Josh Via

Uganda Journal Entry #5

2009-07-13T08:00:00.000-04:00

July 4

Last leg of the journey home. Waiting at the gate here in DC to fly into Charlotte. I don't know how it will be for me coming back to life in America--particularly the church in America. It's frustrating to see the lukewarmness of the American church, and the increasing pressure and stifling of conservative values by the left. But it's so much more than politics. It's a heart issue. It's a spiritual problem--just like Uganda has corruption running through every level of government, America is no better. Because it's a spiritual battle. We need revival.

I agree with much of what Shane Claiborne argues for, but I think he's slightly off-focus. (In Irresistible Revolution Claiborne recounts some of his stories of reaching the homeless and hurting of Philadelphia, Calcutta and Baghdad. I poured over it during my time in Uganda and gleaned much from it, especially his concern for and practical ministry to the poor, which was perfect for my context in Uganda. However, much of his focus leans toward social-Gospel and social justice with a frustrating absence of the proclaimed, spoken Word of the Gospel. In other words, if we meet physical needs but give the person no hope of eternity with Christ, we've done a disservice--the United Way can do that. But ministers of the Gospel must do more than meet only physical needs. Not that Claiborne is only meeting physical needs, I just think he leans that direction more. The pendulum should be kept in the middle.) The Gospel must always be the main thing. When the Gospel is kept the center and proclaimed with boldness, the rest takes care of itself, I believe. The socio-political realm of regeneration with take place, but not until we deal with sin. Not until we preach the Gospel of repentance. This is the hope of every nation. Not United Way programs. Not anti-war protests. Not even abortion protests. Because when the Gospel truly takes effect, these things follow.

In the First Great Awakening, Edwards, Whitefield and others did not roll up into a town and shut down the bars and pubs. No, they preached the Gospel, the bar owners and patrons gave their lives to Christ, and the bars shut down on their own. This is the power of the Gospel in a society. The human heart is always the first and primary target.

God, help me to always keep that perspective and not get side-tracked. Help me to see that a society is made up of people, of individuals, faces, people with families, with hopes and dreams. People for whom You gave Your life and whom You know intimately. Every hair on their head You count. Every tear from their eyes You collect in Your bottle.

Uganda Journal Entry #4

2009-07-12T08:00:00.002-04:00

July 1

Finished the final day of ministry. It was great! I helped Alice, Jillian, Taylen and Tanya (shown here) at both the primary and secondary schools, which brought me back a little bit to 2001 when Smooth and I stayed here all summer primarily doing school ministry. It was a long way out there to Busia (close to the Kenyan border) and a long way back (I guess that's how it works), so it made for a long day--but a great one. Altogether we treated over 4,000 people and we saw over 1,000 people profess faith in Jesus Christ for the very first time. Thank You, Jesus. What a fruitful trip! Thank you for using this team. Thank you for the team unity. Thank you for Your guidance and protection.

Uganda Journal Entry #3

2009-07-11T08:00:00.002-04:00

June 29

Finished up Day 5 of ministry. It was a really fruitful day. I was honored to pray with about four people who wanted to receive Christ going hut-to-hut and about five people in the medical clinic. In the morning, I was with the pastors and did a talk on discipleship from Titus 2:6-8. I've really enjoyed hanging out with these godly men. I'm overwhelmed with the amount of need, though. So many of them have approached me with needs. Charles Tiondi, one of Godfrey's assistant pastors at Bukayah Baptist Church, needs 60,000 shillings (about $30) to fix his motor bike and 130,000 for a sewing machine for his wife to begin a sewing business from their home. These are just a few examples. So much need everywhere. I can't do it all, but there are some things I can help with. I just need wisdom.

Fireworks with the Kids

2009-07-10T16:09:00.001-04:00

After having just arrived back onto US soil last Saturday and still suffering from jet-lag, I tried to explain to Rainy how fireworks are started. I think I did a pretty good job myself, considering the circumstances.

