IT is your whole life

Joel stole our hearts. His eyes were big and brown and he had the moves that would make Michael Jackson jealous. He cried big tears when it was time for our team visiting Agape Home to say goodbye. Joel was always smiling, laughing, kicking a soccer ball or helping with the younger children. After a celebration lunch on Sunday afternoon, we picked on Joel on how much he ate and his stomach looked like he was hiding a soccer ball in there. But this wasn't always the case for Joel. He has known hunger, disease, and the despair of deep poverty.  He was rescued off the streets where he lived after his parents died of AIDS. His bed was a sidewalk. All he knew was the street life of begging for food and finding a way to survive anyway he could. He has found new life at Agape. Not only are his physical needs met but his spiritual needs. Joel came to know Christ and has begun to grow in Him. He is being supported, encouraged and equipped to become a man who will follow Christ into whatever he has planned for him to be a part of the mission of God. Now, Joel has hope.

When darkness surrounds us and circumstances seem hopeless, God is still at work turning death into life. This is the hope we have as Christians. We believe not only in a God who brings Hope in hopeless situations, but He also asks us to do the same.

Our God is a God who went to the cross and died for the least and the lost If we get real with ourselves, we understand that you and I are the "losers" God sent His Son to die for. When we hear stories such as Joel's, instead of perhaps judging his family or feeling overwhelmed for his circumstances, we should be reminded of our own neediness and poverty and the life saving and life changing Gospel of Jesus Christ.

I once was lost but now I am found, I once was blind, but now I see!

But, how easy it is to get caught up in well meaning religious acts like studying scripture and going to church while failing to live out God's Truths. Full of head Christianity, we forget that we also worship God with our heart, our hands and our feet.

In our zeal for "good Christian living" we sometimes forget about God's passion for the fatherless and the widow. "Pure and undefiled religion in the sight of our God and Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself  unstained by the world." James 1:27

 

 

In our love for bible studies and program checklists we forget that God told us to "Open your mouth, judge righteously, And defend the rights of the afflicted and needy." Prov 31:9



It is not as simple as writing a check or a well-meaning gesture of justice. God looks upon our heart. He's not after our money or efforts, He is after us. When our heart is surrendered to Jesus' call to "follow me." our hearts change to compassion and our actions follow as a grateful response to the love of Christ and the Gospel transforming our lives.

I have been caught up in religious effort and  comfortable Christianity and thought I was doing just fine. Thank you Jesus for an awakening and how He continues to clear the fog from my eyes to see things more clearly.  How many years I wasted just doing the church thing while giving no thought to God's Kingdom in the here and now. This life and its comforts are temporary, the most important thing is taking the Gospel into the world. How can we receive the free gift of Salvation and not share it with others?  Following Christ calls us into something greater than Sunday services and moral living. Response to the Gospel calls us to say, "Here is my life, God. Take it. It's Yours."

It is not enough to be simply a decider; Jesus wants disciples."-Richard Stearns
 

Being a disciple of Jesus is not a one time decision, a day of playing Jesus, or a discipleship program.

 It is your whole life.

 Discipleship is 1,000 moments every single day, choosing to walk in the ways of Jesus." -Jen
 Hatmaker

I don't know what that will look like for each of you. For many, it may be as simple as picking up a phone, sending an email, driving down the road, sponsoring a child, adopting a child or buying a plane ticket. If we are His disciples, we act, speak, live as Jesus did. And if we look at His life to imitate, who did He spend time with and care for? -Children, women, poor, diseased, sinners, the marginalized of society.  Then what are we to do in response to our lives being made alive in Christ?

We must prayerfully consider what God is calling our families to do to care for the poor and afflicted.  We cannot help everyone, but we can help someone. You find your ONE. God will place situations, opportunities, people in your life to share Jesus with and to care for those society has  marginalized.  One thing is certain, Heaven and hell are real, the Great Commission is urgent and we all have a part to play.

Jesus speaks strongly and clearly to those who call themselves followers but refuse to care about the hurting and needy.

"Then He will also say to those on His left, 'Depart from Me, accursed ones, into the eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels; for I was hungry, and you gave Me nothing to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me nothing to drink; I was a stranger, and you did not invite Me in; naked, and you did not clothe Me; sick and in prison, and you did not visit Me....truly I say to you, to the extent that you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.' Mat. 25:41-43,45

Lord, make me an instrument of thy peace.

Where there is hatred, let me sow love;

Where there is injury, pardon;

Where there is doubt, faith;

Where there is despair, hope;

Where there is darkness, light;

Where there is sadness, joy.

O divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek

to be consoled as to console,

to be understood as to understand,

to be loved as to love;

For it is in giving that we receive;

It is in pardoning that we are pardoned;

It is in dying to self that we are born to eternal life.

St. Francis of Assisi



*Photos by Elizabeth Woodson





The End of Undone and the Middle of Broken

Each one of us has been exposed to it on some level. There is no escape. Suffering is no respecter of persons. It's part of living. Whether it's unmet dreams, loneliness, crumbled marriages, death or illness. It's always an unwanted intruder. But all is not lost. It is often in walking through deep suffering that creates an emptiness that can only be filled by God and we find fullness of joy through receiving His grace. At the end of undone and in the middle of broken is forever changed. Nothing is wasted.

So where is God and what is He doing when all hell breaks loose. When bombs go off and babies die and churches build aquariums?

He is making all things new.

