how can we allow this?

there are thousands that will die between the time i write this blog and the time you read it. in a world where 30,000 young children die everyday from starvation, 1 billion people do not have access to clean water and the majority of our world lives on less money in a year than i will pay in rent this month.

it is not hard to see there is a problem... i have found that this leads many to a frustration with God. a frustration that often ends in the abandonment of their 'belief' in a God who could allow such. putting our maker on trial saying 'how could you allow this?'.

however what is horrifying about this question is that it is one all men should ask themselves. 'how can we allow this?'. perhaps the change of the world to come will be mainly in ourselves. we will no longer be content to fatten our savings and cushion our beds while billions literally billions go their whole lives without simple necessities such as water, food, and shelter. without protection, medicine, and safety.

i fear the question may one day be turned around and no longer will we judge our maker and ask 'how could you allow this?'. but he will ask man 'how in a world that had more than enough for all who lived in in, how could YOU allow this?'

he shall ask us again

“Is not this the fast that I choose: to loose the bonds of wickedness,

to undo the straps of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free,

and to break every yoke?

Is it not to share your bread with the hungry and bring the homeless poor into your house;

when you see the naked, to cover him, and not to hide yourself from your own flesh?

Then shall your light break forth like the dawn, and your healing shall spring up speedily;

if you pour yourself out for the hungry and satisfy the desire of the afflicted,

then shall your light rise in the darkness...And the LORD will guide you continually" Is. 58 6-11

Love.

Context is what allows us to understand almost any aspect of life. Context is responsible for creating hopes, fear, relationships, literature, history, and all of life. In order for me to step into a book or a circumstance and understand everything I see I must know at least a broad context of what is going on. Because man is by nature very observational and recognizes the context of the world around him, this is often taken for granted.

But we have all stepped into a story many chapters from its beginning. We are all in a story, and this story has a context. I believe that our not often "misunderstanding of the story" is the why so many wrestle to find their purpose, their role, and their Maker.

Any reading of our "story" or any understanding of who we are must center upon its beginning. I believe that the bible is true and I believe it gives the context for the story we find ourselves in. It is one about God. But this does little unless we know who God is. It is not enough to simply read, memorize, or meditate on what sentences in the Bible says, if we do not understand the Character of the author and centerpiece of the story. He is love. All Christian study and further I believe all life only makes sense when it is understood in light of the Character and nature of God. If we miss the fact the our father is a Good father, and a loving father we will make his instructions and guidance to us (revealed in scripture) as a attempt to simply exercise authority and not an expression of His great care for us. The bible says God is Love. All that he does is done in Love and because of love.

But this needs clarifying"Love" is everywhere. And it is something that being defined wrongly. It is more that infatuation, sex, attraction, or companionship. It is not simply romance, though all the virtue and wonder of romance is part of Love. No one denies love, it is referenced in the books we read, the relationships we have and often wrongly ascribed to the emotions we feel. But this is not Love. It is more.

'Love is patient and kind, selfless and humble. Love seeks not its own good, but the good of the one Loved'. 'This is Love, not that we loved God but that he loved us'. So deeply that he was willing to come and die and lay down his life... for us.

In bodies filled with Sin and hormones this type of love seems bland to us. We crave romance, eros, and ecstasy and I think we should. Yet, we still see only half the story, but one day 'we will see in full' and we will find our burning for love was never for a woman or for a man. But for God. This is why young men and young women crave beauty and sex rather than compassion and faithfulness. I see it is my own heart that is 'deceitful above all else'. But I don't wish simply sex and beauty for others. For those who I care about most I wish more, much more. And when the dust settles I wish more for myself. I wish care, companionship, purity, strength, laughter, joy, and peace. I wish faithfulness, trust, and love.

Money, sex, pleasure, they eventually give way and will always be just beyond our grasp. But if we are brave, strong and courageous, and broken we may drink from a cup that overflows with the greatest love we could ever know... and if this cup fills our mouths we shall dance like few ever dream of... Strong and courageous.

"But if in your fear you would seek only love's peace and love's pleasure,

Then it is better for you that you cover your nakedness and pass out of love's threshing-floor,

Into the seasonless world where you shall laugh, but not all of your laughter, and weep, but not all of your tears.

Love gives naught but itself and takes naught but from itself.

