Exodus 34

I find it a great joy and blessing that I have been able to say over the past few years at this time that "this past year" has been the best year of my life. And I wholeheartedly know that this continues with 2011. Without question. I mean, think about it: spending a month in East Africa, spending two weeks with like-minded people at training school in Phoenix (twice), there meeting my wife-to-be (my joy and beloved) Hannah, hearing God speak again and again (most prominently in the move to AZ and knowing that Hannah is "the one" for me), seeing Him provide without fail, great times with family, and so much more...

Here are some thoughts from my time in Exodus 34:

The chapter is about Moses making new tablets after he broke the previous Ten Commandments tablets upon seeing the Israelites worshiping the golden calf they made while he was away (Exodus 32). In doing this, the LORD stood before him on the mountain and proclaimed His Name:

"The LORD, the LORD, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, but who will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children and the children's children, to the third and the fourth generation." (34:6b-7)

We love to call God many different things: Provider, King of Kings and Lord of Lords, Majestic, All-Powerful... all of these are great! But I think it's especially fantastic when we find the LORD naming Himself to someone! See the things that are important to God about Himself:

-Mercy and Grace

-Being slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness

-Forgiveness of iniquity, transgression and sin

-Justice ("who will by no means clear the guilty")

I love how He will forgive, but doesn't just clear the guilty by anything they try to say or do. The guilt has been paid for: on the cross through the perfect sacrifice of His Son. How wonderful!

Next, I love how He sheds light on the importance of the Sabbath:

"You have six days each week for your ordinary work, but on the seventh day you must stop working, even during the seasons of plowing and harvest." (34:21 NLT)

I can see myself trying to justify not resting on the Sabbath during a time when the 'harvest' is plentiful. 'But God,' I might say, 'look at how much work is being done! Look at how great a harvest is being reaped! And you want me to rest?' But when I say things like this, who am I thinking is accomplishing the work? Me or God? Because if I am truly depending on God to accomplish the things He has prepared in advance for me to do (Philippians 2:12-13), then if He says "rest one day a week", it won't matter how good or bad things are going: I will obey. This is an area in which I need to grow tremendously- honoring the Sabbath.

And finally, "As you harvest your crops, bring the very best of the first harvest to the house of the Lord your God." (34:26a NLT)

Again- it would be easy to say, "Well, giving is important, but taking care of myself is something that God wants me to do, too. So let's pay our bills and then we'll see what we can give afterwards." The way the NLT puts what God says, though, "bring the very best of the first harvest to the house of the LORD your God." Wow! He calls us to not just give, but to give the very best of what we have first. This is a beautiful picture of how we should trust Him to provide, for the people in Exodus didn't know for sure how many good harvests each season would bring (I'm guessing). If they committed to giving 'at some point' during the harvest, they might get greedy and end up not giving very much. But by giving the very best of the first harvest, they are showing God that they trust Him to provide the rest of their needs (see Matthew 6:33 for more).

So I need to worship the Lord for His mercy, grace, abundant love, forgiveness, and justice, honor Him by resting on the Sabbath no matter what "excuses" I can come up with, and give Him the first and best of what I am given. Really- all my money is provided by Him, and as one of my mentors puts it: it's a pretty good deal when 100% of it is His and He only asks us to give a percent (cheerfully) back to Him, right?!

Seeking to treasure Jesus...

Luke

Comparisitis

In my time with Jesus this morning, I discovered a disease from which I suffer: comparisitis. The Werriam-Mebsters definition is: "the cancerous disease that causes you to compare yourself to everyone around you". It is only fatal if you try to fight it on your own.

Sometimes I have to take a step back and say, "seriously, Luke? Even that?" Like- I might compare how much food I'm eating to the person next to me in the lunch room at work. I'm comparing how much weight I'm lifting (oftentimes significantly less) to the guy next to me (the most humbling are when the older guys are lifting the same or more than I). How creative I am. How attractive/unattractive. How successful. And the list goes on...

I'm discovering more and more that Jesus is the only cure. You can 'treat' it with things like getting angry at yourself, confessing it to friends, or ceasing to eat, lift, or share around people. But these are just temporary band-aids. They don't heal the disease.

CS Lewis says that humility is: "not thinking less of yourself, but thinking of yourself less." Jesus embodied this:

Philippians 2:3-11
"Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better (more significant) than yourselves. Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus, Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made Himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to death, even death on a cross. Therefore God exalted Him to the highest place, and gave Him the Name that is above every Name, that at the Name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father."

This is one of my favorite passages- a passage that breaks me every time I read it. If Jesus compared Himself to us and suffered from comparisitis, He would never have come to die and give us the opportunity to know the glory of the Father. He would have considered us unworthy to come even close to. But He "did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made Himself nothing."

Gracious God... please heal me of this comparisitis. I need You to wash away my iniquities and cleanse me from my sin. Against You, You only do I sin and do what is evil in Your sight. Conform me to Your Son's image... He must increase in my life, I must decrease.

If you ever see or hear me displaying my comparisitis, please remind me that Jesus is the only answer.

Peter

The Rock. On whom the church has been built. One of the "Big Three" (sorry 'Bron, Wade and Bosh). Peter was such an instrumental person in the history of the Church. I can't say for sure, but my guess is that my buddy Peter was named after him (at least he is one of the namesakes).

Peter was one of my best friends growing up here in Arizona. He was one of the three friends I chose to join me as "ninja turtles" for a birthday party, and he was also a basketball teammate on a few teams growing up. He came out to visit my family in the first year or two that we lived out there. But after that, to my knowledge, I hadn't spoken to him in over a decade.

Flash forward: the wife of the leader of my internship here in Arizona is in nursing school and made the connection with her instructor that I used to be best friends with her son. Yep- you guessed it: Peter's mom! So we made the connection and scheduled to hang out a week ago. We spent the evening eating pizza and watching a football game and while we chatted about life, I recognized that he kept making reference to a desire to check out church sometime with me.

Over these past few months, I've been learning a lot about listening for God in prayer and doing things in faith. I felt the Lord put it on my heart to share about a new obedience-based way to study the Bible that I've been learning in my internship, unsure if he would be interested. We started studying in Luke 16 together, and by the end of the passage we got to the part about writing an "I will..." statement to commit to obeying the passage. I challenged him to pray and ask the Lord to speak to him, and while we were both bowed in prayer, I was praying like crazy, "God, PLEASE speak!" And speak he did.

Peter wrote and shared one of the most beautiful I will statements I have heard! It was super heart-felt and, when asked where that came from, he said, "I don't know where it came from, but it felt really good." We then closed in prayer and by the end of our prayer time, he was in tears. I left him with more passages to study and, because he's truly in the Father's hands, he is equipped to learn straight from the Word and the Spirit on his own!

God is amazing. He really does speak! Hallelujah!

Know Nothing

God has been really speaking to me recently. Really, really speaking to me. It's amazing. I love it. I am so thankful for it. God has used my fiancée Hannah and the internship in which I'm learning more about listening for His voice and following His leading in my thoughts. Recently, I feel like He spoke some really great things that I'd like to share, and maybe God will speak to you through this:

1) 1 Corinthians 2:1-2
And I, when I came to you, brothers, did not come proclaiming to you the testimony of God with lofty speech or wisdom. 2 For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified.

I love to speak in front of people. I believe that God has given me some gifting in teaching and it's a passion of mine. While I was asking God, "what do you want to say to me? What do you want to tell me or do you want me to do?" I felt Him put this on my heart: "Stop preaching principles. Just preach Jesus."

