A.T.F.

Belief

2007-03-03T16:48:00.000-05:00

In the words of John Mayer, one of my favorite song writers :

Everyone believes, in how they think it ought to be.
Oh, everyone believes, and they're not going easily.

Belief is a beautiful armor, that makes for the heaviest sword.

Everyone believes, from emptiness to everything.
Oh, everyone believes, and no one's going quietly.

We're never gonna win the world.
We've never gonna stop the war.
We're never gonna beat this if belief is what we're fighting for.

After years of thinking about life I'm convinced that belief is the most powerful force in the world. Beyond self preservation (Muslims), stronger than personal satisfaction (Celibates), and purer than worldly power (Martyrs); a person's beliefs shape EVERYTHING they become.

Take a look at your own life: A majority of your friends believe what you do. Allocations of your time and money are typically parallel to your beliefs (and if they're not than you have to go back and see if you really believe those things). Your outlook on life and the future is filtered through your beliefs.

The question I have comes from something that one of my college students constantly tells me and my wife. She's always saying that belief is subjective and that belief is a mixture of experience, nature, nurture, and pride. If belief is truly subjective, then how do we know that what we believe is actually true? Not to mention the fact that her statement is just a belief, and by her definition, her definition is subjective itself.

I guess part of this question then comes back to whether or not truth is relative or does absolute truth exist?

Calling vs. Anointing

2007-02-26T23:16:00.000-05:00

In recent years I've gotten to know a whole lot of people on both sides of the charismatic fence within the Church. What I mean is people who believe that we can exhibit the spiritual gifts we read about in the scriptures on a regular basis, and people who believe that the gifts are rare occurrences at best and no longer around at worst. Within these camps there is a particular spiritual language use to describe the same things.

One of the most common words amongst the charismatics that I've heard is "anointing". For a long time I was told that this word was synonymous with the word "calling" in conservative circles, but as I think about it more I'm not so sure that it is. This isn't really an amazing spiritual truth or divine revelation, it's simply my observation and opinion.

I believe we are ALL "called" to do what we can to bring the Kingdom of Heaven to earth, and as such, we all are responsible to fill in where we're needed when we're needed. On the other hand, there are things that each of us is "anointed" to do in a special way with a special effectiveness in the spiritual realms.

For instance, there are many people who can lead worship and if there's a need I believe they have a responsibility or a "call" to do so. However, I think we'd all agree that some individuals are "anointed" to lead worship above and beyond just an ability or responsibility. In my mind, when someone is "anointed" to do something that means God inhabits that persons work in a special way. Not everything they do is necessarily anointed, but certain things are.

I also believe that everyone has at least ONE thing that they are "anointed" to do. Everyone has at least one way in which God works through them beyond normal effectiveness or ability. The question is...What would this world look like if every Christian knew what their "anointing" was, and if every Christian did what they we're called to do?

Building the Kingdom on Debt

2007-02-23T23:26:00.000-05:00

In an attempt to talk out my own thoughts, one of the issues that I can't seem to get around in Kingdom work is the fact that so much of what we call "part of God's Kingdom" is built on debt. Churches with multi-million dollar mortgages, small non-profits held up by credit cards, people lending to ministry but not giving, and all of this isn't even touching on the fact that so many of us as sons and daughters of God live off of debt personally.

Make no mistake, I'm not exempt from the problem. My wife and I are trying to get out of debt, but we still have a significant mortgage that we'll be in for 20-some years. I understand the fact that "this is the way our world works" today, but aren't we called to live in the world but be not of it?

A friend of mine tells a story of how when he was in seminary a guest speaker came to his school and told them that everyone who was there on student loans didn't have enough faith in God. The students then proceeded to get up out of their seats and rebuke him off the stage. Initially, when he tells it, you can hear the heart of his side and you think "maybe their reaction was right." After all, they're taking out those loans to do God's work and those schools are expensive. On the other side, maybe that guy was on to something.

Now I don't think that he needed to go in and lambaste everyone in the audience who had student loans, and I'm not sure it's a matter of faith as much as it is a matter of liquid sunshine. Somewhere in that entire story God has got to fit into the equation.

