect and provide new resources and help.
And if you can be a part of your prayer's answer, don't hesitate. Pray, go, give. But keep clinging to Jesus yourself. He is our only sure refuge in every storm no matter what direction it comes from. October 07 Hands of Love AmericaGreat meeting today with the Hands of Love America Board. Pray for tomorrow's meeting as we try to discern the will of God for the projects that we will work with in the next year. Specifically,
September 30 The Perfect SandwichHere it is:
Accompany your perfect sandwich with either chocolate Tastykake cupcakes or Tastykake butterscotch krimpets. Wash it all down with Pennsylvania Dutch brand Birch Beer. Now that is a sandwich to savor. A little taste of heaven. Is it too obvious that I have recently been to Philly? September 29 OK, I Promised a U2 ReviewBy the grace of God and the generosity of a friend I was given 6 tickets to the U2 Concert in Chicago. I took my daughter and two of her friends, and a couple from one of the classes I teach at Trinity Seminary. It was a great time. Concert was great. A blend of new music and old music spanning the 35 years that the groups has been together. Big concerts like these, (65,000 screaming fans) are more spectacle than music appreciation. The stage, sound system, light system and 360 degree stage and screen and runway, and two moving bridges, were absolutely gigantic, mythologically large. All seats were great.
But people don't go to these concerts because of the music they will hear, they could do that for a lot less cost by simply purshasing the new CD and it would sound a whole lot better.
We go to these concerts to remember where we were when we heard our first U2 song, or how we first began to follow the ruminations of Bono, or when we first realized that The Edge was so distinctive in his guitar riffs that we could tell a U2 song before Bono sang or the DJ made his pronouncement. We go to say that we were there. "we were there when ..." Or for me, to announce to all of my party that I was listening to U2 before any of them were born. They were unimpressed and just told me that I was showing my age. So be it.
We go to a U2 concert, because unlike most bands, we think they are more than entertainment. We think they are important. Or at least, they and we would like to think so. And so we are not surprised when Bono trots out Bishop Tutu after one encore or that a song is dedicated to Mynamar leader Daw Aung San Suu Kyi. (http://topics.nytimes.com/top/news/international/countriesandterritories/myanmar/index.html) It doesn't strike us as odd that a rock star celebrates ONE.com and urges all concert goers to promote the cause. This is what we have come to expect from Bono and U2. We might disagree with some of the particulars espoused but we (the concert goers) love that Bono is passionate about making a difference in the world.
We love that he isn't just getting rich with the $30-40 million dollars the concert raked in in its two nights in Chicago. We love that he is trying to raise awareness that there is more than our little corner of the world out there. There are people that are dying out there in the big, wide world and there are causes worth living for in this sin-infested world. I love Bono's passion. I want to plant churches with the kind of passion with which Bono sings every song, every night, on every stage, to every audience.
The Savior of the world deserves it. The world needs it. Shame on us if we don't beg God for it.
September 15 The U2 Concert at Soldier FieldOn March 17th, I wrote here that the song "Magnificent" was U2's best wship song in years. Here are the words. Magnificent – U2 I was born Only love, only love can leave such a mark Only love, only love can leave such a mark I was born Only love, only love can leave such a mark Justified till we die Only love, only love can leave such a mark Justified till we die Still like the song, but I was wrong. Bono has said that the song is about "two lovers holding on to each other and trying to turn their life into worship." Jamming in a recording session, the song began to take form when, as The Edge has been quoted, "The basic chord progression had a power that got everyone inspired. I think we all knew that it was inherently joyful, which is rare."
Bono is a Bible reader and so the language of the Bible filters into his thought process on much that he touches. So it shouldn't be surprising that the language and phraseology of the Psalms and the emotion and images of worship find their way into the lyrics or that the soaring and passionate chord progression delivered by The Edge would lead me to the boarderland of worship.
Christ is the lover I lift up.
He is the one Magnificent One in the universe.
I am compelled to sing any song that He wants me to.
And the cry of my heart, even when I pursued lesser things, has really always been to be with Him.
The Christian life is a life long giving back of our voices to the One who gave His all for us.
So for me, the song is a worship song. But that isn't what Bono, and The Edge, and Brian Eno had in mind when they were writing the song. I wish it was.
Tomorrow, reflections on the concert, Lord willing.
