Thursday, February 10, 2011

Save the Date!

Location: Home! (My house in the village of C., Romania.) It is nearly 8pm on the evening of February 7, 2011.

Why did I put an exclamation point behind "home"? It feels good to have a place to call home, and to be there. This has been my home since last May, even if I often stay in other places, and I am so blessed to have a space to myself. Thank You, God, for all Your blessings.

Though I finished my commuting schedule a month ago--the one that required me to spend the night in town several nights per week--I still sleep one or two nights in town on a regular basis, at my second home, J's apartment. (Please continue to pray for J., not because anything is wrong, but because we all need prayer. The Lord has used him to bless me greatly, time after time, even though I have often inconvenienced him. Thanks to your prayers, his heating system finally got fixed last week, which he will celebrate the rest of the winter, but do please continue to pray for him, that He might be blessed as much as he has been a blessing. Thanks!) It works nicely for me to stay there on Tuesday nights; that way I can participate in our small group that evening, and I am already in town Wednesday morning for my weekly visit to V., where we do our Bible Hour. Add in the fact that I find myself traveling sometimes, and you can understand why it feels so nice to have a quiet evening at home in the village. This weekend was fairly "chill" as far as my agenda was concerned, but it included a lot of unexpected travel. At the last minute, I made plans to visit some friends in Brasov with M., meeting her there after a course she finished on Saturday afternoon. On my way, I stopped in the village of A. to visit my buddy I. Unfortunately, I did not get to visit with him very long during that short visit, because he also had some other plans. However, I got to spend the majority of that day with my French friend, J., who is I.'s brother-in-law. J. and E. are back from several months in the States (he was the one I was covering for last fall on the child evangelism team), and we had a lot of important things to discuss. He is also one of my favorite people to pray with, and we made sure to pray together.

After that relaxed time in A., I hopped on a second train and met M. in Brasov, where we went to meet her friends. I especially enjoyed playing with their little baby. She is less than two, and though my Romanian is better than hers, her German is better than mine, so I was able to use her kiddie books to learn a few words, too. We had a good time with them, and I especially enjoyed taking a walk downtown Brasov with them. I had been there before a couple of times, but it was fun watching the baby chase the pigeons in the square.

So, except for teaching this morning (we have a French test tomorrow!), this has been a quiet day at home. I just finished some laundry after dinner, having spent a good portion of the afternoon . . . writing! It is such a joy to be writing! I do not know if what I am writing is good or not, but at the moment, I do not care. I am one step closer to some of my dreams just by being a writer, and since I am writing, I am a writer now! The more I write, the better I will get, and the odds are that something I write will be worth reading! I have had to be very intentional about sitting down to write, because I found that my habit was to try to get everything done first (like laundry, cooking, tidying up, emails, etc.) and then to write when I got done. However, that meant it was always late before I had a chance to write, and I was usually tired by then. Now that I have made it a priority, it works! Please pray for me in this, that I would prioritize my time in a godly way, being a good steward of it, and please pray that I would only write what the Lord gives me to write. He will direct my paths!


I do have a priority that is greater than writing, and that is spending time with my Jesus. Outside of teaching, that is how I spent the majority of my morning: in prayer and Bible study. Some people think I am a missionary, simply because I moved to a foreign land and am involved in ministy. Those folks might be okay with the idea of me spending time in prayer. However, I think there are a lot of people who wander what I do, thinking I am squandering my youth chasing adventures and not working. It is those kind of thoughts I have to battle when I set aside time for prayer. The truth is that it does not matter what people think: there is no better way to spend my time than in prayer and Bible study with my Jesus.

I have a question for you. Is your time with Jesus like my writing time was? I mean, do you try to get everything done that needs to be done, and then, by the end of the day, you might manage to find a few minutes of time to open your Bible or to recite a bedtime prayer through your fatigue? Or is it a priority? Do you schedule things around your time with Jesus, or do squeeze it into blank spots in your agenda?

It helps me to think of it as a wedding--not just any wedding, but my wedding. I do not know if or when I will get married, for that is all in God's hands. However, I imagine that should I get married, there would be very little that would be able to prevent me from making it to that wedding. If I am marrying the girl of my dreams, no storm, no catastrophe, no unexpected guest, no car problem, no attack, no challenge of any kind would keep me from getting there. And when I do arrive, and I am saying my vows or listening to hers, I would not answer my phone even if it is the president of a nation or a pope or a famous person of some sort. I would not run out halfway through to grab a burger, nor would I try multi-tasking, cooking lunch or trimming my fingernails for example, while I am at the altar tying the knot. Would you?

Think of your wedding, or some other extremely important appointment with someone you care about, someone you cherish. What would you allow to keep you from that date? What would you allow you to distract you from that time, or to cut it short?

For me, that is prayer time. I have made it a priority in my life, and even a phone call from a beautiful girl can wait if I am face to face with my Savior, the Jesus who died on a cross to set me eternally free.
Maybe you think I am slacking when I spend a whole morning in prayer instead of going out to "put my hand to the plow," but I have learned that every moment of my life is more productive through prayer than it is through my own strength. I would like to challenge you to set a date like that with Jesus. A date that you would not interrupt even if your friend in Romania called you. A date that you would keep everyday, even if it meant sometimes rearranging the rest of your schedule. A date that would convey to your Lord just how much you really love Him, that nothing else on the face of this earth is more important to you than Him.

I am praying that you will do that. Valentine's Day is coming up in America: who is your First Love?

If I may borrow an idea from Francis Chan, matched with a photo I took this weekend: Is this what your walk with your Abba, your Father, your God looks like? I hope so!

Meanwhile, thank you for your prayers for your friend in Romania. He is happy and healthy, and making some important decisions about the coming months. He has the responsibility and privilege of driving his friend's Dacia for the month, and of dating a beautiful Romanian Saxon gal from Sighisoara. He is investing in the life of a fifteen-year-old boy in the village of C., and he is preaching in the village of V. while learning wisdom from his choir director/mentor who leads and translates for him there. Most importantly, he is growing in faith and the Word as he walks with Jesus. He is honored that you pray for him, and that one of the churches in Indianapolis recently took a moment to present information about his life in Romania. Thanks for your prayers, thanks for your love, and thanks for reading this blog.

I bless you in the Name of our First Love, Jesus!
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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?