I tend to believe that if we truly are doing what God wants us to do then He will pay for what He orders. However, I believe God honors personal sacrifice and we all know that loans are a very significant sacrifice. At this time I can't fully say which side I'm on but I'm leaning towards no debt at all. I find that position has the most scriptural support behind it, and although there are some very real issues on the other side of the coin, I just can't bring myself to endorsing a "debt is a sign of faith" stance.

If we are truly building God's kingdom, then He has more than enough resources to do it. If not, then I believe we need to ask ourselves whether or not it's God's Kingdom or our own.

A Call to Repentance

2007-02-22T23:13:00.000-05:00

Anybody who knows me knows that I'm passionate about seeing this world come to the fullness of the Kingdom of God as soon as possible. The reality is that that will only happen when our Lord Jesus Christ returns, however, I believe that we can play a role in at least getting things closer to what God intended.

The foundational issue behind turning this world around is actually fairly simple. John the Baptist preached it, Christ preached, the Apostles preached it, and so I will preach it. God's kingdom must start with a repentant people. We can't just turn from our sins and follow Jesus. We must repent, then turn from our sins and follow Christ.

The thing is... We've forgotten how to repent. We think an emotional prayer at the altar is repentance or a meeting with our accountability partner is repentance. The reality, however, is that repentance is not just turning from your past but dealing with it (to the best of your ability).

For example... If you've got people in your past that you've left bloody and bruised, you can't just become a Christian and cry a few tears and then get your golden ticket to heaven. You have to go to those individuals and do your best to make things right. Apologize, ask for forgiveness, and maybe even restore the relationship. I'll admit, sometimes that process is out of our control and those people may not want to go through it. But we have to be willing to set as many things right as we can before we can move forward to what God has for us.

This is the idea behind my Call to Repentance blogs. These are issues that I feel must be dealt with before we can expect God to start blessing us in ways that we desire. As we move towards being what we should be, we must try to deal with who we've been.

He'll Never Leave You?

2007-02-22T22:50:00.000-05:00

How many times have you heard it? "He'll never leave nor forsake you." It sounds comforting right? God will always be there for you no matter what the circumstances. No matter what you do God will always be at your side and ready to help you.

This idea is found in the first chapter of Joshua where God is telling Joshua that He will be with him just as He was with Moses and that He will never leave Joshua or forsake him. The only problem is that this isn't where God stops talking. He goes on to say that Joshua will only be successful IF he obeys the commandments that God gave to Moses. He also states that Joshua will only be successful if he meditates on the word of God day and night and seeks God's face throughout his life.

The entirety of God's message to Joshua is an encouraging yet conditional covenant between the two of them. God basically tells Joshua that he will be invincible if Joshua seeks after Him and obeys His law. That is the side of the covenant that Joshua has to uphold, and is the condition under which the promise of God's presence is made. God will never forsake Joshua or leave him IF he hold up his end of the bargain.

If this reading of scripture is accurate then this begs the question, "If we don't hold up our end of the bargain, does that mean that God might leave us or forsake us?" To answer that we just have to go to the new testament to find out that God will eventually give us over to ourselves should we turn away from him enough times, and thus, I believe this is evidence that God will forsake us should we chose to forsake Him.

Now I know that God is everywhere and that technically He will always be near, but I believe, as with most things in scripture, God is talking about a spiritual forsakeness and not a physical one. Therefore, I believe we need to be careful how lightly we take God's promised presence in times of trouble. I know it sounds nice and it comforting to say that God won't forsake or leave us, but we must always ask ourselves if we've held up our end of the bargain. God is not obligated to do anything for us, and we need to remember that it's only by His grace that we even have a chance of His presence in our lives...even in hard times.

God Is Moving!

2007-02-22T22:22:00.000-05:00

This is a blog post that I've looked forward to writing for some time because I've know that it was coming, but not until now have I been able to say with confidence... God is moving in Carteret County, North Carolina.

To write the testimonies of this experience would take an entire book up to this point, and the great thing is that He is just getting started. Churches are being purified and ignited with passion for the lost and not just themselves. Lives are being changed from dead and lost to alive and found. And the best part is that it's happening all over the community and not just in one or two circles.

Now I don't know if many people read my blogs, but if you read this one and you are seeing the same things in your community that we're seeing here, please respond to this blog and let me know what's happening in your area.

God is on the move, and I for one do not want to get left behind.

