Sunday, November 15, 2009

My Hot Date


Location: Meeting Room at the base in Sighisoara, Romania, a little after 9:30pm on Sunday, the 15th of November.

Who is Pace?

I told you in my last post that I had a hot date with Miss Pace. But before all you romantics get too excited, let me tell you that "pace" is the Romanian word for peace (pronounced "pah-chey"). You know very well that I do not have time for girls right now, so of course it is not that kind of date! Some of you have been trying to marry me off for quite some time now. I pray for the girl who will marry me someday, because I already know that it will be hard to be married to me! But I learned a long time ago that my job is to focus on my Lord and the work He gives me, not to be distracted by pretty girls. Every country has hundreds of pretty girls! I am not looking for a pretty girl to marry; I will only marry the girl that God has prepared to join me in everything to which He has called me. So I am not looking for a wife--I trust my Father in that department, and that is the least of my concerns right now. I trust the Lord with everything, with my health, my money, my life, my work, etc. He has blessed me with so many things in which I can invest myself--I can wait until He is ready for me to invest in a marriage!

So back to my hot date! I like pretty well most of the folks I work with, but it is no secret that I was happy to learn that everyone I live with was going to be out of town this weekend! So I had the house to myself! I did laundry without waiting in line, I ate meals when I wanted to, I did not have to be quiet when I woke up early in the morning... It has been a glorious two days! It was dreary yesterday and rainy today, which was perfect. I spent wonderful time with God in worship. I read; I wrote some songs and a story (watch for them to be posted soon). I cooked marmaliga (a traditional Romanian dish made out of cornmeal), cleaned the bathroom and took out the trash, and worked on next week's Sunday school lesson. I had some good phone calls with folks in the States and friends in Romania. I enjoyed a great sermon at church this morning and was invited to a birthday party tonight (the photo shows the birthday boy, R., who is not only our beloved neighbor and fix-it man, but also the preacher this morning!). It was a wonderful weekend!

I carefully enjoyed this weekend, knowing that soon will be beginning our race toward Christmas as we prepare for special outreach programs and distributions. I also needed some "pace" after last week. We had some good days and some bad days, some rainy days and some sunny days. We are still seeing spiritual attack, as well as spiritual victories. Friday, I spent the evening with a church with whom we will be collaborating during Christmas. So it was a busy week, and this relaxing weekend was a nice punctuation mark.

I am coughing a little cough now and then. In addition, my church in Indianapolis had a very important weekend this weekend. Some friends and family are fighting illnesses and cancers, and others are making big decisions, two families are involved in adoptions, for instance. Romania has elections coming up next weekend, after the government pretty much disolved a couple of months ago. And I am still seeking to be a man of God, more each day. Those are my prayer requests.

But I am happy, and that is what I want you to remember. Not only happy, but full of a deep joy that runs beneath the ups and downs of life. I am loved by a mighty God who sent His Son to make sure we understood Who He is, and He loves you, too! Less and less do I have a home. More and more I have friends in every part of the world I have visited; more and more I rejoice as I see God at work in His Church all over the world. I am in this world, but not of it, and I am so delighted to be a child of God, one for whom He cares and provides, one whom He leads and protects and encourages and blesses. And since today's theme is "pace," you should know that in the midst of my decision-making, in the midst of cultural confusion and language acquisition, in the midst of communal living and strict schedules, in the midst of overwhelming societal problems and a seemingly dormant Church, I am at peace. God is in control, and I have learned time and time again that He is faithful and trustworthy--I trust Him.

Are you waiting for a story? Many of you like my little anecdotes. I guess I could tell you about seeing a mouse scurry across the dining room yesterday while I chatted with my parents on Skype. Or I could tell you about the two grown men at church who both got brooms stuck in an apple tree when they were standing in the rain trying to knock down apples for the gypsy boys who came to church this morning. (I tried to take a photo but sadly did not realize that my camera was set to "video"--sorry!) Or I could tell you about the live goat my friend saw in Cairo, sandwiched between a man and a woman riding on a motorscooter! Or I could tell you about the girls who told me that I was not very good at being a girl, since I was leading the girls on Friday as we started our weekly program. Or I could tell you about how all the kids in every village know me not just by my name or by my hat, but also by my shoe-size: 49 in Romanian sizes!

But the real story that I want to tell you is that each of us, wherever we are with whatever we have, can choose to let God live out His story in us, in a way that reaches far beyond anything we could ask or imagine. The proof? There is a certain cityboy from Indianapolis that is currently a favorite guest among gypsy villages in the hills of Romania, where he can barely speak the language, where he cannot buy shoes his size, and where only God knows what the future holds. I never planned to even visit Romania, yet here I am, and God is using me here in spite of my lack of training or qualifications. And there you are, reading my story, living your own, and you are seeing that despite the differences in the two, they are both a part of God's perfect story, His perfect plan.

I bless you, Brother; I bless you, Sister--in the Name of Jesus the Christ! Pace!
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A Rose From Home

A Rose From Home

My Story (As prepared for my church congregation this spring--2009)


I have a story to tell you. I am the main character, but the story is not about me. I have traveled several parts of the world, but my adventure has been closer to home. I am twenty-six years old. My story begins like many of yours…

I grew up going to church. I had been born into a family who labeled themselves “Christian,” in a country that labels itself “Christian.” Every Sunday found me attending a worship service and Sunday school in a mainline denomination church. I served as an acolyte, attended Vacation Bible School, helped my dad count and record the offering money, sang in the youth choir, was a leader in the youth group, and occasionally served as liturgist. Baptized as an infant, I was confirmed at the age of twelve, thus becoming an “official” member of the church. Then, hurt by the church, my family left to find another.

