True Light

Scripture--
"No one lights a lamp and then hides it or puts it under a basket. Instead, it is put on a lampstand to give light to all who enter the room...If you are filled with light, with no dark corners, then your whole life will be radiant, as though a floodlight is shining on you."
Luke 11:33, 36

Observation/Application--
Jesus talks a lot about being light to the world--He calls Himself the Light of the world. When we receive Christ, we become His light to the dark world. As a kid, I remember singing "This little light of mine, I'm gonna let it shine..." and doing all the cheesy hand-motions that went along with the song. I sang that song all over the house, all over school, and everywhere I went. (Yeah, I was a dork.) Funny how I seemed to grasp that concept so much better as a kid. Am I ever-conscious of being the light of Christ to the world now? Maybe I need to learn a lesson from the kid version of myself. If we're truly carrying the light of Christ, then it will give light to ALL who are in the room with us, to ALL who come into our lives. Not just to certain people we "feel" like ministering to.

One thing God has really been challenging me on in the last year or so is transparence. Being real with people, and being the same person--the person God made me to be--no matter who I'm with. Taking off the mask. Being honest, rawly honest. Acting the same way with my non-Christian friends as I am with my brothers and sisters in Christ. And it is HARD to do. The verse from Luke 11:36, talking about "dark corners," really challenged me on this a little over a year ago: I realized in about February of 2003 that I had a bunch of dark corners in my life. Secrets and past mistakes I was afraid to let people know about because I didn't want to be judged or rejected. But God showed me that this fear and this attempt to keep some dark corners in my life were only holding me back from letting His light shine through my whole life. So I began to let go of it all. I confessed sins, revealed my innermost fears and secrets to the people I was close to, asked for prayer in these areas, and as a result began to grow tremendously in my faith and in my witness to others. That radiant life that Jesus promises began to flow through me in new ways! In true light, there is no darkness.

Are there any dark corners in your life? Is God asking for you to let Him shine His floodlight there to get rid of the shadows?

Prayer--
Lord, thank You that You are the true light. You give light to all men. Please help me to allow You to shine Your light into every corner of my life, that my life might be a pure and holy reflection of Your radiant light. I love You.

Here and Now

Scripture--
"As Jesus and the disciples continued on their way to Jerusalem, they came to a village where a woman named Martha welcomed them into her home. Her sister, Mary, sat at the Lord's feet, listening to what he taught. But Martha was worrying over the big dinner she was preparing. She came to Jesus and said, 'Lord, doesn't it seem unfair to you that my sister just sits here while I do all the work? Tell her to come and help me.' But the Lord said to Martha, 'My dear Martha, you are so upset over all these details! There is really only one thing worth being concerned about. Mary has discovered it--and I won't take it away from her.'"
Luke 10:38-42

Observation--
Here's the setup: Jesus stops in a village on the way to Jerusalem and pops in on Mary and Martha. We see two different attitudes toward life and two different attitudes toward Christ reflected in this event. Mary sees Jesus and comes to sit at His feet, listen to Him, contemplate Him, and just be near Him. Martha, on the other hand, sees Jesus enter into her home and puts herself to work cooking and cleaning to get things done for Jesus--adhering to the unwritten law of hospitality that is such a huge part of her culture--but not necessarily honoring Jesus in her heart...Here's what I picked up from this passage:

Attitudes toward life--

What Mary would say: "I live in the now, and take the time to value what is going on around me, paying close attention to what God is up to in the here and now."

What Martha would say: "I live for the future, worrying about and focusing on tasks that need done, and as a result I tend to miss out on what God is doing in the here and now because my eyes are stuck on a future event or ministry (in this case, dinner!)"

Attitudes toward Jesus--

Mary: be with Jesus in the here and now
Martha: work for Jesus now and be with Him later

Which of these attitudes are we to take toward life? Which of these attitudes are we to take toward Jesus?