A Broken Nation: Answer 2b

2007-01-14T19:24:00.000-05:00

The easiest example to come up with for peaceful resistance leading to God type outcomes is that of Christ himself during His trial. I know... we've been taught our who lives that He didn't resist at all, but I believe He did (in a peaceful way).

You see, not only in this example, but in hundreds of examples throughout Christian history, one of the best ways to peacefully resist is to say nothing while you're being accused and questioned. The amazing thing about this is the fact that as persecuted Christians follow Christ's example, they continually find the Lord coming through in amazing ways. If you read or hear about any one of a million stories about Christians being imprisoned, you'll find that staying silent has proven to be one of the most effective ways to peacefully resist. I don't think it's any coincidence that this is what Christ did as an example for us to follow.

Another example of peaceful resistance leading to God type outcomes is that of Daniel and his three friends (who's names I won't attempt to type at this time). Three different examples come to mind:

1) In keeping with their Jewish laws the 4 of them resist eating unclean foods, and in doing so they set themselves apart as young men of outstanding stature.

2) The familiar story of the 3 of them being thrown into the fiery furnace because they wouldn't worship the image of Nebuchadnezzar.

3) The time when Daniel resisted by continuing to pray to his God even though it was against the law, and thus, he gets thrown into the lions den.

In each of these examples the resistance could have been much more active, but due to the fact that they were resisting the authority that had been placed over them, they resisted only when it crossed spiritual lines, and they resisted peacefully. In the end God was glorified and they we provided for.

I pray that we would begin to find God's way of resistance and not just a good way of resistance.

Sabbath...Relationship Lessons

2006-12-06T11:08:00.000-05:00

Today I just want to be me... I don't want to write something profound, something educational, or even something meaningful to others. I simply want to put down on paper a recent lesson that I've learned about keeping a close relationship with the Holy Spirit. (If you can learn anything from this, that's a bonus.)

I've always heard that God demands us to take a Sabbath. Some say it's for God's glory, others say it's for our own good to rest and rejuvenate, others say it's not that important beyond the point of taking breaks from life. I was in the third camp. I always thought the point was to take some time for yourself and be refreshed. For me this often looked like an hour here, 3 hours there, half a day here, 5 ours there, etc. Eventually, I thought, I would be refreshed and the time would equal a day (more or less). The reality is that while I can be refreshed doing it this way, I cannot fulfill the point of a Sabbath without taking a whole day off at once.

The real kink in this is the fact that I'm a pastor and pastors always have something they can be doing to do ministry. If it's not church activities, one-on-one pastoral time, education, meetings, and planning, then it's praying, studying the Word, and staying spiritually in tune. Many people may not realize this, but all of the above are "work" when you're a pastor. Yes, studying the Word can be work. Yes, praying can be work. I mean to say that!

In this line of work, a Sabbath must be more than time to rest. It must be more than time to get other things done at the house. It must be more than staying spiritually fit for ministry. It must be... It must be... It must be a time to enjoy God and reflect on His and my work and see that it is good. Just as God did in Genesis, we must also do as ministers. We must see that resting with God and in God is about joy and enjoyment and being done and reflecting (not rehearsing) on the good. It is about a whole day. Its not just about the results (this sounds extremely foreign to me, being a "why are we doing x" type person). Its about connecting to the Holy Spirit for our sake. Not for the sake of others, but for our sake. 6 days out of the week we are called to pour out ourselves to the world around us. 1 day is for US!

This may sound obvious to you, but it wasn't for me. I was so concentrated on pouring out myself, that I found it hard to accept the reality that it's OK for me to enjoy God for my sake. What brought this to my attention was the discussion that I had with myself about my inconsistency in my prayer time. Not that I didn't pray consistently, but that sometimes when I pray I can't concentrate on that time but my mind wonders to other stuff. Some say that this is normal, but I don't believe it's supposed to be.

I'm finding that when I'm all poured out, I can still be running well, but I'm running on my own strength and knowledge and love and ability. Without pride I can say that this could carry me far, as it does many pastors who eventually burn out. But it won't carry me far enough. Ironically, when I do take Sabbath, I find myself with good concentration for about one week before it starts to wain. A Sabbath is about maintaining a relationship, but this time is not for the sake of others. It's for me. It's for my sake. It's for my joy. It's for me.