Have you ever been hurt by the Church?

After months of searching, we settled into a very large independent church. Things were different there, and I was quickly welcomed and at home among new friends that truly had a passion for Jesus. The Word of God was taught boldly from the pulpit, and I was introduced to a missions-aware lifestyle. So it was with regret that I said goodbye only a couple of years later to move with my family to another church. I purposely remained aloof, not wanting to make new friendships before I left for college a year later. Besides, I was loosing my faith—or so I thought—and I didn’t want anyone to know. I was asking scary questions like “Is there really a God?” and, if so, “Is He the Christian God?” and “Would I be Christian if I had been born in another part of the world?”

Have you ever asked yourself unsettling questions about what you believe?

So I headed into college under a cloud of confusion that only worsened for the next two years. Though I didn’t know what I believed anymore, I continued to go to church every Sunday, and to help lead worship in chapel. Most importantly, even during this questioning, I continued my morning habit of daily study of the Bible. I had begun at age twelve, reading at first a chapter per day, then ten minutes each morning, then an half-hour, and so on. So, only by the grace of the very God I doubted, I remained anchored in His Word and in His community, though I felt like a fake most of the time. Since then I have learned that “fake” is the worst insult the world can give us; that is why the label of “hypocrite” is so offensive.

Have you ever felt like a fake?

Six weeks with missionaries in South Africa followed by a year in France began to teach me what life with God is all about. I began rebuilding my faith, this time it belonged to me, in contrast to me borrowing the faith of my parents, church, or anyone else. In my parent’s basement in 2003, on either Christmas Eve or New Year’s Eve, I invited Jesus to live in me; perhaps I had done so before, but I didn’t recall—but since 2003, I have never forgotten that moment. Unfortunately, nothing changed. I continued to do my best to act like a Christian, as I had done for so long.

Have you ever found yourself “doing your best” to be a good person, or to act like a Christian?

Though I did not realize it at the time, I was quenching the Spirit, even though I had welcomed Him into my life. During the next few years, the LORD continued to nurture me, and slowly things began to change. Several tough months in Idaho birthed my prayer-life. I spent three years being humbled in a job that was my informal seminary training. In 2007, a short stint in Mexico helped me to see things as they were, and not long afterward, I was baptized by immersion. No baptism of any kind can save a lost soul—only Jesus can do that. However, this baptism was an important covenant between me and God, symbolizing not only my death and resurrection with Jesus and my public profession of faith, but it also my life change, the beginning of my bearing fruit. “For each tree is known by its own fruit…”according to Luke 6:44. During the past year and a half, the LORD has provided me with an informal pastoral internship in my church, teaching me every aspect of discipleship. Simultaneously, I have been studying unceasing prayer and worship. I am now very different than I was five years ago.

In the Book of Acts (which tells the story of the earliest years of the Church) every time a person decided to follow Christ, two things took place—though not always in the same order. Each person experienced a life change, which I call the “baptism of repentance,” as well as the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, which I call the “baptism of the Spirit.” Looking back, I realize that the Holy Spirit was living in me in 2003, but it wasn’t until I surrendered everything to God, as represented by my immersion, that I allowed the Spirit to have His way in me and transform my life. “I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now life in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me. (Galatians 2:20)”

Have you invited Jesus to live in you? Have you allowed the Spirit to transform your life?

I tell you this story for two reasons. First, I tell this story in order to boast in the LORD! May God our Father get all praise and glory forever! Second, I tell this story because it is relevant to you. Likely you have heard that I am leaving the country: I have let my light shine before you; please let your light shine within the Church, too! This congregation is in revival, and as each of you allows the Spirit to revive you, the entire Church will be revived and utterly transformed, to the glory of the Most High God. And for His glory is the reason He created us; the reason He sent His only Son to reveal Himself to us; the reason He became Sin for us and died for us on the cross—while we were still sinners; and the reason that He conquered death and offered us eternal life with Him.

It will cost you a lot—in fact, it will cost you everything, your very life. But if you have never surrendered your life to Christ Jesus, if you have never invited Him to send His Spirit into you and to transform your life, then do it right now. Just let go of everything to which you are desperately clinging; stop trying to do it yourself! This is the very reason you are still breathing in this physical life—God has been delaying His judgment of this sinful world because He is waiting for you—2 Peter 3:9 says He wants none to perish!

If you have already invited the Spirit into your life, then live like it! Bear fruit! Anyone and everyone who meets you or knows you or sees you or hears you should know immediately and clearly that Jesus the Christ lives in you and loves them! That is how stark the contrast should be between your life and the world around you!

Have you immersed yourself in God’s Word and in prayer in the last twenty-four hours?

If you call yourself a follower of Christ, then there is no excuse for not communing with Him daily! Anchor yourself in the Word! God has revealed Himself to us through His Son, Jesus Christ, and the Bible is a complete and accurate record of that revelation. And prayer is humbly letting Him love us. Let Him love you! God doesn’t need us, but He wants us! God doesn’t need us to live for Him—He wants to live in and through us! Let us love and fellowship with one another, even when you disagree! Pray for each other—the names in the church directory are a great place to start! Church, we are not only the Body of Christ, but we are the Bride of Christ. We have allowed ourselves to get bedraggled and stained—now let us stand to the glory of God! Let’s let Him purify us, restore us, and love us!

My dear Brothers and Sisters, if you have ever once been blessed by God our Father at work in me, then I urge you, please, take seriously His desire to love and work in you, beyond anything you can ask or imagine! I have told you the beginning of my story—may it end in glory to the Father, in the Name of Jesus, by way of His Spirit.

Now, what is your story?