Uganda Journal Entry #2

2009-07-10T08:00:00.002-04:00

Thursday Night - June 25

Malaria is still the leading disease-killer in Uganda. In a country of 25 million people, 70,000 - 110,000 children die in Uganda each year from malaria. That's about 400 people per day. Dad and I posed a question to Godfrey (the president and founder of Arise Africa International, the evangelical ministry we partner with in Jinja, Uganda). The government of South Africa claims they have now practically eliminated malaria by spraying with DDT and other insecticides. So why can't the Ugandan government do the same thing here?

His response:
There was a recent push to begin spraying, and it started in the north. But then it began to ruffle feathers and cause no small stir among several higher-up politicians and officials. Since Uganda is a major source of organic vegetables, coffee, tea, etc. to the U.K., the U.S. and other G8 nations, the president of Uganda issued the spraying to stop. In other words, if spraying were to continue, their organic produce would cease to be organic and exportation would stop. Apparently, organic produce is of more value than human life. The mean to eliminate malaria exists, yet the big-wigs risk losing their organic crops to sell to the West. Thus, the Ugandan people continue to die off by the thousands.

It saddens me. It sickens me. I also can't help but think that there's more money to be made by pharmaceutical companies creating medicines to cope with the symptoms of malaria than if were to be eliminated altogether. At the end of the day, it's all political and the almighty dollar rules out.

Uganda Journal Entry #1

2009-07-09T15:07:00.005-04:00

I thought I would recap some of the things that happened on the Uganda trip and some of the things that God taught me by simply copying here on the blog a few selections from my journal. Rather than attempting to recapture or reexplain what happened, this will likely prove more valuable and let you in a little closer to feel and experience what God did on this trip.

First Day of Ministry - June 25

On our way to the first village for ministry. Just passed a sign about an internet cafe. It reads, "Where people connect with people." What an ironic thing! In a nation where people very much rely on real flesh-and-blood inter-personal relationships for their survival, the marketing game now is to try to make them feel like online, social networks are the real thing. When, in reality, they already have the real thing. The superficial is being paraded and packaged as the real thing. Crazy times these are!

Pics from Uganda

2009-07-08T16:01:00.013-04:00

w/ Pastor Charles Tiondi, a pastor/leader/soldier/worship leader

Alan Collier leading the Pastor's Conference

Alan, Josh, Pastor Timothy, Geoff Hubbard, and Pastor Robert at the Pastor's Conference

School ministry

Sunday after church with Carolyn Thomas - she was a kid-magnet

Outside the medical clinic where we shared the Gospel with everyone who was treated

w/ Pastor Robert - an evangelist to Uganda

w/ my friend James. It's hard to tell, but we are covered in dust from the drive to Kaliro riding in an open laurie

John Black, myself, and Riley Sturgill leading a school ministry

Ugandan Pastors' Training Worship

2009-07-08T15:11:00.002-04:00

This was the first day of the Pastor's Training in Bugiri District, Uganda - June 25, 2009. This is the way the pastors opened up the training time every session. Incredible! Their love for Christ and their enthusiasm for the Gospel is contagious, to say the least.

Ugandan Worship Service

2009-07-08T15:07:00.002-04:00

This was the first day of ministry in a remote village in Bugiri District, June 25, 2009. The sound system died on the first day, but it needn't stop this team of radical Christ-followers from getting their praise on!

Uganda Recap

2009-07-07T15:38:00.004-04:00

Finally made it back. Though I made it home on Saturday, the combination of catching up with my family, jet-lag and my brother having his little baby girl, blogging has been low on the priority list. But I'll try to do a quick bullet-list here of some of the awesome things that happened on the trip with our team of about 35 people.

Over 1200 souls came to faith in Jesus Christ - every name was written down so that the local churches in each village can begin to do follow-up.
Treated over 4500 people medically, ranging from cases of malaria, typhoid, syphilis, wounds of various sorts, abnormal growths and cancers, malnutrition, etc.
Trained over 150 pastors in the surrounding three villages that we ministered in
Showed the Jesus Film in each village
Held outdoor evangelistic crusades
Shared the Gospel with locals going hut-to-hut
Shared the Gospel in about 12 schools and about 6 prisons
My sister Joy and her friend Jillian Stewart worked with Arise Africa International to help get their first orphanage off the ground by choosing 40 orphans out of over 500 candidates from surrounding villages to be the first group of children. Joy spent 7 weeks there and said it was the hardest, yet most-rewarding time of her life.

