Grounded Magazine

It Will Be Beautiful

Sun, 31 Aug 2008 10:08:00 -0000

I like beautiful things. I'm not gonna lie. But sometimes I wonder....what exactly IS beauty? Who, or maybe what, defines this intangible mystery? Is it found in the cookie cutter Hollywood images that our culture is saturated with? Is beauty found in shiny hair, perfect teeth, the trendiest shades of lipgloss; or in muscular bodies, designer clothing, precisely groomed facial hair? Is beauty really defined by full lips and thin waists? I don’t know. They say beauty is in the eyes of the beholder...but what influences the beholder's perception of beauty?

Not a single guy can compete with airbrushed photographs, million dollar smiles and muscles built because someone paid them to work out. Not a single girl can compete with airbrushed photographs, expensive surgical procedures and perfectly trimmed, glossed and colored strands of hair. So, if we are unable to achieve beauty in the life of the "underprivileged", how can we ever expect to find it in the mirror or in those around us?

How is it that the young woman at the altar, is looking into the eyes of an imperfect young man, and sees only beauty? How is it that the same young man, can look into the eyes of his girl and see only beauty? How is it that the same couple is completely satisfied and able to drink in the beauty of one another as they slowly stir from sleep....her hair ruffled and face untouched by makeup, his eyes filled with sleep and breath less than fresh? How is it that a mother can hold her infant child inches away from an incubator, intubated, wrinkled, discolored and sick...and still think she is cradling the most beautiful creature on earth?

What defines beauty? Is it something more, something deeper than what we've been taught? It has to be. Otherwise we could never be captivated by one another. To recognize beauty in another, is to be attracted to them through a deeper facet. Attraction is one of those unexplainable things. No one tells your heart to beat faster when you see long brown hair or bright blue eyes, or a certain build or the certain way someone moves or smiles.

I know from experience…that every girl longs to be beautiful. But often what she is doing to achieve that beauty, isn't actually beneficial. I came across this passage in 1 Peter, and it made me think about how women, specifically, should make themselves beautiful.

"Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as braided hair and the wearing of gold jewelry and fine clothes. Instead, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God's sight. For this is the way the holy women of the past who put their hope in God used to make themselves beautiful." 1Peter 3:3-5

This is the standard by which we all should judge.

So, it’s true for both men and women…beauty is something that radiates from within. I'm sure this isn't anything new or impressive. But it's a good reminder. A good reminder that when we are seeking God, we won't be so easily deceived by the empty beauty that the world has to offer us. We won't so easily believe that every person needs to look like something specific to be beautiful. We won't be looking for beauty in all of the wrong places.

When we are looking as through the eyes of Jesus, we will be able to recognize true beauty, pure and clean, in those around us. And we won't even have to force ourselves to be captivated. We will be! We'll be captivated with our whole hearts! Our eyes will behold the imperfections in the mirror, or the imperfections in the person standing before us at the marriage altar, or the imperfections in the friends and family around us, and we will see beauty...pure and clean. We will be thoroughly and completely captivated.

It will be beautiful.

Omega Student Highlights

Sun, 31 Aug 2008 01:02:00 -0000

I’m so excited to step into this new school year with such an amazing group of High School Students! It was so fun to hang out with you guys all summer—we made some new friends and a ton of memories, and our lives will never be the same!

I want to challenge you all this fall to be bold for Jesus as you go back to school! As you look through your class schedule, pray for opportunities in each class to share the Gospel with the students around you! Look to make friends with people who don’t know Jesus and seek opportunities to share your faith with them! Invite people to Omega every week! Stand out on your campus as a person who loves God and wants to make a difference for Him!

As you head back to your campus, keep Paul’s words to Timothy on the front of your mind, “God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and self-discipline” (2 Timothy 1:7). Don’t be scared to be bold for Jesus at your school, because God has given you a spirit of boldness! So share your faith with boldness! Love people with boldness! Approach God with boldness! Let God give you the words to say, the opportunities to say them and the fruit that they produce!

Loren Apilado, Senior Castro Valley High

As a four-year Omega attender, Loren Apilado loves Omega because all of her closest friends are there. She loves her fabulous small group of Senior girls because they’ve always been there for her. In the past few years, Lo has been learning to pray in times of worry and keep her heart focused on learning more and more about God and His will for her life. Loren’s advice to us is to listen to everything! “There will be things that you’ll miss and it may never come up again. Whenever you need turn to God, there will be something you heard in Omega that helps you realize it.”

