Thursday, April 30, 2009

Trust God and Do the Next Thing



I've been back in Finland now a few days after traveling to Turkey, and I've been thinking about our lives as believers. What do we do with our past, our present, and our future? I think what we need as disciples, is to live the "tight rope" life of faith. It seems that our life is kind of like that. Just think about someone who learns to walk the tight rope. He has to start small, with tiny steps, and very small risk. At the beginning, the trainer is there, walking with him, holding his hand, and instructing him in each step. This is a very important time in the trainee's life because he's learning to trust his trainer. That trainer is building in that person an amazing capacity: the capacity to go across that tight rope at high speed, with no fear, and with a 50 foot drop below. In everything the trainer does, his goal is to safely bring the trainee to that point. In a way, I think this is what God is trying to do with our life. At first maybe we walk very slowly, maybe we don't really make any radical decisions, and just getting to church can be a challenge. But as we walk with the Master we start to realize the potential He has put in us to live radically. He is always there, loving the fear right out of us as we grow. We begin to move, faster and with more risk. I begin to realize as I look at the 50 foot drop below me that, "Hey, what's the big deal anyways? I have been given all grace, all wisdom, all power, and all ability in Him! My life is not my own, I've been bought with a price! If I fall, I fall in Grace, and God is able to make me stand! Who cares about the risk of humiliation, ridicule, disdain, or even death? I have God!"
When that person is on the rope he really only has two things in his mind: The next step, and the finish line. We are trusting that God is real, He is in us, dwelling richly, and He has given us what it takes for the next step. So what if I've messed up in the past? Now, I'm just trusting God and doing the next thing. I'm not worried about 5 days from now, I'm occupied with Christ in the Eternal Is of RIGHT NOW! Like Paul, I have my goal, my "mark", which I am pressing towards. I have my Promised Land set before me, but right now I'm occupied with each step I take as I cross the Jordan River with the Ark on my shoulders. God is parting the waters, God has possessed the Land for me, God has given me His presence and His power; I am just trusting Him and moving forward.
We need this kind of life. The world is too evil, too crazy, and too small minded. Thank God He has given us all spiritual blessings in heavenly places. Let's utilize them right now in a radical way! Let's forget the past, rifle our worries for the future at the cross, and run across that rope believing God for every step.

Pray for us this week for these amazing upcoming events:
- Concert in Metro Tunnel 4/30, Jesus March 5/1, Trip to Porvoo 5/2, Finland Tour with Roger, Lizzie, Miia 5/3-5/8, and also upcoming trips to Estonia, Sicily, Germany, Czech, and possibly even Sweden.

Saturday, April 4, 2009

Eurocon: Drinking from the Brook in the Way


"He shall drink of the brook in the way: therefore shall he lift up the head" Psalm 110:7

Whether you're playing backyard football at Honeygo Park on a Sunday night at 12 o'clock or a quick game of sähly with the Finns after church, you always need a solid time of refreshment.  As Soldiers of the Call, it can be so easy to plow through our life without stopping and drinking from the brook in the way. It's so easy for ministry to become routine when we're not being refreshed. We pour out, pour out, pour out, but sometimes forget to just sit and receive. We have been called, equipped, and trained to go out and work the fields. However, in that call, God has put provisions of Grace where we can receive refreshment from the Throne of God. Think about Abraham's servant in Genesis 24 who was "in the way and the Lord led him". Where did the Lord lead him to? He led him to a well. It was at that well that Rebekah gave him a drink to refresh him on his journey. 
To me, Eurocon was really a time of refreshment for me in the midst of the Work. I felt like I was just sitting at the well and God was drawing out Living Water for me to drink. Seeing all the servants who are daily laying down their lives on the field: refreshing. Hearing the anointed messages from true men of God: refreshing. Late night raps at the Turkish Restaurant with Pastor Schaller: refreshing. Times like those will be lasting refreshment for months to come. While at Eurocon, my vision was refreshed. My love for the Bible was refreshed. My fire for the lost was refreshed. The importance of intercessory prayer in my heart was refreshed. It is so good to be in a ministry where this need for refreshment is so well understood. 
God is so faithful to lead us to those wells of refreshment and say "Just sit. Relax. Drink." Stop worrying about the details, cast your cares upon me, and just relax. Let's look for the wells of refreshment that God puts in our way daily. It could be a time of fervent prayer. Or maybe just a solid conversation with someone. It might even just be a ridiculously good döner kebab on the streets of Berlin: REFRESHING!  God has a well of deliverance in every situation, from which, with joy, we draw waters of refreshment for our souls. (Is. 12:3)  Let's be fresh, alert, and focused as we live this life of faith in the reality of the Kingdom of God. How? Just stop and drink.

Wednesday, April 1, 2009

Back

Just got back from my trip to Budapest, Berlin, and Brasov. The triple B trip. It was amazing. Stay posted for a more detailed blog about the trip. Just letting everyone know I'm still alive and going forward!

God Bless!