Tuesday, August 16, 2011
Saturday, August 13, 2011
So I've been thinking about launching a website that I could start a grassroots zine out of. The "Coup" [koo'] has been a zine idea since last Christmas. When I had a large creative think tank of friends hanging out with me, all of our creative idea's spurring on other ideas. It was going to be great. A quarterly print issue that would
be putting a fire under the butt of sleeping revolutionaries. The believing and non believing generation who would soon be awakening to the reality of the call of Jesus; that this zine could be a resource to seeing them activated and alive. This was an exciting idea, but things didn't wind up falling together in such a timely manner. I hosted writers to be putting articles together about what the Church looks like in the Bible, how we can live that out, and also giving snapshots of what that living organism of a Church would look like all over the world. But some of them wound up backing out, or not submitting pieces. And I definitely didn't want to be the only person writing articles, because it was supposed to be a collaboration, not a long single perspective editorial. We had artists submitting cover art, and photo's starting to flow. But what can I say? When your full-time school, part-time work, and living in community with bro's who need some discipleship, its hard to sqeeze in working on producing a full-blown zine, but thats life...and thats art.
Yet a few days ago I had a conversation with a friend from Switzerland Michi Grassli. this guy and his friends taught me so much about what it looks like live out the organism of the Church when I was traveling through Switzerland. They had a large community house in the Alps where loads of people would come, stay, and get unhooked from drugs and/or find Jesus. As I shared with Michi about this idea on my heart about the e-zine website, he shared that he was doing something similar in Switzerland, and I asked him if he would like to write an article for the German speaking demographic, that we could have translated into english to premier in our Zine. So hopefully something really neat is going to begin breaking up with the e-zine and some international co-op.
Thursday, March 18, 2010
Have you ever had writers block before? For the past couple of weeks I feel like I’ve had life block. Should I just give up on this Mexico thing? Nothing is happening here. I haven’t been able to get involved with major ministry, I haven’t don’t my hearts desire, and my Spanish is inching along. I feel like Ive been forgotten here. Im being forgotten of my friends, Im becoming a nuisance to my dads finances, to my boss’ company, and my relationships here are not deep, the Christianity does not edify me, and everything feels lazy. Im not expressing my fullest heart. WHAT AM I SUPPOSED TO DO HERE LORD!? If I am supposed to wait then tell me to wait! If I am supposed to leave then tell me to leave! I came here in faith, and now Im waiting in a dwindling faith, my authority feels drained, and I have no vision from you of my life here.
I am become a bat whose voice does not detect the net
I am become a dull word
I am as hot as an egg left out of the refrigerator.
I pray, I seek, and seem to find only a used coal.
Where is my purpose? Where has it been hidden Oh God? It is sitting in the palm of your hand alone. Where are the dull words that have slipped past my lips? They are sitting as coals on a censor before your throne. Am I alone? I am surrounded by 10,000 who desire to puncture my hope, and I am weary!
Sat March 13, 2010
Help me to move forward; by growing backwards.
I want to grow backwards, Im living right side up, on the ceiling of your upside down kingdom.
I am valiant, by holding on tight, Charging the tents of a trembling enemy by retreating onto the horns of your altar. A living sacrifice, when I am aware of my wisdom I lack it, when I am okay with my life, I lack it.
I need your help to mature into a child. To grow backwards, to be weaned off of independence, broken from my philosophical transcendence, my natural insolence, make me a full grown adolescence! But rather more, a child that you adore, by your spirit store, make me poorer than the poor, naked, vunerable, full of tears, and strong vocal chords that respond by rattle and awake at the slightest need, If Im there, youll do anything, no one can tell me you wont, or that you cant, because if you don’t, well how could a child live? If the parent didn’t provide for the needs of it. And you have provided my needs, desperation, heart ache, awakening, truth, and the most sensitive… more and more of YOU
I am perfect in my imperfection, strongest in my weakness, overjoyed with an eternal burden, alive, dead, done, then said, first the tail then the head. Peace makers waging a violent war. Fufill the needs that you’ve engraved into my heart.
Sun March 14, 2010 Playa Del Carmen
Bring the real thing, open my heart and bring the real thing, open my eyes to see the real thing. I don’t want to live a life that is explainable by anything except for Your Spirit, even by the secular. I’m tired of living this life, of living it normal. I submit, oh God I submit, I’m so tired of living life this way, if my life can be explained by anthropology, psychology, or the apologetics of religion, then God its not the life I want to live. Give me the real thing, its what I hunger for, fulfill the desires you’ve put in my heart, a faith that lacks all worldly wisdom, I want your purpose, your plan, your heart, not my own. That it would be on earth, as it is in heaven! Where nothing makes sense on how I live, when people look in, except that I live what your Word says and it more than works. And that looking out, nothing outside of your Spirit makes sense. I don’t want to live a life that is full of riches and pleasurable times only to bring hardly a handful into true life. I don’t want to live that life that makes sense! God use me! Turn me upside down to see… the real thing. Oh the real Kingdom is what I desire, that is off of the path beaten down by many feet, paved, and wide. I don’t want to live a life that can be described by me. Whose definition cannot be matched to my personality. Which dosnt make sense in numbers, which went by in some strange way, way further than the given resources.
Here in Mexico, I feel lost, estranged, are you teaching me what its like to be normal here in the capital of the world? I give up to you! I will drink from my cup, but if it can be passed on please Im ready to leave this season. The harvest is so big, but I am only sitting, each day seems to be burning, every breath wasted oxygen. If the laborers are few, please give me the tools to go back out, if there is something yet unprepared, then take out the broken parts in me and give me what it takes! Oh please hurry God, don’t leave me here. I have a desire for your real thing. To see the real thing. To live the real thing. Teach me what needs to be taught, but then use me so the gates of hell are distraught.
Bless you forever God, your ways are higher than my ways, and your thoughts are higher than my thoughts. I trust you, and I know that you have created me with a purpose to fulfill all that is in your heart.