Sometimes I can get caught up in talking about principles. Talking about what we should or shouldn't do, how we should live, etc. While this isn't necessarily a bad thing, it can be very easy to fall into letting my own beliefs slip in. These beliefs can often come from my culture, not the Bible. This is probably why God put it on my heart- when I just point to Jesus when I speak, the listeners are able to discover for themselves how He wants them to live. Truly, I believe that if we fall deeply in love with Jesus, the life He wants us to live will naturally flow out of us!

So what do I mean when I say, "preach Jesus"? I'm still trying to figure exactly what it means, but I think it is pointing people to Jesus whenever I can. Not trying to give the 'five steps to a better life' or anything of that sort, but just encouraging people to fall in love with the greatest Treasure the world will ever know: Jesus. The rest of life will sort itself out.

I spent part of my morning meditating on Colossians 1:15-20. If you read nothing else in this blog post (or blog, for that matter), soak up these words:

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. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross.

Wow. I love this passage. It's such a beautiful picture of Jesus! The image of the invisible God- we can't see God plainly, but He reveals Himself to us through Jesus' life. Amazing. All things were created "by Him", "through Him and for Him". Seriously- there is no part of your life that is not meant to be given wholly to Christ in surrender, for it was all made by and through Him. I sometimes forget that He is my "head" as I am a part of the church, but that doesn't mean He is any less the head. "that in everything He might be preeminent"- in every part of my life- before Hannah, before ministry, before family, before my own very life, He is to be preeminent. The line that got me the most that morning was, "For in Him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell"- the immeasurable, incomprehensible God was pleased to dwell in Him! It was not under compulsion or forced to... it was pleased to do it. Isaiah 42 speaks to this, as well: (speaking of Jesus) "He is my Servant, whom I uphold, My Chosen, in whom I delight." May my life be one in which You delight, Father...

I'm excited to meditate on this passage more and more as I learn to Treasure Jesus and how He wants me to preach Him, period. It's the greatest thing ever.

2) I have found pride to be one of my greatest struggles in life, and God spoke to that. He revealed to me that a lot of my pride comes from comparing myself to other people. You may have heard me make statements like, "the church does a bad job of this", referring to the Western church, or "why do Americans behave like this?" Confession: typically, I am subconsciously elevating myself when I make those statements, thinking "well, at least I'm not doing too poorly at that".

God showed me that I need to worry about myself and how I am living for Jesus, and let Him worry about the rest. This doesn't mean I should just ignore the rest of the world. I pray that I will continue to grow being burdened for the state of the church worldwide and for my friends and family who are still learning who Jesus really is. But whenever I feel myself comparing me to them, I need to just stop. The conviction is definitely there, and I have already seen a change in my heart-set since He spoke that to me. Hallelujah! May He continue to teach me the humility of Christ: (Philippians 2:5-11)

Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Quick illustration God also put on my heart (it's only been a few days since I've been hearing more clearly- can you IMAGINE what the next 50+ years are going to be like, God willing I live that long?!):

Mom and Dad gave me the name of Robert Luke Sjogren, naming me after my Dad, Grandaddy and other relatives (Robert) as well as the good Doctor in the Bible and one of my Dad's mentors (Luke). But at the name of Robert Luke Sjogren, will every knee bow and every tongue confess that he is Lord? At the name of Robert Luke Sjogren, will the dead be raised, the sick healed, sins forgiven? At the name of Robert Luke Sjogren, will sinners enter the kingdom of God? Last I checked- nope. Then why strive to make a name for Robert Luke Sjogren? For the fame of that name?

The Name of Jesus does all that and more. That's what I'm living for.

Big Day

As many of you have heard... by the glorious grace of God, Hannah Rayes agreed to marry me! It is a privilege just to know her- as I'm continuing to learn more and more as I get to know her and her community out here- much more to call her my fiancée! I'm super grateful... if you haven't seen it already, please check out this video we made to announce it:

So here's our engagement story, for those interested...

Hannah's perspective:

Luke and I met at a two week class for training to take the Good News to the nations. After the two weeks ended, he flew back home to Virginia and I stayed in Arizona. When our first skype conversation ended up over 2 hours long, I knew I was talking to someone very special so I said a prayer asking that God take my heart and show me what He wants to happen. I decided to just enjoy the time getting to know Luke as a friend and to let God lead. It wasn’t too long into our friendship that Luke stated his intentions for me, and he defined our relationship just one and a half months after meeting and after he asked my parents for their permission to date me. Shortly after that Luke moved to Arizona and I was so excited that we were going to live in the same city!

With the progression of our relationship I didn’t ever doubt what I saw and learned about Luke and my feelings didn’t betray me, he was genuine with nothing to hide and I felt accepted and free to fall for him and so I did. One week before he told me he loved me I admitted to myself that I really loved this man, and in that admission I knew I could spend the rest of my life with him. We started talking about marriage and engagement soon into our dating relationship and having those open conversations was key to letting my heart process what was transpiring so quickly before me.

When Luke said he wanted to have a picnic in the park I didn’t think anything of it. I knew he had been talking about not being able to afford a ring so I put the possibility of a proposal out of my mind. When he picked me up I was so hungry and had one thing on my mind: get to the park quick so we can eat. Little did I know that was the furthest thing from his mind! After we unloaded his car, guitar, chair and picnic basket, I got to work right away making our sandwiches while Luke sang me a song he wrote. Unfortunately the loudest thing was my stomach so I wasn’t listening to the words he was singing. But after he repeated the song the last line stood out to me “And I want to worship the Lord by your side for the rest of my life.” Still dismissing the possibility of a proposal I exclaimed my happiness at the words and asked that we eat soon! However Luke had more to say. After explaining to me that he felt that I was the one for him he got on one knee and proposed with, of all things, a twisty tie as a symbol of the poverty we may face at times as a couple. I gleefully shouted my "yes, yes of course I’ll marry you"! He then got back down on his knee, saying that God will also bless us abundantly at times, pulled out a ring and said it was his Grandmothers ring. She had given it to him when we visited her in Tennessee on our trip across the states. I was overjoyed, shocked and ecstatic. This was really happening!


Luke's perspective:

Many people have told me in the past that "when you find the right person, you'll know." I was very resistant to this idea, for in many areas of my life, I solely walk by faith and the Lord leads and guides as I go. When I first started getting to know her, I didn't hear anything from the Lord- though I prayed a lot about it- so I walked by faith. When we started dating, same situation. So when I was praying about marrying her, I figured it would be the same deal. And I told her that... woops. Tip to guys who are dating someone: never tell your young lady, "I don't think I'll ever know if you're the one". That doesn't inspire a vote of confidence.

But God was laughing as I said that (and Hannah was very gracious in her response), for that same night, not 30 minutes later, He put on my heart, "this is the lady you're going to marry. She's the one for you." Wow! I was SUPER excited and 100% confident that it was God and not just feelings (although there are plenty of feelings there, as well). But I didn't tell her about it right then...

Later that week, after discussing it with a few friends, people I respect, and family, I asked her parent's permission and they gave me a "yes" (I was hoping they would, but was still nervous, because we haven't been dating too long... but glory to God!). My grandmother was tremendously generous in giving me her old engagement ring so that I wouldn't have to buy a totally new one! But I also came to discover that Hannah likes the more simple style, so I had the stone fitted in a much more simple band and setting, and picked it up Tuesday night.