Thank you so much for your prayers and support for this trip. It was such a refreshing time--time to get a fresh perspective on the world and what God is doing--to get my eyes off of myself for 12 days and fully immerse myself in serving other people, in a different culture, sharing the Good News of the Gospel.

My Dad leads teams every summer to this region of East Africa to spread the Gospel in these unique ways. If you'd like to be a part of a trip, please don't hesitate to contact me. It will change your life.

Let There Be Light

2009-06-28T11:29:00.003-04:00

I found an internet cafe tonight here in Jinja and had a few extra minutes, so I thought I'd give a quick update. Ministry is going really well. The Lord is blessing in an amazing way already. We've had 3 days of village ministry, and already our medical team has treated over 2100 people ranging from cases of malaria all the way up to limbs that need amputated or weird abnormalities and growths. Many of those we have to send away with little hope for their physical ailments, but, praise God, we have the Living Water of Christ to offer them. Several hundred people have made decisions to follow Christ through one-on-one counseling in the medical clinics. Thank You, Jesus.

I am loving the opportunity to teach these awesome Ugandan pastors. They soak it up like sponges. They are eager to learn more and more of the Word of God. Most of them have had absolutely no formal Bible training, so they eat it up. It's humbling, to say the least, to have this opportunity. I have learned far more from them and their example of faithfulness to God in the midst of great trials, than they have learned from me, for sure.

Please continue to pray for our team as we minister here. We have 3 more full days of ministry in the villages, and then we'll be heading home. There is so much darkness here, but the light of Christ is penetrating. One of my interpreters told me yesterday some disturbing news. He said that human sacrifices are on the rise here in Uganda. Children are going missing. Village people will pay up to 300 thousand shillings to a witch doctor to make a human sacrifice. It's a superstition rooted in the occult and has its nasty hold on much of this culture. They believe that prosperity will not come to their village or their home unless blood is shed. He told me of a recent case here in Jinja of a rich man who was building a large house. He took a young girl and lowered her down into a large hole under the foundation of the house and then buried her in cement. This is happening in 2009. So please pray that the light of Christ will penetrate this dark area. These are people who need the hope of Christ. May we share it boldly.

18-Year Old

2009-06-26T21:18:00.003-04:00

When I talked to Josh this afternoon he was exhausted from the work today, but it was a VERY fruitful day! He was able to lead an 18-year old to the Lord. He told Josh he was in a dilemma because if he chose to accept Jesus Christ in his life he was choosing Christ over his family. He knew he would be disowned by his parents and they would no longer pay for his schooling. But Praise the Lord for the choice he made. Pray for him as he starts this new life and for his family to see Christ in him!

The kids and I have had a GREAT relaxing last couple of days with our friends in the Raleigh/Durham area. Thank you again for all your encouraging e-mails and calls. They mean the world to us=)

Quick Update

2009-06-25T15:28:00.003-04:00

I just talked to Josh on the phone for a few minutes and he is doing well. They just finished their first day of ministry and will be back in the same village tomorrow. They saw about 700 people in the clinic on this first day alone and Joy, his sister, has been leading up the school ministry.

Josh said he has really found his niche working with/teaching/mentoring those Ugandan pastors. He said that they just soak up everything he tells them and that they are SO eager to learn.

Thank you everyone who has called to check on me and the kids and for all of the prayers for Josh and the team as well! We couldn't do this without you all!

Uganda '09 Here We Go

2009-06-22T09:53:00.004-04:00

Heading off to Uganda this afternoon. I'll catch up with the rest of the team in D.C. tonight and then we'll be on our way. Pray for us. Pray for my family. Pray that the Lord will give us a harvest of souls and that these young village churches will raise up an army for the kingdom of God. Why should the devil have all the armies? Why should he be allowed to take young children in the North and turn them into indoctrinated, blood-thirsty soldiers and completely rob them of their childhood? Pray that the domain of darkness that controls Uganda and Sudan and neighboring countries will be utterly broken and that the light of Christ will radically transform East Africa.

Check back here often for updates. Even if I can't post on the field, I'll try to have Tasha making some updates for me.