March 18, 2010 Playa Del Carmen
Whoa, God is so good! So much change on the inside, so much similarity on the outside, yet God is bringing reconciliation of the two. He has brought me such joy! He is perfecting a patients inside of me! And though the situations seem to feel so crowdedly bad, the Lord is developing and eternally beautiful thing inside of me! And yesterday it hit me! …no revelation, but pure JOY! My breatheren, count it ALL JOY when you fall into diverse temptations! (James 1:2)
I realized that I like (in the longterm) the hard stuff as much as the good stuff, because what I am thankful for as much as the end of a hard trial, is the fact that He gave me the stuff to make it through in the first place, and that He is building up an eternally enduring ability inside of me, making me tougher and tougher, more resistant to the enemies devices. And that is something worth enduring. “Blessed is the man who endures temptation, for when he is tried he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord has promised to give to them that love Him!” (James 1:12)
Amen and amen! God has blessed me in so many ways, and is manifesting Himself to me! (to me? Such a finite creature, and such an infinite God, who are you Lord, that you are even mindful of me?) A brother has been staying over, His name is Daniel Leon, what a beautiful guy, the light of the Lord just emits from His face. But His home life is pretty tough, He is sort of an answer to prayer in that way. I had prayed that I would have some brothers come to live with me. I see something so cool coming from the heavenlies. And I pray that God allow us to pour into one another. Whats another thing? Oh yeah! I had a revelation about work the other day when I was memorizing James 1:22 “but be ye does of the Word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves” that though many people would say I am a man who is a doer, I realized that there are so many places in m life that I am not a doer of Word. Like in my secular life, money is not a huge encouragement for my life, my dreams to not include being a person with a lucerative touch. Or a making tons of cash. But none the less, I need to have a spirit of excellence in my work life, because I SHOULD BE DOING EVERYTHING AS UNTO JESUS, and I don’t serve my boss as unto Jesus, I don’t do my best or try my hardest, I just do a mediocre job. I never want to be a man who fails, and creates excuses like “its not my calling” and fail with excuse. I want to be a person who serves Jesus through real estate, or whatever I’m doing. My LIFE is to be done as unto Jesus, why should I be what proverbs describes as a fool, lazy person, or sluggard? NO! I want to be the righteousness of Christ in every way and form! So that was a new conviction. J
Jesus! Help me to take up my cross and die (to live for YOU)!
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
Quintana Roo
The other day my dad brought up a really good idea, an idea that has brought me through a few compelling hours tonight. He suggested that I look up the history of Playa Del Caremen and its surrounding areas before I leave. And I sure am glad that I did, because what I found is rich.
Whats even worse is how Christianity was introduced to this area! Hernan Cortez from Spain came in to the picture around 1519, bringing a forced religion, small pox, and little desire to understand the 
Mayan people. Cortez and his men destroyed Mayan temples, and in place built Catholic churches. The Disease they brought decimated the population of Cozumel bringing it from a thriving 20,000 people, to less than 200 people in less than 50 years. The Mayans along with others began to rebel and resist against Christianity. And why wouldn't they? These strange men who bring intolerance, compasionless hearts, disease, and strange idea's forced on this culture untouched by the Gospel of Jesus.
Playa Del Carmen, (Known in ancient times as "Xaman-Ha" or "Waters of the North")and its surrounding area's were the core of the Mayan civilization. Especially that of Mayan Religion. Cozumel (which is only 15 miles east of Playa) was supposedly home to Ix-Chel, the godess of fertility and healthy childbirth; and her husband "Itzamna" the god of the sun (woah, talk about an important couple). Thousands upon thousands of Mayan pilgrims would travel from even beyond the likes of Belize, Guatemala, and Honduras just to pay homage to these gods. Shrines built in honor of Ix-Chel even still stand today. I didn't realize before that I was stepping into what used to be a land filled and centered around idol worship. Principalities that have long been over these areas.
Whats even worse is how Christianity was introduced to this area! Hernan Cortez from Spain came in to the picture around 1519, bringing a forced religion, small pox, and little desire to understand the 
Mayan people. Cortez and his men destroyed Mayan temples, and in place built Catholic churches. The Disease they brought decimated the population of Cozumel bringing it from a thriving 20,000 people, to less than 200 people in less than 50 years. The Mayans along with others began to rebel and resist against Christianity. And why wouldn't they? These strange men who bring intolerance, compasionless hearts, disease, and strange idea's forced on this culture untouched by the Gospel of Jesus.Folks, can you believe so many have achieved horrific exploits of murder, genocide, enslavement, and greedy colonization in the name of a homeless man from Nazareth? A Godman who taught that if one were to ask us for our coat, that we should give them our shirt also? To die for a people who "know not what they do." Yet instead throughout history men have insisted to bulge, intrude, and barrage a manly path in the name of Jesus through those who have never even heard His beautiful name? Exploit and enslave I'm sure for the "better good" of the Gospel. Friends, that is no Gospel at all (the Gospel being the "good news") No my friends, that is the Bospel (definatly bad news).
With a first impression like that, I wonder what the spiritual atmosphere is like today. From what I understand, Catholicism is widely spread and flourished in the area now, and all across Mexico. Mayan spirituality is now a mixed breed with Catholicism, replacing the Gods with "Santos" and replacing their life stories with that of the Mayan idols. Still preserving and living in their ancient rituals. But the Mayan people still thrive... in a different way.
To say that the Maya civilization disappeared is not only an inaccuracy, but a great disservice to more than 6 million Maya living today in Guatemala, Mexico and Belize. While the city-states of the Classic period lowlands may have been abandoned in the tenth century, the Maya people did not disappear any more than the Italians when the Roman Empire fell.
-Jeeni Criscenzo http://www.criscenzo.com/jaguarsun/mayanow.html
To be known as a Mayan can be dangerous, the people being a target of social clashes, and religious intolerance. I suppose this would create sort of a nationalist feel, that is if the Mayan people had a nation. Missionaries like myself are seen as a threat to their way of life and culture. But heck, Jesus changed every culture He ever touched!
Is there still a deep running resistance in the local Mayans against the Gospel? Apparently so. How do these deep spiritual histories shape the atmosphere of the Mexican state Quintana Roo? How do the locals percieve the Lord Jesus? Holy Spirit, change our hearts.
Thursday, November 12, 2009
Before I go...
There are so many things that have been going on since I've arrived home from Europe. First off I had a surgery that had me without work, and without mobility for near a month. The Surgery was on my shoulder from a bike accident I had near five months ago now. So its not anything life threatening (thank you Jesus).