Love possesses not nor would it be possessed;

For love is sufficient unto love."- The Prophet (1923)

the beauty of pain

the beauty of pain...

Pain. It is an inescapable reality, and to suggest that their is beauty in it is almost blasphemous. But indeed there is. A man once wrote that we should take joy in our pain because it produces a longing. That it increases our hope in what lies ahead (Rom. 5). The every time our lips burn from the bitter cup of life, be it by the death of a loved one, the ache of sickness, the failure of our circumstances, or of ourselves, those who have hope must remember this hope will not fail us. We long for a distant and yet strangely present reality that will erase all that has gone wrong and restore our broken world.

Almost absurdly, this tells us that those who taste the greatest sorrows of this life from divorce, depression, death, heart ache, and loneliness are considered those who may most eagerly drink from the cup of hope. They are the ones who most clearly see the slits and tears in the fabric of creation and thus are able (if they make good use of these pains) to be filled with a joy in what is too come.

I have suffered very little compared to most, however the suffering and aching I have experienced has pulled back the curtains of how I see life and allowed for a brief moment my eyes to see a deep longing in all of us... and it is that same pain and hurt that allow me to realize the things we hope in so often are only an echo of a song we strangely remember but could never compose or reproduce.

This peculiar longing may grow dull for a season if I drown it out with enough clutter, but never ceases. It almost seems like a longing for a friendship I once knew or someday hope to have, a city I vaguely remember or hope to one day live in. A longing for a fragrance i have never smelled, a woman I have yet to embrace...or have wrongly attribute to one that I have. A desire for some season ahead of me, or one from my past. Oddly clothed inside of my 5 senses I find an insatiable thirst the deepest well of this world will not seem to quench. With all my fury I am unable to extinguish this curious hunger for something inside of me.

I believe I am expressing something that we all at some point in our life...(if we are lucky) understand. It is imageless, unknown, undefined, uncanny, and yet deeply and unexplainably Desired. Many may grow numb to its calling by losing themselves in a drug, or job, a lifestyle, a marriage, a woman or a man...but when the ground shifts and when day turns to night the echo returns and we remember its melody.

Call it nostalgia, being a "romantic", a pain of youth or of death, beauty, or love... this will only send you searching for what you cannot find... The truth of the matter is, it has already found you. He has already found you.

Solomon once said "the purpose of a man's heart is like deep water, but a man of understanding draws it out." Perhaps I don't have the understanding he is talking about. Or maybe, just maybe the purpose that this 'understanding' draws out is this... 'nothing in this world with quench the eternal echoes that call out inside of all men for their eternal God...nothing'.

And each time we finally reach the job, the relationship, the experience that we think will we find this they never live up to all we "hoped for". Only when I cease to try and make the world satisfy these longings can I begin to no longer grow hurt, hardened, or heart broken over its failures to do so. My heart remembers my God's love and His presence and as long as I am away from Him, I long for it again...

How you can be 100% certain you are doing what God wants you to do.

“What does God want me to do with my life?” or “What is God’s will for me?”

Being young, I hear these questions often and have even wondered them myself. I have found a way that YOU and I can discover exactly what God wants to do with our unique life.

Here is a way to find THE ANSWER for YOU…

Open your bible. Read it. God has spoken. He has not left us to wonder, but has given very clear instruction on what he wants you to do. God wants you and me and every Saint to do the same thing. He is not silent; he still speaks forth with every page of scripture. Here are just a few:

*Make Disciples and teach other people to obey God. (Matt. 28)

*Give reason for the Hope you have in Jesus to those who don't have such hope. (1Pt 3:15)

*Live in transparent community (Hebrews 3:13)

*Look after those less fortunate than you...the least of people. (Matt 25)

*Outdo one another showing honor to each other. (Romans 12:10)

*Rejoice always or always be joy filled (Phil. 4:4)

· *And on and on…

-His will for you, for President Bush, Brittney Spears, me and everyone else is this -Be reconciled to Him and help others to the same- or in other words “Love God with all your heart, soul, and mind, and love you neighbor as yourself.”

It is out right stupid to ask for God’s “special will” for your life if you are not listening and currently doing His already “already revealed will” for your life. He has already spoken clearly saying "here is what I want you to do with your life...No matter where you are or where you go or what job your paying bills with DO THESE THINGS”. Why would God give someone more things to do with his life, if they are not right now doing the things he has told them to do?