He sent Jesus to live on this earth, die and rise again to conquer sin and death. One day He will return and complete what He started to reconcile the world to Himself and if you are in Christ, you will reign with Him forever. We know how this is going to end. Jesus Christ will reign forever.

"To Him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be blessing and honor and glory and might forever and ever." Rev. 5:13

 Forever. That is longer than any pain I may experience on this earth.

Jesus showed up and walked right into the mess and met people there. He touched our wounds and shared in our suffering. "He was despised and forsaken of men, A man of sorrows and acquainted with grief." Isa 53:3 He is doing the same today. We don't cry alone. When we are trying to just hold on, He is holding us.

"For just as we share abundantly in the sufferings of Christ, so also our comfort abounds through Christ." 2 Cor. 1:5

"God is good even in the bleeding."-Matt Chandler

Lean in and look up, knowing that following Christ means to follow Him into suffering.

"Now if we are children, then we are heirs-heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with Him in order that we may also be glorified with Him." Rom. 8:17

When someone is suffering, we want to walk circles around it in avoidance. There is someone you know right now. The neighbour down the street, the girl that serves you coffee, the boy in the pew across from you, the child across the globe, the girl on the corner. Closing our eyes to it because it makes us uncomfortable doesn't make it go away. And the person who is wounded cannot heal by staying numb to the pain, hiding behind walls and making pain invisible.

The heaviness of suffering wasn't meant to be carried alone.

The Body of Christ is never more beautiful than when it walks through suffering beside someone and meets people in the mess. Acknowledging the pain and encouraging them to keep moving, keep walking toward the finish line. To "press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus." Phil 3:14 The Body should be a safe place to wrestle and hurt. None of us are without broken and broken breaks us to our need to extend our arms to the world and point people to Jesus Christ, the healer of hurts and One who gives life.

The enemy tries to destroy our faith but pain, when brought to the feet of Jesus, can ignite a passion for Christ and clinging to the cross.

Many times we are searching for answers in the middle of pain when what we are really searching for is Someone. We want to know answers and God just wants us to know Him.

 I can't be anyone's savior, but I can hold someone's hand and point them to Jesus. I would rather have my hair singed from trying to  "snatch someone from the fire" and arrive in Heaven breathless than to hunker down in my own bubble wrapped world with an illusion of safety.

"We also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out His love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom He has given us." Rom 5:3-5

My hope is built on nothing less, than Jesus' blood and rightousness. Though every high and stormy gale, my anchor holds within the veil. Keep walking toward Jesus my friends.  Victory is ours.

"Those who are victorious will inherit all this, and I will be their God and they will be my children." Rev. 21:7

Worlds Collide

Arriving in the states from the Agape Mission Team's trip to Uganda, every one's phone suddenly woke up and chiming sounds filled the air. Our lives came rushing back as one team member received 350 email notifications. I think of the moment the team prayed on the hill when the world faded away and Jesus rushed in.  As the phones continued to receive all the data, we got off the plane to notice how sterile the environment looked compared to what we had just left. Neatly dressed American business men and women rushed through the airport and I thought of the woman sitting on the sidewalk by the busy streets of Kampala in tattered clothing with her two babies sleeping beside her, one in a card board box and one on a piece of cloth that was laid on the cement. We hit the highway and my mind went back to the rutted out mud roads we covered through the villages of Uganda.

We pass school children getting out of school with parents lining the streets in their cars and I remember the many children roaming the streets and villages of Kampala, not able to go to school because it cost money they don't have. I think of Agape Home kids who are able to attend school because of help from sponsors. They count it a joy and privilege to put on their school uniforms to walk through a muddy path to be able to attend school where  the day begins at 7 and ends at 5. I call and make a doctor's appointment on the way home and I think of the baby who's head was covered in parasites. She lived with her siblings in a mud shack and her mom had found out that very week she had AIDS and she nor the baby had anyway to receive medical care.  

We drive past a church and I think of Sunday morning in Kampala where people rush to worship despite a waiting line because armed guards check cars, people and bags for explosives and weapons before they can enter the church campus. I think of Joseph, the director of Agape home who heard the Gospel from church planting missionaries from Singapore and was rescued and redeemed and now disciples and has rescued  children and I wonder if many in the American church understand the importance and eternal value of global missions and sharing the Good News. I hug my children and they hand me their welcome home letters and play their piano recital piece. I think of Whitney, the quiet girl who lost her family to AIDS, passionately and loudly leads worship of the living God.

My worlds collide.

The ache comes in the worlds colliding. Not that one world is preferred over the other but it is a longing for all worlds to be connected. A world where it is simply all Jesus. There is pure joy but also great ache in the day after an incredible revelation of Jesus.

What are those of us to do in the longing, the feelings of low in the space in between the there and here?  Between the that and the this.

How do you answer the questions or understand the passivity of the responses to having seen Heaven peel back? How do you navigate that with grace, seasoned with salt?

The answer is in, allowing the worlds to collide. You love with all your being wherever you are. You give more generously and more willingly. You open your eyes to see what Jesus sees. Whether its the needs of your sponsored child from Agape Home living among the deepest poverty or your very own baby. You love both with all your energies and efforts. Because as you love both with all your being, somehow, the worlds collide. Because the Spirit of the Lord is among those that love and give so generously. There is no variation in giving here or giving there....you are simply giving...and in turn receiving Jesus.

The "let down" sometimes felt after such an incredible experience is natural, normal. We were warned of them. However, they should only propel us harder and faster to the things of God and a desperate dependence on Him. Release of the ache found in the day after should come as we raise our hands in thanksgiving for each breath we take.  As we take notice  every little moment that  occupies our time. We can do all things in Christ and allow space for Him to invade our world in every moment of every day, wherever we are. Each moment has the potential to be the greatest moment we have ever seen Jesus.