John Tounger, Sophomore Redwood Christian

As a life-long attender of Neighborhood Church, John Tounger has been attending Omega since the beginning of his Freshman year. Last year John dove into our Student Leadership Team and learned a ton about serving God. From that point, John began using his gifts in Omega and became a vital part of our worship team on Wednesday nights and Sunday mornings. Thinking of his fellow Omegans, John’s advice is to get involved! “Go on the service trips, help in fund-raisers, help in stacking chairs; do whatever you can just to serve and be involved and strive to do it all for God’s glory, not yours.”

Daniel Blatt, Senior Home School

Daniel began attending Omega two years ago when his older brother, Guy, began working as our intern. Ever since then, Daniel has been a crucial part of Omega, coming every week excited to worship, learn, and see his friends. In the last nine months, Daniel has learned a ton about prayer through our “Year of Prayer” emphasis. Daniel wants to encourage his fellow Omegans as they start this new school year with Joshua 1:8, “Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night so that you may be careful to do everything written in it.”

Exit Interview: Micah Lemon

Sun, 31 Aug 2008 01:00:00 -0000

Omega Resident, Funny Man, Disciple-Maker, Servant Leader.

Hello, Micah. Welcome to our Exit Interview.

It’s good to be here. It’s been one crazy summer, but worth every minute. It’s nice to be able to sit down and re-live some memories.

Tell the kids out there how you’ve been spending your summer.

This summer has been crazy. I feel as if I hit the ground running when I got into Castro Valley. Even though my first week wasn’t technically my first work week, I couldn’t help but find myself helping out at 20/20 and Omega because they have such great students to get to know. When I’m not at Omega or 20/20 I like to spend time with my small group and any students who want to hang out. Not to mention the great times hanging out with the Student Ministries Pastoral Staff.

Do you like this crazy thing called Youth Ministry?

Absolutely! I wouldn’t trade it for anything. Forget paying a subscription to a gym; just sign up for youth ministry and you’ll stay in shape. Also, it’s a great challenge for you to keep grounded in the Word of God. Students can pick up on fake-ness. There is no chance for anyone to live a fake life with youth. They pick up on it, and you can either be honest and grow with your students or continue in a facade and damage your ministry.

What’s your favorite part?

My favorite part of youth ministry is the fact that this is truly the time of a youth’s life when they are developing their character and their life philosophy. The temptations to fall are greater and more numerous, but that also means the opportunities to shine for Christ in a mediocre world happen each day. It’s a ministry that can make you proud of these students like they were your own kids, but it’s also a ministry that can shred your heart when you see the effects of sin on youth. This ministry is for the passionate, not the casual.

Rumor has it that you’ve decided to do ministry for life. Is that true?

That is, in fact, false. I decided to be an actor when I was young and then God decided that I would do ministry for the rest of my life. Since God is my provider, strength, wisdom, sustainer, etc., etc. it would be foolish to try to make it on my own path. A wise person once commented, “the best-laid plans of mice and men often go awry.”

How did that decision come about?

I was in High School in Omega actually. Chris Lankford was the youth pastor at the time and he spoke about God’s desire for our lives and how He intimately is involved in our development. He shows up in our lives through our abilities, weaknesses, skills, etc., in a way that brings Him glory. I realized that acting was a development period in my life, but my life as a whole was shaped to serve others and share the Word in a pastoral role.

Do you ever have second thoughts?

Of course! Youth ministry can break your heart if you put your heart into it. It’s hard to see students make choices that harm them. Satan also loves to throw in my face that I could be pursuing a vocation in business or some other more money-stable career. Yet, God has engineered me for pastoral ministry and when I think about it, when I’m serving in this avenue, nothing brings me more joy than seeing a student think critically and discover God will show up if they search for truth.

When you leave this earth someday, how do you hope people will remember Micah Lemon?

I hope that people will remember me as a teacher that was goofy and fun-loving, but above all desired to know God deeply and share that passion with others. A man who taught, only to eventually point them to the true teacher, Jesus Christ. “He must increase, I must decrease.”

Finally, what advice do you have for those reading this interview?

