Monday, January 10, 2011

Answered Prayers!




Location: J's apartment in Sighisoara, Romania, the 10th of January, 2011, at about 8:30pm.
What a day!

Today was the last official day of my time with the ministry group I have been helping out for the past four months; I also restarted the French and English lessons this morning. It was a busy day, especially as the cold I am battling worsened a bit, but I did manage an hour-and-a-half nap in the middle of it!

Now I am looking back on my day, realizing that I did not do a very good job of waiting in surrender upon my Lord Jesus. Probably in part because of my cold and not thinking clearly, I ran hither and thither instead of letting Him conduct me beside still waters. Now He is restoring my soul.

I just had dinner, but is was not nearly as good as my specialty pancakes that we ate a week ago with a few of the guests from the outreach that remained for a couple extra days. I also forgot to tell you about the adventure of starting a borrowed car whose frozen engine would not let us drive it from its parking space in the top of the citadel. I called my friend T., and as we pushed it, his family came around the corner in another car and all jumped out to help! Then we hopped in as it began picking up speed down a giant hill, and he helped me pop the clutch! I really appreciate his friendship and help, and it was fun to get to return to our village of V. again last Wednesday for some restoration work and our weekly "Bible hour."

The week was pretty full for a "vacation" week, but I met with several people I had been wanting to see. I spoke with two mentors asking for godly advice on some decisions I will soon have to be making, and I got to share meals with several friends. I also met 11 students newly arrived from Indiana for their January-term trip, and I successfully made a batch of bread pudding, even without a recipe! One highlight was a day with some Gypsy friends that included a great snowball fight on a frozen lake! Sadly, though, most of our snow has melted now, and we are shrouded in fog as the temperatures change.

But I have exciting news! Many of you know that I have been praying for godly support, especially from godly men in the area. Well, all of a sudden, an idea we had been chewing on for a few months became a reality: we have now formed a men's group, and our first official meeting will be this week at my house! We are five Christians from Great Britain (2), Romania, and Germany (and the USA, of course!). And as if that was not good enough, I was invited today to be part of a young adult group that is forming in my church, and which will be primarily men. Thank you for your prayers--I am so excited!

Yes, God is good! Church was special yesterday, because the Lord allowed me to be healthy enough to sing, as well as to translate (into English) for the sermon. That is the first time I have done that from the pulpit like that, and it is a huge (scary) responsibility. I would like my Romanian to be better, but it just reminds us that God uses us exactly how we are. His is the power, not ours! May He get the glory!

I am also pleased to report that I have begun to catch up on emails, and as I move back into more regular village life, I should have more time (if less internet access). Not only will I be saying goodbye to so many hours spent in town, but also to my collegue, S., who is heading back to Belgium this week; she was a great blessing for me this past semester. But she is on her way to America, and I am thankful that the Lord sends missionaries to my country, too, because my heart aches when I think about how many people in our great "Christian" nation--even those filling the church pews--who do not know Jesus!

Do you know Jesus? That is the most important question of your life. I am trying to learn how to be a godly man in all of my relationships with people, in church, at work, with girls, as a role model for children, etc., and the Lord has blessed me with many patient friends and mentors who are helping me. But at the heart of all of these relationships needs to be one person: Jesus.

I hear that there are birds dying and falling from the sky. One of my mentors is battling a rotten infection. Shootings are plaguing my motherland. Some of my friends are wrestling with tough questions about their families or their future. A fellow missionary is out of funds and unsure how to support his family and the men who work for him. My church is persevering through a rocky time of transitions. I am cursing the cold that is hounding me as I try to decide how best to love the people around me. But in all of it, we have hope, and His name is Jesus. This Hope is not just for 2011, it is for eternity. He does not want to be master of ceremonies for your religious traditions or the holy sector of your life. He wants to be your constant companion as He leads you through life, your Lord as He puts His life in you.

Will you let Him? Ask Him to be your Lord, and watch Him answer your prayers!
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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?