It is in the going- Being sent to a place such as Uganda and doing something that more than exceeds my  knowledge or ability, Jesus' Spirit is very palpable. The Jesus I was able to encounter this week was more than I can put into a blog post...but it is also in the coming back. Jesus is just as much on display in the cards from my children and in their laughter and hugs.  The worlds collide as I hear about their week and I seek after their hearts and reach into their world so they will know Jesus more just as we sought after Joel's heart of Agape Home, that he would know that he is loved by us and Jesus.

The first world is harder to navigate to find a thick and uninterrupted display of Jesus, but He is  there AND here. We just need to lean in tighter and allow what happened there to motivate how we live here.

Allow the worlds to collide.

If you have had a transformational experience with Jesus, and if you know Him, you have, don't shrink back. Let it change you forever. Share by allowing it to change the way you live. Share how to become involved in those things where your passion lies and Jesus has broke your heart for. Share by pointing to the reason we live and why we live life the way we do...JESUS. Allow God to prove faithful as you walk in the path He has laid out for you. You were created by God and for God for His purpose.

Where the Spirt of the Lord is, there is freedom. The freedom felt in His presence should be in the there and the here. Don't ever let the flame of passion you felt to reach into others and draw out Jesus disappear...be it there are here.

Allow the worlds to collide.

"How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news, who proclaim peace, who bring good tidings, who proclaim salvation, who say to Zion, "Your God reigns!" Isa. 52:7

Believer, Be Moved

I've sponsored  a child here. I've put pictures on my refrigerator, cried a few tears and spent sleepless nights over her.

But to really be in Uganda. In her land with her people. It has left me breathless and created a consuming fire in me that could only be explained as Divine. The people are now seared in my soul.

Uganda has been touched by God with beauty. The countryside is green with rolling hills, tea fields, sugar cane and banana trees. The Nile flows peacefully and then rages violently. There are beautiful creatures that are only found In it's borders. There are many beautiful, architecturally  magnificent buildings constructed many years ago with arches and detailing but given no care since their construction and now stand crumbling.

War in the country wiped out families, jobs and resources. Corruption, murder and disease escalated. Thousands of Ugandans die from AIDS and Malaria each year . Sewage flows like streams, water shortages, dismal living conditions and lack of health care and food cripple the great country. The tales of children of their innocence lost to violence and dignity lost to despair made my blood boil and heart break.

Then...

"But God, being rich in mercy because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses made us alive together with Christ." Eph. 2:4-5

There are bright brown eyes everywhere with laughter. Tiny little arms reaching for hugs and hands, stroking my hair and caressing my face. There is hope in the future of its children.

I look around and all I see is God's grace and mercy for Uganda. Hope is in the cross of Jesus and His work through God's servants  It's in the voice of Whitney, the 7 year old worship leader whose 

mom and dad died of AIDS. It's in the dancing of Joel who lived on the streets after his father died and acquired a fleah eating flea called a jigger. It's in the smile of Sarah who had an abusive family and lost her dad to drugs and alcohol. It's in the prayers of Ronnie who lost his parents to AIDS.

Their life is hard, but they are going to make it more beautiful.

It's in the service of Joseph of Agape Home who is a fierce advocate for Uganda, spending his life on
setting captives free and loosening chains of injustice. Hope is in the courageous people of Uganda declaring God's goodness and faithfulness.

Hope. I can't explain it but I can see it. It's literally everywhere. It's contagious.


Will you pray for us and the mission team's role in supporting Uganda? Will you pray for Uganda and the children of Agape Home? If you want a better place to invest your emotional energy than first world problems, pray with me to see God's Kingdom come. When we who recognize and receive mercy, we will show it to others and act justly for a country that has endured tremendous suffering.

 "Let His compassion make you weep. Let the remembrance of His Salvation  in your life bring you 
to your knees. Let your voice be lifted high as you sing the song of the redeemed. 
Believer, be moved." 

Grab my hand. Let's do this.

Mercy Said No

After a 25 hour journey to Kampala, Uganda, Joseph Roberts, the director of Agape Home picked us up at the airport. We piled into the van and Joseph prayed to begin our visit. He prayed that God be glorified and Christ be magnified and gave praise to God for sending His Son so those who believe in Him would no longer be separated from Him but would be washed white as snow through the blood of Christ. We who were far off could now be alive with Christ. As the name of Jesus was lifted up in prayer, in the background on the van's radio played "Mercy Said No." God's presence filled the van and entered our hearts and gave focus and clarity to the reason we are here. We want to know Jesus more and live our lives seeking Him and be with Him in whatever He is doing to bring His Kingdom on the earth.

A few hours later, the Gospel of Jesus Christ was evident in the faces of 25 children who just want to be loved and give love. Many have life stories that you and I could never comprehend, yet they sang with joy in their hearts, "I'll never know how much it cost to see my sin upon that Cross." A young girl who had been abandoned dropped to her knees to worship. How can this happen that children who have been through horrendous circumstances can worship Christ in abandon? It's Jesus, only Jesus, who took our place on the Cross and was raised to life so we may be adopted sons and daughters of the King.  As followers of Jesus Christ, we will reign with Him forever. The Gospel is the only thing that can give new life.

Whitney, a young girl at Agape grabbed my hand and taught me a new song.