Also, I have (since my shoulder has healed) returned to work and began saving up my money to head out once again out of the States; this time to Mexico. I will be living in Playa Del Carmen, which is a resort city outside of Cancun. I'll be right near the Mayan temple ruins (where the apocalyptic calender is that everyone has been talking about recently). I will be living within two hours of Belize, El Salvador, and Guatemala. Maybe I will be able to road trip down to South America while I am living down there. Many different types of people live in Playa Del Carmen, from countries all over the world. So thank you Jesus, I will be able to touch the whole world from this spot! I will be getting my own place shortly after I move down there, and I hope a bunch of my friends come down to visit me.
Moving to Mexico has been a consuming thought. I have no idea what to expect. I've only been to Mexico once with some friends, but even this is different for Mexico. I'm excited to learn Spanish well, but on the other side I hope I don't feel like an outsider the whole time I'm learning how to speak fluently. I remember in Europe feeling sort of like a loner in the midst of friends, because of language and cultural differences. I don't fear those things, but I feel like maybe they are some of the more negative unavoidables. Also, I'm such a social guy, its going to be funny restarting from scratch, but that's okay! I'm sure I'm going to meet a lot of crazy Jesus people, man I love those kinds of people. Mexico is a consuming thought even for the fact that it is a foreign country...and I'm moving there! haha, lots of adventures await me.
(Me being social)
I finally returned back to my job two weeks ago after healing, and have been trying to get as many hours as possible before I leave so I have some financial padding to hit the floor with.
Playa is supposed to have the world's number two most beautiful beach, and that is great for me! Beaches are my element, and I will be 45 minutes from Cozumel which is the worlds capital of diving. Reefs, beautiful discoveries, exotic fish, and waves to surf. Even with all of those cool things, its nothing if the Lord isn't with me. Sometimes I feel pretty randomized, as if I am just randomly choosing to go to this place or that. But the Lord reminds me that yeah dude, He is leading me, and gives me so many different confirmations, the Lord knows my heart, that I'm anxious sometimes, but I'm anxious to do His will, hear His voice. haha silly me, why by anxious?
Also, I have (since my shoulder has healed) returned to work and began saving up my money to head out once again out of the States; this time to Mexico. I will be living in Playa Del Carmen, which is a resort city outside of Cancun. I'll be right near the Mayan temple ruins (where the apocalyptic calender is that everyone has been talking about recently). I will be living within two hours of Belize, El Salvador, and Guatemala. Maybe I will be able to road trip down to South America while I am living down there. Many different types of people live in Playa Del Carmen, from countries all over the world. So thank you Jesus, I will be able to touch the whole world from this spot! I will be getting my own place shortly after I move down there, and I hope a bunch of my friends come down to visit me.Moving to Mexico has been a consuming thought. I have no idea what to expect. I've only been to Mexico once with some friends, but even this is different for Mexico. I'm excited to learn Spanish well, but on the other side I hope I don't feel like an outsider the whole time I'm learning how to speak fluently. I remember in Europe feeling sort of like a loner in the midst of friends, because of language and cultural differences. I don't fear those things, but I feel like maybe they are some of the more negative unavoidables. Also, I'm such a social guy, its going to be funny restarting from scratch, but that's okay! I'm sure I'm going to meet a lot of crazy Jesus people, man I love those kinds of people. Mexico is a consuming thought even for the fact that it is a foreign country...and I'm moving there! haha, lots of adventures await me.
(Me being social)
I finally returned back to my job two weeks ago after healing, and have been trying to get as many hours as possible before I leave so I have some financial padding to hit the floor with.
Playa is supposed to have the world's number two most beautiful beach, and that is great for me! Beaches are my element, and I will be 45 minutes from Cozumel which is the worlds capital of diving. Reefs, beautiful discoveries, exotic fish, and waves to surf. Even with all of those cool things, its nothing if the Lord isn't with me. Sometimes I feel pretty randomized, as if I am just randomly choosing to go to this place or that. But the Lord reminds me that yeah dude, He is leading me, and gives me so many different confirmations, the Lord knows my heart, that I'm anxious sometimes, but I'm anxious to do His will, hear His voice. haha silly me, why by anxious?
Sunday, October 18, 2009
Cross Culture
“Go ye, inquire of the Lord for me, and for the people, and for all Judah, concerning the words of this book that is found: for great is the wrath of the Lord that is kindled against us, because our fathers have not hearkened unto the words of this book, to do according unto all that which is written concerning us.” King Josiah in II Kings 22:13
As I traveled into Europe for the first time, my eyes were opened to a place filled with many diverse cultures and languages. A place rich in history, even to the very roots of the early church. Seeing all of the churches (most of them embracing the Christian religion), I was quite shocked to see the lack of spiritual life, in spite of this. I had always thought that America was in bad shape, when it came to religion, but not in comparison to the many countries I faced with this reflection in Europe. Many people were Christians, but most had never seen a Bible, heard a verse, or heard anything about even the simplest parts of the Gospel. Yes, everyone had heard about Jesus, but no one knew who He was. Furthermore, almost everyone we talked to heard the Gospel, but it was for the first time. And these were Christian countries!?! Countries from which many mighty moves of God had emerged from, where many hundreds of thousands of sold-out, on-fire-for-Jesus missionaries had been sent from. And the blessedness of the Spirit of the Lord was bold in this part of the world, as we ponder the history here, but by the time I had gotten there, this "once solid foundation of faith" was all broken up into rubbish. In whole, the heart and desire was gone and the oil all burned up. It is now a place filled with a young people who are beyond being burned out on dead religion. This was like nothing I had seen in America. Not to this level anyway. So, I took a minute to consider, what made Europe this way?
In II Kings 22:13 Josiah speaks of the generations proceeding him as people who “have not hearkened unto the Words of this book, to do according unto all that which is written” concerning them. Just as “our fathers” (the previous generations) have turned from His word in many ways!
For example: in the last three to four generations, our fathers chose to lay down the cross and the lifestyle of discipleship and traded them in for a culture of a cheap western religion filled with idea’s inspired by traditions and the desires of men (II Tm 4:3-4).