We were planning on going on a picnic together Wednesday night, and I'm glad I only had the ring in my hands for less than 24 hours... it felt like it would burn a whole through my bag/pocket if I had it for any longer! But in my usual, "on the go" way of doing things, I hadn't checked out this park to know where we could see the sunset or where would be a good, private place. So we drive to the park (after I got off work and to her apartment late), rushing to try and see the sunset, and after unloading the car, I ask if I can sing a song for her. She replies, "Luke, I'm really hungry. Can we eat first?" I'm not about to have this happen (food>engagement), so I compromise and let her make the lettuce wraps while I sing. At the end of the song, I ask if she had heard any of the lines (the last one: "I want to worship the Lord by your side... for the rest of my life"). She says.. "not really". Again- hunger trumps song. So I played it again and then asked her for a hug (I had to get her on her feet).

After the hug, I told her how God had shifted in my heart to knowing that she WAS the one for me, dropped to one knee, and told her that "there will be times in our life when we will be poor... but even then, will you allow me the privilege of being your husband?" and pulled out a twistie-tie to symbolize the poverty. She said, "are you proposing?" I said "yes." Then she said, "Yes, of course!" and gave me a big hug! Then, I said, "but wait! There's one more thing." Dropped to one knee again, and said, "but there will also be times when God blesses us abundantly..." and I pulled out the ring, and asked, "Hannah, will you marry me?" Her eyes got big and she said, "yes!"

We then proceeded to eat (finally), I washed her feet (took a page from my buddy Kyle's book- symbolizing Christ's love for the church and serving His disciples- I hope to love and serve her like Jesus did), we prayed and read some Scripture together, and then started calling family!

Please keep us both in prayer as we go through this exciting time of engagement! Pray that our hearts are open to hearing what God wants us to learn and are always seeking to love and build up each other.

Exciting times!

Salesmen

First of all- I'm currently listening to the new "Man Up" CD by 116 Clique... it's tight. Go listen to it soon, seriously.

I have had the privilege of working for a sending agency over here on the West Coast, sending people to love and serve people in the name of Jesus. A part of my job is to do some "recruiting", getting people to consider living out the Great Commission as a goer (going overseas- not just a sender, prayer warrior, etc). But as I was considering this idea of "recruiting" people to live out globally what Jesus has already commanded us (see: Matthew 28:19-20), a lot of it left a very sour taste in my mouth and heart.

The main issue I have with this is that it appears that we have to become "salesmen", trying to sell people on how 'good' it is to serve the Lord overseas. My question is: shouldn't the 'product' sell itself? Shouldn't the weight of what Jesus did- coming to earth and giving up a million times more than we will ever call 'ours'; humbling Himself that we might have the opportunity to intimately know the Father- compel us to at the very least be willing to give up everything we own to take this good news to the farthest parts of the world where the Name of Jesus isn't even known!? Why does "recruiting" have to be a part of sending people overseas? Shouldn't it be more of what my organization calls itself: a sending agency, where we sift through those who are ready to go now and those who still need to grow before they are ready to go (as desperately as they long to go) so we can give them adequate training?

I found this need for 'recruiting' to be true in college ministry, as well. Consider American Idol- there are hundreds of thousands of people that try out every year for a program where the ultimate prize is 15 minutes of fame as one of the thousands of artists out there. Yes- some 'make it' for a while (see: Kelly Clarkson, Carrie Underwood), but most don't (who the heck is Kris Allen? Lee Dewyze?). At JMU in Harrisonburg, VA, we have been blessed with one of the largest IV student orgs in the nation (450+). Yet we had trouble finding 8- yep, 8- guys willing to apply to become small group leaders. It's one thing to have trouble finding 8 competent guys, but 8 guys to even apply?! And some of the eight we had to convince just to apply! What's the deal? One of the options gives, at most, a few record deals that get lost in the masses over time... and at the very most it will be temporary rewards. The other gives us the opportunity to live out the Great Commission and store up treasures for eternity. Why do 100x more people try out for American Idol than apply for small group leading (or ministry positions)?

So again, why should there even be such a thing as "recruiting" for anything ministry related? The simple answer is that I believe we haven't been living out the Great Commission in the recent past, so we're raising up "Christians" who are more concerned with the clothes they wear to church than the fruit (or lack thereof) they wear all the time. If we actually tried to understand the great love that the Father has lavished upon us (1 John 3:1), we would echo Paul in 2 Corinthians 5- "Therefore, knowing the fear of the Lord, we persuade others... For the love of Christ controls us..." and be controlled by Christ's love to tell the Good News to people all around the world, or pray about it and discern that God wants us to be senders (or both!).

Some of you who read this are probably already involved in some capacity sending people or going overseas yourselves, but please do not just stop there- see how you can influence others to follow the example of Christ: going Himself and sending others! Treasuring Jesus is the ultimate goal, but I believe that the more we treasure Him, the more we will identify with Him, and the more His love will compel us to go and to send.

Please pray for God's glory to be revealed among all tongues, tribes, nations, and peoples as soon as possible. We want to see Jesus high and exalted, as He is intended to be (Philippians 2:10-11)!

Luke

Follow Me

Isn't it crazy how you can spend a really long time studying just a couple of verses- and there is STILL so much more to discover from them? I had that kind of experience in Luke 5 this morning, looking deeply into these two verses (27-28):

After this He went out and saw a tax collector named Levi, sitting at the tax booth. And He said to him, "Follow Me." And leaving everything, he rose and followed Him.

The call to follow Christ is phenomenal, for it is so simple, yet at the same time so deep and complex. It will challenge the rich and upper class people and at the same time it's simple enough for the poor, illiterate people to grasp and obey. But regardless of to whom the call is issued, there is only one correct response: complete, willing obedience. Dietrich Bonhoeffer, a German pastor and theologian who died for Christ, wrote in "The Cost of Discipleship" (a favorite book of mine)- "When Christ calls a man, He bids him come and die..." and in reference to the call of Christ to discipleship: "...Jesus demonstrating what is at the heart of discipleship: willing obedience to the call." Bonhoeffer understood the sacrifice required by the call of Christ, but he was also able to discover the joy that comes to those who follow it completely!

Let's take a look at four or five instances of Jesus saying "Follow Me" in the Gospels:

When the disciples were first called (Matt 4:19-20; Mark 1:17-20; Luke 5:27-28).

Jesus often called His disciples by simply saying "Follow Me". When talking to the fishermen, he called them to follow Him "and I will make you fishers of men". But the call remained the same: blind obedience. They didn't know where they were going or what they were going to do, but they obeyed. Their responses were the same: they immediately left everything to follow Christ. This is a great response- the best. Following Jesus means leaving everything behind and walking with Christ.

When Christ called His disciple Philip in the beginning of the Gospel of John, Philip actually went and told his brother Nathaniel (out of excitement!) about the call of Christ! This is another fantastic response- for out of the joy we find in who He is and His call, we go and tell those close to us, encouraging them to follow Him as well!

The rich young ruler (Matt 19, Mark 10, Luke 18)

Here is the tragic story of the rich young ruler who followed the ten commandments of God to the 'T' but did not obey the call of Christ. When Jesus called him to sell everything he had to follow him, Matthew writes that "he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions." This is obviously not the desired response to the call of Christ, but it is good that he recognized that he wasn't going to follow Christ at all and walked away. Wait... what?! What did I just write? Check out these next few guys...

The three men (Matt 8:18-22; Luke 9:23-27)

You thought that the story of the rich young ruler was tragic? Break out the box of kleenex when you hear about these three guys. They were either challenged by Christ to follow Him or volunteered to follow Christ... but they all tried to qualify their obedience. They had their own terms of obedience. They said to Jesus, "Lord, I will follow You, but..." Jesus will have none of this. You know what I believe these people are? The lukewarm people mentioned in Revelation 3. What does Jesus say He will do to them? You got it: spit.them.out. Why do we tease ourselves by saying that there exist "lukewarm Christians".