It's OK, it's OK.

In Uganda, in Uganda.

It's OK

The World, it's OK.

In the land of Agape,

Where there is God 's love.

No sorrows,

No worries,

At All.

I cannot put into words or pictures of the beauty in a life rescued and the raw, real worship of ones who lives have been transformed because "Thank You, Jesus. Mercy Said No". I hope today that you spent time time in heart worship of the One who gave you life. No matter what you have done or haven't done or what circumstances life has given you, if you have life in Jesus Christ, we have reason to celebrate and give Him praise from the rising of the sun to its setting. 

For God so loved the world, that He sent His son to save 
 From the cross He built a bridge to set us free
Oh, but deep within our hearts, there is still a war that rages

And makes a sacrifice so hard to see
As midnight fell upon the crucifixion day
The light of hope seemed oh so far away

As evil tried to stop redemption's flow

Mercy said no

I'm not gonna let you go

I'm not gonna let you slip away
You don't have to be afraid

Mercy said no

Sin will never take control

Life and death stood face to face

Darkness tried to steal my heart away

Thank You Jesus, Mercy said no

* We couldn't get pictures uploaded. Check back another day.

Grace Flows Down Part 2: Gospel Change

The Gospel is that Christ suffered the complete wrath of God for our  sin. He lived a perfect life and endured death in my place. He took my sin debt and covers me with His righteousness. When I received that grace in repentance and faith, Salvation is mine as a gift. There is nothing I can add to Jesus' finished work on the cross. My Salvation rests solely on God's mercy and grace.

Let that truth sink in.

So how then shall we live?

"What shall we say then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? By no means! We are those who have died to sin; how can we live in it any longer?....For we know that our old self was crucified with Him so that the body ruled by sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin- ...For sin shall no longer be your master, because you are not under the law, but under grace....You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness  ....the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life. For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." Rom. 6:1-23

I do not need a set of rules and empty religion or a get out of hell card. I need new life in Christ.

The glory of God demonstrated in the Gospel gives us freedom from both sin and religion.  The Gospel liberates us from condemnation and  transforms our hearts so we want to know His presence and honor Him.  Our response to the grace of the Gospel should be no less than radical obedience to God's Word, empowered by the Holy Spirit.

To read the first part of the series on grace go here.

Are you swept away by the extravagant grace Jesus demonstrated on the cross?

The people who encountered God's grace in the bible, did not walk away the same. He accepts us just as we are, no matter what we have done or where we have been but He doesn't leave us as we are. By His grace He changes us, not so He will love us more but because He loves us.

It is impossible to experience the grace of the Gospel and not be transformed

In John 8, Jesus receives the woman who was caught in adultery and offers grace and mercy. She deserved death, but Jesus became Lord of her life that day and she was  forgiven and she received life. She did not have to earn the love of Christ, she only had to come to Jesus feet and proclaim Him as Lord. She was not left to continue in her life of sin. Jesus said to her,  "Neither do I condemn you, now go and sin no more." (v.11)

Zacchaeus gave away his riches after encountering the grace and mercy of Jesus. Paul, the self proclaimed "chief of sinners" known for murdering apostles, became an ambassador of Christ after experiencing amazing grace on Damascus Road.

"No one who lives in Him keeps on sinning. No one who continues to sin has either seen Him or known Him...No one who is born of God will continue to sin, because God's seed remains in them; they cannot go on sinning, because they have been born of God." 1 John 3:6-9

We will never live perfectly in this life.We cannot do anything to earn God's love but living as a redeemed child of God, we should see evidence of grace in our lives. With eyes fixed on Jesus, we rest in the Gospel and war against the flesh and the devil. Our lives should increasingly reflect the holiness of Jesus and a habit of going to God to repent and be cleansed when we sin.  By God's grace we can  be in pursuit of spiritual holiness to  "present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship." (Rom. 12:1)

"For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people. It teaches us to say "No" to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, while we wait for the blessed hope- the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for Himself a people that are His very own, eager to do what is good." Titus 2:11-1

God's grace forgives our sin and empowers us for good works as a grateful response for what He's done.

 A Gospel motivated change is being overwhelmed of what Christ has done for us on the cross and being caught up in God's grace. The beauty and grace of God changes us from the inside that is followed  with change on the outside.  The more we taste and see that the Lord is good, the more we desire the things of God out of delight, not duty. We will be diligent for good works that glorify Him and lead us to know Him more intimately.

"We are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand." (Eph. 2:10)

Knowing Jesus and having a life that brings Him glory becomes our desire and the satisfaction of  our souls as we stand in awe of His beauty and Majesty. His presence is joy and worth anything we forsake or endure. He is the Giver of every perfect gift who has promised to be with us always. He is the treasure worth it all.

It's easy to be discouraged by the problems we face and the wickedness in the world. Evil is a strong force around us. Temptation maybe strong and unrelenting. We may get knocked down, but DO NOT GIVE UP! Get back up! Only in God's power can we push back! Living in Christ is not without a struggle, but  the Spirit of Christ is with us and it's a fight we will win!  In Christ you serve a different master. You are a beloved child of God, dead to sin, alive to righteousness and dependent on His finished work on the cross- now go live like it!  A glorious King sits on the throne and we are assured, that God is stronger "you are from God and have overcome them, for He who is in you is greater than he that is in the world." (1 John 4:4)

Grace Flows Down

The majority of my Christian life has been spent striving or hiding. Striving to do the "right thing" to earn God's favor, approval from others and for perfection. I found it impossible to live up to the checklist of churchy standards of the "good girl", so I began hiding, never completely believing of God's love for me. I could never be "good enough", especially in God's eyes so I lived with guilt and condemnation. I lived as if I were unloved by God.