The Lord is faithful and good. Be real with the Lord. God is a real being who knows you intimately. If life is frustrating you, cry out to God in humble frustration. If sin is dragging you down, don’t hide it from your prayers but cry out in dependence upon Him who defeated sin. Lastly, He is the Truth and His truth is reality. Don’t fall for the tempting false success sin offers because it’s temporary and empty. Trust me, there is nothing more alluring that the All-Mighty God offering His merciful restoration, glory, and friendship.

Back to School with Boldness

Sun, 31 Aug 2008 01:00:00 -0000

Driving away from Summer Camp at Alliance Redwoods, the first landmark that you pass is a sign for the neighboring Camp Meeker. I laugh out loud every time I think of this sign, because it gives me an image of a child returning home from Camp, met with inquisitive parents…

In my strange, mental picture, an excited mother asks her son, “Johnny, how do you feel after spending a week at Camp?”

Staring at his toes and with a small, squeaky voice, Johnny sheepishly answers, “Meeker.”

Now, while meekness is a virtue, it is not the disposition that I would normally associate with Christian Camping. If you’ve been there, you know it: Summer Camp is loud and crazy. After a week of insane recreation, amazing worship, and life-changing messages, you come home excited about Jesus Christ and ready to shout to the world how He has changed your life. As far as faith is concerned, you don’t come home meeker, you come home bolder.

Chances are, if you went to camp this Summer, you came home ready to make some changes in your life. You’ve given up some bad habits. You’ve picked up some good ones. Most of all, you’ve resolved to change the world for the cause of Christ and proclaim to your campus this fall that he alone can save. You have decided to be bold.

In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus gives us two images that put flesh on this concept of boldness. Urging Christians to make a difference for His name, Jesus calls His followers to be “salt and light.”

BE SALT

“You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled under foot by men” (Matthew 5:13).

I remember one time accidentally making chocolate cookies with salt instead of sugar. From the look on my mother’s face when she popped the abomination of confections into her mouth, I learned one valuable lesson: Salt is bold.

There is no mistaking the fact that salt affects things. If you dump salt into a recipe, your food will be irrevocably changed. Scattering salt on wintry mountain roads helps with dangerous icy conditions. Curing raw meat with salt will help it to last for a long time before spoiling.

In Jesus’ day, salt was most widely used in this third manner: as a preservative. Due to lack of refrigeration, food would quickly spoil in the hot desert sun. A salt cure would enable meat to be kept and stored for long periods of time without going rancid.

Using this image of salt as a preservative, Jesus calls his followers the “salt of the earth” and urges them to not “lose their saltiness.” One way that our Lord calls us to be bold is by merely existing in the world and allowing our purity to quietly affect the people around us.

This Fall, as you return to your campus, be bold through purity! If your friends tend to use “salty” language (excuse the pun), be bold and let your speech be pure. If you’re invited to go somewhere that you know you shouldn’t, be bold and decline the invitation. If a boyfriend or girlfriend pressures you to do something and you know that you should run away, be bold and run! This Fall, make purity a top priority and live as salt on your campus.

BE LIGHT

“You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden; neither does anyone light a lamp and put it under a bowl, but on a lamp stand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works and glorify your Father who is in heaven” Matthew 5:14 - 16.

One of the strange projects that I attempted during my High School days was building a photography lab in my house. I bought an enlarger and all the necessary chemicals and equipment, and then set out to make my bathroom into a darkroom.

The first step in building a darkroom is making a room…well…dark. You wouldn’t believe how hard a time I had with this! I closed the door and noticed light coming in the window. I put a board over the window, and light came in around the door. I taped down the door frame and then noticed light rushing in through the keyhole!

Light has a tendency to shine: it’s in its nature! Jesus calls us the light of the world because he wants us to reflect His glory in all that we do and show people that He is God. When our lives are filled with the love of Christ, that love should shine out towards the people we meet. When our hearts are filled with excitement about Jesus, our words should overflow out of those hearts. If you want to be bold at your school this Fall, do it by shining out God’s love.

Since shining is what light does, all Jesus calls us to do is “let our light shine!” You don’t have to conjure up some fake Christiany talk to try to sound like a Christian, or pretend to be someone you’re not to shine for Jesus. If God has changed your life, stay close to Him as you go back to school and let that relationship shine out for the world to see! Be bold this year by being light on your campus!