Therefore, because of our laying down of a lifestyle of God’s word, and instead a picking up of modern fables, we see many young people today, instead of being discipled and cultivating a heart of convictions for the Lord Jesus Christ and His works, producing fruit that is either sour or underdeveloped. A generation doing good works (playing in a praise band, putting a dollar into the bucket, going to church on Sundays, marrying another Christian person, ect.) as a duty to a western Christian culture that they have obligation to, but not out of a personal conviction and a true sense of understanding the faith.
Not that these things are bad! Its good that we establish morals into the next generation, but if it is without a heartfelt understanding or conviction, the works will bear no eternal fruit. In turn, the world will not be won over to the Gospel and it certainly will not affect the next generation under us.
We also see that many times, a young person has no active conviction of the holiness of God nor His love to turn from sin. They only harvest guilt based on their knowledge that “they were raised not to do ‘this’ or ‘that.’
What would be more exciting to see? A bunch of kids who turn into adults and proceed to only join the praise band at the family church and throw a dollar in the bucket, but don’t understand why they do these things? Or even why they are right to do? Or would it be more exciting to see a generation of young people winning their friends to the Lord as disciples of Jesus Christ, who are personal friends of the Holy Spirit, who fast and pray for a generation that is l
ost and going to Hell? Convicted because of how they personally know the Lord?
Our fathers share responsibility in this (of course they do). But so do we if we do not repent! We are the kings and queens over this generation, and we are the fathers and mothers of the next.
Will we be responsible for dropping the ball?
· The “ball” of responsibility to the next generation?
· Of our responsibility to God?
· The generation’s preceding Josiah’s generation had been that of an indecisive people, committing idol worship, spiritual adultery to God, and ultimately turning away from Him totally. With a king or two leading revival, through first repenting from their wicked ways by taking action on their generation by tearing down the idols and hedges built in worship of false gods, Josiah was a man who “Did that which was right in the sight of the Lord…and turned not aside to the right hand or to the left” (II Kings 22:2). It also says about him “And like unto him was there no king before him, that turned to the Lord with all his heart, and with all his soul, and with all his might, according the Law of Moses.” And had a fire in his heart for he and all his people to repent from their idol worshipping and “do according unto all that which is written concerning us" (II Kings 22:13)
We, as believing people, have been given a dirty old rug mantle from the last generation. A mantle of insincerity and detached lip-service to the Lord by receiving man-made religion and western traditions. But let us now throw them off and put on the robes of righteousness, provided for us on the cross of Christ! Let us be a Josiah generation, turning back to the Word of God and throwing off the former ways by repenting to the Lord and falling away from our adulterous human nature and warped idea’s of godliness.
One of the major sins that was popular among the people of Judah, at this time (and many other people), was the worship of idols. “Because they have forsaken me, and have burned incense unto other gods…(II Kings 22:17)”
What are a few idols that we worship today as a generation?
- Vanity
- Identity with the world
- Materialism (just stuff!)
- Acceptance
Idol worship, I believe many times with the Jews, was not only the desire of people wanting to carve funny faces into stone to worship them, but mostly because of the strong influence of the nations surrounding the people of Judah; historically noted, they cultivated this system of idol worship. And when they would come into Judah with all of their idols and funny religions, they would sneer at the Jews for worshipping only one God. I could imagine the idol worshippers saying “You mean you only have one God? And He doesn’t have an image in the most popular stones? And He wants you to serve only Him? That’s weird… well, we have all these cool shiny stones carved in hip shapes that we worship! Look! I have one around my neck for good luck! Man, I even have three statues in my backpack!!! Come on, everyone is doing it! And so, the people of God fell under what could only be describe in modern terms as “peer-pressure.”
To a good extent, if we are honest, today's worship still falls under the same sense of idolatry as it did in those days for acceptance sake! A conversation today could just as well go “You mean you believe in God? But it’s only because you were raised a Christian right? Well I don’t care for all of that stuff…Why do you things different than us anyways (Don’t cuss, don’t laugh at my funny sexual jokes/racial jokes, don’t check out girls/don’t flirt with boys)? Listen, no one really does that Christian thing anyway right? Besides, everyone in my family says they are Christian too, but they don’t do the things you do (or the things you don’t do!) So, you don’t have to do them either, no one will notice, because you will be just like the rest of us! Why be held back from life by a religious set of rules?
We have given into the idea that “God loves us, therefore he wants us to live our lives in a nice, socially accepted kind of way.
But the truth is, God loves us therefore He wants us to live our lives in such a way that would win others to His love
God loves us therefore we don’t need acceptance from other people. We must desire only His acceptance! We don’t need our lives to be accepted by others! (Woe unto you, when all men shall speak well of you! for so did their fathers to the false prophets. Luke 6:26)
We need:
· A spiritual burdened life
· A life broken hearted for the Gospel
· Burdened for the Word of the Lord
· Heavy hearted with God’s love
· And ruined for the world system
· But the passing generations, now slowly adding in ours (broadly speaking), has given up the life of discipleship and crucified life and traded it in for a cheap replacement of The Western Christian religious culture instead.
Therefore we have traded:
· Our bright and shining lamps for “a form of godliness, that denies the power thereof (II Timothy 3:5)”
· Jesus’ revolution of true Love for a religion. We now recognize religion for being unloving and maintained by people who don’t really know Jesus.
· God’s culture for man’s broken culture.
· Romans 12:2: “And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that god, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.”
What is the will of God? It's your submission to His word.
I believe that we are at a place very much like that of the church of Ephesus where Jesus says in Revelation 2:2-7 “I know thy works, and thy labour, and thy patience, and how thou canst not bear them which are evil: and thou hast tried them which say they are apostles, and are not, and hast found them liars: And has borne, and patience, and for my names sake has laboured, and hast not fainted. Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love. Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent…He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; to him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God."
We have kept many things in American Christianity that are good and even praise worthy, including: a heart for missions, a fruitful spiritual foundation that is still being built upon, and people who are willing to stand firm in their knowledge of godliness. But, by investing deeper, we can also see that the most crucial aspect of our compromising spiritual heart would be that we have turned from our first love. Overall, we have turned, as a generation, from true and heartfelt spiritual worship of the Lord Jesus Christ.