Laying Aside Skepticism ... just for a moment

2009-06-20T20:40:00.007-04:00

Skeptics thrive on the miraculous! They get their conversation pieces from the magic shows. I know that's true in my own heart. I think because we see so much superficial garbage portrayed through the likes of the toupee-wearing, teeth-sparkling charlatans proclaiming a different sort of Gospel altogether. And so it's no wonder that for those of us trying to keep a level head and hold to Gospel-centered orthodoxy, we shutter at these insults. So, yes, there is wisdom in skepticism, especially of this sort. But, I also feel that there is wisdom to be had in leaning, at times, away from what might be our natural tendency toward skepticism and to embrace what God might be doing in front of our eyes, though it might be "out-of-the-box." Now, before you decide to impale me on a stake and burn me as a heretic, listen to this example from Acts 9 that I picked up on today, and see if it makes sense. It probably won't sound as big of a deal as I'm making it. So here we go:

Acts 9 - Saul's Conversion

Upon the Lord making known to Ananias that Saul of Tarsus, the great persecutor of the church, had just experienced the risen Savior and had his life completely transformed, Ananias did what most of us would have done ... he became skeptical.

¹³"Lord," Ananias answered, "I have heard from many people about this man, how much harm he has done to Your saints in Jerusalem. ¹⁴ And he has authority here from the chief priests to arrest all who call on Your name."

That's exactly what I would have done. But the Lord is patient.

¹⁵ But the Lord said to him, "Go! For this man is My chosen instrument to carry My name before Gentiles, kings, and the sons of Israel. ^N)">¹⁶ I will certainly show him how much he must suffer for My name!"

I love that. Chosen instrument.

¹⁷ So Ananias left and entered the house ...

Wow. There's more to that verse, but I don't want to skip over this important phrase. He entered the house. He obeyed. He went--in spite of all that he had heard about Saul--in spite of the fact that there was a good chance that Saul could have slit his throat. He obeyed. Ananias laid aside his skeptic's glasses long enough to see through the lens that God was trying to place in front of him-- a lens that involved the primary mass-murderer and persecutor of Christians in the known world at that time coming to faith in Jesus Christ.

But the skepticism doesn't end there. Luke tells us later on in chapter nine that when Saul tried to have fellowship with the believers in Jerusalem, they shunned him. No one would even talk to him. They were freaked out that he might kill on their bodies or something. That he might go kamikaze with the wine glass in the middle of communion or something. I'm not sure. But they were skeptical, that's for certain, until ... Barnabas, yes, good ole Barnaby (whose name meant "Hello, Dolly!" ... No, it wasn't that ... it was something else ... Oh, yea, the "son of encouragement!") came over and extended the right hand of fellowship to Saul and put the hearts of the others at rest.

(Get to the point). I know. It takes me awhile sometimes. Especially once the kids go to bed and I can think clearly again and my fingers and mind come together in a beautiful wedding of thought as they simply can't get enough of the soothing, hypnotic clacking of the keys. Anyway, the point is this:

Skepticism, though a good thing in guarding solid, biblical orthodoxy, can at times block us from seeing the bigger picture of what God is up to in the world.

The tricky part is discernment. That's where we need to ask God to give us His eyes and His perspective on what's going on around us so that we might be able to discern if it is, in fact, His hand at work. Thank God that Ananias laid aside his initial skepticism. Thank God that Barnaby laid aside Horace's wallet (oh, there I go again) so that he could see with God's eyes what was actually going on in the circumstances surrounding Saul. And who knows what might have happened had they not looked past their own tendency toward skepticism. That's all I'm saying.

Flashback Friday: Pogo Ball

2009-06-19T16:45:00.005-04:00

Remember the pogo ball? ... yeah, I do ... the WORST toy ever conceived in the cruel mind of a man!!! I don't know what was worse, the humiliation of having all my onlooking friends mock my incompetence and inability to maintain balance on said piece of trash for more than 1.5 seconds, or the fact that I truly felt like a sorry excuse for a kid growing up in the 80s in suburbia USA, because what kid couldn't do the pogo ball??!!! Right?!! GARBAGE!!! That's what I say! But, I'm not bitter.