Application--
It's funny, God's been teaching me a lot about living in the here and now. I mean, like, these past 2 weeks, He's been teaching me that. I have this major tendency to think (and worry) ahead far too much, and the result is that instead of being present and in the now, taking things in stride as God brings them, I tend to be far off in the distance. As a result, I miss major things God wants to show me right there on the path where I'm at, and I miss huge opportunities to minister in Jesus' name to people who really need it. And I miss the enormous blessing that results from that, too.

So that's where I'm at, learning to live in the now. Some days it works great because I ask God to help me be intentional about that, and other days I kind of zone out and live anywhere from 2 hours to 10 years in the future. I can't do that anymore. That's not what Jesus did!!! Can you imagine? "Sorry, Bartimaeus, I can't help you right now; I'm on the way to My triumphant entry into Jerusalem and can't stop right now. Tough luck, bro. Make an appointment for sometime between now and my crucifixion, OK?"

Prayer--
Thank You, Jesus, that You are not that way! What huge blessings we miss by putting our minds at the end of the road and not actually on the block of path where we're at. Lord, please help us to learn how to live in the now!

Jesus Understands

In Luke 7:11-17, Jesus stops at a funeral procession for a dead boy and revives the boy. Why does he do that? I know He does this for people to see that He is the Savior, but the Scripture also tells us that "When the Lord saw [the boy's mom], His heart overflowed with compassion." The only way Jesus' heart could overflow with compassion would be because He understands what the woman is feeling. The only way He could understand, truly, is by experiencing such pain and loss in His own life. Did He lose a relative? His earthly dad? A younger brother? His heart overflowed with compassion for this mother who had lost her son. Jesus understands us!!! We forget sometimes that He knows what we're going through...because He lived it. And his heart overflows with compassion for us! No matter where we've been. Good stuff.

Obedience

I'm diving into Exodus and Leviticus this week for my Old Testament Survey class. Man, I love to read and reread about the life of Moses and how God accomplished His will for the people of Israel through this inarticulate murderer whose life was transformed by the presence of God alone. But this time around, I'm really getting more out of Exodus than I have before...Perhaps because God has changed my heart about the way I view the Old Testament. Thank You, Lord! Here's a thought for the day. Let's call it "Obedience".

Scripture--
"The king of Egypt said to the Hebrew midwives...'When you help the Hebrew women in childbirth and observe them on the delivery stool, if it is a boy, kill him; but if it is a girl, let her live.' The midwives, however, feared God and did not do what the king of Egypt had told them to do; they let the boys live...So God was kind to the midwives and the people increased and became even more numerous. And because the midwives feared God, he gave them families of their own."
Exodus 1:15-16, 20-21

Observation--
Pharoah was so afraid of the ever-increasing Israelites, which he viewed as parasites in his country, that he made a decision to snuff them out at the root--kill off the male population from birth. But despite the oppression and slavery the Israelites were living under (or perhaps because of it), the Israelites feared the Lord. They disobeyed the commands of Pharoah, who had political authority over them, in order to remain faithful to God. As a result, God honored them, giving them families, and increasing them ever more.

Application--
As an American, I consider myself fortunate and blessed to live in a country and culture where obeying the Lord does not conflict with the laws and orders of my government. And yet I almost long for such a situation, because I know this would challenge me to take a firm no-turning-back stand for my faith. I feel like American believers (myself included) have a tendency to be quite wishy-washy in our faith; because it is acceptable in our culture and government to say we follow Christ and to go to church and Bible studies, etc, the only opposition we face is verbal persecution and maybe alienation from certain groups of people. What would happen if we HAD to take a stand for our faith, if we reached a make-it-or-break-it moment in which a clear conflict presented itself through which we would have to choose our god, with the possible threat of imprisonment or death? These Hebrew women had to do just that, choosing between obeying Pharoah's commands and remaining safe or refusing to obey him and trusting God. And they chose to trust in the Lord. As a result, He blessed them and continued to multiply His people.