And I believe that if we repent, as individuals serving Jesus and as a generation of young people beginning to live God’s mandates as deeply in love disciples of Christ, then we will see this scripture come to power in our generation and the generations following. When Jesus says in Revelation 2:26 “And he that overcometh, and keepeth my works unto the end, to him will I give power over the nations” Though this is specifically speaking of the 1,000 year reign with Christ, I believe that it is also applicable now. If we, through the heart, submit to the Lord Jesus Christ in both His works and words, we will have Holy Spirit's power and authority for this Great commission to be fulfilled in the next few generations. Thus, allowing Christ Jesus to return in glory like He promised He would.
But if we do not repent, if we do not turn away from our idolatry, Jesus will come quickly and remove our candlestick from its place and give it to someone else. I believe that that candlestick represents the flame which is the bright burning desire and the true effectiveness of the Bride of Christ. And if we do not turn back to our first love, God will make us into a “…desolation and a curse"(II Kings 22:17)
Now what is the “Crucified life?” what is the heartfelt active worship that God desires from each of us as individuals (effecting our realm of influence) and collectively (effecting the world)? Paul describes
Galatians 2:20 “I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.”
II Corinthians 5:14-21 “For the love of Christ constraineth us; because we thus judge, that if one died for all, then were all dead: And that he died for all, that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto him which died for them, and rose again. Wherefore henceforth know we no man after the flesh: yea, though we have known Christ after the flesh, yet now henceforth know we him no more. Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation; To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation. Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ's stead, be ye reconciled to God. For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.”
As individuals and as a people, God desires that we would die to our will, to our emotions, and to all of our uneternal desires, making our lives a “living sacrifice holy and acceptable unto God (Romans 12:1)” That we wouldn’t walk in the flesh. Instead, we live as new creatures, fulfilling our job as the true tribe of the Lion of Judah and reconciling the world to God.
THIS IS THE CHALLENGE
Live in ways unlike the world, in that you are like Jesus (Remember? The name “Christian” means “like Christ”)
II Timothy 3:1-5 says: “This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away.”
This is what the generation of the last days would look like. How similar is it to our culture? Rebel, look at each of the characteristics described here and live out the opposite everyday.
- Instead of being a lover of yourself be selfless
- Rather than being covetous be a free giver!
- Don’t boast in yourself but rather in the cross!
- Instead of being proud, be humble
- Blasphemy Challenge? Live lives that make the devil sweat!
- Instead of striving with your parents, lay down your pride and obey your parents
- Unthankful? “In everything give thanks for this is the will of God is Christ Jesus concerning you (II Thessalonians 5:18)”
- In stead of “unholy” “be holy as I am holy” that’s what Jesus said.
- Without natural affection- here he is talking about homosexuality, but you can also apply this to keeping your emotions in check!
- Instead of being traitors, be faithful to God, and one another
- Heady, and highminded? Instead by lowly and humble, cheek turners!
- Rather than being “lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God” reject materialism, and selfishness though tempting, and cling to the Holy Spirit.
- And Finally, don’t be “a form” of godliness that denies the power, but allow God’s power and image to flow through you.
- Also, The first part of II Kings 13:22 “Go ye, inquire of the Lord for me, and for the people, and for all Judah, concerning the words of this book” in other words, pray for the condition of your heart, that it would be softened before the Lord, pray for all the Christians in America, and the West to turn back to being Jesus’ disciples.
So let us begin to intercede for ourselves and for the worldwide Bride alike.
Conclusion: II Kings 22:19 :”Because thine heart was tender, and thou hast humbled thyself before the Lord, when thou heardest what I spake against this place, and against the inhabitants thereof, that they should become a desolation and a curse, and has rent thy clothes, and wept before me; I also have heard thee, saith the Lord”
The ultimate action that is going to turn away this desolation from Jesus’ Beautiful bride is our repentance back to Him. We need to go back to his Word and go back to being His disciples.
As I traveled into Europe for the first time, my eyes were opened to a place filled with many diverse cultures and languages. A place rich in history, even to the very roots of the early church. Seeing all of the churches (most of them embracing the Christian religion), I was quite shocked to see the lack of spiritual life, in spite of this. I had always thought that America was in bad shape, when it came to religion, but not in comparison to the many countries I faced with this reflection in Europe. Many people were Christians, but most had never seen a Bible, heard a verse, or heard anything about even the simplest parts of the Gospel. Yes, everyone had heard about Jesus, but no one knew who He was. Furthermore, almost everyone we talked to heard the Gospel, but it was for the first time. And these were Christian countries!?! Countries from which many mighty moves of God had emerged from, where many hundreds of thousands of sold-out, on-fire-for-Jesus missionaries had been sent from. And the blessedness of the Spirit of the Lord was bold in this part of the world, as we ponder the history here, but by the time I had gotten there, this "once solid foundation of faith" was all broken up into rubbish. In whole, the heart and desire was gone and the oil all burned up. It is now a place filled with a young people who are beyond being burned out on dead religion. This was like nothing I had seen in America. Not to this level anyway. So, I took a minute to consider, what made Europe this way?
In II Kings 22:13 Josiah speaks of the generations proceeding him as people who “have not hearkened unto the Words of this book, to do according unto all that which is written” concerning them. Just as “our fathers” (the previous generations) have turned from His word in many ways!
For example: in the last three to four generations, our fathers chose to lay down the cross and the lifestyle of discipleship and traded them in for a culture of a cheap western religion filled with idea’s inspired by traditions and the desires of men (II Tm 4:3-4).
Therefore, because of our laying down of a lifestyle of God’s word, and instead a picking up of modern fables, we see many young people today, instead of being discipled and cultivating a heart of convictions for the Lord Jesus Christ and His works, producing fruit that is either sour or underdeveloped. A generation doing good works (playing in a praise band, putting a dollar into the bucket, going to church on Sundays, marrying another Christian person, ect.) as a duty to a western Christian culture that they have obligation to, but not out of a personal conviction and a true sense of understanding the faith.
Not that these things are bad! Its good that we establish morals into the next generation, but if it is without a heartfelt understanding or conviction, the works will bear no eternal fruit. In turn, the world will not be won over to the Gospel and it certainly will not affect the next generation under us.
We also see that many times, a young person has no active conviction of the holiness of God nor His love to turn from sin. They only harvest guilt based on their knowledge that “they were raised not to do ‘this’ or ‘that.’