I love when Francis Chan talks about this, because he is so passionate about it. The term "lukewarm believer" doesn't exist in the Bible- the only time "lukewarm" is mentioned is to say that Jesus will spit out those people. Does that sound like they will be accepted into the kingdom of God to you?! I look at the disciples' obedient response as one extreme, and the rich young ruler's walking away as another extreme. But pity the fools that think they can tell Jesus how they are going to follow Him!

Sadly, I believe that the western church today has fallen into that third category of telling Jesus how they are going to follow Him. Don't find the time to spend with God throughout the week? It's ok- God is a God of grace! Forget John 15:5 where Jesus says "Abide in Me and you will bear much fruit... apart from Me you can do nothing." Forget the many verses that show Jesus spending time with the Father and the other verses that tell us we need to walk like He did. Can't find the money in your budget to care for the orphans and widows or (much less) even give some to God?! It's ok... just sharpie out Isaiah 58 and Matthew 25 and the other large passages that talk about the terrible things that will happen to those who don't care for the hungry, poor, orphaned, etc. In the words of Burger King- "have it your way"!

Can you see how sad this is?! And, if you take a step back and think about it, how prevalent it is in the church today? God desires that His Church be a vibrant, living Body that is pointing all people to Himself with their example. A Body that is seeking Him daily, desiring nothing more than to please Him and bring Him all the glory, whatever the cost.

The last example is found at the end of the Gospels in John 21. Peter is being restored from his denial by Christ ("Do you love Me? Feed my sheep...") and is told by Christ how he will glorify God in his death. Then Jesus says "Follow Me". Peter tries to ask Jesus "what about [another disciple]?" Jesus responds, "If it is My will that he remain until I come, what is that to you? You follow Me!" This is a trap that even the most devoted believers fall into- trying to compare their walk with Christ to another's. Trying to model their obedience by someone else's example, not the example of Christ (complete obedience and desire to follow God's will).

I believe that our 'best' response to Christ's call does not necessarily mean going overseas to serve God or becoming a pastor. For many it will! But while following Christ takes on many different outer forms, the important thing is what's going on inside: are we loving God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength and loving our neighbor as ourself? It's the heart attitude- that being obedience- which is most important. Jesus was pleased with the disciples response because they obeyed His call... not just because they did good things.

We are in a place today much more like Peter in the last example, for we understand what the cost of discipleship is. Just as Bonhoeffer wrote decades ago, God bids us "come and die"- die to ourselves and our 'terms' of following Christ, die to the world, and maybe even physically die for Christ (glory!). How will we respond? Will we completely turn away like the rich young ruler? Will we try to qualify our compare our obedience to others? Or will we immediately leave everything we have (our wants, dreams, desires, hopes) and share with those close to us how exciting this call is, for we know that "these light and momentary afflictions are preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient but the things that are unseen are eternal." (2 Corinthians 4:17-18)

In the words of Nike: when Christ calls you to follow Him, just do it.

He is worth it.

The Lost Verse

I have had the immense privilege of studying the book of Luke recently and have been learning a lot about the humility of Jesus and how John the Baptist prepared the way. Crazy great things! Something that especially struck me is found in Luke 3:7-14:

7 He said therefore to the crowds that came out to be baptized by him, “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? 8 Bear fruits in keeping with repentance. And do not begin to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ For I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children for Abraham. 9 Even now the axe is laid to the root of the trees. Every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.”

10 And the crowds asked him, “What then shall we do?” 11 And he answered them, “Whoever has two tunics is to share with him who has none, and whoever has food is to do likewise.” 12 Tax collectors also came to be baptized and said to him, “Teacher, what shall we do?” 13 And he said to them, “Collect no more than you are authorized to do.” 14 Soldiers also asked him, “And we, what shall we do?” And he said to them, “Do not extort money from anyone by threats or by false accusation, and be content with your wages.”

A couple of things in this passage struck me as fantastic. First of all- John the Baptist, the guy I pretty much always associate with preparing the way for Jesus by just telling people to "repent of sins", talked about bearing fruit and the necessity of it! The "crowds" are coming to be baptized by him, but instead of getting all pumped, he saw that they were just looking for a 'get out of hell free' card. He calls them a "brood of vipers!" (can you picture that at a modern-day baptism?!) and asks "Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?", implying that they were fleeing the wrath instead of running to the Father.

John tells them to "Bear fruits in keeping with repentance". That's the way to avoid the wrath- not by claiming "Abraham as our father" or just getting baptized... it takes much more than that! Look at verse 9- "Every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire." What does John not say? "...and thrown into the fire, except if you have been baptized." Nope. Nor does he say "...except if you have prayed the 'sinner's prayer'." Ouch. Funny thing is that he is only saying what will later be echoed by many others:

(Jesus) Matthew 7:16-20 "You will recognize them by their fruits... So every healthy tree bears good fruit, but the diseased tree bears bad fruit. A healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a diseased tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire..." Interestingly enough, the very NEXT thing He says on the Sermon on the Mount (according to Matthew) is that there will be many that say "Lord, Lord" that Jesus doesn't recognize or allow to enter into the kingdom of heaven. Only those who do the will of His Father in heaven. Wow.

(Paul) He talks about bearing fruit all the time (Romans 1, Ephesians 5, Galatians 5).

(James) James 2:26- "For as the body apart from the spirit is dead, so also faith apart from works is dead." Not just inactive... dead. Not just 'passable, but not excellent'... dead.

So... fruit in the life of a believer is more than just a wee bit important. It is essential. I'm not trying to negate Ephesians 2:8-9 (saved by grace through faith), for I wholeheartedly agree that we ARE saved by the grace of God, "not by works." But that doesn't mean that fruit-bearing isn't essential. How should this 'fruit bearing' look in our lives?

Paul gives us a great picture in the oft-memorized 'fruit of the Spirit' passage (Galatians 5:22-23)- "Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control." John the Baptist gives the inquisitive crowd a practical picture of how to 'bear fruit' in the life of one who seeks to repent and live for God:

To the soldiers: "Don't extort money and be content with what you have." (paraphrased) Sounds... awfully simple and to the point, yeah?

To the tax collectors: "Collect no more than you are authorized to do." Sounds like... just following the rules, right?! What's crazy about these two admonitions is that it appears (to me) that workers (especially tax collectors and soldiers) were so corrupt in that day that by just doing what you were supposed to do (working with integrity- not cutting corners, taking more than you should, etc), you would stand out so brightly from the crowd. Hmm... sound anything like the world today?

But then my favorite part of this passage comes in his admonition to the "crowd": "Whoever has two tunics is to share with him who has none, and whoever has food is to do likewise." Wait wait wait... So Jesus and Paul aren't the only ones telling us to give... John the BAPTIST was saying it before both of them!

Seriously- just re-read that passage for a third time (assuming you read it the first two times in this post). "Whoever has two tunics is to share with him who has none, and whoever has food is to do likewise." So... if we have food (check) and clothing (check)... we're supposed to share with him who has none?! When was the last time you heard a message preached in the majority of American churches on this passage, much less the Matthew 25 "least of these" passage?

This stuff is not only important, it is life or death for almost a billion people around the world (www.worldhunger.org). If you have food, share it. This not only pleases the social activists around the world, more importantly, it pleases God.