September 14 U2 Concert in ChicagoBy the grace of God and the incredible generosity of a friend, I got to go to U2 concert at Soldier Field last night. Will blog about the experience after I get some sleep. September 09 Moralism or the Gospel?Chek out Chosenrebel.blogspot.com
for a great article from Al Mohler. September 08 Blast from the Past - 11/11/2002Picked up an old journal and ran across the following. Since I am writing on evangelism for a paper, I thought I would include it here:
11-11-2002 Journal Entry
Ezekiel 46-48; Daniel 1-3
Wow! What power there is in Your word. Each year I read Daniel and the story of his three friends and I am thrilled to see their boldness and Your power at work. It is a great combination Lord,--bolness and power. Would You make me bold so that Your power can be put on display for Your glory and the joy of the nations? Daniel and his friends give great witness to the proper way to evangelize a culture.
Help me Father, to follow their example. September 07 Five Minutes of SanityNormally, I would put this type of video on my political and cultural commentary blog at Chosenrebel.blogspot.com but I decide to put in on both this time. We need more voices like Mr. Rogers from Michigan.
September 05 Terrifyingly Sad WordsKing Uzziah has died. Isaiah has been called into ministry (Is. 6:1-8). and the first vision he is given is of a time 700 years in the future, in the weeks leading up to the crucifixion of Christ. John tells us how the prophecy was fulfilled and gives us a window into the heart of many who actually heard the Savior speak.
Terrifying words. Sobering words. Though "he had done so many signs" (v. 37), yet they did not believe. They could not believe because they would not believe and God does not "reveal his arm to them" (v. 38). And so God blinds their eyes. They see but see nothing. They hear but hear nothing. Yet, verse 42 tells us two more extraordinary things. One, God does reveal himself to some--some do believe, even some among the authorities, presumably--some of the Pharisees. This is a stunning triumph of grace even more stunning when we read the second extraordinary thing at the end of the verse 42 and 43.
Is this not the greatest picture of the faithfulness and love of God in the face of our own faithless and fickle love? And is this not what we need to protect ourselves against?
September 03 Repulsed by a Look WithinSatisfy me with Yourself.
Take my shallow and fickle heart
and deepen the channels that direct it to you
You know my heart is desperately sick.
I don't, I can't understand it.
But I can make real headway in describing it.
It is fickle, shallow, prideful, easily hurt, greviously self-centered,
selfish, arrogant, lacking compassion, lazy,
given to anger, resentment, bitterness and folly.
Left un-checked and untethered to Your word
it would lead me into dark prisons of experience,
shackles of sensual excess,
pits of despair and self-pity
So satisfy me with You, that all my pleasures
would be grounded in Your goodness
and the wonder of Your ways. September 02 The Greatness of Forgiveness1 John 1:8-10 (ESV) All my sin, all my failures, as a son, a brother, a friend, a husband, a father, a pastor, a teacher, a coach, a mentor, a counselor, all the ways that I have failed to be what I urged others to be, failed to live up to my own words---all the wretched thoughts filled with pride, and lust, and revenge, and bitterness, and resentment, all the putrid, selfish, wicked, saprws life of my heart.---all of it is forgiven and cleansed when I refuse to hide it and confess it to God and others. Isn't it transformative on the heart to know that all our failures are forgiven? August 25 Caring for Your SoulDeuteronomy 4:9
"Only take care, and keep your soul diligently, lest you forget the things that your eyes have seen, and lest they depart from your heart all the days of your life. Make them known to your children and your children's children--"
There is no escaping the need to take personal responsibility for the nurture of our own souls. This isn't a task we can punt to a pastor, priest, or bishop. Each of us needs to rigorously defend our heart's slide away from the God we love. "Prone to wander, Lord I feel it, Prone to leave the God I love," that is the testimony of a soul that knows its condition.
That is my condition immediately upon waking, and remains the condition of my heart throughout the day. The garden of my soul needs to be carefully tended and so Moses, speaking as the prophet of God, reminds me/us to "take care and keep your soul diligently."
Lord Jesus,
Lord of my life
Master of all that is seen and unseen,
Keep my eyes focused on You
and the wonder of Your mercy
In the outstretched arms of Your cross.
Don't let me, let the vision of Your love
Recede into obscurity.
Make my heart to delight in You Lord
I need thee every hour.
