July 25, 2010

So Be It

Lame things… believe it or not, they are a reality. Bear with me as I process. I pray Jesus is made bigger in our eyes.

Things happen that are so confusing, so ridiculous, absurd, and things that usually
genuinely hurt to the core of who we are. These things usually are called by names and are people.

We make no sense. We have no clue. We think we do.

Why? What is the reason? What is their reasoning?

The reactions to these things for me usually are to get absolutely blustered with anger, completely check out and shut off, ignore the problem, or deal.

Jesus trips me out. He knew people’s thoughts, their heart behind every action and look, and he knew what His future had for Him… and yet He still LOVED people more than I ever have. WOW.

Jesus let Himself get hurt.

Every response I have that isn’t totally bathed in the love of Christ is probably motivated by avoiding hurt. Checking out, shutting off, ignoring, and even anger. All responses to keep myself from loving and being rejected.

But Jesus was despised and rejected by men. He was a Man of sorrows and oh so well acquainted with grief. He was despised and we hid our faces. He bore our griefs and carried our sorrows… and all we did was esteemed Him condemned, cursed by God, and afflicted.

But HE was wounded for OUR transgressions,
HE was bruised for OUR iniquities;
The punishment for OUR peace was all upon HIS head,
And by HIS stripes WE are healed.

Even though we all choose our own thing, live our own lives, and call our own shots… the LORD has laid on Jesus the guilt and punishment of and for us all.

Talk about unfair.

That is all Christianity 101 right?! Well, I have known Jesus for years and I’m still in remedial classes. At the slightest hint of getting undeservedly or even deservedly hurt the walls go up and the defenses get ready to lock and load.

So be it God.

If He has truly called us by name. “________ [insert name], follow me”. Am I not called to the same? Are we not called to the same? Ouch.

So be it God.

If that means we are hated, despised, looked down upon, disliked, persecuted, or killed for things we did or didn’t do… what is the call of Christ? “Follow me”.

So be it God.

If that means every person uses our names as cuss words and calls us worse.

So be it God.

God heard part of Himself, His son, ask “Daddy, is there any other way? You tell Me whats best and I’ll do it”. Still, God allowed him to be brutally murdered for us.

If this is the same God who would stand back and let that happen to His own son because there was greater good to accomplish, then why am I surprised by the lame things when I belong to God and He promises to make me like Jesus?

So be it God.

We wave one banner. The banner of the Love of God. His love is showed really clear by this Jesus who gave His life for ours. He wants us to show His love really clear too. To be His message… like a banner.

We do not wave the banner of our relationships.

We do not wave the banner of our country.

We do not wave the banner of our interests or talents.

We do not even wave the banner of our churches or ministries.

We WAVE the banner of the powerful, supernatural, life changing LOVE of God that gave us life and saved us from ourselves.

We wave the banner of Jesus.

GOD, make us banners that do our job. Banners that don’t try to fluff up the message, but simply display their reason for being. Take us through whatever You must to make our display simple.

You tell us whats best and we’ll do it.

So be it God.

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July 22, 2010

The Adventure of a Worn Path

I went running this morning.

I should rephrase that, I went on what I call a run this morning. Others may call it a jog, plot, romp… or just plain pathetic.
Tobi has given me a philosophy of running that keeps popping into my head whenever I go. She said that when she goes running she is like a dog and just goes exploring. The picture in my head was random but has stuck. I just picture this dog stopping, seeing the moving creature, and then off it goes. Running and ignoring the difficult of the hills it might have to run over because of the joy of the exploration. I have been trying to do this and it has made running more engaging.
Today, when I saw a different side of the park I wanted to run on I started cutting straight through the field beside me to get to it. However, I saw that other people had the same idea as I did in the past. A lot of other people. Turns out it wasn’t an original thought.  There was, beginning to form, a strip of hard barren trail that I hadn’t seen from the angel that I was at, but came to since the destination was the same.
It was a beautiful side of the park with trees and shade. Plants were growing and definitely one of those spots that is perfect to run / jog in. I was really stoked by the goal, and the shade looked desirable, but as I started noticing that I was running the same path as other people my sense of adventure began to decline. I tried running beside the path, but it was weird bumpy and rocky. I had no other option.
It then hit me… just because other people have run the same way doesn’t mean it is any less adventurous or exciting, it just means you know it is an effective way to get you from where you were to where you are going.
“Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.” (Matthew 7:13)
This verse popped into my head. There have been things in my life that I thought I was being totally genuine and unique in following God by doing them only to find countless others who had done the same thing after-the-fact. It doesn’t mean it was any less genuine, it just means it wasn’t as unique as I thought.
Within a few steps, the thought  hit me that a narrow and straight path never promises to be level or easy, it just promises to bring you somewhere.
The valley of the shadow of death is definitely not our destination, but it is one of the landmarks we look at as we travel the worn path.
The peaks of clarity are not our destination, but sure are a refreshing perspective on our run.
The eroded and washed out portion of the trail is not the destination, but it requires much surety in footing as we run through it.
The torrential rain is not our destination, and while it may make unsure movement easier to get carried away into, it sure does provide refreshment for the thirsty, tired, and hot runner.
My beloved friends. If we don’t know where we are running that is where we need to start. Are we on a run that will lead us to the presence of God? Not every trail can bring us to the same place… it is a ridiculous concept in a park and it is a ridiculous concept with God. Every trail does go somewhere but not every trail goes to the same place.
Is the trail we are on going to the destination that brings life?
If we know where we are running, be encouraged.
On a path that is both straight and narrow, you will always know where your next step will be (maybe no more but certainly no less).
On this run, you will never get lost as long as you run straight.
Lastly, just because others may have run exactly where you are running, it is still exciting because of the desirability of the destination.
It is the adventure of a worn path.