In fact- please don't do it because any of your friends set up tents at your campus or local park to raise awareness. Please don't do this because I'm writing this in a blog. Do it because God said to (and has repeated it many times) throughout Scripture and this is a way to show Him love (John 14:15), the greatest commandment.

As you enjoy your fourth of July cookouts, please remember those who are suffering from hunger in your prayers and then DO something about it.

For His glory...

Luke

Africa (Media)

Yes, there are actually giraffes in Africa.


Camels, too.


At the meat market. Hungry?


With our policeman-guard.


The university.


Couldn't resist.


Waiting in line for a snack!


At a playground with kids from an orphanage!


The disparity of wealth: note the shack beside the large house.


Thumbs up!


A Brief Video Summary of my trip!

Africa (Update)

By the glorious grace of our Heavenly Father, I have returned from Africa! Thank you all so much for your thoughts and prayers- I am grateful. The main purpose of my trip was to seek Him for direction about my future in East Africa and the Lord was faithful in that and in many other ways, as well. I’m excited to share some of the insights along with some funny and exciting stories!

Camel Milk: there is a plethora of camels in this part of the world and this is a favored beverage. I had the unique opportunity to try camel milk and, to summarize my experience: it smelled like burnt tires and tasted how I would imagine they taste. Not good.

Visa: I had some difficult issues getting in and out of countries over in East Africa due to my own negligence and the local governments, and although I had to make four trips to the local embassy, the Lord was faithful and provided me access into the last country!

Speaking of Travel: the day before I traveled to my second-to-last destination, I found out that the worker I was planning to visit was not going to be ‘home’ when I was planning to visit him. Oh my. Still, after nine hours of travel across East African deserts (including various stops and check points along the way), I was dropped off at a gas station on the outskirts of his city because I knew that there were other workers that I might be able to visit. After two quick phone calls on a random taxi driver’s cell phone (my international SIM card declined to work in that country), I got into contact with a missionary couple in the city and discovered that not only were they excited to host me for the night, but they only lived one block away from the gas station! Glory to God for His provision!

Difficulty: because the nature of the trip was a “vision trip” to seek the Lord’s guidance for my future, I intentionally didn’t try to plan many ‘things’ to do while I was over there. Because I am an “doer” and like accomplishing things, not doing very many tangible significant things during my four weeks was tough for me. But the Lord taught me how to rest not only in the busyness of life (in which I am accustomed to being) but also in the slowness of life.

Lessons Learned: during my restful time the last few days of my trip, the Lord taught me two great lessons:

1) Oftentimes I try to measure the ‘success’ of a service trip by how many lives I believe were changed because of my presence in the country. The Lord humbled me by showing me that there are times when He will ask me to do things where the result is the only life changed is my own... and that’s what He wants.

2) I’ve grown accustomed to seeing “immediate change” having grown up in an age of immediate gratification, so because I’m not significantly different now because of my four weeks overseas, it would be easy for me to ‘write off’ any impact the trip had on my life. But in the same way that a fruit tree does not yield immediate results, after years of watering and pruning the tree much fruit is produced. So while I may not see any immediate changes in my life, the Lord gave me a peace that one day I will look back on this trip and see that He used the trip in my life in a big way.

Future: one of the main reasons for my trip was to seek the Lord’s will and gain experiential knowledge of the people and terrain over in East Africa. Honestly, the experiential knowledge that I gained made the trip worth it, and in the few weeks since I have returned I have already been in touch with one of the teams that I met and we are are talking about me joining their team later this year for long-term work in that part of the world!

So my tentative schedule over the next few months is:

I go to the West Coast to do some training for two weeks in June. I will return and hit the ground running raising monthly support, and then I hope to head back out to East Africa by the beginning of the fall to serve long-term!

Again- I am eternally grateful for your prayer-partnership in my ministry as I continue seeking to reveal His glory to the ends of the earth. Please continue to keep me in your prayers and I will try to keep you updated...

By His grace...

Luke Sjogren

Coming Home

Hello friends!

Don't let the title mislead you- I AM back in Mechanicsville. It was a tremendous trip- all glory to God- and I look forward to writing another post dedicated to my trip with pictures, etc., in the future. But this post is about something that's been on my mind and heart the past day or so...

First of all- Exodus 34:6 says (and it's repeated in Psalm 103)

"The LORD, The LORD, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness..."

Just take a moment and worship God for how amazing He truly is. Isn't this description of Him SO wonderful? And it struck me, also, how we are called to live like this as well- to be merciful and gracious to each other (forgiving each other- Matthew 6:13-14), to be slow to become angry with each other (James 1:19) and to abound in steadfast love and faithfulness towards God and our neighbor (the greatest commandments- Mark 12:30-31). Truly- if we live out this description of God in our lives, we will be obeying His commandments and living a life "pleasing to Him"... Let's do it in His strength!

Also- I just returned home from a few days at the beach with students from the ministry in which I had the privilege of serving this past year and it was a lot of fun! There were some good conversations, great times with the Lord (finishing up this go-round of studying Ecclesiastes) and great friends. But there was something about setting foot back into my house here in Mechanicsville that was really special. Yes- having my whole family at the house (not-so-common for our family) is a beautiful thing, but it's more than that. It has to do with the place.

It sparked some thoughts about "home" and the significance of it. To put it plainly: I don't believe that we're Home yet. Don't ever be fooled- Home is eternity with the Father and Jesus, not this crazy place called earth. Scripture:

John 14:1-3
"Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. In my Father's house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also."

1 Peter 2:11-12
"Beloved, I urge you as sojourners and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh, which wage war against your soul. Keep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable, so that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation."

Philippians 3:20-21
"But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, our Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body to be like His glorious body, by the power that enables Him even to subject all things to Himself."

We are "sojourners and exiles" in this place- for our "citizenship is in heaven". The NIV calls us "aliens and strangers", and I love this picture because it shows that we really don't belong here. Do things ever feel not right about the way things are currently? Like we were created for something more?

CS Lewis had some magnificent thoughts (like usual) on this. He once wrote in a letter responding to the comment 'Nor does being hungry prove that we have bread'.

"But surely tho' it doesn't prove that one particular man will get food, it does prove that there is such a thing as food! i.e. if we were a species that didn't normally eat, weren't designed to eat, wd. we feel hungry?"

In the same way, we were created for a Home in which we do not currently reside. Although we may not see or fully know it now, the fact that we long for something more proves that there is something greater than this life. Our spirits and souls were not created just for this earth. I believe that we were created to worship the God of the Universe- the only One worthy of all worship, praise, honor, and power- and we worship Him most fully when we are in His presence. While here on earth, we only have glimpses or 'tastes' of His goodness.

1 Peter 2:2-3
"Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up into salvation- if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is good."

I feel like Peter is saying that the greatest "good" we experience or see here on earth is just a taste of the true goodness of God. The full goodness of God will not be realized while we are 'at home in the body' (2 Cor. 5). If the greatest 'good' we experience here on earth is but a TASTE of the goodness of God, can you imagine how Amazing He truly is?! It's like we are fascinated by a puddle God created and have yet to see and experience the ocean!

I love this house and, in many ways, while I'm away I look forward to coming home- not because I'm dissatisfied with my current location, but because I know how great home and family are. I am SO thankful for how God has revealed His goodness to me in this life in so many different ways, but I also recognize that these are just tastes of His true goodness- and for that, I cannot WAIT to get to our true, eternal Home with Him.

Don't live for the temporal, transient "seen"... live this life as an "alien and stranger" with an eternal perspective, looking to the things "unseen" (2 Cor. 4:18), so that all people will glorify God in the day of visitation.

One day, we're coming Home...