Short-Cuts

2009-06-19T16:34:00.003-04:00

Acts 8

18When Simon saw that the Spirit was given at the laying on of the apostles' hands, he offered them money
19and said, "Give me also this ability so that everyone on whom I lay my hands may receive the Holy Spirit."
20Peter answered: "May your money perish with you, because you thought you could buy the gift of God with money!
21You have no part or share in this ministry, because your heart is not right before God.

Observation:
Simon was seeking a short-cut to intimacy with God. But there are no shortcuts. There are no quick formulas for getting certain things from God--no microwavable blessing waiting in a package. Spiritual maturity is a long, slow process, but one that is absolutely necessary for obtaining closeness with God.

What short-cuts am I trying to take in my Christian life? How about you?

Godisnowhere

2009-06-18T15:38:00.009-04:00

Lately I've been reading a book by my good buddy Wes McMurray. Wes is one of those friends from seminary days that I made an immediate connection with. I spotted Wes in the back of Dr. Heimbach's Intro to Ethics class. He wasn't hard to miss in our straight-laced Baptist school looking unapologetically emo in his tight band-t over his pencil-thin frame. I knew we'd be friends from day one. We sat next to each other everyday and talked about Brandtson and Postal Service and drew super heroes in our class notes using words with double-o's as a starting point for the eyes (i.e. "look" "book" "1200" etc.) Or maybe that last part was just me. I don't know. Anyway, one thing I immediately picked up on about Wes, was that he was, and still is, an incredibly bright student. Sharp as a tack. And he loved Jesus. That much was obvious. So, when he told me about a year ago that he was working on a book, I knew it was going to be phenomenal. And it is.

It's called Beyond All Measure. I'm just about done with it. It's a quick read, but I tend to think quick reads are overrated. Well, not quick reads themselves, only reading quick. I prefer dragging them out as much as ridiculously possible. And that's what I've done. And today, I'm especially glad I've been reading slow. Because I needed this. In his chapter regarding God and the problem of evil, Wes recounts an event in one of his classes that had an enormous impact on his understanding of this great paradox. He writes:

"I sat in a class one day as a professor came in and silently wrote on the chalkboard: Godisnowhere. He turned around and asked for someone to raise his hand and tell the class what he saw. Someone spoke up and said, "God is nowhere." The professor then asked if anybody else saw something different. A hand went up and a student replied, "I thought it said, "God is now here." It's interesting how people can look at the same situation and come away with such different explanations. For many people, the world's tragedies produce these two responses. Some feel that God is nowhere, while others experience His presence and can say, "God is now here." (p. 131)

Such a simple illustration, but it drives home the point.

I don't know where you're at in you're life today, but I know that difficult times are all around us. If they haven't hit you recently, they will. Tasha and I were at a church this past Sunday where almost the entire worship team spoke up during our pre-service prayer time to ask for prayer in the midst of great difficulty. It's all around us.

A good friend of mine lost his 24-year-old brother to drugs about 4 weeks ago. Another good friend is having to give his 2-year-old son a hormone shot every night before bed until he's 18 so he'll grow.

On and on I could go. Loss of a job. Death of a loved one. Terminal illness. Wayward children. Slander. Abuse. Misunderstandings. You name it. But in the midst of your situation, I pray that out of this: Godisnowhere, you would see this: God is now here! He is here, my friend. But do you recognize His hand at work in the midst of tragedy? That's the question.

Getting From God

2009-06-16T18:53:00.001-04:00

"If we then try to make prayer a means of getting from [God] something we want more than we want Him, we are like a wife who asks her husband for money to visit another lover." - John Piper, A Godward Life, p. 356

Oasis Pics

2009-06-12T15:08:00.004-04:00

Here are some pics from Oasis Camp '09. We got to hang with the guys from Tenth Avenue North for a little while on Saturday evening. They're great guys who really love Jesus and have some pretty great music as well.

Oasis Camp '09 Recap

2009-06-09T09:30:00.004-04:00

The sporadically inconsistent blogger is back. We just arrived back into Charlotte last night after an extended weekend youth camp in Myrtle Beach, SC. And oh, how we've been suffering for the Lord! Right!