Once you are doing what he has told you to do… you can do whatever you want. Like Augustine said “Love God and Live as you please”. In the end everything else is tent making…

DECLARATIONS

Declarations:

Declaration #1: I declare to aim with the best of my ability to perform at all times in a manner that: could and should others see my actions, they would give praise to my father who is in Heaven. Matt 5:16

Declaration #2: I declare to honor the temple of my body and withhold the utmost moderation, sobriety, temperance, and control. Recognizing the self-control is a fruit of the regenerated spirit (Gal 5:23) and that though all things are lawful to the one who is free in Christ, not all things are beneficial and I am not to be enslaved to any matter other than the Lord, his holiness, and goodness. (1 Corinthians 6:12)

Declaration #3: I declare to maintain a habit of and hunger for the study of the word of God so long as the habit of study provides the blessing of savoring him more and proclaiming his majesty to all the peoples of the earth.

Declaration #4: I declare to always maintain the practice of hiding his word in my heart (Deut 6:6, Colossians 3:16), and in this practice find the power to have victory over sin; “I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you”-Ps. 119:11, as well as confidence in my witness the world around me.

Declaration#5: I declare to aim and toil to fulfill these declarations to the best of my ability, to look upon them often, and repent often of the ways that I have failed to honor them and dually my Lord and Savior who sits at the right hand of the throne of God.

Declaration #6: I declare to treat all men and women, from every tribe and tongue as though they themselves were Jesus, who is the Christ. Knowing that God loves them… loves all men and so honoring both the imago Dei, as well as Christ’s decree that “whatever you did for the least of these you did unto me” Matt 25:45

Declaration #7: To clothe myself in humility in all things, recognizing the reformers words that all of us “are beggars this is true”.

Declaration#8: To meditate often upon the doctrine of depravity, seeing not only that of Calvin’s followers who maintained the doctrine of Total Depravity. But also a doctrine of “Personal depravity” knowing that all have fallen and are saved by grace, but I am deeply and totally fallen, wicked at my core, and it is only the grace of God working in me that produces supernaturally things not of the flesh but of the Spirit who is holy. And may the depravity and confessions of others stir my heart not towards disdain but compassion on them as I empathize with their condition and confession towards the Lord as I am confronted all the more with my own wickedness.

Declaration#9: I declare to think often upon my death asking the Lord to remind me that I am but a breath,(Psalm 39) and “it is better to go to the house of mourning than the house of feasting for this is the end of all mankind” (Ecclesiastes 6:2).

Declaration#10: I declare to fight for immense and intense happiness regardless of the situation and to transform even to darkest of circumstance into one of a more exciting experience.

Declaration#11: I declare to pursue with all my strength new forms of pleasure, excitement, exhilaration, and life for as long as air fills my lungs.

Declaration #12: I declare to receive instruction and wise counsel from young and old, knowing wisdom has many cupbearers and to apply any wise counsel to my life that in so doing would further manifest Christ’s power and Holiness here and to the world.

Declaration#13: I declare to Pursue fun, boundless amounts of fun and joy in every facet of my existence knowing that to live is to serve the author of Life, and to die is to gain his presence all the more.

Declaration#14: I declare to Love my family with all that I have, knowing that if one does not provide for the needs of his family he is worse than an unbeliever. (1 Tim 5:8).And should God see fit to bless me with a wife and/or Children to love them with all my might. Fighting for their joy, happiness, and pleasure as long as I shall live and to make provision for them as best I can even when I no longer live.

Declaration#15: I declare to until that time fight to regard all older men as fathers, older women as mothers, and all other men and women as sisters and brothers. Loving and respecting the elders, and protecting and providing for my brothers and sisters.

Declaration #16: I declare to lay down my life for the sake of Jesus Christ, dying daily for the greatest cause of all, and should the Lord see me worthy to give my earthly life know that there is “no greater love that of him who lays down his life”, and to count myself as blessed for being considered worthy to share in momentary sufferings for the sake of Christ.

Declarations#17: I declare to never see myself as above another, but make myself a slave to all men.