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July 2, 2010

First Bible Study

Here is the first sermon that I made reference to in the video. It is through the text John 1:1-5.

Wow!

It was definitely surreal having our first study and it has already been changing the entire dynamic of our days. With something more concrete in our schedule it makes the week a little more defined and structured (something I LOVE!) and it also changes our outreach to be able to have something to invite people to. We talked to a couple girls from America today and invited them, when I got home and was talking to Tobi, she said that they called and want to come next week.

I wanted to show you some pictures of the first night. These are thanks to Tobi.

The front of the coffee house. It is an old sign that is some sort of historically preserved (so it isn’t the name of the coffee house at all).

This next picture is a view from the street with our sign for the study.

Check out the inside of the coffee shop. Isn’t it neat!

Pt and I did some worship before. There is room up there to add more instruments and people as time goes on so maybe we can have more of a full band thing in months to come.

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June 15, 2010

Sing, Oh Sparrow

I have always thought the whole poetry slam events were so strange…

This is my version of it. Don’t worry, its still strange.

This is something God hit me with after I looked out my window to see a sparrow on my neighbor’s roof.

God loves you dear friend. You are His workmanship. You are His poem (as the greek word for workmanship implies). Let’s let Him sing through our lives today.

The words are written below.

Sing, Oh Sparrow

Like a small sparrow who sings in safety, when no one else is close enough to threat, is my life of song to you. Yet the song of the sparrow, it’s pitch and tone is unlike the machines man wields under his grip. His song cuts through the dredge of mechanical noise to provide a faint cry of God’s praise.

To some, unnonticed. To some, a faint recollection of memory. To others, it annoys at the similarity in sound to their own alarms on their own machines.

All creation declares, and this sparrows no different, the glory of God to the world.

A melody to pierce the noise.

A creature so small yet important still as it is placed for a reason.

I’ve seen many silent sparrow. Many sparrow unnoticed because of their own failure to sing, but their songs do come from safety. They proclaim from the shelter of tree, roof, or ledge.

God knows the sparrow and keeps His eye there, how much more you, my redeemed friend.

Redeemed you are, to sing.
Purchased you are, to sing.
Forgiven you are, to sing.
Safe you are, to sing.

To sing the songs of God’s gory, truth and love amidst the noise of machines.

Sing, oh sparrow.

Some will not notice.
Some will be annoyed at your song’s similarity to that of man made machines.
Some will be reminded of a faint recollectioin.

But some will join our song as we sing from the safety of our God.

Sing, oh sparrow.

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June 15, 2010

A Brief General Update…

Things are going really well over on this side of the pond. We have not started services yet but are starting up Wednesday night meetings at a coffee house in two weeks. We are getting really stoked about that because all of our ministry so far has been some really sweet street stuff and yet we don’t have anything to invite them to for follow up. The studies will make that easy.

Our bible study is at a tea house called Yumchaa and its in a really good location and is about as non-threatening to the people who don’t want to go to a church as it could possibly be.

We are also looking at doing a Saturday night service at a church in Downtown Camden really close to all the crazy pubs and stuff.

It might take a miracle to get the location because the guy who runs the church’s only question in response to our proposition was “what makes you think Camden needs another church”. hehe. It would be sweet to give people an alternative to that.

A Sunday morning location two tube stops and a ten minute walk from Camden is something we found the other day. It is absolutely incredible and I’d love to see us start Sundays there.

It has plenty of room to grow if the Lord decides to bless that way, it is in a great location, and it looks great.

The people here in our area of London are even more diverse than not. In Camden they are stereotypically the ‘outcast’ crowd. Outcast from what? I don’t get it but I love it. To be ‘normal’ there is not normal at all and what I have found people love the most about Camden is you can be who you are. Some of my favorite times in London so far have been spent on the streets in Camden town talking with random market stall owners of various foreign foods and different people we meet. It has been so sweet to see what our God is doing and the potential of what He could do in this highly diverse, populated, culture of ‘mis-fits’ and ‘rejects’. I think these people here are getting ready to respond to the love of God and I am really starting to fall in love with the people in the process.

The house is getting along well. The Holydes, Parks, Tobi, and I live in the house and the Merrils have a studio fifteen minutes walk from us. It has been fun to have two little sisters and a couple siblings and parents more to boot. Such a blessing.