WARNING:

Before I close, let me make a disclaimer: Living the bold life won’t be easy! If you stop using bad language, your friends might make fun of you because you don’t talk like them. If you refuse to go to out sometimes, they might stop asking you to hang out in general. You might even find yourself single because your boyfriend or girlfriend dumps you when you try to put boundaries on your relationship. If this happens, don’t give up: This might be part of God’s plan!

In the Bible, Peter wrote a letter to a church who lived in a really impure environment. In his letter, he said these words: “Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they will see your good deeds and glorify God on the day He visits us” (1 Peter 2:12). Peter tells his friends that if they live as salt and light, people will make fun of them! Still, the good news is that ultimately the Christians’ boldness will lead to their friends coming to know Jesus.

So be bold by being salt and light this year! God will use you in amazing ways on your campus this Fall if you refuse to lose your saltiness by giving in to peer pressure. God will change the lives of the people around you if you let your light shine.

Be bold this year as you go back to school: I’ll be praying for you!

Thank God for Spicy Ginger Cookies

Sun, 31 Aug 2008 01:00:00 -0000

“Yes!” I shouted, “you’ve got my cookies!”

I always get excited whenever the coffee shop has spicy ginger cookies, mostly because they are fantastically delicious. And most days, when I come in, they are sold out.

This may seem like a little thing, but I really love those stupid cookies. Furthermore, there have been days when I’ve been overwhelmed or burned out, and I’ve gone into the coffee shop praying, “Lord, I know it’s silly, but please let them have some cookies for me.” Every time I’ve prayed that, I have gotten the last one.

And, ladies and gentlemen, if that doesn’t show you that there is a real, loving God in this universe I don’t know what does.

I just finished teaching through Joshua with my college students and I have always loved chapters 3 and 4, when the Israelites replicate the miracle of crossing the Red Sea by crossing the river Jordan. God shows them that He is with them (apparently, sustaining them with only Manna is not enough for the Israelites to have faith) and His miracle gives them the confidence to continue to follow Him to the Promised Land. After crossing the Jordan, God has Joshua instruct the people to create a pile of stones to commemorate the miracle, so that anytime anyone asked, “Hey, what’s with those rocks over yonder?” God can be glorified.

I really feel as though answered prayer has done the same thing in my life. Answered prayer, big and little, has always given me hope and strength to know He was there.

When I was a kid, I would always leave my desk drawer at school a total mess. Every Wednesday when it was time to color, inevitably, I would have lost my crayons. We were supposed to keep our drawers clean, but well, that’s just not my style. Every week I would be lost in my drawer, searching desperately, when I would finally break down, close my eyes tight and pray, “God, help me find my crayons.” And every time, right after I prayed, I would move one paper and there they were, right before my eyes, in the exact same spot I had been looking moments before. Though I had yet to give my heart to Christ, I already had proof positive in my mind that there was a God.

As I got older, I had bigger prayers. Whom to marry, what career to get…those were the two biggies. And God answered them both dramatically.

Family problems, money problems…again, God showed up and took care of things. In the time frame I had hoped for (and sometimes demanded)? No. But in His time, in His way, and never once how I had hoped or expected, He came through for me. He was faithful. He heard and answered my prayers. And every time I would pile them up in my mind, stones and rocks stacked in memory of a loving God.

The memory that most reminds me of Joshua 3 and 4 happened when I was still in elementary school. Still not yet saved and wondering about whether or not God really existed, I was up late at night, talking to my Dad about faith in God.

“You know what gave me a lot of strength just after I became a Christian?” asked my Dad, “It was after I prayed for God to remove a bunch of warts on my arm.”

“You don’t have warts on your arm.”
“Right, but at one point my arm was covered in them. It was a mess. I was going to have to go to the doctors to get them removed and it was going to be painful. So I asked God to take them away.”

“And?”

“And God took them away. I didn’t have to go to the doctors.”

Later that night, I looked at my hand. It seemed I had inherited some warts. “Okay God,” I said in my heart, “let’s see what you can do.”

Several weeks later I glanced down at my hand to see smooth palms. I had long forgotten the prayer I had nonchalantly tossed out to God. I was surprised, but not yet convinced. “Okay, okay…,” I thought, “it could be a coincidence. Okay God, how about giving me one back?”

Two weeks later, there it was, a wart, in the center of my palm.

“Huh, look at that,” I thought, realizing that my days as a junior atheist were rapidly disappearing, “Okay, let’s get rid of that wart. As cool as it is that You did that, I really don’t want it.”