Declaration#18: I declare to become whatever I must (within my conscience) “that I might win some” 1 Cor. 9. Forsaking the disdain of the religious even if my actions should cause indignant feelings among the hyper-religious, and fight with all my heart for the lost and dying world.

Declaration#19: I declare to season my life and interactions in the most gracious way imaginable, erring on the side of grace with those who are young in faith, or ignorant of it. And take no measure of Judgment on others that I would not be delighted to turn and take on myself. (Matt. 7)

Declaration#20: I declare to warm every person I meet with love and to attempt to reflect the very face of Christ to every man or women, no matter their demographic or stage of life.

Declaration#21: I declare to pursue friendships, new and old. To deeply invest in those of the closest ring, but to seek every moment and interaction with strangers and new faces as an opportunity to make a new friend. And that by that new friendship our walks would be strengthened and encouraged or that the new relationship would initiate opportunity for some unfamiliar with the good news of Christ to become familiar with it.

Declaration#22: I declare to Fast, Pray, Rest, pursue silence and solitude, as well as the rest of the disciplines often and feverishly.

Declaration#23: I declare to give generously, to give of my time, my soul, myself, and my belongings knowing that it is far better to “be rich in good deeds”; and to remember that I brought nothing into this world and can take nothing out of it. (1 Tim 6)

Declaration#24: To be the best friend that I can, and to never avoid conflict, if its resolution would draw one of those involved (including myself ) to look more like Jesus. All of us desire to look like him and I have far to many blind spots to do this alone.

Declaration#25: To be faithful, to make all my ambitions, dreams, and desires be rooted in this. Better to be poor, unknown, dying, having nothing, foolish, and faithful, than to be handsome, wealthy, famous, successful in gain, status ,or possession, and to be “a wave tossed about by the sea…”

By His wounds we are healed...

Salvation in the Old Testament and the New Testament is centered on the idea of “healing”, the healing of not only our souls, but also our bodies and our world. Hell is a real place and an inescapable reality taught in the bible. But hell is not the focus of the bible, nor should it be of the believer and his Salvation. The focus of salvation must also shift away from the Platonic notion that by simply checking a box you will escape some day to a spiritual realm where you will “exist” in a manner far different than we do today. Rather that when a person receives salvation they are ushered into the Kingdom and they begin "healing". They receive the first fruits of the recreation and in their reception they also experience the first fruit of the recreation. Biblical teaching is that Salvation is immediate in initiation, but continuous all the way until final redemption. It is not a day experience, but a daily experience where man is saved over and over and over from the bondage of sin, Satan, and death. This has enormous implications. That though salvation or healing is begun in an instant, it does not ever stop. Redemption takes both a moment and a lifetime. As a believer though I have the ability to resist and quench the spirit, but not to extinguish him (if I am truly a believer). But in so doing I rob myself of joy, freedom, life, and healing. An illustration might give clarity here. It would be as though someone wanted smoking due to a spot that has appeared on their lung. This spot and more so this habit was robbing them of life, the ability to breathe, exercise and live. So the quitting of this habit was in every way beneficial. But lets say it was initiated by an anecdote their doctor given them to free me from my addiction and begin healing their lung. Their doctor explained that the medicine he gave them was perfect. It will not let them pass away by smoking, although they (should they continue smoking) will suffer many physical ailments due to smoking, the medicine is guaranteed to save them from the death and cancer it always brings. Now should they go back to smoking because of this promise of security, they would still incur all kinds of painful, and troublesome consequences because of it. For example being incapable of running, maybe lose their ability to speak, they would be a slave to addiction, and a number of other caused difficulties. Even though they had a guarantee that smoking could not take their life away entirely, it could destroy my existence. This is like Salvation. Once saved by grace through faith the healing will surely begin, but I am able to grieve and quench the spirit of Holiness working inside of me and serve myself rather than my maker. But by doing so I will also receive every ounce of pain and sorrow that comes with “encumbering” the healing process the Spirit performs in us. All of the created order is right now in a state of longing for healing, and the good news is that the "rumors of another world existing" are far truer than anything we know. Our world is not all that it was intended to be, things are beginning to change and they will only continue to do so. Thus the story of the believer in Christ, or better yet all creation is that there is more! The Creation groans to be set free and it is almost time, “Salvation” is coming, indeed it has come! It is a healing, and the emancipation from the bondage of corruption that has echoed inside of man’s heart since the fall. It has begun to and will continue to burn away the dross, and heal its participants. It cannot be stopped; and all who cry out for healing will be saved-- but they will also be healed. Sometimes this healing hurts, as the molding of the hammer and the heat from the fire are painful, but the lump is hardly as worthy as the vessel. All who fell with Adam, but are now raised with Christ; are being daily raised and healed and brought to new life by faith in Jesus. Salvation or “the healing” of men individually, the church corporately, and the universe entirely, has begun and we may either join in and fight for it or we may work against it, but must remember “he who began the good work will be faithful to complete it” and our “God is a consuming fire” his word will prevail and nothing can stand against His purpose. He will Heal His world and His people.