And if they had chosen to obey Pharoah? They still would have saved their own lives but at the expense of an entire nation that God was raising up to be His people. Are the choices we make based on obedience to God or obedience to the authorities that we live under? Is it OK to disobey the authorities if we become aware that what they are asking us to do is against God's Word? I believe so, because God's Word is true, without error, and has authority over all things.

I once had a boss who asked me to do her kids' English papers. So I did it, and with the cooperation of some co-workers we even managed to "help" her son win a state essay contest. I wasn't a follower of Christ at the time, so I didn't have as problem with this. But looking back on it, I realize that it was clearly dishonest of me to do that. Now I know that this wasn't a life or death situation, and the penalty of telling my boss no would only have resulted in some tension between us at work, but still I think it illustrates the point. I disobeyed God to please the human authorities in my life.

Have you experienced a situation like this in your life?

Prayer--
Lord, please give me the faith to obey You no matter what happens in the world. Thank You that I live in a society where it's "OK" to obey You, and many times even considered honorable by many people. But please help me not to be wishy-washy because of this. I want to stand for You and even ask You to put me in situations that would force me to do this in a bolder and more definitive way. I want to be willing to serve You and trust You and obey You, regardless of what the authorities in my life may tell me to the contrary. I love You. Amen.

Twenty-Seven

Twenty-seven years ago today...

The Voyager 2 launched for a fly-by of Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune...
Vietnam & Djibouti asked for membership in the UN...
"Estrada" opened at the Majestic Theater, NYC for 7 performances...
"I Just Want to Be Your Everything" by Andy Gibb spent its 9th week at #1 on many radio charts...

AND

...I was born in Forrest General Hospital in Hattiesburg, Mississippi.

Funny, I don't really feel 27. The Lord has been so good to me. So good. So, Lord, here are 27 things I thank You for today, this first day of the 27th year of my life on earth:

1) Your love, transforming and unending, which reaches across every threshold, known and unknown
2) The dreams You have given my heart
3) Your faithfulness to fulfill these dreams in Your time and in Your ways
4) The unfailing power of Your Word, my daily bread--both as a meal and a snack-stop
5) Your provision in my life, day by day...I am never without because I am never alone
6) You, Holy Spirit, my dear friend and counselor...I can never go wrong as long as I listen to You
7) The relationship You have with Your children, who never ever could deserve someone like You but whom You still pursue endlessley
8) The way You pursued me even when I was hiding in the darkest, loneliest places...You never gave up on me
9) The opportunity to find rest in You, again and again, no matter how busy the world is...to rest beside Your peaceful streams and lie in Your green meadows
10) The transparence that comes upon those who spend time with You, a transparence which casts out all lies and superficiality, all fake walls come crumbling down
11) Music--the ability to create, play, sing, and listen to it--and how You connect us to Yourself so often with it
12) Cultural diversity--the way all peoples are different, speak different languages, live different ways, and thus make Your world an exciting place to live
13) Your constant steadfastness--which remains stable regardless of changing human cultures--which speaks across cultures and into hearts
14) Eternity--the fact that those who believe in You, Jesus, will spend eternity worshiping the only God truly worth worshiping
15) The way You use us to accomplish Your will
16) The wonderful, amazing gifts You give us, Holy Spirit, to use for the advancement of the Kingdom of God
17) Food and the awesome pleasure of eating
18) The way You defeated death and erased all of the bad things I'd ever done or thought or said--or ever will--so that I could know You
19) The beauty of nature--the mountains, the ocean, the forests, the desert--and how we see Your creativity and splendor in all of this
20) The ability to laugh and play jokes on people
21) The joy that never leaves those who have chosen to follow You--no matter what goes down
22) The way You hear our prayers and move mountains to answer them when we trust in You and believe
23) The gift of mentorship and discipleship and the way You use people to grow us and sharpen us...and how You use us to grow and sharpen others
24) The gift of technology, which allows us to communicate with people from anywhere to anywhere
25) Renewing the strength and youth of those who follow You (which is why I don't feel 27)
26) The wonderful family You have so faithfully given me, and the way You use us to challenge, encourage, and simply love each other
27) Friends, friends, and more friends...Lord, Jesus, You have given me such an abundance of these in places all over the world...please show me how to be a blessing to them

Lord, I have so much to be thankful for. In 1 Thessalonians 5:18, Pauls says to "give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus". Please teach me to do this every day and not just on special occasions such as my birthday or Thanksgiving. Thank You, thank You, thank You! You have given me all these things.