He took it away.

It took me several years to give my heart to Christ after that, but the lessons still stuck. God answers prayer! Like the Israelites, I try to hold onto every answered prayer as proof, not only that God exists, but that God cares. When I read in the Old Testament that there was a God who was big enough to knock down the walls of Jericho for His people when they simply shouted, I also remember that there is a God who is small enough to help a second grader find his crayons, to heal a young doubter’s warts...and Who sometimes, when He knows I need it, helps an overwhelmed youth pastor enjoy a spicy ginger cookie.

Ichthus Student Highlights

Sun, 31 Aug 2008 01:00:00 -0000

How is your walk with Christ? Is it bold? Is it daring? Do people that know you even know that you’re a Christian?

It can be really easy to say “I’m a Christian!” but what does your life say about what you believe?

In Matthew 5:13-16, Jesus talks about how we are the “salt of the earth” and how we are the “light of the world.” Why? Well, salt tastes good. For instance, take things like french fries and potato chips. If you don’t add salt to them, they taste terrible! Jesus is saying that we, when we follow Him, help make the world better, we help it to taste good. Beyond that, these verses tell us that when we follow Jesus, we shine His light. God uses our lives to light up the darkness of this world!

So here is the question…how salty are you? How bright does your light shine? Jesus says in these verses that no one lights a candle and then, immediately, puts it under a bowl. That would be ridiculous! Are you willing to let your life shine? Are you willing to be salty?

I have an illustration that I often use when I teach on these verses, where I turn off the lights and then strike a match. Everyone becomes transfixed on the little flame; they can’t keep their eyes off it. I then say something about how we need to shine like that little match in the darkness of our world. This is true. But, here is the thing: Is that enough? Do we just want to be a little match? What about a candle? Or a bonfire? Or a raging 3-alarm blaze? If you really were willing to turn your life over to Jesus fully, just how bright could He shine in your life?

The best part of theses verses comes in verse 16, where Christ tells us that those who observe us living bright will “see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.” How amazing would it be for our lives to have that effect on our friends and family around us?

Are you willing to find out?

Dominic Maciel, Custodian at Neighborhood Church

The Dom, as he is commonly known, has grown to legendary status around Neighborhood for his commitment to ministry, his heart to serve, and his unswerving desire to follow Christ. The Dom helps in several ministries, setting up rooms in his spare time, managing the sound board during worship, and being an all around dependable guy. The Dom also rocks a gnarly beard and several wicked tattoos proclaiming his devotion to Jesus. Says The Dom, “God has been teaching me that when you are reading your Bible in the morning, if you’re taking it slow and really spending time with God, you will be a lot less angry throughout the day.”

Ryan Gee, Student at Las Positas College

Ryan Gee is a guy who is always willing to be used by God. An example of a servant, Ryan is always willing to pitch in a hand to wherever needs his help in any ministry he is involved in. He has allowed God to call him into volunteering with our younger students as well. Says Ryan, “God is drawing me towards the junior high ministry. I feel that he wants me to impact the kids there and learn to become a leader.” Ryan’s heart for service is something that he is taking with him not just here at Neighborhood, but as he looks forward towards his life and career. “I’m hoping God will help me find a career where I can minister and make an impact.”

James Teyler, Student at Las Positas College

James is a guy who is not content to set his sights on anything small. “One thing God is teaching me is to go big...I don’t want to be one of those Christians who just fill a seat on Sunday, I want to do big stuff for God!” James is serving as the Jr. High Intern and being used by God as it is, but he is excited about what God could do with his future. “I just want God to use me in big ways.” With that kind of heart, He will!

20/20 Student Highlights

Sun, 31 Aug 2008 01:00:00 -0000

Have you ever felt that God was calling you to do something big for Him and you didn’t do it? Maybe He wanted you to share your faith with a friend and you couldn’t find the courage. Or perhaps He challenged you to take your faith more seriously and you just dropped the ball. I know that I have been there and if you are anything like me, you want to change and be more bold for God. And that is exactly what I want to challenge you with over the next few months. Many of you are heading back to school and your campuses are filled with darkness and people who are lost. This year, commit to stand up for what is right and to be an example of what God has done in your heart. When God calls you to something, pursue it with confidence and strength.

