Northern Ireland Update

Greetings from Northern Ireland. This past week has been refreshing, encouraging, and a blessing for Don and I. We arrived on Sunday afternoon April 17th and then spoke to around 50-60 young adults that evening from 3 different churches. God allowed us to encourage and challenge them to make disciples and to make in difference in their churches and communities. The next morning we shared for a couple hours with local youth leaders, pastors, and young adults about Off The Wall Ministry. There were many questions and it was encouraging to see how God is giving many people a desire for authentic discipleship and community. We learned a lot from them and hope that we could share some wisdom with them.

Over the course of this past week we have been able to follow up with people, observe and be part of a street reach event with local churches, and share coffee and meals with local young adults. There are some great people here with a heart and desire to passionately follow Jesus Christ, to reproduce people who reproduce passionate followers of Jesus Christ, and challenge one another to be the church God has called us to be.

In the midst of all this we have been blessed with incredible sunshine and the ability to do some fun tourist things as well. Along with taking many walks and enjoying the beautiful scenery we got to tour a castle and take a coastal drive. The history is rich over here and I am reminded how our Christian history should be important and dear to us as believers. We are where we are today because someone before us has paved the way. We have salvation in the name of Jesus because he came and died and rose again as an all-sufficient sacrifice for us. My prayer is that this weekend you will remember, celebrate Easter in its fullness, express to your God and Savior how thankful you are for all he has done.

Left in a Manger

On Christmas Eve our church (Countryside Chapel) has a communion service. This year my dad who is an elder was asked to share 5-10 minutes before we took communion. My dad and I are very different when it comes to getting in front of people and talking. I love it and he gets very nervous. After getting the initial nerves out of the way he did an awesome job. It was actually one of the best 5 minute sermons I have ever heard (and I am not just saying that because it was my dad). I left convicted and challenged. Here are some thoughts that have been going on in my head the past few days.

You see, everyone knows "The reason for the season." Most people can tell you about Mary, Joseph, Baby Jesus, Wise Men, Shepherds, and I could go on and on. The problem lies in the fact that many of us leave baby Jesus in the manger. And that is the question I guess I would pose to you. "Is Jesus still in the manger or have you made Him Lord of your life?" Don't get me wrong, the Christmas story is an incredible true story but it is only the beginning of an even bigger story. Jesus had to grow up, he had to die. He had to humble himself and come as a baby, grow up to be mocked, beaten, and hung on a cross to be exalted.

¹⁸I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, ¹⁹and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is like the working of his mighty strength, ²⁰which he exerted in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, ²¹far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every title that can be given, not only in the present age but also in the one to come. - Ephesians 1:18-21

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

The birth of Christ was the start of a plan that God chose to show his unconditional love for us. When we live life for ourselves and not for the God of the universe we leave Jesus in the manger. We can recite the story, it is in our head but it is not in our heart. I want you to really think about this question, "What do I believe about Jesus Christ?" Really, what does your head AND your heart agree upon about the person of Jesus Christ? Do I believe he was born of a virgin? That he grew up being fully man and fully God? That he was put to death of a cross and three days later rose from the dead and paid the penalty of sin that we deserve?

As you read in the verses above Jesus has been given the name above every name. He doesn't need us, we need him. If we didn't need Jesus, God wouldn't have sent Him. My prayer is that your heart and mind would agree that Jesus is Lord. That you would examine your life and surrender yourself to Him and His will for you. Once you do, things will never be the same.

Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus

Do you enjoy the old hymns? Most of them are simple and powerful. Many artists today are adding musically to the hymns but keeping the timeless words and truths. My favorite hymn of all time is"Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus." Every Sunday growing up we ended almost every service singing "Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus." This could be one of the simplest songs but has so much truth and meaning. Think about the words for a second....

"Turn your eyes upon Jesus, look full in his wonderful face and the things of earth will grow strangely dim in the light of his glory and grace."