Anyway, it was an awesome weekend. We took the whole band, Andy Cherry, Tim Morrison, and Nate Proczak, and led worship for the student ministry of Ingleside Baptist Church. Andy, Tim, and Nate are some of my best friends, and I always love getting to partner with them.

This was the first time Ingleside has done their own camp, and they knocked it out of the park. It rivaled any Student Life camp I've ever been to. Fred and Scooter, the student pastors, put together a solid week for their 180 + students.

Bill Stanley, from Coco Beach, Florida brought the Word every session and did a great job connecting with students. Tasha and I enjoyed getting to know him and his wife for what will certainly not be the last time we do ministry together.

As we were leaving camp yesterday, the students surrounded our van for last minute pics and high-fives. And as we stood there with these students whom we had built a relationship with over the past 4 days, I just watched them. I watched them interact with my buddies in the band. I watched them hang on every word that the guys would say. I observed these young, impressionable students as they observed us, watched us, studied us. And as a result, I've been reminded of the incredible responsibility we have as older believers, as teachers, as worship leaders, as parents and mentors, to model our sincere faith in front of them--to live consistently what we believe in front of them, because they are watching us. Yes, a lost world is watching us, but so is the younger generation of Christ-followers. They want a model to follow. And they are looking for it in us. How incredibly humbling a truth that is. It reminds me of the words Paul encouraged Timothy with:

I have been reminded of your sincere faith, which first lived in your grandmother Lois and in your mother Eunice and, I am persuaded, now lives in you also. (2 Tim. 1:5).

Let's live that sincere faith, because they're watching.

Check back for some pics from the weekend coming soon.

Die With Us!

2009-05-30T08:50:00.003-04:00

This morning I was reminded of this story, and it shook me to the core ... again.

Haim and his family
Cambodia
1970s

All during the night, the members of Haim's family comforted each other. They knew they only had a few more hours to live on this earth. The Cambodian Communist soldiers had tied them all together and forced them to lie down on the grass.

Earlier that day, Haim's whole family had been rounded up for execution. Because they were all Christians, the Communists considered them "bad blood" and "enemies of the glorious revolution." In the morning, they were made to dig their own graves.

The killers were generous. They allowed their victims a moment of prayer to prepare themselves for death. Parents and children held hands and knelt together near the open grave. After his family finished their prayers, Haim exhorted the Communists and all those looking on to repent and to receive Jesus as Savior.

Suddenly, one of Haim's young sons leapt to his feet, bolted to the nearby forest and disappeared. Haim was amazingly calm as he persuaded the soldiers not to chase the boy but to allow him to call the boy back. While the family knelt, the father pleaded with his son to return and die with his family.

"Think my son," he shouted, "Can stealing a few more days of life, as a fugitive in that forest, compare to soon joining your family forever free in paradise?" Weeping, the boy walked back to his father, as his father comfortably wrapped him in his arms and walked him back to their waiting family.

Haim said to the executioners, "Now we are ready to go." But none of the soldiers would kill them. Finally, an officer who had not witnessed the scene came and shot the Christians.

(Taken from Jesus Freaks, by the Voice of the Martyrs)

Muslim Demographics

2009-05-28T21:44:00.005-04:00

I found this video through James Emery White's blog serioustimes.com. It's circulating pretty quickly so maybe you've seen it. Dr. White, a local pastor here in Charlotte of a tiny little church you've probably never heard of called Mecklenburg Community Church (feel the sarcasm), gives some great commentary to it. If you're prone to overreacting and freaking out easily, you might want to read his comments here first. You'll see why. This video is meant to create a little buzz in the Christian world, and probably rightly so. Dr. White closes his thoughts with this statement, and I think he's right on.

Yes, the world is changing. Islam is growing while Christianity, in many quarters, is waning. The best response is to neither demonize Muslims nor deny the differences between Christianity and Islam. The best response is to know what we believe, why we believe it, and then carry that message to the world. And maybe have some more babies.

