To Be Restored!

          Have you ever read the last sentence of a good book?  If you’ve ever “spoiled the ending” for yourself, to find out that the protagonist survives in heroic ways, aren’t you relieved?  I’ve never read the last sentence and not wanted to read the whole book; it’s so exciting to see how the journey peaks and falls and unfolds.  It helps me get through the tough pages of hardship knowing the ending.  Friends—we know the ending.  We are living in the greatest love story that Earth’s ever seen!  Jesus is coming back—to restore the brokenness of this world. 

The Future Glory of Israel (Isaiah 60:19-22)
“The sun shall be no more
your light by day,
nor for brightness shall the moon give you light;
but the Lord will be your everlasting light,
& your God will be your glory.
Your sun shall no more go down,
nor your moon withdraw itself;
for the Lord will be your everlasting light,
& your days of mourning shall be ended.
Your people shall all be righteous;
they shall possess the land forever,
the branch of my planting, the work of my hands,
that I might be glorified.
The least one shall become a clan,
& the smallest one a mighty nation;
I am the LORD;
in its time I will hasten it.”

Yet Redeemed!

        2Peter 1, We are PARTAKERS of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire (v 4).  We were saved, we are being saved, & we will be saved because of Christ’s cross!  Because of this, we are to make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, & virtue with knowledge, & knowledge with self-control, & self-control with steadfastness, & steadfastness with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, & brotherly affection with love (v. 5-7).  Whew!  What a daunting list.  But The Lord refines us & continues His good work within us to build upon the last, from the inside-out.  I love thinking about the progression of this list, how the last one—love can’t really be done completely until qualities like godliness and self-control have been added to your faith.  Mother Theresa spoke about doing small things with great love!

        From Redemption, God now walks with us & is ALWAYS at our side!  In His Great Commission, Jesus assured us, after claiming all authority in heaven & on earth that surely He will be with us ALWAYS, to the end of the age.  Like Abraham who had to take off his sandals in the presence of God, we know that where God is, the ground is holy.  From this, Jesus says, “NOW, GO!”  And we go, right?!  Or do excuses start, like Abraham?  Excuses, like “I’m not good enough; send someone else.  I’m not sure I trust You, that I don’t have enough credibility, eloquence, or talent.”  I know I need some major work here for sure.

        Here’s God’s response to Jacob in his dream: “Behold, I am with you; & will keep you wherever you go, & will bring you back to this land.  For I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.”  Then Jacob awoke from his sleep & said, “Surely the Lord is in this place, & I did not know it.” –Genesis 28:16-17 (ESV) 

YOU walk on holy ground!  Let’s go & live in this reality with great love!

Fallen,

Sin ruined the Earth’s Shalom.  Shalom is harmony with ourselves and God, harmony with ourselves and other people, harmony with ourselves and the environment, and harmony in our own selves.  It’s been wrecked by sin.  CS Lewis once wrote that God is in charge of all that is music while the enemy rules over noise.  Life is so noisy and often far from harmonic.  I think about first moving to Pittsburgh after spending a summer in the quiet Laurel Mountains.  Of course, not having air-conditioning warranted me to keep my windows wide open at night (hard to imagine this as I sit writing this in 28-degree February air!).  I just remember finding myself unable to sleep well for the first several nights because of the city NOISE.  But I’d just get used to it after a while, to the extent that the 700am school bus that blares its horn for the kids across the street, I rarely notice.  We are so used to the noise of sin!  But the truth is that we ALL have depraved hearts because of the sin in and around us.  It’s what has wrecked the Shalom God intended for our hearts, for our environment, for others, and for our relationship with Him.  Let’s make no peace with our sin, a part of reality in our fallenness.  We weren’t created to have the capacity to fight in our own strength—we need God’s strength and the community and fellowship of others to fight the powers of darkness, a fight which is not against flesh and blood (Ephesians 6:10-20).  We are both able and called to fight in community!

“The most experienced psychologist or observer of human nature knows infinitely less of the human heart than the simplest Christian who lives beneath the Cross of Jesus. The greatest psychological insight, ability, and experience cannot grasp this one thing: what sin is. Worldly wisdom knows what distress and weakness and failure are, but it does not know the godlessness of man. And so it also does not know that man is destroyed only by his sin and can be healed only by forgiveness. Only the Christian knows this. In the presence of a psychiatrist I can only be a sick man; in the presence of a Christian brother I can dare to be a sinner. The psychiatrist must first search my heart and yet he never plumbs its ultimate depth. The Christian brother knows when I come to him: here is a sinner like myself, a godless man who wants to confess and yearns for God’s forgiveness. The psychiatrist views me as if there were no God. The brother views me as I am before the judging and merciful God in the Cross of Jesus Christ.”
― Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Life Together: The Classic Exploration of Faith in Community

                We are fallen, yet redeemed.  We have so much to rest in (but more on that tomorrow), in each other and in Christ.  “Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, & is seated at the right hand of the throne of God” –Hebrews 12: 1-2 (ESV).  Take that and run with it!

Creation

The bookends of the Gospel has given us permission to do, work, and labor within creation.  While life began in a garden in Genesis 1, Revelation 21 talks of a holy city that will be rebuilt with Christ's return.  We are thus charged as image-bearers of the invisible God to follow Christ and fill the Earth according to His plans!  James A. Smith described creation similar to a Hoberman Sphere-- it can expand up to 3x its original size.

Creation, then, is an invitation for us to unfold and discover beautiful things about culture and life!  Although the Garden was very good, it wasn't complete.  The world is dense with possibility!  We can then occupy and invite others into these discoveries.

"He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation.  For by Him, all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities--all things were created through Him and for Him.  & He is before all things, & in Him all things hold together". -Colossians 1:15-17 (ESV)

Everything Matters.

So I just got home from a wonderful weekend at Jubilee.  God used so many moments, encounters, His Word, and melodies to speak to my heart, which is where I hope to be blogging out of, sifting through all of the truths that He lavished upon me in ~72 hours!  Can't wait to share them with you.  For now, I'll leave you with some thematical truths to sit with you,

The heartbeat of the Gospel: [Creation, the Fall, Redemption, Restoration]
We tell ourselves stories so that we may live.
Thug Spirituality.
"Small things with great love" -Mother Theresa.
Saleem Gabril's Pittsburgh Promise (sending city kids to college for FREE).
Jesus says, "So now, GO."
BOB GOFF'S LIFE.
Love People.
When the Kings Came Marching In's Mauw on Restoration.

http://www.jubileeconference.com/

"Everything Matters" means living faithfully in every area of life.  Your vocation is your calling.  Lots to talk about, learn about, think about, dream about, and act upon!

Birthday Blessings for Kate!

February 16 marks a special day-- Today is my sweet roomie's 22nd Birthday!  If I could describe Kate in 22 phrases, these would make the cut-- 1. Bright, 2. Cool-Girl, 3. Kind-hearted, 4. Sparkles, 5. Chica-bonita, 6. Selfless, 7. World Traveller, 8. Cultural, 9. Country, 10. Doll, 11. Driven, 12. Fun-fetti, 13. T-Shirt Quilts, 14. Water-front Camp Director, 15. the BEST sister, 16. Trendy, 17. Guitars, 18. Sunshine, 19. Laughter and Smiles, 20. Encourager, 21. Loves others, loves life, and 22. Beautiful woman of God!

Happy Birthday, Kate!!

Chi-Chi-Chi! Le-Le-Le! Viva Chile!

http://vimeo.com/36519586
A beautiful journey in a beautiful country!