Luke

Grace and peace... part 2

The Lord has been putting grace on my heart a bunch recently and then last night I had the privilege of leading a small group on the topic of "peace". So I figured "Hey, I'm going to write a blog post on 'grace and peace'" only to remember that I JUST wrote one a few weeks ago. Well I have more thoughts on these two loaded words.

First of all- the Lord has been putting grace on my heart a lot the last few days. Do you ever just stop and consider the significance of grace in our lives? And how without it... we wouldn't be here? "For it is by grace you have been saved through faith..." (Eph 2:8-9) The Grace of God is ridiculous. Ludicrous. It doesn't make sense. It isn't fair. We will never do anything to deserve it. And yet it saves us. Makes us whole again. Redeems us. Reconciles us.

If we take a few minutes to consider the effect of grace in our lives, I am 100% confident that we will live out the Greatest Commandments infinitely better. How so?

If someone were to make an amazing sacrifice for you (say, giving His only Son to take your place so that He might reveal His beauty and glory to the world and allow us to know Him), would you not love Him and devote your life to Him? Would you not be beside yourself with seeking ways to please Him out of love? I'm not talking about trying to repay a debt- I'm talking about loving them because their sacrifice revealed something about their character that you can't get over. Have you ever met someone and then left feeling like "WOW. That person is unbelievable." and then you can't sit still (internally) until you just tell someone/everyone about them?! Maybe it was their generosity, or their humility, or their "sweetness" or their genuineness. Multiply all of those things times 1,000,000 and you'll *begin* to approach how awesome God is.

Grace also will cause us to "love our neighbors as ourselves" much better because, the more we consider how glorious and abundant the grace of God is in our lives, the less and less we will find the sins of others to be, especially the sins against us. When we consider the glory that we are rejecting on a daily basis, we will recognize that the faint reflection that our friends are rejecting in us (when they trespass against us) doesn't even come close to comparing to our rejection of the Lord. Then grace will abound in our lives to the world around us and people will see Jesus in us and yearn for Him. Isn't THIS what we want? To point all people to the Awesome Creator?

And "peace". Matthew 5:9 says "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called children of God." What is super-cool about this verse is that, while on the surface it looks like just a call to put out 'fires' in relationships and ensure that people around you aren't fighting, Jesus is (according to the ESV Study Bible) actually referencing the Hebrew word "Shalom", which means "total well-being both personally and communally". So when He is calling us to be "peacemakers", I believe it's also (more) along the lines of us encouraging and inspiring others into that "shalom" peace- the wholeness we can have through the redemption of Christ. And if everyone is experiencing that "shalom" with God, with themselves, and with others, there won't be any fights or 'fires' to put out!

On top of that, Paul writes that if we "present our requests before God" by "prayer and thanksgiving", the "peace of God which surpasses all understanding will guard [our] hearts and minds in Christ Jesus." (Phil 4:6-7) Francis Chan writes about this in his book Forgotten God. He says that too many Christians today want 'just enough peace' to make it through the day- just enough peace to get to that deadline at work, to get through this stressful situation. But God promises that we'll have peace that "surpasses all understanding". Notice he didn't write "your understanding" or "some understanding" but "all understanding"- a peace that is so insane and extraordinary that people will look at our lives and say 'your God, He is Lord.' Is this peace being exhibited in your life? If it's not, ever stop and wonder why that is the case?

Let's live out and radiate grace and peace to the world, so that all will see that "Jesus our God is great and mighty to be praised"- 'With Everything', Hillsong United.

Truly, His glory is my reward.

Luke

Adoption

What a past few weeks it has been! Lots of lessons learned and many things that make God famous.

One of the lessons learned: eating penne covered in Alfredo sauce and then trying to work out within a few hours afterwards does not usually turn out too well. By the grace of God, the penne stayed in my stomach, but while jogging on the treadmill I felt like death. People might wonder what Ephesians 2 means when it says we were "dead in our trespasses" (2:5)... I think I experienced a literal feeling of that last night.

On a different note, I have been loving two songs lately: "I Need a Doctor" by Dr. Dre, Eminem and Skylar Grey and "Your Great Name" by Natalie Grant. Two phenomenally different songs, yes. But check out these words:

"All I know is you came to me when I was at my lowest

You picked me up, breathed new life in me. I owe my life to you...

But I can never repay you, what you did for me was way more."

Can you tell which song that comes from? It comes from Eminem rapping about Dr. Dre, but (to me, at least) it can easily be taken as us crying out to God. The Psalms have similar verses to this- "He picked me up out of the miry pit... set my feet upon a rock. He put a new song in my lips, a song of praise to our God." (Psalm 40:2-3) Do I agree with everything that Eminem says in the song? Of course not. But I love Skylar Grey's voice, I'm a big fan of Eminem and I hope that we can all see that there is some Truth in his songs. God has gifted Eminem in a way that very few others have been gifted and I pray that one day He would see the Truth and start laying tracks with more of a focus on the true King and hope he can have in Jesus.

As far as Natalie Grant's song goes, the chorus says "Jesus, worthy is the Lamb that was slain for us, Son of God and man You are high and lifted up, that all the world will praise Your great Name"! When I hear this song, the Lord burdens my heart for the cause of the Name of Christ and I pray that God would empower me to inspire and encourage others to revere and treasure this precious and powerful Name. Read Philippians 2:5-11 for a glimpse of what this Name really means.

I was studying Galatians 4 this morning and the Lord really stirred my heart about the concept of us being "adopted as sons (and daughters)". Check out verses 1-7:

I mean that the heir, as long as he is a child, is no different from a slave, though he is the owner of everything, 2 but he is under guardians and managers until the date set by his father. 3 In the same way we also, when we were children, were enslaved to the elementary principles of the world. 4 But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, 5 to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. 6 And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!” 7 So you are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God.

So the passage starts out by talking about being "heirs" (continuing from chapter 3, which says that if we are children of Abraham through the blessed Offspring- faith in Jesus- we are also "heirs"). In the ancient times, apparently, until you obtained your inheritance, you were "no different than a slave"- still under the instruction of "guardians and managers" until Daddy said it was time. You didn't have too much freedom to do what you wanted to- maybe even less than a slave! But the difference is that you were destined to inherit, whereas the slave was not.

We were enslaved to the elementary principles of the world. Consider this word, for Paul chose it wisely: "enslaved". This doesn't just mean "commanded by" or "influenced by". It means we were OWNED by these principles, with no hope for freedom unless someone purchased our freedom from our master. Now comes the good news: But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of woman, born under law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons.

God's timing is perfect. This is a phrase that often gives me hope and is also full of truth- God could have sent His Son to rescue the Israelites from exile, or from the reign of any of their terrible kings, or during the '400 years of silence', but the fullness of time had not yet come. God was preparing the world to receive His Son and He sent Him at the perfect time.

Now comes the idea of adoption. I feel like many of us often look at this idea (found 5 times in the New Testament- all in Paul's letters) and just skim over it. "Adoption- that's a nice thought". Or we say a quick 'thanks' prayer to God for adoption. I believe that a main reason for this is that many of us don't really know what it means to be adopted. 'Adoption is a nice thing that some people are 'called to',' we say, but inwardly we usually think of the cost and the burdens we think it might bring.

Try asking a child who was orphaned from infancy and spent their entire youth without a family... then, at the age of 14 or 15, a very loving, caring family adopted them and brought them into their house. They received them as their own, treating them just like a biological child and loving them with the agape love of God. What do you think adoption means to that child?