I know it's not the norm to give away things on your own birthday, but......I want to give my life to You once again, Jesus. That's my birthday present.

I love You.

Moshing for Jesus

Last night was my first official experience in a mosh pit. And to think a year ago I had no clue what "moshing" was. Dictionary.com defines the term mosh : "To knock against others intentionally while dancing at a rock concert; slam-dance". Sound fun? It sure was, even for an old guy like me. I definitely got slammed against pretty much every kid I'd never expect to get slammed into, and maybe part of it was "intentional knocking". But it was fun nevertheless!

For the kick-off of our Uturn youth ministry at Grace Church, we hosted a local punk band, Three Cord Wonder and had some 200 kids show up. It ROCKED. Now if there's one thing God has taught me about youth ministry this past year, it's that hanging out with the kids you're ministering to is of utmost importance. How can you possibly speak into the life of someone who doesn't KNOW you and whom you barely know? The cliche is still true: They don't care how much you know until they know how much you care. When they know you care about them enough to get involved in their lives--to get your knees dirty, to mosh at the risk of getting trampled by a bunch of teenagers dancing about like a herd of squirrels on prozac--then they are likely to listen to what you have to say and pay attention to the way you live your life. And this is the beginning of true discipleship.

1 Corinthians 9:22 says, "I have become all things to all men, so that I may by all means save some". If this means I have to become a teenager again--if that is possible--then so be it. Anything to see the hope of Christ come into these kids' lives.

Have you ever stepped completely out of your comfort zone to reach someone for Christ?

Families for the Lonely

"God sets the lonely in families..." Psalm 68:6

I've always been very close to my family. We make holidays and reunions HUGE events and make it a priority to have everyone home. I'm very close to my Mom and Dad, and I've been very close to my brother Kevin and sister Alice for some time now; and now I'm very close to my brother-in-law Sean and sister-in-law Natalie as well. And I have the best Meemaw in the world! The Daughtry family and the Collier family are such a huge part of my life and will always be, though I see them rarely these days. Mom and Dad are in Mississippi, Kevin and Natalie are in Dallas, and Alice and Sean are in Tokyo, Japan. And here I am in Denver for now, and bound for France one day.

One of the hardest things about moving to a new place is having to start from scratch as far as relationships are concerned, and not having a family around as a support system--which we all need direly. Having moved around a good bit in my life, I know this feeling. And I've learned the absolute truth of the promise of Psalm 68:6. God truly does set the lonely in families.

I moved to France in 2000 and knew no one. I wasn't even following the Lord at this point in my life, but God was still more intimately concerned with what was going on my life than anyone I'd ever known. And seeing that I was lonely, He gave me a family there. Mme Amm, my landlady, adopted me as her third son and from that moment on I was part of her family. She took me to birthday parties and to choir practice with her, gave me a bike to use, and got on my case when I wasn't eating enough vegetables and made me fresh vegetable soup a few times a week. The Amm family is still very dear to my heart--even more so now that the Lord is teaching me how to really love them as He does.

I moved to Austin in 2001 and knew no one. God gave me a huge family there, of both international students and then of many brothers and sisters in Christ at my church and at the Baptist Student Ministry on the campus of UT. He gave me a huge support system at the Pearl Street Cooperative where I spent two years...to the point that I often couldn't be alone even if I wanted to!