August 19 Wondering about Pain and Sorrow and Grace and EternityI have some friends going through the valley of the shadow of death. Their world has crumbled. Their heart's are broken. Their spirit's are reeling from the hammer blow of loss. Their son no longer breathes the air that comes into their lungs between sobs and gasps of agony.
Having three to hold when one is gone is a comfort but the loss still harrows the soul. Falling and falling and looking for something to grab to keep from falling, that's how I imagine it.
But their pain isn't imagined. It's real.
How do those who do not know Christ, do not know forgiveness, do not know that death has been copnquered--how do they endure the pain of such losses? I don't begrudge them drunkeness or the desire to escape. Nor apparently does God and the Scripture.
Proverbs 31:6-7 (ESV)
and wine to those in bitter distress; and remember their misery no more. But to those who hope in Christ, there is a better balm for the soul. 1 Corinthians 15:53-58 (ESV)
and this mortal body must put on immortality. and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written: “Death is swallowed up in victory.” O death, where is your sting?” and the power of sin is the law. who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. be steadfast, immovable, … Isn't it magnificent to know, isn't it soul nourishing to know, that at the end of the day, good news or bad, losses as soul ripping as my friend's are not beyond redemption because we live and move and have our being inside the greatest news ever announced. God is gracious and we are his and nothing can separate us from his love. Nothing.
Not even the loss of a child.
Please pray for my friends. Pray that they would hold on to Jesus with everything they have on a day when they have less and more at the same time. August 17 Quick Update on the last WeekendVery busy week.
Please keep us in prayer this week.
Thanks August 12 Quick UpDate on $10,000 ChallengeMission accomplished! God has heard your prayers. The deadline was not only met but exceeded! We needed to see $3000 raised by December 10th to get the matching gift of $10,000. Here's the breakdown.
$5,176 were pledged
$3,150 were already in the ministry account by August 10
And that is just the tip of the iceberg in terms of what God did in the last 14 days. I will write a longer update and send it out via email later today. But praise God with me that we will be getting full paychecks for at least the next three months and also be able to get out some of our back reimbursements.
Friday the 21st, I will be meeting with ten potential core group members and future church planters. Pray that our time of prayer, fellowship and strategy building goes well. August 07 Lord give us courage to trust you."There are many 'failed' initiatives, and many reasons for 'failure'. But a refusal to undertake a gospel initiative out of a fear of failure is a far greater problem than a gospel initiative failing. Church planting is, ... first and foremost a gospel initiative."
Stephen Timmis, in Multiplying Churches: Reaching Today's Communities Through Church Planting.
August 01 What We Want the Church in Mundelein to DisplayNo living person has had a greater impact on my life and theology than Dr. John Piper. A number of years ago, I had the privilege of being the speaker at the Bethlehem Baptist Church Men's retreat and meeting Dr. Piper in a setting where he was just one of the guys. I can tell you that who he is on a platform is the real deal. He chest breathes air for the purpose of exalting Christ.
This creative video captures some of his passion but it also captures some of my hope for the new community of believers growing in Mundelein, IL. Please pray that everyone who becomes a part of our launch team learns to treasure Christ above everything and everyone. Pray that I would be that kind of man and leader. Pray that we would be effective in passing on such a treasure to all that we reach with the gospel.
July 28 How the challenge progresses!So far here are the stats on the $10,000 challenge, at least of what I know.
Keep praying. God is doing something extraordinary. July 24 New Developments in/for MundeleinLaunch team development and recruitment are going well for the new church in Mundelein. I am continuing to make new contacts even with the limited time I am able to get into the community.
On Monday we went house hunting and found a wonderful house in the heart of town only 18 minutes from the seminary. Small bedrooms and closets but wonderful ministry spaces inside and out. Our house in Bolingbrook should be on the market in a week or so. Financial support is a bit behind where I wanted to be at this time. As a result, we are approximately $10,000 behind in reimbursements. Still, by the grace of God and a frugal wife, paying our bills but we need a burst right now.
A team member has stepped up and given a challenge. If I can raise $3,000 in new special gifts by August 10, they are prepared to release $10,000 in stock to our new ministry. This would be a huge step in our ongoing ministry development. It would allow us to take our back reimbursements, and get full paychecks. That would put us in a better position with lenders when it comes time to sell one house and buy another.
Prayer requests:
Thanks. |
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