Moralism and legalism was my religion. Self-justification and self sufficiency can be a great front for outward Christianity when all is going well in life. It is when a crises hits that the heart is exposed.  When the storms in life come, and they will come, there is no foundation to stand.

"You who are trying to be justified by the law are alienated from Christ; you have fallen from grace." (Gal 5:4) That is exactly how I felt- fallen, alone, an outsider and Christ was far from me. I had desperately tried to earn His love and was a screw up. I thought my failures disqualified me from being a Christian not realizing I could not live the Christian life by myself.

"Are you so foolish? After beginning with the Spirit,

are you now going to be made complete by the flesh?"

Gal. 3:3
 

Our failures in striving and in hiding, reveal our desperate need for a Savior and can lead us to the grace of Christ and into a new life transformed by the gospel, wrapped up in a relationship with Jesus and dependent on the Spirit.

"He made Him who knew no sin,

to be sin on our behalf, so that we

might become the righteousness of

God in Him." 2 Cor. 5:21
 

We don't have to be perfect because there is another who is perfect.

"I am guilty, filthy, and stained, but He became a curse, drank my cup and took my pain"-Lecrae

"God shows His love for us and that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us." (Rom. 5:8) In God's great mercy, He saw fit that we who were once slaves to sin by birth are no longer orphans but would now stand as the sons and daughters.

I am a daughter covered in the Father's love through the blood of Jesus.

Having talked to many "good church girls", I am convinced that I am not the only one who has lived in the false gospel of moralism and legalism. This bondage is not just personal but can affect our relationships and entire church communities. Women especially fall victim to comparison and performance as we try to fit the church image and hide sin rather than being transparent and receiving help. We try to do and say all the "right things" and compare our lives to others, judgements are made and grace is rarely extended.

The true Gospel says that, if you are "in Christ you are a new creation. The old has gone, the new has come." (2 Cor. 5:17)  In Christ, you are victorious, righteous, forgiven, loved and holy. In Christ you are not your sin, you are hidden and your sin is made clean by your identity in Christ's Holiness. "There is therefore now no condemnation for those in Christ Jesus." (Rom. 8:1) When God looks at you, He sees Christ. Trusting in the blood of Christ and His finished work on the cross, you are free to receive and rely on the presence and power of the Holy Spirit.

How liberating it is to understand that this life is not about me, my achievements or my failures. It is all about Jesus. His work, His life, His death. His resurrection.

After years of trying to be a Christian, I became "in Christ".  Finally, I fully received His grace. I stopped striving and began receiving. I stopped fearing and began following.

I can still drift into striving for perfection or hiding under the weight of guilt and shame that creates  distance in my relationship with Christ.

"Prone to wander, Lord I feel it. Prone to leave the God I love. Here's my heart, Lord, take it seal it. Seal it for Thy courts of love." 



Each day, I have to return to the cross of Christ so that I don't lose sight of amazing grace to "standfast in the liberty by which Christ has made us free" (Gal. 5:1).





MISSIO DEI

There is a trip scheduled in less than two months and I don't mind telling you, I'm excited, scared and a little overwhelmed. This is a heart changing adventure that will push my discomfort line way back but I am beginning to believe staying uncomfortable may hold the secret to joy and all things worth experiencing.
 

I can count my plane trips on one hand but when a friend asked if I would be willing to go to Uganda with a team to meet and serve some beautiful people, my heart didn't hesitate. I came home and talked to the hubs and kids who were immediate cheerleaders. I've spent little time away from my kids, two days max but there was a peace that we would be OK. We prayed and listened and a few weeks later, we were planning!

Through planning this trip together, my family has discovered more about the character of God.  We have learned about making disciples, how to give and how to love. We have learned how alike the human race is and how we can truly make  a difference in the life of another, even in those across the globe.

 

On this journey, I will have the opportunity to fight mosquitoes as big as humming birds (so I've been told), make new friends, spend time with  the Lord and see what it looks like to live in a country where the average yearly income is $490 U.S. dollars. Perhaps the most exciting thing is to go into homes and make connections with real people in a foreign land, debilitated by war, poverty and disease yet experience Jesus, reconciliation and restoration in the middle of it.  I will get to meet Whitney, a child our family sponsors from Agape Home in Kampala,  and all the vulnerable and abandoned children who have found life through the Gospel and the ministry at Agape. I will get to meet their caregivers, like Joseph, who is pouring out his life for these kids because of  his love for Jesus. We hope to travel to Ammani Baby Cottage  in Jinja where hundreds of  babies have been rescued and are awaiting adoption. We will be serving in a medical clinic, sponsored by many of you that will touch hundreds of  people that would not receive care if  it wasn't for those willing to give. Many of you have supported the travel financially and donated other items. I am grateful for your heart that is already tender to showing grace and  mercy. 

When we experience and understand the grace, mercy and forgiveness we have received through Christ, we long to extend it to everyone else. Proud of you Church!

 Everyone is not able to travel to Africa, so I invite you to come with me  through this spot on the web. I'm not sure how the Internet connection will be in Uganda, but hopefully  I will be able to communicate and process my experience on this blog while I'm there so that you can see a glimpse

into a world far away. I pray that I will share the stories of the people well, celebrate their spirit and advocate as their friend and sister.