And finally, I moved to Denver in 2003 and knew no one. In less than a year, God had proved His faithfulness again in plugging me not only into the body of believers at Grace Church, but also into a real family here. I moved in with Ernie and Melissa, a young married couple from my church, this past February, and since then have found myself adopted by not only the Spell family (Ernie, Melissa and Ernie's sister Charlotte) but also the Corbet family (Melissa's mom and dad, Melissa's sister and brother-in-law), and with all of this comes lots of kids (Charlotte's daughter Andrea, Jay and Shanda's kids Kaylie and Kean). It has been a HUGE blessing! On Mothers' Day, on Easter Sunday, on Memorial Day, and other holidays that I've always spent with my family when back in Mississippi, God blessed me to be part of a family here in Denver.

Thank You, Lord, for Your provision of a family in a place where I knew no one at first. You are so true to Your promises. Always. I love You. Should I be surprised at Your faithfulness and Your provision, Lord? You promise it in Your Word! A verse comes to mind...

"I tell you the truth," Jesus replied, "no one who has left home or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or fields for me and the gospel will fail to receive a hundred times as much in this present age (homes, brothers, sisters, mothers, children and fields--and with them, persecutions) and in the age to come, eternal life." --Mark 10:29-30

Championing Destinies, Re-creating Reality

Last night was the first official lead-team meeting of the school year for the adults and kids who form the backbone of Uturn, the youth ministry at Grace Church. I am so stoked to see what the Lord is doing in these kids (and in the adult leaders!) this year! Coming back from a summer in France, I have a renewed perspective and zeal to see these kids' lives transformed by the hope and love of Jesus Christ. And I can clearly see how the Lord has spoken to the hearts of other adult leaders this summer; I sense that we have regained focus on the most important thing: investing Christ into these kids. His love, His passion, His joy, His peace, His purpose, His Word...

Curtis (our youth pastor) shared something last night that really struck me. He said that current statistics show that only about 4% of the generation of teens right now will come to know the Lord. That's about 800 young people in Thornton...out of 20,000 young people, total. How do we respond to this? Curtis shared what God has been speaking into his heart this summer: he is called to champion destinies and to re-create reality.

Wow. What an awesome concept...and a dream that God is calling His children to live out. Championing destinies in people, pouring new life into the wounded and dismayed and hopeless and stressed, speaking into their lives a new destiny of hope and healing and peace and purpose and then challenging them not only to see it but to seize hold of it and to live it. In so doing, we will see the statistic mentioned above, the 4%, completely surpassed, completely proved wrong. I want to live this way. I want to be a championer of destinies and a re-creater of reality. So, Mr. Statistic, I scoff at you! I ignore you, for you are only a representation of an estimation of what reality is at a given moment in time. Reality, I challenge you! You are not something unchangeable and unshakeable, for only God can claim these qualities. I will take you on and I will prove to you, Reality, that you can be re-created! And this won't be by my hands or work, but by the Lord Jesus Christ, through me and others who are willing to let Him work in and through us. For Jesus Christ comes to make ALL things new, to re-create all. (2 Corinthians 5:17). Including statistics.

This year is gonna ROCK.

Lord of the Rings

Yesterday I took advantage of having Labor Day Monday off to spend the day with some dear friends of mine. We rose to the challenge of a pretty lofty task: watching all three Lord of the Rings movies in one sitting (extended versions for the first two films).

Now I'm sure there are countless books and articles and websites describing the Biblical allegories within the LOTR trilogy, and I haven't really looked into it too much. But I entered into this movie marathon with the anticipation that God would use images/dialogue from these movies to impact me for Him in some way. I wanted to jot down a couple things that really touched me from watching these films as a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ.

Gandolf ROCKS. I can't help but get teary-eyed every time I see the scene in The Two Towers in which, just when all hope seems to be lost for those defending Helm's Deep--for all humanity--Gandolf shows up at sunrise, gleaming bright on a white horse, followed by a mighty army of thousands that pours down the mountain behind him into the massive swarming army of orks. The enemies draw back as they are blinded by the glorious light from Gandolf and the sunrise, and what follows is total victory for the army of men, thanks to the hope they are given by Gandolf. The thing that impacts me here is that Ganfold had promised that he would come with an army, and he kept his promise. The analogy I see here with Christ is that He promised us that He will come back one day in victory, in great glory...and He'll be riding on a white horse. He will defeat the enemy's forces. He will be victorious! He exists as the only hope for mankind. With the images during the scene described above, I see Revelation 19:11-19 come to life.