A Broken Nation: Answer 2a

2006-11-22T09:14:00.000-05:00

Well, we've covered how to verbally respond if your leaders are trying to lead you in the wrong direction, but what do you do if that doesn't work? In order to stay true to the beliefs that we hold to as Christians, we have to resist, but how?

The first key, I believe, is in the heart of your resistance. I always try to define my heart by the words I use to describe my actions. In this case I would say that peaceful resistance is good, revolt and rebellion are not. It's at this point that most of my friends bring up some historical fact about the American or French Revolution, or any one of a million other revolts, revolutions and rebellions to try to prove their argument that we can forcefully resist our leaders, but not one of them has been able to argue it strictly from scripture. We (I say "we" because I do it to) always want to take what we think is good and then make it Godly, but the reality is that Godly things are way beyond good.

For instance, Christ tells the parable of the unforgiving debtor in Matt. 18:21-35 where a man was owed money and he forgave the debt. There's more to the story, but the point is that being paid money owed to you is a good thing, but forgiving the debt of another is a God thing. Jesus himself was hung on a cross for doing NOTHING wrong. Had He gone to heaven to sit at the right hand of the father for His life lived, that would have been a good thing, but instead HE was punished for things he didn't do so that WE could sit with the father. This is the ultimate God thing!

It breaks my heart to realize how much the concepts of freedom, fairness, individual rights and personal liberty have infiltrated the mindsets of those who call themselves Christians. The truth is that we have become slaves to Christ (Rom. 6:22) and we are called to be servants to each other (Matt. 20:26). God has called a people who would be a blessing to the nations, yet we constantly put ourselves higher than the world around us. We say things like "I deserve...", "I'm blessed because...", "He owes me...", "I have the right to...", "It's only fair that...", etc. DON'T WE GET IT YET? We are called to humility, meekness, love, selflessness, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, forgiveness and self-control.

As American Christians we always want to lift up examples of active resistance that lead to good outcomes, but in the second part of this answer I want to lift up examples of peaceful resistance that lead to God outcomes.

Technorati tags: revolution, Christians, servants, freedom, rights, liberty

A Broken Nation: Question 2

2006-11-07T15:21:00.000-05:00

What do you do when your leaders are un-Godly and want to lead you in an un-Godly direction? This is a very real problem in many of our churches today, not to mention current and past governments, families, schools, businesses, and the like. What do you do if you're a Christian in Nazi-Germany during the time of Hitler? How do you balance Acts 23:5 where it says, "Do not speak evil about the ruler of your people," (NIV) with the two greatest commandments of loving the Lord your God with all your heart and loving your neighbor as yourself?

Christ says in Matt. 5:39 to not resist an evil man, yet throughout the rest of the scripture, it's very clear that we should not follow our leaders in an ungodly direction. Throughout history the Church has wrestled with this, especially when it comes to war. One attempt to solve this issue has been the drafting of the "Just War Theory". Other groups like the Quakers have chosen to refrain from participation in war except as medical staff.

For most of my life I've heard that supporting America, no matter what, is the best way to show respect to our leaders. But what about when America is in the wrong? (I even feel dirty writing that last sentence... Man we've been indoctrinated!) Better yet, what about when your church leadership is wrong? For instance, what do you do when your church wants to build another multi-million dollar building 10 miles down the street from the slums where people can't get enough to eat?

The real question becomes, how do you love God with all your heart and love your neighbor as yourself, when doing so requires you to not follow your leaders? Obviously, you have to resist, but how?

To find out more, read Answer 2.

Technorati tags: resistance, indoctrinated, Just War Theory, Quakers, un-Godly

A Broken Nation: Answer 1b

2006-10-27T13:07:00.000-04:00

As stated in Question 1 it is absolutely OK to question leadership, but the real issue centers around how we do this. What actions are appropriate for criticizing our leadership, and what actions are over the line? Obviously, as we can see from the Aaron and Miriam story there's some line to be crossed, it's just not always easy to see it.

Thankfully I believe the Lord has given us some tools/guidelines to use in dealing with confrontation with others. (The specific reference deals with a brother sinning against you, but the lesson is applicable to all human conflict.) Jesus tells us that if a brother sins against you:

"Go and show him his fault, just between the two of you. If he listens to you, you have won your brother over. But if he will not listen, take one or two others along, so that every matter may be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses. If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church..." (NIV Matt. 18:15-20)

Like I said, specifically this reference deals with a brother sinning against you, but I believe the process is helpful and can be followed in order to keep us from crossing the line with our leadership. (No, its not a God given commandment, its simply a helpful guideline.)