What would be more exciting to see? A bunch of kids who turn into adults and proceed to only join the praise band at the family church and throw a dollar in the bucket, but don’t understand why they do these things? Or even why they are right to do? Or would it be more exciting to see a generation of young people winning their friends to the Lord as disciples of Jesus Christ, who are personal friends of the Holy Spirit, who fast and pray for a generation that is l
ost and going to Hell? Convicted because of how they personally know the Lord?Our fathers share responsibility in this (of course they do). But so do we if we do not repent! We are the kings and queens over this generation, and we are the fathers and mothers of the next.
Will we be responsible for dropping the ball?
· The “ball” of responsibility to the next generation?
· Of our responsibility to God?
· The generation’s preceding Josiah’s generation had been that of an indecisive people, committing idol worship, spiritual adultery to God, and ultimately turning away from Him totally. With a king or two leading revival, through first repenting from their wicked ways by taking action on their generation by tearing down the idols and hedges built in worship of false gods, Josiah was a man who “Did that which was right in the sight of the Lord…and turned not aside to the right hand or to the left” (II Kings 22:2). It also says about him “And like unto him was there no king before him, that turned to the Lord with all his heart, and with all his soul, and with all his might, according the Law of Moses.” And had a fire in his heart for he and all his people to repent from their idol worshipping and “do according unto all that which is written concerning us" (II Kings 22:13)
We, as believing people, have been given a dirty old rug mantle from the last generation. A mantle of insincerity and detached lip-service to the Lord by receiving man-made religion and western traditions. But let us now throw them off and put on the robes of righteousness, provided for us on the cross of Christ! Let us be a Josiah generation, turning back to the Word of God and throwing off the former ways by repenting to the Lord and falling away from our adulterous human nature and warped idea’s of godliness.
One of the major sins that was popular among the people of Judah, at this time (and many other people), was the worship of idols. “Because they have forsaken me, and have burned incense unto other gods…(II Kings 22:17)”
What are a few idols that we worship today as a generation?
- Vanity
- Identity with the world
- Materialism (just stuff!)
- Acceptance
Idol worship, I believe many times with the Jews, was not only the desire of people wanting to carve funny faces into stone to worship them, but mostly because of the strong influence of the nations surrounding the people of Judah; historically noted, they cultivated this system of idol worship. And when they would come into Judah with all of their idols and funny religions, they would sneer at the Jews for worshipping only one God. I could imagine the idol worshippers saying “You mean you only have one God? And He doesn’t have an image in the most popular stones? And He wants you to serve only Him? That’s weird… well, we have all these cool shiny stones carved in hip shapes that we worship! Look! I have one around my neck for good luck! Man, I even have three statues in my backpack!!! Come on, everyone is doing it! And so, the people of God fell under what could only be describe in modern terms as “peer-pressure.”
To a good extent, if we are honest, today's worship still falls under the same sense of idolatry as it did in those days for acceptance sake! A conversation today could just as well go “You mean you believe in God? But it’s only because you were raised a Christian right? Well I don’t care for all of that stuff…Why do you things different than us anyways (Don’t cuss, don’t laugh at my funny sexual jokes/racial jokes, don’t check out girls/don’t flirt with boys)? Listen, no one really does that Christian thing anyway right? Besides, everyone in my family says they are Christian too, but they don’t do the things you do (or the things you don’t do!) So, you don’t have to do them either, no one will notice, because you will be just like the rest of us! Why be held back from life by a religious set of rules?
We have given into the idea that “God loves us, therefore he wants us to live our lives in a nice, socially accepted kind of way.
But the truth is, God loves us therefore He wants us to live our lives in such a way that would win others to His love
God loves us therefore we don’t need acceptance from other people. We must desire only His acceptance! We don’t need our lives to be accepted by others! (Woe unto you, when all men shall speak well of you! for so did their fathers to the false prophets. Luke 6:26)
We need:
· A spiritual burdened life
· A life broken hearted for the Gospel
· Burdened for the Word of the Lord
· Heavy hearted with God’s love
· And ruined for the world system
· But the passing generations, now slowly adding in ours (broadly speaking), has given up the life of discipleship and crucified life and traded it in for a cheap replacement of The Western Christian religious culture instead.
Therefore we have traded:
· Our bright and shining lamps for “a form of godliness, that denies the power thereof (II Timothy 3:5)”
· Jesus’ revolution of true Love for a religion. We now recognize religion for being unloving and maintained by people who don’t really know Jesus.
· God’s culture for man’s broken culture.
· Romans 12:2: “And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that god, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.”
What is the will of God? It's your submission to His word.
I believe that we are at a place very much like that of the church of Ephesus where Jesus says in Revelation 2:2-7 “I know thy works, and thy labour, and thy patience, and how thou canst not bear them which are evil: and thou hast tried them which say they are apostles, and are not, and hast found them liars: And has borne, and patience, and for my names sake has laboured, and hast not fainted. Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love. Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent…He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; to him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God."
We have kept many things in American Christianity that are good and even praise worthy, including: a heart for missions, a fruitful spiritual foundation that is still being built upon, and people who are willing to stand firm in their knowledge of godliness. But, by investing deeper, we can also see that the most crucial aspect of our compromising spiritual heart would be that we have turned from our first love. Overall, we have turned, as a generation, from true and heartfelt spiritual worship of the Lord Jesus Christ.
And I believe that if we repent, as individuals serving Jesus and as a generation of young people beginning to live God’s mandates as deeply in love disciples of Christ, then we will see this scripture come to power in our generation and the generations following. When Jesus says in Revelation 2:26 “And he that overcometh, and keepeth my works unto the end, to him will I give power over the nations” Though this is specifically speaking of the 1,000 year reign with Christ, I believe that it is also applicable now. If we, through the heart, submit to the Lord Jesus Christ in both His works and words, we will have Holy Spirit's power and authority for this Great commission to be fulfilled in the next few generations. Thus, allowing Christ Jesus to return in glory like He promised He would.