A disclaimer may need to be posted because, once I go and my eyes see and I touch what I've only read about...I can't pretend it doesn't exist anymore. Once you come and hear, you can't pretend you don't know.

For a precious handful of you, this is so junior varsity. After all, it's only 10 days and I'm not quiting my job, selling my home and moving to another country. Some of you have obediently pulled up your lives to serve God in countries that are in great despair, in need or even under persecution. You joyfully serve  to make Jesus known and carry the message of Salvation. Some of you are obediently staying and extending compassion to the lost and needy right outside your door. I am thankful that God works in big and small ways and in the seen and unseen.  I have been blessed to meet so many  faithful servants. God uses pastors and church staff but there is also the rest of us;  construction workers, nurses, teachers, students, stay-at-home moms, retirees, children, business men and waitresses who have been  changed by God's grace to full-time missionaries without changing professions or addresses.



I believe this trip will be life changing and  an important part of discipleship but Missio Dei, the latin term for "mission of God", does not begin or end with this mission trip. Short term, home and international missions can be part of God's mission but if I believe this is to be "it", I would be missing the mark.

I am going to Uganda on mission but Uganda is not THE mission.

 Living on mission is loving Jesus Christ so much  to trust Him and  willing to hand over our lives,  convinced God has created us to make His glory known to all nations.  It's praying and expecting the Holy Spirit to stir up in everyday opportunities the extraordinary act of making disciples.  It's living in expectation of divine interruptions in our day to participate in  His mission to restore and heal creation. Not because we are special  but because we are willing.
 

"I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to Your Word." Luke 1:38

Through intentionally seeking relationships with  the physically and spiritually hungry,  and by demonstrating compassion we tangibly reflect what God has already done for us in Christ. There are many people seeking answers. Many times, if you hang around long enough, eventually the conversation turns to God  and you will find yourself with seekers engaging in deep spiritual conversations. Many conversations turn to spiritual matters by being sensitive to what the Holy Spirit is doing in someones life and just being available to share  LIFE and share JESUS.
 

"Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age." Mat. 28:16-20

 Living out making disciples is not just a mission trip for 10 days, it is a lifelong walk of obedience.

 It's amazing when you think about the people that Jesus entrusted with His mission of making disciples; fishermen, tax collectors,  murderers,  a prostitute, a tent maker, a sales lady.  How about that for a church planter's core group?  The least likely people, Jesus came in and changed their life and they lived  in complete abandon to God. You don't need to have some amazing skill or unusual hook. You don't need to be a pastor with a book deal or a social justice wannabe with a blog. You don't need to be a dynamic communicator or charismatic  to make disciples. Disciple making is not another  program or committee for a special breed of Christian.  Disciple making is for every Christian and  takes place many times every week in the context of the everyday. Men, women and children, full of the Spirit, following Jesus' example to share, show and demonstrate the Kingdom of God. It is not easy, but it is simple.
 

Then Jesus said to his disciples,"If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me." Matt. 16:24

 Friends, I am thankful for each of you and the privilege to share the journey to Uganda with you. But far greater than that would be to share the journey of faith in Jesus Christ and to give our lives away in  love, for the mission of God to the glory of God. He is worthy!

"If Christ is raised from the dead, we risk it all, losing what we cannot keep to gain what we cannot lose. That is not foolish. That is common sense."


*I'm taking a blog break to hug on my kids more before the trip. See you in a few weeks!

The Reality That Creates Clarity

A teen whose only knowledge of Jesus is a curse word, a man who believes God is dead,  a mom who believes the Bible except if it contradicts her lifestyle-this is the reality we live in. The values that Christians hold are no longer the prevailing view in society and Jesus is excluded from many arenas.  Recently, Louie Giglio a pastor from Passion City church in Atlanta, was initially asked to pray at the Presidential inauguration and was pounced on by progressive groups for a sermon on the Biblical view of homosexuality. Four years earlier, Rick Warren, who holds to the same Biblical view, conducted the prayer. His teachings on homosexuality were never called into question. In just a few short years,  Christians are expected to evolve their views with the majority and renounce any former stance stating otherwise. The majority does not establish morality, God does. "The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the Word of our God stands forever." (Is. 40:8). God Himself declares, "I am the Lord, I change not." (Mal. 3:6)

 Is America a post-Christian nation? Certainly, Christians in America do not experience the  persecution found in many countries but at the very least it has become an increasingly secularized nation with growing hostility to Christian views. Most often we respond with frustration. We are told to accept so many things and be careful not to offend anyone, yet being a Christian is rarely accepted and often ridiculed.

 In many other parts of the world, Christians are forced into hiding or imprisoned and even killed for their faith. Christianity is now arguably the most persecuted religion in the world. But this reality can force a new clarity among God's people of what is truly important, the transforming power of the Gospel.

 As we press forward in this new world, any fear or doom that has overtaken the church should be replaced with hope and a holy passion for Jesus and His renown.

"For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God,

which is in you through the laying on of hands. 

For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid,

but gives us power, love and self-discipline. 

So do not be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord

or of me His prisoner. Rather join with me in suffering for 

the Gospel, by the power of God. he has saved us and 

called us into a holy life-not because of anything we have

done but because of His own purpose and grace." (2Tim 1:6-9)

Jesus is alive, hell is real and eternity is long.  There is a God and He has a purpose on this earth for everyone of us. We can be a part of carrying Jesus to the world. Let's never forget that.