“What do you do with your time?” That is a common question we have been getting. We have been having meetings Mon, Wed, Fri and are going through the gospels and then we rotate around to different local churches for Sunday mornings. Then after that we have been talking through the logistics that need to get settled out to start the studies, get incorporated, certified as a charity, and then actually figure out what on earth all that means. Yea.

Our heart is to bring the love, truth, and gospel of Jesus to each person we meet. The same question I’m getting from my friends back home I am getting from the locals in Camden “what do you do?” It has been a real easy transition to talk about Jesus and his love for the people of London, and Camden, and his love for that individual. No joke, it’s the biggest privilege ever getting to do what I am doing right now.

I’ve never seen God bless logistically and financially like this in my life and I am praising Him for how stinkin’ faithful He is to me. Its been so good to get some sweet time to study the word, pray, bring the lost to Jesus, have group bible times, and worship my awesome God. Life is good and I couldn’t be much more grateful.

I’m getting really hungry and I should stop writing because if not I’ll just start describing all the foreign food I’ve eaten (which makes for a really boring update). I’ve been procrastinating putting short updates on my blog because I wanted to get something more overview up first. This will have to do because I want to be able to post random videos and such. Alright… see ya soon.

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May 30, 2010

FINISHED

I AM FINISHED WITH MY ONLINE WORK FOR BIBLE COLLEGE!

Oh yea, oh yea. Mmmm Mmm mmm mmm.

Praise God! No one is awake in the house and I was able to borrow some little random schindig to have internet for a bit to celebrate with you all at least.

Here are some progressive photos of me as I realized that I was finished with school… potentially forever!*

*slight dramatization

However, as a wise man I know always says.

“If you’re still breathin’ it means school is in session.”

The exciting part is that now that my grip of papers I had to write this week are finished, I will be free to do a bunch more ministry stuff that I have been itching to get more of. Also, things like looking for a church, passing out invitations, street evangelism and the likes will be unhindered by school work.

I’m praising God for my season of getting to study His word even more, and I’m praising God for this next phase too! Lord willing, internet will be here on Thursday. We had to switch from the last company that left us hanging and this new one has already called to confirm they are coming. They seem much more on it.

Friends, we have the best teacher ever living inside of us (if we have responded to Jesus’ pursuit of us) and I’m stoked to see how He teaches us in the phases we are all in.

School is in session!
Lando

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May 24, 2010

London Arrival and New Song

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May 12, 2010

THE MORNING OF

Hello all!

I am kneeling to write on my laptop next to a table that contains pretty much everything I own.

I realized the other day that I won’t need my keys. I have had a keychain with my keys on it since jr. high. I WON’T NEED them anymore. They are no good there.

It was a beautiful reminder that the things I can find so important here and now sometimes aren’t as important in the kingdom to come. The kingdom I live in now, my Honda keys are important. Over there, I won’t have a Honda. It was a good reminder for me.

Jesus holds the keys do death, hades, and also to life. Those keys are important. I kinda want to trade in my keys tomorrow and be about the keys that Jesus holds. Hmmmm.

If you want to stalk my flight today… click on the screen capture below.

I ask you to take a couple of minutes after you read this post to pray for the following things.

Please praise Jesus for:

  • an amazing family… more than I deserve.
  • the fact that He has the keys that matter in life

Please pray for:

  • my family, that Jesus would provide 100x more for them when I leave… and my Mom wants you to pray that she wouldn’t have a death-hold grip on my leg at the airport like she jokingly threatened today.
  • God’s will in timing for my flight. If He wants me to wait (ie. volcano, country exploding…) then I want to be alright with it.
  • The Spirit to be speaking and moving in the people He allows us to meet. For the Spirit to be moving also in me.

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April 23, 2010

A Birthday Greeting to My Sister

I realized that I didn’t know what I was going to do for my sister’s birthday. It was on the 21st and I have been so cranking with random logistics that I kinda forgot till the last minute. My poor poor roommates agreed to help me make a birthday greeting for my sister. Here it is… this is how much they love me… think how much they will hate me after they find out I posted it on the blog?!

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April 14, 2010

The Big Arrival!

My sister gets a child… and God hooked me up with a visa that allows me to be in London for at least two years. Fair deal for this phase in my life!

p.s. No, you can’t see my halo. That shiny blob above my head in the picture is a metallic UK logo.

Praises:

-I received my passport back from the British Consulate with my visa in it! Woohoo! Now I can get in the country.

-My plane ticket is secured. I walked to the bank to make a bank transfer and pay for my ticket today. I fly out on the 12th of May.

-Care Team meetings went so well… I was incredibly blessed and encouraged by everybody excited to get involved.

Requests:

-For God to stir in hearts of other people He wants to use to be a part of what He is already doing in London.

-Pray for my eyes to stay focused on my true Home, Jesus, as I leave get ready to leave.

-Lastly, pray God’s perfect person to move into my house here in Morro Bay once I leave at the end of this month.

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