But if we do not repent, if we do not turn away from our idolatry, Jesus will come quickly and remove our candlestick from its place and give it to someone else. I believe that that candlestick represents the flame which is the bright burning desire and the true effectiveness of the Bride of Christ. And if we do not turn back to our first love, God will make us into a “…desolation and a curse"(II Kings 22:17)
Now what is the “Crucified life?” what is the heartfelt active worship that God desires from each of us as individuals (effecting our realm of influence) and collectively (effecting the world)? Paul describes
Galatians 2:20 “I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.”
II Corinthians 5:14-21 “For the love of Christ constraineth us; because we thus judge, that if one died for all, then were all dead: And that he died for all, that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto him which died for them, and rose again. Wherefore henceforth know we no man after the flesh: yea, though we have known Christ after the flesh, yet now henceforth know we him no more. Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation; To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation. Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ's stead, be ye reconciled to God. For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.”
As individuals and as a people, God desires that we would die to our will, to our emotions, and to all of our uneternal desires, making our lives a “living sacrifice holy and acceptable unto God (Romans 12:1)” That we wouldn’t walk in the flesh. Instead, we live as new creatures, fulfilling our job as the true tribe of the Lion of Judah and reconciling the world to God.
THIS IS THE CHALLENGE
Live in ways unlike the world, in that you are like Jesus (Remember? The name “Christian” means “like Christ”)
II Timothy 3:1-5 says: “This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away.”
This is what the generation of the last days would look like. How similar is it to our culture? Rebel, look at each of the characteristics described here and live out the opposite everyday.
- Instead of being a lover of yourself be selfless
- Rather than being covetous be a free giver!
- Don’t boast in yourself but rather in the cross!
- Instead of being proud, be humble
- Blasphemy Challenge? Live lives that make the devil sweat!
- Instead of striving with your parents, lay down your pride and obey your parents
- Unthankful? “In everything give thanks for this is the will of God is Christ Jesus concerning you (II Thessalonians 5:18)”
- In stead of “unholy” “be holy as I am holy” that’s what Jesus said.
- Without natural affection- here he is talking about homosexuality, but you can also apply this to keeping your emotions in check!
- Instead of being traitors, be faithful to God, and one another
- Heady, and highminded? Instead by lowly and humble, cheek turners!
- Rather than being “lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God” reject materialism, and selfishness though tempting, and cling to the Holy Spirit.
- And Finally, don’t be “a form” of godliness that denies the power, but allow God’s power and image to flow through you.
- Also, The first part of II Kings 13:22 “Go ye, inquire of the Lord for me, and for the people, and for all Judah, concerning the words of this book” in other words, pray for the condition of your heart, that it would be softened before the Lord, pray for all the Christians in America, and the West to turn back to being Jesus’ disciples.
So let us begin to intercede for ourselves and for the worldwide Bride alike.
Conclusion: II Kings 22:19 :”Because thine heart was tender, and thou hast humbled thyself before the Lord, when thou heardest what I spake against this place, and against the inhabitants thereof, that they should become a desolation and a curse, and has rent thy clothes, and wept before me; I also have heard thee, saith the Lord”
The ultimate action that is going to turn away this desolation from Jesus’ Beautiful bride is our repentance back to Him. We need to go back to his Word and go back to being His disciples.
Saturday, July 11, 2009
Gaurd Your Hearts and Minds With...
Your Love never fails, though danger and pain may hail, reigns it never will; it will never avail, because Your Love never fails. Your Love never fails. The past cannot haunt me, death cannot stop me, though I die, yet shall I live. I will abide under the shadow of the Most High. Because Your Love avails. The cross is higher than the highest height, and reaches deeper than the lowest depth. Jesus' Love is not inept, His Love never fails. (Ps 91, Rm 8:38-39, 1 Cor 13:8)
So I am coming into Vienna, Austria by train two days ago (Thursday July 9th, 2009) having no Idea what's going to happen, what to expect, or where I'll stay. I prayed a simple prayer on the train "God, give me favor with the people, and that you would meet my needs."
As I left Buchs, Switzerland one of my new friends Edith handed me a piece of paper and said, "Call this number when you get to Vienna, this lady may be able to help you." Edith is a different kind of girl altogether you see, her and one of her girlfriends hitch hiked all over Europe. From St. Gallan, Switzerland, to Istanbul, to the Ukraine, all over Romania, and most of East Europe as well. So to explain her on one level would maybe be to say that in the last few years that she has walked with the Lord, she has fought with the urge to just be a rebellious hippie. So when she gave me this number, I didn't know what this lady would be like at all. Maybe a junkie, maybe she lives in her car and I would get to sleep in the front seat with it all the way reclined backwards. Because you see, Edith has told me many of the crazy people she has stayed with through her travels thus far, and yes, this lady was one of the people that she had met and stayed with while on one of her adventures. As I am arriving closer and closer to Vienna, that evil anxiety begins to rise in my stomach. And as I am trying to keep it at a low level my phone runs out of minutes and I have no way to "top it off" seeing as that the sim card I bought while in Switzerland can only be re-filled in Switzerland, and only takes Swiss credit cards (...what!?). But it prayer, I send a hopeful text message to my dad, hoping maybe I have just enough money on there for one text. And I was right. My Dad (earthly dad) called Richard Bernhard, who called a friend in Switzerland, who charged up my phone with money :) so then bada-boom, I can use my phone again (jeez the worst case scenarios always seem to happen when your worried). So then only a few minutes before I reach Vienna thinking all these crazy thoughts like "where will I sleep, what's going to happen" I remember the number Edith gave me, so I call it and the lady (Miriam) answers the the phone and tells me that she lives in a town called Baden 15 min south of the city and that she would be able to keep me. Now the problem: How in Austria do I get to
"Baden?"
I arrive at Wein Westbanhoff (Vienna West Train Station) and ask about Baden, only to receive greetings from very reluctant, unwilling to help ticket people. Which escorts me into a brief moment of absolute foreigner confusion. So I resort to the next form of help, asking the local Austrians! Some had never heard of the place, others had but didn't know where it was, I also ran into some boys from Ireland who were as lost as I was, then finally I asked the right person who told me exactly what to do and I was on my way in the right direction! I got on a tram and asked a guy my age named Sebastian where I needed to go, we got off the tram, and he helped me throw myself onto the right train just before the doors closed calling out "take four stops than get off!" behind me.