Ways to Pray

2009-05-27T14:24:00.007-04:00

Back in Charlotte. Great trip to Orlando. And pumped about a few things coming up. Here are a few ways you can be praying for us in the next few weeks:

Uganda '09 - As of last week, I had decided to postpone my trip until October for financial reasons. But just in the past couple of days, the Lord has graciously provided a great influx of funds through the support of generous friends and supporting churches. So, now I'll be able to be a part of the June trip as originally planned. I'm really excited. Thanks to all of you who have generously given to this trip. Pray that the Lord will be honored through this endeavor as I seek to be used for His glory wherever the greatest need is, whether it be one-on-one evangelism, preaching/teaching and training pastors, leading worship, helping in the medical clinics, etc.
Camp Oasis - Pray for us and for the students of Ingleside Baptist Church to whom we'll be ministering next weekend at Myrtle Beach. Pray for Bill Stanley, as he brings the Word of God--that he'll be in tune with the Spirit's leading. Pray for the student pastors, Fred Broome and Scooter (with a name like that could he have been anything other than a youth pastor?). Pray for the leaders. And pray that we'll have wisdom each session as we lead in worship, that the spectator mentality that is prevalent in so much of the modern worship movement will be gloriously absent from our midst.
All That Glitters - This is a CD project that my dad and I and a few of my good friends and local musicians here in Charlotte will be working on beginning in July. It will be 30-minute Gospel presentation on CD that will incorporate spoken word and song. The hope is that it will be a simple, yet effective tool to get the Gospel into the hands of friends, relatives, co-workers, etc.--a simple and non-threatening approach to proclaim the most important message known to man. Pray for us as we spearhead this in July.
Pray for my wife - She's an amazing mother of almost three. She's feeling very-much pregnant right now and in need of some semblance of normalcy. As I drag her here and there and everywhere, pray that the Lord will sustain her according to His grace. And especially pray for her sanity raising our children as I'm away in Uganda for a few weeks.

Thanks so much to all of you who pray for and support our ministry. We are incredibly grateful.

In His Sovereign Hands,
Josh Via

Simple? Yes. Easy? No Way!

2009-05-23T16:26:00.005-04:00

Why is it that some of the simplest things in life are the most difficult to accomplish? For example, the formula to lose weight is simple: Eat healthy and exercise. But as you take a stroll through suburban America, you quickly realize that this is easier said than done. Or what about this one? Living debt-free. Every sane person wants to. Simple right? Don't spend more money than you have. Yet, our current financial situation has exposed our collective love of money and our greed-motivated quest for more.

The Bible is full of these too. As I was reading Scripture this morning, one of these simple/difficult formulas popped out at me. It's found in the 15th chapter of John's Gospel. And it's one of Jesus' sayings. Big surprise. Jesus said a lot that was difficult. Sometimes difficult to understand, but most of the time just difficult to put into practice the way that we ought. And apart from the Spirit's power in our lives ... impossible.

Anyway, He says one of the simplest statements recorded in Scripture. One that most kindergartners memorize in Sunday School. I know because Rainy just memorized it a few months ago. Here it is:

"This I command you, that you love one another." (John 15:17)

That's it. Simple. Yet incredibly hard to live out.

And why is that? Why do we find it so difficult to love people? Isn't it because, by our very nature, we are bent toward sin and self-centeredness. We are prone to love only ourselves. And since every sin, at its core, is rooted in the sin of pride, the lack of love for one another fails to be the exception. It's pride. In truth, we don't love others, because we love ourselves too much.

As I considered my own lack of love for people, I glanced back at the previous sixteen verses and came to another realization. Since this whole pericope hinges on the concept of remaining in Christ, it dawned on me that love for others is contingent upon our remaining in Him.

He says in verse 5: "I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing.

Epiphany: Could it be that I don't love others the way I ought because I don't love Jesus the way I ought? Could it be because I'm not consistently remaining in Him? Could there be a correlation between lack of fellowship with Christ and lack of love for people? And could the reverse also be true? When I am in fellowship with Christ, love for people comes as an overflow?

Obviously the questions here are rhetorical, but I think they demand our attention. They demand that we evaluate our love for people and our love for Christ. And maybe, as we do that it will become an indicator and a barometer to help us gauge our relationship with Christ.

Simple? Yes. Easy? No way!