Being bold means we need to put our pride aside, make sacrifices, and do what we know is right. As always, this is quite a tall order and I know that it will be very difficult for all of us. We won’t be able to do it on our own and sometimes we will fall short. But that’s why we need to remember to pray (it still is our year of prayer, right?) and to rely on God’s strength to get us through.

Boldness has its advantages too. It brings us closer to God and makes us rely on Him more. We are also reminded of what we believe and why we believe it. With boldness, we can be more effective in spreading the Gospel to those who are lost and that is always a good thing. So this year be confident, be brave and be bold! Make your mark for God and be a shining light in a world of darkness.

Gabriel Tramble, 7th grade Canyon

Gabriel is one of our many sports stars at 20/20. In baseball, he plays shortstop and in basketball he mans the guard position. He also has the distinction of being one of the nicest Jr. High students you will ever meet, always with a smile on his face and a friendly “hello.” This year, Gabriel wants to be bold for God by standing out from the crowd and being an example to others whether it is with the clothes he wears or the way he lives. He may be a friendly guy, but he wants to live a life that boldly proclaims that he is a follower of God.

John Breslow, 6th grade Redwood Christian

John is one of our newest 6th graders in 20/20 and we couldn’t be happier to have him. His hobbies include tinkering around on his computer and of course the old staple of harassing his older sister (you can never forget to do that). John wants to be bold for God through learning more about who He is. He also wants to take the next step and apply what he has learned to his life. We pray that John will be bold in this way and that we can help him learn and apply the Word of God to his life.

Elijah Fritzlan, 6th grade, Creekside

Elijah is one of the regulars at 20/20. You can usually find him up here hanging out with the staff or jumping on the backs of our interns. He also plays first base on his baseball team and of course, like any other Jr. High boy, likes video games. This year Elijah wants to be bold with his witness by telling others about who God is and how He has affected his life. We’re proud of him for taking this step and standing up for God on his campus.

I Met Goliath

Mon, 25 Aug 2008 16:47:00 -0000

Last week I spent an evening in San Francisco. What I expected to be an evening of fun with friends, turned out to be a night when God grabbed my heart and taught me a valuable lesson. I recently read a book called “Under the Overpass” about 2 men who decided to live on the streets of the US for 5 months to experience what the down and out in our society experience. What resulted was an even bigger burden in my heart for the poor and broken. So, there I was on the streets “dressed to the nines” when this woman walked by us asking for money. Within minutes we were learning her story and the reason she was on the streets. She had been married, divorced, and married again. Her second marriage ended when her husband and child were both shot and killed. With nothing left, and no money, she now is homeless trying to find hope and friendship on the dark streets of SF. We prayed with her, shared the hope of Jesus Christ with her, gave her some money, and invited her to come out to Neighborhood.

Later that evening we met Otis. Singing an Otis Redding song as he approached, we could tell Otis wanted two things: money and drugs. Instead, we asked him his name and within seconds he was telling us his story. Although there were points when we could barely understand him, we knew what he really wanted deep down was someone to listen. 3 minutes into our conversation, he suddenly snapped out of our moment, said, “alright,” and left us standing there.

About an hour later, I met Robert. Robert came up to us revealing a diamond earring he found earlier that day. He was trying to sell it to us for $20. When we said we were ok, he said, “how about $10 or $5.” I told him he should try to sell it at a pawnshop, to which he replied that he was not allowed inside the pawnshop. In fact, while talking with him I found out he was not allowed inside of a lot of places simply because he was homeless. Robert was 45 years old, and had been on the streets since he was 15. That’s 20 years!! I had a chance to talk to Robert for a good hour. There was a man who needed hope, someone to listen, someone to care, an answer to be lifted out of the pit of poverty. Everyday he walked the streets begging, and every night slept on the hard concrete; looking for a way out, but living as if this was the end.

I left that night not feeling so good. As we drove home my heart hurt, my eyes welled up, and I found myself asking God, how? How do I make a difference…a lasting difference?

We, as a church, face a Goliath situation today. You see, just like the Israelites we often run from the giant. I’m sure the Israelites sat in their tents at night asking God, “Why the Philistines? Why this Giant? Why don’t you do something? Where are you?” But you see, God was calling them to BELIEVE and to have FAITH that God is greater than the one who is in the world. Sure they held the line of battle, but everyday Goliath mocked them, mocked God, and laughed in their faces; and they all ran back to their tents with unbelieving hearts.