I believe the child would say: "belonging", "acceptance", "hope", "love" and "joy" among other things. Guess what? This is what God does for us. We who have grown up in a family, be them very loving or not, have a tough time comprehending this idea of "adoption" because we've never had to face the realities of living without a family. But that's what we were like before Christ. Before His Spirit entered our hearts, we were enslaved to the principles of the world, without hope of a promising future. But God sent His Son to redeem us and bring us into His family to be adopted as His own. To go from a slave to the world to belonging to God is an amazing transformation that I oftentimes take for granted.

But God didn't stop there. He could have just said "adoption is enough... they're a part of the family". But He put His Spirit in our hearts that is crying "Abba! Father!" You know who else calls the Father "Abba"? Jesus Christ in Mark 14:36. Does this not blow your mind?! We are not only welcomed into His family, but we can call Him "Father". And He not only allows us to call Him by the same name Jesus calls Him (His "only begotten Son"- John 3:16), He puts His Spirit inside of us so that we are compelled to call Him by it! What love of the Father!

Take a moment today to consider this and then pray a prayer of thanks to God for His adoption and His Spirit inside of us.

"Hungry souls receive grace at the sound of Your Great Name. The fatherless they find their rest at the sound of Your Great Name." -Natalie Grant

Forgive me for taking this for granted, Father. Worthy is the Lamb.

For the sake of His Name...

Luke

Grace and Peace...

Before I write about grace and peace, please direct your thoughts and prayers to the people of Japan and everywhere else affected... an 8.9 magnitude earthquake hit that triggered a tsunami just a few hours ago. Check the BBC for an unreal video of the tsunami that shows buildings, cars, trees and the like getting swept away as if they weighed nothing. Put yourself in the shoes of the people who have just lost homes, jobs and family members in the blink of an eye, and then pray for them with that heart. God- may Your Name be exalted in this situation and may all see that You are worthy to be praised...

I began studying Galatians this morning and am SO excited to see how God is going to enlighten me and teach me more about Himself through this wonderful book of the Bible. Here are the first five verses (ESV):

"Paul, an apostle—not from men nor through man, but through Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised him from the dead— 2 and all the brothers who are with me, To the churches of Galatia:3 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, 4 who gave himself for our sins to deliver us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, 5 to whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen."

I love how Paul introduces himself- reassuring the Galatian church that he is an apostle appointed and sent "through Jesus Christ and God the Father", not by men (as the Paul-haters were trying to argue). If you read on in verses 6-10, Paul calls out the people who were turning to a "different gospel", and just so they didn't have to ask 'which is the real gospel?', Paul tells them in the introduction: "Jesus... gave Himself for our sins to deliver us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, to whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen." This is the gospel that he had preached and continued to- and the gospel that we should hold fast to for all our lives for the greatest glory of God.

What really stood out to me this morning, though, was the part of his greeting that you can find in almost every one of his letters: "Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ..." I once read that "grace" and "peace" were the two greatest things that Paul could wish upon the churches (for reasons that slip my memory at this time). The book What's So Amazing About Grace by Philip Yancey is a phenomenal read that changed by perspective on grace. Yancey challenges the body of Christ, essentially saying that we do a much better job at showing "ungrace" than "grace" (ungrace being the opposite of grace- shunning people, being too judgmental, etc), which is the opposite of what we're called to do.

He opens the book by telling the story of a prostitute in a major US city that a man encountered. She told the man through sobs and tears that she was looking for food so that she and her two year-old daughter could eat. She also admitted that she was renting out her daughter for prostitution to support her drug habit. The man asked her if she had gone to a church for help, and she replied "Church? Why would I go there? I already feel terrible and they would only make me feel worse."

Let's be honest here- how many of us, upon hearing how she treats her child, inwardly thought "that woman ought to be tried and sent to jail! Bring in Social Services to rescue the child! What a terrible person..." without even caring for the woman, who had sunk to such a low place that she was using her daughter in that way. No person naturally would do such a thing- they have to be in a rock-bottom place in life to even consider it.

Now think of how terrible our situation would be if God treated us like that when we are in our wretched, sinful states. I'm not trying to absolve the woman of the terrible thing she's doing, but our first instinct should not be to throw the 'dogs' at the woman, but to show grace, like God has done for us. PLEASE read the book, as I'm confident it will change your perspective on grace...

But back to Paul and his greeting. A thought that the Lord put on my heart is that the majority of the Church not only does a poor job of showing grace to those who don't know the Lord... we do a poor job at showing grace to each other. Unity in the Body of Christ, which Paul writes strongly about multiple times in the Bible (see 1 Corinthians 12, Ephesians 4), is one of our greatest weaknesses, and "grace" and "peace" are two of the biggest components lacking!

Think of how split and divided the Body of Christ looks to people all around the world (with all of our sects and denominations), especially in comparison to the unity of other major religions. Now think of how different the Church worldwide would look if we prayed earnestly for God to magnify His grace in our relationships with our brothers and sisters in Christ. Think of what the Church would look like if we pursued peace in our relationships instead of treating relationships with a 'my way or the highway' mentality.

My challenge to all of us is to do just that: pray for the "glorious grace of God" (Eph. 1:6) to be displayed in the relationships of all believers worldwide, and for a "peace that transcends all understanding" (Phil. 4:7) to make Him famous in our relationships with our brothers and sisters. Paul recognized the importance of these components to the Body of Christ, which is why he began the majority of his letters with this greeting. He also understood that the utmost importance was for God to get the glory- "to whom be the glory forever and ever." Let us not pursue this for our own fame, for we won't get very far at all. Let's do it for the sake of His Name.

Grace and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ...

Luke

Real Church

Remember how I talked about one of the best weekends of my life a few weeks ago? Well- last night was another one of those times...

To make a long (and wonderful) story short, I had the privilege of taking part in the International Christian Fellowship here at VCU, a God-centered Christian Fellowship with believers of all backgrounds who gathered to love Jesus and exalt Him together. There was passionate, fervent prayer, simple yet powerful times of musical worship, Spirit-led teaching, worshipful offering, and welcoming community and fellowship. I believe that last night I got a glimpse of what real church is supposed to be like- not just a once-a-week meeting, but this once-a-week meeting was a celebration of what the Church should look like all the time.

What was different about this group? These people cared for each other. They loved each other deeply but did it in a way that held each other accountable (one of the leaders was training three Freshman guys in physical fitness and, in return, they did a Bible study with him. "Good trade", he said). Were there nominal believers that came 'just because'? Of course. But the majority were people hungry for the Truth and were willing to give up their entire Friday night (and I mean entire: many came at 6:30 and probably didn't leave until after 10:30/11) to exalt Jesus together.

I am truly not the same because of participating in the Fellowship last night. Even though the first worship set lasted 35+ minutes, a part of me felt that it wasn't long enough. And the prayer time before the meeting was for 45 minutes... but many, if not all of us could have gone much, much longer. During that time of prayer, the Lord put Psalm 63 on my heart and it got me thinking...

Psalm 63

"O God, You are my God; earnestly I seek You;

my soul thirsts for You;

my flesh faints for You,

as in a dry and weary land where there is no water.

So I have looked upon You in the sanctuary,

beholding Your power and glory.

Because Your steadfast love is better than life,

my lips will praise You.

So I will bless You as long as I live;

in Your name I will lift up my hands.

My soul will be satisfied as with fat and rich food,

and my mouth will praise You with joyful lips,

when I remember You upon my bed,

and meditate on You in the watches of the night;

for You have been my help,

and in the shadow of Your wings I will sing for joy.

My soul clings to You;

Your right hand upholds me.