Samwise also ROCKS. Everyone needs a friend like him, but few actually find one. Where can you find a friend who would stick with you no matter what, even when you're overflowing with bitterness and jealousy to the point of poisoning your friendship? A friend who maintains hope and never stops encouraging you, even when you yourself have lost all hope? A friend who would give you the last crumbs of food in the pouch and the last drops of water in the canteen, knowing that he probably will never eat or drink again? A friend who, when seeing that you are too weak to complete the task you have been assigned, would not try to do it himself but rather would carry you on his back so you can complete it and thus receive the honor due your name? This is the kind of friendship that young David and Jonathan, son of Saul, had. A selfless friendship. Oh that we would all find and be this sort of friend.

What speaks to you in LOTR?

Eternity Across Thin Rustled Pages

Recently, I've been doing a lot more thinking about the Bible. I mean, I've been reading it daily for over two and a half years now, but recently a newfound hunger has been rising up in me. I attribute this to one source: the Lord God answering a prayer I've had for some time now. This summer, as I had a good bit of free time while doing ministry in France, I was able to spend a lot more time than normal just reading and meditating on and memorizing the Scripture. And it seems that the more I get into the Word of God these days, the more I want to just camp out there.

This quote from Jack Hayford really got my attention tonight:
"Exceeding any of its other superlative qualities is the Bible's unique, multi-dimensional power. The Bible breathes with truth that is proven in its power to set human beings free. The Bible transforms individual men and women trapped in any and every order of human failure, lifting them from selfishness and sin to dignity and destiny by the power of the grace it reveals. And the Bible heals the human soul through its unparalleled ability to communicate and infuse love into and through human nature by the power of the Holy Spirit." ("The Essential Message of God's Word")

Do I believe in the power of the Bible to do all this? If I believe it is the Word of God--which I do--then I am compelled to believe all of this. God's Word is alive and active; Hebrews 4:12-13 says as much. And God never lies.

Thank You, Lord, for Your faithfulness to answer prayers and to give us a hunger for what You know we need most. Your Word is more than direction to me, more than encouragement or teaching. It empowers, transforms, and equips. It renews, refuels, rebuilds, reshapes, realigns. Nowhere else can we find eternity spoken across thin rustled pages. Your Word gives LIFE because it is Your Word, and You are LIFE.

Standing in the Gap

Scripture
"I looked for someone who might rebuild the wall of righteousness that guards the land. I searched for someone to stand in the gap in the wall so I wouldn't have to destroy the land, but I found no one."
Ezekiel 22:30

Observation
The Lord gives Ezekiel the message that, because He finds no one pure and holy and righteous left among His people, He will bring great destruction and punishment upon them. What might prevent this? Someone after righteousness who would seek to rebuild a righteous people. Someone to cry out to God on behalf of his people, begging for forgiveness and renewal. But no such person exists.

Application
I hear the expression "stand in the gap" so much these days that I fear it has become a misunderstood cliche. If I am to earnestly seek to stand in the gap for my people, it means I must not only live a righteous and holy life submitted to God in every way, but also I must beseech others to live such lives, encouraging and teaching them to do so. This way, I would play my part in rebuilding the wall of righteousness that guards our land from evil. I must also cry out earnestly to God to save this land and to rebuild His Kingdom.

Prayer
Lord, what a HUGE mission this is. Thak You for callin me to stand in the gap. Thank You that I CAN'T do this alone, ever. I need and depend on You to make me righteous! Lord, I accept this mission, this calling. Please show me how to play my part in leading a people back to You, to rebuild the wall of righteousness! I love You!

Summer in Strasburg!

So I spent two months in Strasburg, France this summer helping out some friends of mine who pastor a church there. I love France! And I really look forward to seeing what God has in store for me there in the future...


Me in Strasburg