If you have a problem with a leader, go to him/her and talk with them. Don't go to everyone and their mother to get their opinions. Go directly to the person. If you don't have access to them, use the available resources at your disposal, i.e. writing a letter to the president. If this doesn't work, gather a few more people who are in agreement and go through the same process. As you continue to increase your numbers always keep in mind two things:

1. If you (or anyone with you) is not willing to be part of the solution, than you have no business talking about it! I'm not saying you have to be able to be part of the solution, just willing. If you have no intention of helping the matter, than you are simply complaining and gossiping, and the Lord will not bless that.

2. Ask yourself, "Am I critiquing or am I criticizing?" I believe those two words can accurately define the condition of the heart within your actions. If your heart is clean, than you are more than welcome to critique your leader's actions. However, if your heart is angry, jealous, judgmental, bitter, etc.; you are more likely to criticize that person, which is where we cross the line into sin.

If you can faithfully question your leader's actions with a right heart and right actions, the Lord will honor you, and you'll have a much better chance of succeeding in producing change in that person's leadership. But what if that person still won't change, what do you do then? Find out more in Question 2...

Technorati tags: leadership, criticize, sin, government

A Broken Nation: Answer 1a

2006-10-09T12:15:00.000-04:00

(There is so much that scripture has to say about criticizing leadership that I've had to split this answer into multiple blogs.)

Throughout scripture there are examples about verbally apposing leadership, Godly or ungodly. One of the earliest Biblical recounts that clearly draws the line for us is that of Aaron and Miriam's criticizing of Moses for marrying a Cushite woman. The Lord heard their criticism of Moses and called them out to the tabernacle. At the tabernacle the Lord appeared in a cloud and spoke these words,

"If there were prophets among you, I, the Lord, would reveal myself in visions, I would speak to them in dreams. But not with my servant Moses. Of all my house, he is the one I trust. I speak to him face to face, clearly, and not in riddles! He sees the Lord as He is. So why were you not afraid the criticize my servant Moses?" (Num 12:6-8 NLT)

There are two things I find amazing about this story:

1. The clarity with which God speaks to this matter is uncommon. God leaves no room for misinterpretation or failure to hear His voice. He speaks directly, loudly, and then backs it up by giving Miriam leprosy.

2. The reality is that, to a certain extent, Aaron and Miriam were right about Moses's marriage. Throughout the rest of the Old Testament, God is very clear that He doesn't want his people to intermarry with other nations. Yet, that's not what God gets angry about.

God's anger aims at the heart behind their criticism. They criticize out of a heart of jealousy and judgement. The question then becomes, "How do they criticize Moses without rousing God's anger?" Thankfully, scripture gives us guidelines that we'll discuss in part "B" of this answer.

A Broken Nation: Question 1

2006-10-04T16:26:00.000-04:00

Some people may think by reading the intro to this blog series that I advocate blind followship. Let me put your mind at ease that if you knew me, you would know this is the last thing I'm saying. When it comes to analyzing leadership, I'm usually first in line. But the reality is that as a Christian who believes in what the Bible has to say about this issue, I find some things in the scriptures to be challenging and they force me to ask questions about how we deal with leadership and followship in America.

The first question may not be in the right order, but it's one of the the biggest questions I always get from people. That is, if we're not called to follow blindly but we can't criticize our leadership, how do we follow in a Godly manner? When people ask me this there really asking, "Is it OK to question leadership out loud?", and the answer is absolutely, yes!

It's not only OK to question leadership, but I believe Godly followship requires inquiring minds. The catch is, there's a way to do it and a way not to do it. Doubt and disagreement are part of life. God created us as individuals who are not independent, and that means we have to interact with others. When you interact with other completely separate individuals, you will get differences in opinion. That's part of the beauty of God's creation. But we've got to learn how to question, doubt, and disagree in a Godly way.

For more on this, see " A Broken Nation: Answer 1"

A Broken Nation

2006-09-27T16:50:00.000-04:00

Every great nation in history has had it's own version of self destructive politics that became it's downfall over time. China had it's clan warfare. Rome had it's military leaders struggling for power. England had it's class warfare. And now I believe America is adding itself to that list with it's culture war.