Heal us God, Savior King come and heal us!

Fairytales

There is something inside of man that longs for the enchanted. Every age has always created fairy tales. Something inside of us believes or at least longs to believe that this isn't all...there is more to the story. A longing for greatness, for fantasy, and for life just to be beyond what we know. We yearn for transformation. For mermaids to walk on land, servant girls to attend the ball, frogs to turn into princes, beasts to become nobleman. We long for change in our world and often we picture its coming by love. True love expressed with a kiss or a rescuing... This Love is Powerful enough to change things, to change everything. It Alters not only the story but the people in the story and often the World in which they live. Reread any childhood story (The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, Sleeping Beauty, Shrek, Cinderalla, The Magic Swan...they all have the same theme. Some one is trapped in some sort of bondage or death and it is LOVE that brings about an incredible change)

It is simply an inescapable reality that deep within us we long for enchantment. We know their has got to be more to the story. Well there is! The world as we know it is not all, there is far more to the story there is another world. But it is not distant, in fact it is much closer than we ever thought.

It is here among us now, like Bell's Beast waiting to be unlocked fully but beginning to show the first signs of freedom. True Love has come but this time it wasn't a The Prince's kiss that brought his Sleeping Beauty to Life; it was his Death. By the wounds of the Great and Courageous Prince his Beautiful Bride came to life. All the people in the land heard saw it had happen but disagreed on whether or not he was truly the rightful King "the King would never do something like that; he is a fierce Warrior". So another man rose, he claimed to be the true King and he had enough soldiers to put himself into power. He decreed the so called "Prince" to be a fool and punished his bride who had miraculously come to life. He tried to kill her again but all his efforts failed. So he had her punished and then throw into the street. He set up his rule and promised peace but it never seemed to come. The beauty was clothed in rags, but she was like nothing the people of the kingdom had ever seen. She began talking about her Prince and people began to remember him. She said He was still alive, and there were many who said he was the rightful King if he was truly alive. They started to believe her, saying not only that he was the rightful King, but they too said he was Alive, even though the whole kingdom saw him Killed for his Beautiful Bride. They believed her. More than that they began saying with his bride that he went away to gather his troops and prepare for war...They said that he had told them he was coming back to make war and establish his reign once and for all and claim his now awakened Sleeping Beauty that his Death had brought to life (his bride) and all with her.

They say he said that his army will be greater than anything we have ever seen, and no power will be able to Stand against it. He has with him the mightiest of Warriors and he is coming to take his place as the rightful King. He once gave up everything for his Beloved Bride, but Now he rides again not to the grave but to the throne..he will rid the Kingdom of all who do not say he is the Rightful King, but he will reward all who took heed of his coming. Never before has there been anyone like him. And He Shall make all things New! All of the Kingdom shall be like never before.

You see the Enchantment we crave is hear. We know there is more yet we cannot quite put it into words. And there is... more than we could imagine. The world was set to bondage but soon it shall be set free and dark will turn to light, and the children of God will be revealed. The Beautiful Bride will be given he proper adorning. As the wife of the King she shall be clothed like she should have been since long ago, but because of the wicked ruler in place she was made a servant and punished for her love for the True King... but winter shall soon end, the first buds of spring are showing and

The King is coming for LOVE and WAR. The Fairy Tale is coming to Life...

(If you don't know this King, you need to. The Night will soon be over and its Nightmares with it. The Sun shall soon appear and the Light always casts out the darkness... Leave your email address and we'll chat if you want to know more)