But those who seek to destroy my life

shall go down into the depths of the earth;

they shall be given over to the power of the sword;

they shall be a portion for the jackals.

But the king shall rejoice in God;

all who swear by Him shall exult,

for the mouths of liars will be stopped."

I really want to focus on the first verses, although the entire Psalm is phenomenal, which is why I posted all of it.

Just check out the first line: "O God, You are my God; earnestly I seek You...." How many of us can say that with integrity? "O God, YOU are my God". If you look at it from the perspective of "well, I have no other deities that I choose to worship- not Buddha, not Allah, not Scientology... yeah- He's my God", then that would make sense. But I don't think that's what David is saying. David is saying, "God, YOU are my God- not my kingdom, not my family, not my wealth, not my fame... YOU are my God." Can we truly say that about our lives? Is God on the throne of our lives constantly, ruling and reigning, leading and guiding us? Do we plan our schedules and lives around God, or try to fit Him into them?

I'm not trying to suggest that I live this out perfectly (cause I'm very far from it), but let's shoot for this! What's a good test to see if this is our heart?

"...earnestly I seek You; my soul thirsts for You; my flesh faints for You, as in a dry and weary land where there is no water."

Can you say that about your life? I believe we should all pray for hearts like David, to desire God like you would desire water "in a dry and weary land where there is no water." This isn't the only way to know that God is the King of your heart and life, but it sure is a good sign to show that this is the case.

Let's agree with David that God's "steadfast love is better than life" and "remember" how amazing He is as often as possible. Make Him THE priority of Your life and let Him order the rest.

Thanks, God, for ICF and how it challenged me, encouraged me and inspired me. May we all strive for hearts like David's in Psalm 63 for the exaltation of Your Name...

Grace and peace...

Luke

Highs and Lows

This has been an interesting past seven days for me. I had one of the greatest weekends of my life on many levels, followed by a mid-week 'low' due to being burdened by different things, then a phenomenal 'high' full of the joy of the Lord that has now brought me back to my usual norm (loving life in Christ). It's a roller coaster that I'm not used to riding, but I am eternally grateful for some of the lessons that I've learned and am excited to share them.

Don't be surprised if a valley follows a mountain-top experience.
It's so easy to get caught up in the "high" that you lose sight of reality. You might try to stay grounded in what life is usually like so that the descent isn't too great, but you never can. Nor should you- it would lessen the joy you have in the mountain-top experience!

Having spent a few hours climbing Mt. Chimborazo, one of the highest mountains in the world, I know what it is to have a literal mountain-top experience (see the above picture, taken on Mt. Chimborazo). It's an unbelievable experience! You can see for miles and miles and you can't help but be overwhelmed by the greatness of God in His creation.

But something else that happens at 16000+ feet above sea level is that you start losing your sanity. The air is very thin and you can't climb more than 100 feet without needing a break. Unfortunately, I've found that this tends to happen in our spiritual "mountain-top experiences". We go from saying "God, YOU are amazing. Why in the world would You ever choose to use me? How is it possible?" to saying "God, You have made ME amazing... thanks for Your awesome creativity and power." to saying "Wow- I'm amazing. God is good." It is in these mountain-top experiences that we need to be tremendously careful that we keep our eyes "fixed on Jesus" (Hebrews 12:2) and humbly recognize that apart from Him we "can do nothing" (John 15:5).

In the valley we can rediscover the greatness of God... with the right perspective.
I have had some excellent conversations about how amazing God is these past seven days with believers and non-believers. One of the topics that has come up is the tough times of life. In my life, I've found that sometimes God strips away all of the worthless things to help me see that all I need is Him- He's my greatest joy and desire. But what if you are already maintaining this correct perspective before the valley and during the valley?

Is it just of God to allow us to descend into a valley even when we're already focused on him? Let's look to the Old Testament Scriptures for our answer:

Job- honest, God-fearing man who repented not just for himself but for his children on a regular basis (Job 1). Even when the Lord took away nearly all of what was most precious to him, he still said "Blessed be the name of the Lord" (1:21). He stayed faithful to God, but when his friends and he questioned God's justice and reason in allowing this valley to happen, check out a part of the Lord's response in chapters 38-41:

Then the LORD answered Job out of the whirlwind and said: "Who is this that darkens counsel by words without knowledge? Dress for action (*or Gird your loins) like a man; I will question you, and you make it known to me. Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth? Tell me, if you have understanding. Who determined its measurements- surely you know! Or who stretched the line upon it?... (38:1-5)

Have you commanded the morning since your days began, and caused the dawn to know its place, that it might take hold of the skirts of the earth, and the wicked be shaken out of it? (38:12-13)

Is it wrong to question God? Pray about that and see what God speaks to your heart, but understand that there's a chance the LORD's response to your questioning will be something similar to what Job received.

The person from whom we should draw inspiration during our time in the valleys is King David. Here are a few examples of his attitude during valleys:

"I waited patiently for the Lord; He inclined to me and heard my cry. He drew me up from the pit of destruction, out of the miry bog, and set my feet upon a rock, making my steps secure. He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God. Many will see and fear, and put their trust in the LORD." (Ps. 40:1-3)

"Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me? Hope in God; for I shall again praise Him, my salvation and my God. ...by day the Lord commands His steadfast love, and at night His song is within me, a prayer to the God of my life." (Ps. 42:6a, 8).

"Save me, O God! For the waters have come up to my neck. I sink in deep mire, where there is not foothold; I have come into deep waters, and the flood sweeps over me. ...Answer me, O LORD , for Your steadfast love is good; according to Your abundant mercy, turn to me.... I will praise the name of God with a song; I will magnify Him with thanksgiving. ...When the humble see it they will be glad; you who seek God, let your hearts revive." (Ps. 69:1-2, 16, 30, 32)

See a pattern here? Though David finds himself in quite a few valleys (many by his own doing), his focus stays on the Lord and He doesn't cease to hope in Him, trust in Him and give Him praise and adoration. He also remembers the Lord's faithfulness from the past and this adds to his hope and trust in the Lord. While we're walking through "the valley of the shadow of death", we should "fear no evil, for You are with me." (Psalm 23)

It's also comforting to know that the Lord truly desires the BEST for His children. Isn't that mind-boggling? Although we don't deserve even the smallest act of love or kindness from our Heavenly Father, He still works for our best according to what He knows is best. Check out Romans 8:28- "all things" work together for good for those who love Him and are called to His purposes. And what about Matthew 7:7-11, where it is described how if a son asks his father for something, won't his father give him "good things"? The craziest part of it all is that He knows that the best thing for us is Himself, so the greatest thing He can do for us is give us is Himself. But we'll tackle that in more detail another time...

Finally, we all have different mountain-tops and different valleys, but let's try to take them all with a right perspective: this week, fifty-seven Somali refugees drowned trying to flee the fighting of their home country when their boat capsized. My "valley" doesn't begin to compare to the valley of the sole survivor who lost his wife and three children and had to swim an entire day to reach the coast of Yemen.

In the same waters, four believers who were sailing the world and distributing Bibles were killed by Somali pirates. The burdens and "suffering" I feel don't begin to hold weight in comparison to the burden and suffering of the families who lost parents and grandparents.

Pray for those experiencing valleys all around the world. Trust in the providence of God and walk through the valley in confidence of the hope that the Lord knows what is best for us (Himself) and is working "all things" to this end for His greatest glory. And remember the immortal words of Marvin Gaye, there "ain't no mountain high enough... ain't no valley low enough... ain't no river wide enough" to keep Him from getting to us "babe".

In His strength alone...

Luke