Conservative vs Liberal

The great "national debate" as we like to call it. Although, in reality it's not a debate at all because no one's listening to the other side.

The truth is...the problem isn't our politicians (at least not all of it), the problem is the way in which we elevate criticism of our leaders as being healthy, when scripture says everything to the contrary.

The problem isn't leadership, it's followship.

Our nation is broken from the foundation up. And until we realize that promoting a culture of dissent isn't Godly we'll always have leaders who make decisions based on the poles instead of values.

Keep in touch for more thoughts on what scripture says about following authorities.

The Gap

2006-08-28T18:11:00.000-04:00

Emotions vs Logic

Perhaps the greatest conflict any of us will ever encounter will be between these two forces. The desire to make a decision from an emotional foundation verses following the common sense that God has given us.

It seems to me that the gap spanned betwixt these oft opposing forces is not merely a difference of right or wrong, easy or hard, fun or boring, selfish or selfless, but more a tangible representation of each individual's need for God and the Holy Spirit.

So many of us struggle in our lives between these two factors and often we fail to be completely satisfied with either choice. If we decide from an emotional standpoint we are often rewarded with immediate happiness, but eventually the emotions fade away and we are left with the frustration that we could have chosen differently. If we decide from a logical standpoint we understand the our happiness will come eventually, but the immediate results are frustrating and result in constant questioning of what we might have missed out on.

How can we ever get to the point were we consistently make balanced decisions that we are completely happy with?

Well, I believe that is what the Holy Spirit is for. That is where the peace that surpasses understanding comes in. That is where the proverbial "God shaped hole in your heart" can be seen.

This is the way God made us. He intended for us to be incomplete. The human machine was designed to be fueled by God and God only. Of course this requires a relationship with the Holy Spirit if it's going to happen. That's the actual battle that more of us need to recognize that we're fighting.

Good and Evil

2006-08-27T21:01:00.000-04:00

Being a youth pastor, I'm often faced with questions about the reality of faith and religion. Questions about the inconsistencies of Christians, questions about heaven and hell, and the occasional conversation about faith in action. Oh, that we had more conversations about that!

Through these conversations I've found that it can be quite difficult to explain the realities wrapped up in these issues without first establishing a common foundation of belief from which to launch such discussions. One of these foundational beliefs that I find most people take for granted is the mere existence of Good and Evil. We say we believe in their existence, but most of the time what people really believe is that good things happen and bad things happen. So few people want to ponder the reality that Good and Evil exist with or without the corresponding actions that we associate with them.

This issue has recently become even more obvious to me through a conversation with a young man at my home the other night. He asked me, "If sin had not yet been committed in the world, how was sin introduced then? I mean...if they didn't even know what sin was, how did they know how to commit sin? I know they were "tempted", but it doesn't make sense to me." It was after he explained his thoughts further that it hit me...

We say we believe in evil, but we mostly just believe in sin...

What we fail to want to think about is that evil, pure unadulterated evil, EXISTS. It exists with or without actions. It exists in a spiritual world that we cannot see. It existed before the first act of sin, and although we're not quite sure how this world will play out, I'm quite sure that evil will continue to exist after all is said and done. That final existence is a place most people call hell.

True hell, to me, is not necessarily the existence of evil, but the absence of good. Conversely, true heaven is not the existence of good, but the absence of evil. Not that I know what heaven will be like, but to me heaven will not be complete until evil is extinguished and defeated.

The Fine Print

2006-08-07T12:54:00.000-04:00

Lately, as I've engaged more and more with God and trying to put Him back into the equation. As I've tried to see Him in the Liquid Sunshine of life, I've found that my faith has been built in just about every situation.

One recent example is found in the story of one of the youth in my youth group that is in the hospital with severe Mono. So severe that he had to have his spleen removed...

For the past few weeks this young man has been in and out of the hospital trying to fight off this thing, and finally, last week they went back into the hospital because he had severe pain in his stomach. Come to find out, his spleen had ruptured internally and was swelling and about to start bleeding poison into his body. Thus, they decided that they needed to remove it.

Well, being the great man of paste and powder (I mean faith and power) that I am, I went to the hospital and prayed for him. I then went home and spent 2 to 3 hours in prayer and wrestling with the Lord. In praying for him to be healed, I kept praying that he would be able to keep his spleen, and I felt like the Lord kept saying no. (I won't go into why I felt God saying no, but I will say that I couldn't blame Him for not being willing to heal this young man given the faithless generation that exists in our country.)