For too long, America has been saturated with truth yet so unaffected by it. Now a stripping away of sorts is beginning to take place in this new society.  There are less smoke screens because, why fake Christianity when it's more accepted to not be one? There is no need to go to church just because you always have. There is no longer a need to fight over unessential theological issues or to sit around and wait for the next speaker or newest programming for entertainment. Cultural religion gives way to real, authentic faith. True disciples of Jesus in a society that is hostile to Christians will find themselves with a desperate hunger for  truth and anything that has the aroma of Jesus. There is a new longing  to gather and truly meet with Him, worship Him and be around people who love Jesus. A desire  to say His name and dream big and talk about how to make Him known when it is lonely and costly.

Instead of wishing for what is lost and trying to return to an idealized past of American Christianity, perhaps what is really lost is complacency, apathy, compromise and comfort. The shallow faith that we can take it or leave it is being awakened to a deep hunger for a real love relationship with Jesus and living through the power of the Spirit.

"Awake, sleeper and rise from the dead

and Christ will shine on you." Eph. 5:14

We have never had to fight for truth, but maybe now we will feel the five smooth stones in our hand and believe we are equipped in spite of everything. Living in a secularized society should push us deep in authentic faith where we are dependent on the Spirit and must continually ask God to "fill us with the knowledge of His will through all the wisdom and understanding that the Spirit gives, so that we may live a life worthy of the Lord and please Him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, being strengthened with all power according to His glorious might so that we may have great endurance and patience, and giving joyful thanks to the Father who has qualified us to share in the inheritance of His holy people in the Kingdom of Light. For He has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the Kingdom of the Son He loves, in whom we have redemption of sins." ( Col. 1:9-13)

There can be no more wasting time and energy feeling inadequate or insecure about the task at hand.  Just as the young boy offered all that he had with 5 loaves and 2 fishes, Christ took it and fed 5000. (John 6) It is time to offer all that we are for Jesus to break us and feed in abundance the world that is hungry for the Bread of Life. Jesus did not need the boy or his food. He could have fed 5000 and more all by himself but He chose that boy to be part of His story and the boy was willing to give everything. After Jesus fed the masses, He said to His disciples," Gather the pieces that are left over and see that nothing is wasted." (v. 12) God can take the broken  pieces of  life and multiply it beyond our wildest expectations so nothing is wasted to advance His Kingdom. He gives "beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness" so that He might be glorified. (Isa 61:3)  He created us in His own image. You may think you have little to offer, but God sees you, messes, insecurities and all and chooses you. He thinks you are beautiful and He wants you to be part of His story. "As the Father has sent me, I also send you." (John 20:21)

We were made for such a time as this, so will we offer God all that we are for Him to use for His glory and our joy?  What an incredible opportunity to support, encourage and inspire each other along the way to be The Church outside the four walls in every moment of every day. Jesus said to "feed His sheep" and "care for the least of these." Live that out today, where you are. Radical Christianity begins with radical love for Jesus Christ then a radical, sacrificial love for others.  There is simply no time for playing church. The world needs us to come along beside them and tell His story, covered in extravagant grace with authentic love. With hearts focused on the truth of God's Word and eyes on Jesus, grab someones hand and move as sent people every day in this new reality with clarity.

The Voice Of Martyrs is a non denominational Christian organization dedicated to assisting the persecuted church worldwide. I encourage you to sign up for news alerts by email or follow on social media to keep up with our brothers and sisters around the word under persecution. We must pray for them, not forget them and remind each other that the Gospel is not a game.

"Remember them that are in bonds, as bound with them; 

and them which suffer adversity, as being 

yourselves also in the body." Hebrews 13:3





The Fight

I probably need an editor for this rant but my fact checker is unavailable. The thing with blogs and anything sent to the wonderful web, you press send and its out there for the world to see. This could be a problem for a blogger that can rant. Yes, a few of you have had the glorious opportunity to sit back or hold the phone while I spend a few moments ranting, some of you may call it whining or dramatizing.  Whatever you call it, get comfy because here it comes.

Faith has nothing to do with  being cheerful all the time or only seeing the good in the world. If you enter the mission of Jesus...your heart breaks. That does not feel good and it does not look good.  Spouting arrogant wisdom and Christian cliches  isn't helpful and is just plain false and damages real Christian community and isolates us from the watching world around us.

Struggling isn't a faith crisis or doubting the power of God.  Life is hard and messy. I would rather curl up in a pew with the Bible and a new moleskine journal unattached to human suffering and sorrow, but I don't see that kind of discipleship in the Bible. I promise you, I have looked!  There are more needs around me than I can attend to. It takes time, tears, perseverance and bravery to go into the darkest places with others. Jesus went there, but he wasn't always chipper about it. His heart broke  "when He saw the crowds, He had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd." (Matt. 9:36)

"During His earthly life, He offered prayers and appeals with loud cries and tears to the One who was able to save Him from death, and He was heard because of His reverence." (Hebrews 5:7)

 We are told to have hope and groan at the same time as we wait for redemption in Romans 8:22-25

I hope that there does not come a day when I am no longer affected by fallen humanity around me that I do not grieve. If I had a robe, I would tear it in half and if I had some ashes, I would put them on my head.  I am so weak but He is strong.