As a church, our giant is the lost and broken in the world. And everyday Satan mocks us: telling us we have no power, that the world doesn’t listen to us, that the poor are too big of a problem, that we need to just go home and live our own lives, and keep to ourselves. SADLY ENOUGH WE LISTEN!! We make excuses: “They’re just going to use that money on drugs”, “They don’t care what I have to say”, “I need to be somewhere”, “God hasn’t called me to this”, “I’m saving for a new car”, “I don’t want to offend him”, “They’re going to think I’m stupid”, etc. Everyday Satan brings someone else under slavery, and we walk past him or her as if they don’t exist. I cannot do that anymore. If we are Christians, we ARE called to this. Isaiah 58:6 says,

“Is this not the kind of fasting I have chosen: to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke? Is it not to share your food with the hungry and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter- when you see the naked, to clothe him, and to not turn away from your own flesh and blood?”

What if we as a church lived like that? Instead of saying that it’s the governments problem, we go out and meet people, broken, battered, bruised: the homeless on the street, the rich alcoholic, the money hungry student, the single mom, the hurting child, and in the name of Jesus bring physical and spiritual healing that only JESUS CHRIST can bring!

David not only knew that he was part of God’s chosen, but he knew that Goliath was nothing compared to God’s promises. He did not timidly approach the battle line weighing his chances. HE RAN FULL FORCE TOWARD THE GIANT, and slayed him. We have an opportunity to be David, or an opportunity to be Saul; to run with all our might at the giant of a lost world, the giant of poverty, the giant of injustice. Or we can sit in our tents afraid, unmoved, complacent, and never see God use us in any great way. If one man changed the face of a nation, what could one local church do?

Psalm for Today

Mon, 18 Aug 2008 10:38:00 -0000

I LOVE reading the Psalms and how they are filled with raw emotion for our Lord. I’ve been thinking about what a Psalm would look like if it were written today, perhaps something like this:

1 May all of my being rejoice,
in the majesty of Your greatness.

2 The blood that flows through my veins
screams of Your power.
The bones that support my body,
announce Your right hand holding me.
3 My eyes see Your face,
radiating your light in the night darkness.
My ears hear the sound of Your voice,
calling my name.

4 For You alone tell the sun how much heat to release in a day.
And You alone tell which stars to be seen
with the naked eye.
5 For You alone tell which foot should lay upon the cement first,
and only You know everything about the inner soul
and claim us as Yours.
6 For only You are constant and never changing.
May I never stop praising Your name.

7 May all of my being rejoice
in the majesty of Your greatness;
and glorify You every moment of every day.

8 Hallelujah! Praise be to the Lord all the heavens and earth
Amen and Amen

Carpet

Mon, 04 Aug 2008 16:45:00 -0000

All right. So the other day I had the sudden urge to shampoo the carpets at my apartment. I had the day off of work and that is what I wanted to do. I don’t really know what brought on this desire, but I couldn’t think about anything else. I borrowed the cleaner from my mom and brought it home with me. My roommate looked at me like I was crazy to spend a beautiful summer day cleaning our carpets. But I just felt like I had to do it.

I spent the entire afternoon moving all the furniture out of the rooms and watching with great satisfaction as the vacuum sucked up all the dirt and grime out of our carpet. It even sucked up dirt I didn’t know was there. Every once in awhile I would have to stop and empty out the container that had all the dirty water in it. It was disgusting but fun to watch all the dirt travel down the drain. When I finally finished I looked at all the work I had done and was totally satisfied at the very clean carpet.

I know this all sounds crazy, but I do have a point. I was sitting on my couch enjoying my clean carpet, exhausted from all my hard work when I realized that my life is a lot like carpet. Yep, carpet. It gets trampled on, worn down, and stained. It has people walk over it every day and has furniture that leaves lasting impressions in it, even when the furniture isn’t there anymore. And sometimes it isn’t until we clear everything out of the way and deep clean our carpet that we see how much dirt is really there.

Sometimes in life we let our carpet get way too dirty and let way too many stains stay around for too long. It was a good reminder that daily maintenance in our lives is an essential task that prevents us from having to spend endless amounts of time deep cleaning to get all the old grime out. I need to take care of sin the moment it sets in so that it doesn’t become a stain that is much harder and more painful to get out later.