We just got home at 4:30 this morning from taking a group of young men to serve in Chicago. We finished up our time in Chicago spending time with some homeless guys that live underneath the streets in Chicago. We were planning on giving them socks because that is what their biggest need is. Once we arrived the homeless ended up with coats, blankets, and some sleeping bags. Our plan was not to give away the coats, blankets, and sleeping bags, in fact some of them were quite expensive. Many of the guys saw the things of earth grow strangely dim through this trip. The tight grip that was held onto stuff started to loosen. Turning your eyes upon Jesus is a daily challenge. Every morning I have to get on my knees and ask God to help me focus on him.

My prayer for you today is that you will turn your eyes upon Jesus because when you do the things of the world truly grow strangely dim in the light of his glory and grace.

I AM

This past weekend we were blessed to see God work in the lives of over 75 high school students. Our theme for the weekend was I AM. One verse continued to be brought up throughout the weekend and that was Romans 12:1 which says, "I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship." In some versions it reads "reasonable act of service" or "rational service." As I marinate on that it seems simple but makes sense. Jesus Christ has paid for my sin through his death and resurrection at the cross. It would only seem reasonable or rational that I would give him all I have. It's like in movies or in life when someone saves your life or does something for you then you in turn feel like you owe them something. If we truly grasp what Christ has done for us it would only be reasonable to give him our time, money, selfishness, pride, worries, etc. Instead many times we become self focused, self seeking, and our world revolves around ourselves instead of our God. The deeper my relationship with Christ grows the more the focus of my life shifts from me to Him. I am still growing and will continue to do so but my prayer is that my life would revolve around Him and not me.

A Barbarian Call

I am currently reading the book "Barbarian Way" by Erwin McManus. Often times our expectations of following Jesus is that life will be easy and everything will be smooth sailing. In my experience life becomes more challenging, spiritual warfare becomes more intense, and you separate yourself from the world. In the book McManus talks about how this call to follow Jesus has become caged and domesticated here in America. Here is an excerpt from the book.

"This is the sticky part of the barbarian call. It's not fair or equitable. When you hear the call, when you follow the call, you must recognize that is is a life and death proposition. When you understand what Jesus means when He says that you must follow Him, you finally realize that this is not a cattle call. He is not calling you to the same life that everyone else will live. He's not even calling you to the same path that every follower of Christ will walk. Your life is unique before God, and your path is yours and yours alone. Where God will choose to lead you and how God chooses to use your life cannot be predicted by how God has worked in the lives of others before you."

Have you gotten too comfortable? Do you find yourself constantly comparing your life and hardships with other people's lives? Are you focused on what God wants you to do for him? No matter what the cost?

Jesus says "...If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me." - Mark 8:34b

Living a life as one of God's Beloved is not something to take lightly. It is a call to sacrifice, love, and humility. God is constantly teaching and showing me more crosses to carry, areas where I need humility, and sacrifices I need to make. I want to challenge you today to break up routine, escape from complacency, and play offense against an enemy that is constantly trying to make us retreat.

Sacrifice

Could you trade your car in for a horse and buggy? How about giving up travel on airplanes? OR what if you had to give up designer clothes for home sewn plain clothes?

One of my best friends is facing one of the most important decisions of his life. He grew up as an Amish boy but at the age of 18 started upgrading to Tommy Hilfiger & American Eagle. He got his license and has been driving ever since. His girlfriend of over three years recently joined the Amish Church. He really loves this girl and is at the point in his life when he wants to settle down and have a family. For him to make the next step toward marriage he will have to sacrifice many daily luxuries to be with the one he loves.

Joining the Amish Church is a life altering commitment. Life will be different for him. As we were talking about this next step in his life we were reminded of the sacrifice Jesus made on the cross. As hard as it is for him to give up driving, flying, and his clothing attire we often times are unable to grasp the sacrifice of Jesus's life. I often wonder how hard it must have been to leave the glory of heaven and come down to earth to be spit at, beaten, and brutally killed. He knew what was going to happen and he still came. Why would he do that? LOVE! He loved us so much that he was willing to leave the luxuries of heaven and take the wrath of God on his shoulders. Sometimes I just can't wrapped my head around that but all I can do is praise God and try to live everyday for him. Be blessed and remember the sacrifice of our Saviour!