Anyway, I kept asking God to have mercy on this young man and not to hold the sins of others against him. After about another hour of prayer, I felt like I heard the Lord say, "OK, he can keep his spleen." As I get more and more in tune with the Holy Spirit, I have more and more confidence that I'm actually hearing Him correctly, so, after I heard God say this, I went upstairs to bed and told my wife that God said "OK".

The next morning I woke up and went to the hospital and found out that this young man had the surgery last night, and that his spleen was removed in the nick of time. I was happy that he was OK, and I was thankful to the Lord for the fact that they caught this problem before the spleen ruptured inside his body (that would have caused many more problems), but inside I was disappointed and confused. I mean, I truly felt like the Lord had honored my prayer and answered me clearly. And then the following day I find out that my guy still had to have the surgery. What do you do with that?

Well, when I went to the hospital the first time, this young man's family had gone home and I couldn't talk with them to find out any more info. The next day I came back and he wasn't accepting any visitors. So I spent 2 full days wondering why God had said yes, and yet the surgery still went through. I eventually came to the conclusion that I heard wrong in the first place and that I still had a long way to go in hearing the Holy Spirit.

But then I went in to visit again and this time he was accepting visitors and his mom was there. As I was talking to her, she told me something that would normally seem weird, but not necessarily amazing. Remember that I felt like I heard the Lord say, "Ok, he can keep his spleen," well, come to find out, 10% of all people have two spleens and this young man was one of those 10%. When the surgeons removed his spleen they found a second smaller one hiding behind the swollen first one, and what is normally an off-the-wall abnormality became a faith-building miracle for me.

You see, 14 years ago God had answered my prayer (or maybe He even created the second one after the prayer), and in the normal "God fashion", He answered my prayers in a way that I would have never thought of.

Now, many people would look at the fact that he had two spleens and would say, "wow, that's fortunate." Even many Christians would look at this story and reason in the favor of chance and luck. But I choose to reason in the favor of God. I choose to believe that God answered my prayers, and the prayers of others. Although I can't touch and feel the move of God like I would be able to if He would have miraculously healed this young man right in front of the surgeon's eyes; I can see the results of God's work, and choose to see Him in the situation.

My hope is that you read this story and choose to do the same. If you're a Christian, don't just look at life through the eyes of reason and fate. While both of them are important and given to us by God, choose to look at life through the eyes of faith. Choose to reason in the favor of God and see him in the Liquid Sunshine.

Liquid Sunshine...?

2006-07-12T10:18:00.000-04:00

You may be wondering what I mean by Journeys in Liquid Sunshine, so here it is.

Where I'm from in Arizona we don't get much rain and when we do, it's not much. Often you'll feel rain drops then look up and not see any clouds. This is because by the time to rain hits you, the cloud has evaporated above you. When this happens, we call it Liquid Sunshine.

For me, this is often what my experience with the Lord is like. I can feel the results of His work in my life, but I look up and I can't see the concrete/tangible cause of those results. I don't know about you, but I tend to like to touch and see the reason for what's going on in my life and around me. However, when I get a chance to touch and see those things, I then proceed to explain the mystery of God right out of the equation. (i.e. When you can see the clouds, there's no reason to put God into the rain.)

Liquid Sunshine is my way of "reasoning in the favor of God." So often, as a Christian, I forget the role that God has in my everyday life. I look at a hurricane and can explain why it's happened. I look at someone's tears and can reason that said person's brain produced chemicals that made them sad and then their tearducts began to react accordingly.

Or, I can look at everyday situations and "reason in the favor of God."

If God is truly as big as we say He is. If God is truly in control of things like we say He is. If I truly believe what I say I believe, then God is in just about every situation, every conversation, every activity, and every thing that I see. Yet, we continually find ways to explain Him away, until we become so smart that we don't even see God in the "god" that we claim.

My prayer is that perhaps my discussions might help you see a little Liquid Sunshine in your life, and just maybe you'll "reason in the favor of God" instead of explaining Him away.

Welcome...

2006-07-07T12:12:00.000-04:00

Well, I have a blog now...we'll see how well I keep up with it.