"My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness. Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weakness." (2 Cor 12:9)

 I am not crying because God is failing us, I am crying because of suffering, injustice and  sin gripping the lives of many. My God never said, "Focus on the good in your world or people might think you don't trust me".  God wept over His people, "Let my eyes overflow with tears night and day without ceasing; for the virgin daughter, my people, has suffered a grievous wound, a crushing blow"(Jer. 14:17)  "Jesus wept" over the death of His friend. (John 11:35) We are not grieved at God, we are grieved with God, we are not mad at God but with God, we are not fighting against God but beside Him,  "For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms"(Eph. 6:12) 

So, fellow brothers and sisters living in the middle of your own personal suffering or living in the middle of other people's real pain, broken marriages, addictions, abuse and injustice, let us not fear real emotion  connected to the fight  and believe it's a lack of faith.

"The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit." (Psalm 34:18)

If anyone tells you, "this is just how the world is, suck it up"  they are most likely not in the fight and sitting on the sidelines or in the comfortable pew mentioned earlier.

As Aaron and Hur held up Moses hands during the battle against the Amalekites when he became tired and weary, so should Christian community  take turns propping up one another in the fight.   

 The Holy Spirit is a comforter for a reason. We will need comfort in the fight. We continue the fight not against but with our good God who redeemed our lives and invited us into this great mission.

"We press on toward the goal to win the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus."
(Phil. 3:14)










 

Acts 1 Came Before Acts 2

Every so often, things I have learned but not connected will come together and I'll see the presence and power of Jesus and the Gospel in ways I have not before.  I begin to see Jesus in magnificent detail and understand God's character in new ways.   He is not a franchised product of a denomination or spokesman for a cause or social justice program.  He is not a dynamic new strategy or technique or new terminology.  He is more than all of this and no one has Him  captured or has the market on Jesus. He is, by the power of the Spirit, redeeming the world to Himself so the name of Jesus will be exalted throughout the earth. But guess who He is using to do it? The Church! The redeemed! Me and you! His children!

I'll let you in on something...I really don't know what I am doing. Most of you are thinking, "Tell me something I don't know!".   I do want to be used by Him.  There is amazing joy that the God of creation, who could do this all by Himself, allows me and you to partner with Him. So, I must seek Him every day, calling on Him in prayer with faith that there is no limit to what He can do.

"Call on me and I will answer you and tell you

great and unsearchable things you do not know."

Jer. 33:3

Hold up!! The GOD of the universe HEARS US!!

The early Christians got this. Right after Jesus commissioned His disciples to "Go make disciples." (Mat. 28:19)  He tells them, "But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you and you will be my witnesses...to the ends of the earth." (Acts 1:8)  He was then "taken into heaven" (Acts 1:11) and the disciples  returned to Jerusalem.

"All these (the disciples) with one accord were devoting

themselves to prayer, together with the women and Mary

the mother of Jesus, and His brothers." Acts 1:14

Then, "they were filled with the Holy Spirit"(Acts 2:4) and the early church was born. Acts 1 came before Acts 2. Prayer is a game-changer!

Peter preached Jesus crucified and resurrected and called for repentance and baptism. Over 3,000 people were saved and added to the church. That is a reason to shout "glory!" The rulers and elders were astonished at the boldness of these uneducated, common men. (Acts 4:13) They arrested Peter and John, so they could stop the name of Jesus from spreading. (v.17) Hmmmm....wonder if that worked?? The church didn't sit at home and watch CNN, worry and discuss the evil practices of the world or create a social media war.  They didn't picket the jail or sign a petition. They realized that this was not political but spiritual.  The Church of Jesus Christ gathered and prayed:

"Sovereign Lord,....You made the heaven and the earth and the sea,

and everything in them....Now, Lord, consider their threats and

enable Your servants to speak Your Word with great boldness.

   Stretch out Your hand to heal and perform miraculous signs

and wonders through the name of Your Holy servant, Jesus."

Acts 4:24, 29-30

If you had been standing in that room, would you have been seriously uncomfortable and said, "I just don't do that."?  Maybe I would have. But  how I need the Holy Spirit and boldness so much more than I need comfort.

I have had opportunities to witness how God can send His Holy Spirit in response to prayer.

A young man addicted to pills was discussing his pain with me and I was trying my best effort to navigate the waters that I know little about. I stopped and prayed out loud for him. I prayed  that God would move in his heart and draw the young man to Him. After continuing to talk for a while, he said he wanted to know Christ as his savior and make Him Lord of his life and he prayed. God responded to intercession and petition. God saved him, not by my might, not by my power but by His Spirit!

A few years ago, I attended some monthly gatherings with local churches from various denominations and different cultural and economic backgrounds.  We met with one accord in intentional prayer to call down the presence of God in our county.  I saw this thing called "The Church" become a living, breathing organism.  We were one body, one Spirit, called to one hope, under one Lord. (Eph. 4:4)  The gatherings were filled with the presence of God. Not theatrical melodrama with no substance but real, raw worship in prayer with faith. We would leave being sent out into the world with a burning fire inside, consumed with knowing God more and the people around us knowing Him.  I will be forever changed by experiencing His power through that. He created unity under Christ in a people who would probably have never connected.  The bond continues with our brothers and sisters in Christ, unified through the Spirit

.

Heavenly Father, May we be a people of prayer that flows out of  a

grateful heart for what You have given through Jesus on the cross.
May we live in repentance, clinging to your grace and mercy,
encouraging each other as the Body of Christ to live a life
  worthy of our calling. Then, may we also be a people who act in faith
that you are who You say You are and will do what You said You'd do.

May we draw near to You in our prayer closets and in our gathering

places as Your  people to receive the fullness of the Holy Spirit. That

the Holy Spirit begin a new work of grace in us. May Jesus be lifted

up and we see His majesty to the praise of His glorious grace.-Amen