So after all of this miscellaneous adventure I find myself in Baden at around 20:30, but she wont be in town till 22: 30 (these are the time terms that the Europeans use in normal life 20:30 is 8:30pm, and 22:30 is 10:30pm for those who don't know military time :)) Baden is a good sized city, but more on the small side, with a small town feel. I talk ask around for a place to eat and wind up in a place called "Josefplatz," a club/bar/coffee area of the city and sat down for a glass of wasser (water, haha sorry, I just wanted to use the German word) and rest a little bit. Three Austrian girls were were also sitting near me, so I began to talk to them and they invited me to their table, were I learned that "Baden" was named so because the Romans used to use the river (which runs through the center of the city) to bathe, apparently it was high in sulfur, so it has good health effects. And talked about all sorts of things, Baden, travels, Jesus, the politics of world hunger (one of them was going to be majoring in economics) till Miriam came to pick me up.
Miriam was older than me, in her forties maybe; and to my wonderful surprise she was none of the things that I expected, but rather a missionary for Jesus to the Persian refugee's coming into Austria. She is a radical lady who loves the Lord with all her heart. And what I noticed later that night was that I felt safe, as if I were back home in Texas. Her English was excellent, and though she had a small accent, it didn't sound like a German accent. It was so nice to be there, I felt as if I were back home, I didn't feel foreign, and until she would mention it from time to time I had totally forgot that I was in a different country altogether. What was it? I couldn't put my finger on it, things looked, tasted, and smelled so different, but I felt so comfortable. That night I shared my story of how I met Jesus, and told her my heart for the Lord. She is such a motherly type figure, and the Lord is in this woman's house. After we talked she handed me the keys to her house for as long as I was going to be there, and even an all day train pass for the adventure I was going to have the next day: exploring Vienna!
Friday July 10th, 2009 I wake up at 7:30am get ready and tackle the intimidating task: figuring out the Vienna train system, armed with a map, my backpack, and an all day train pass, own that system I did. I traveled from stop to stop, seeing the sights, talking with people, shooting through the veins of the heart of the city, met two other Texans (which makes the Texan count six now) and landed at the last stop, Karlsplatz. Karlsplatz is an area where many of the drunks, junkies, and apparently skateboarding children congregate. I say down at a bench and watch a whole group of people swallow pills, roll a joint, and everyone was drinking, I asked a question to two girls who I thought were completely normal sitting next me me, but when they looked at me I realized that that were almost completely gone on drugs. Heart breaking, I want these people to know Jesus, and everyone like them, and the worst part was that the language barrier between them and I kept me. I wanted to sit and talk with them, hear their life stories, love on them, pray with them, and I'm sure soon I will. Lord, give me that opportunity again.
I came back into Baden to join up with Miriam to go to a birthday party of one of the Persian refugee's. Miriam had been working with refugee's in Austria for over 15 years, so they love her and respect her very much. To be quite honest, I was expecting these people to light a cake, he was going to blow it out, everyone would clap while singing happy birthday, we would eat and boom, be back home within two hours...oh how I was mistaken. Iranian people celebrate with such intensity, they know how to be family, though so many of these people had no family in Austria, fleeing political radicalism, or war torn lives, these people had become family through Jesus. Many were freshly born again, others mature believers, but all from Islamic backgrounds. Miriam said that the refugee ministry was birthed out of a Bible smuggling ministry, when they realized that God was bringing the Muslims to them, they started to concentrate on the refugees. She also shared with me that unlike many of the western cultures who are more likely to be very closed or private about inner feelings and personal matters, the Iranian people shared everything together. They wept together, celebrated together, laughed, and screamed together. So entering to this room full of Persians I was not ready for the experience. hardly anyone was sitting down the whole night! But rather constant dancing, clapping, whooping and hollering, singing together with the booming Farsi music. I don't know if I have ever seen anything quite like it, the dancing was so different, basically you just freestyle on the dancefloor the whole time. So in a scenario like this, if you are sitting down and and doing nothing, it sticks out like an American in the middle of a Austrian Persian birthday celebration! (oh wait!) So everyone urges me to dance...and I do, I dance like crazy all night! I don't know exactly what I'm doing, and I get the feeling that everyone else knows that I don't know what I'm doing, but we all just have fun! Everyone was very inviting, warm, and introduced themselves to me. Everyone spoke either Farsi, or German, or both, but not many spoke English, yet through the whole night I grew so close with the people. All night long from 17:00 to 0:00 when I left we hardly ceased to dance, except once to eat, and another time to give the birthday boy Elohim, well wishes and prayers. It was so great, all of my heart, God granted, and here I was in the middle of Austria, with my new family of refugee's.
God showed me on the way back to Miriam's house why I felt so at home, so at peace. He gave me a scripture "...the peace of God that surpasses all understanding..." I realized, nothing about this place is similar to my home, but that God had put an analogical peace over my heart and mind, feeling secure in Him no matter where I was. I fell to the ground in worship at this realization.
Vine dwelling,
Christopher
So I am coming into Vienna, Austria by train two days ago (Thursday July 9th, 2009) having no Idea what's going to happen, what to expect, or where I'll stay. I prayed a simple prayer on the train "God, give me favor with the people, and that you would meet my needs."
As I left Buchs, Switzerland one of my new friends Edith handed me a piece of paper and said, "Call this number when you get to Vienna, this lady may be able to help you." Edith is a different kind of girl altogether you see, her and one of her girlfriends hitch hiked all over Europe. From St. Gallan, Switzerland, to Istanbul, to the Ukraine, all over Romania, and most of East Europe as well. So to explain her on one level would maybe be to say that in the last few years that she has walked with the Lord, she has fought with the urge to just be a rebellious hippie. So when she gave me this number, I didn't know what this lady would be like at all. Maybe a junkie, maybe she lives in her car and I would get to sleep in the front seat with it all the way reclined backwards. Because you see, Edith has told me many of the crazy people she has stayed with through her travels thus far, and yes, this lady was one of the people that she had met and stayed with while on one of her adventures. As I am arriving closer and closer to Vienna, that evil anxiety begins to rise in my stomach. And as I am trying to keep it at a low level my phone runs out of minutes and I have no way to "top it off" seeing as that the sim card I bought while in Switzerland can only be re-filled in Switzerland, and only takes Swiss credit cards (...what!?). But it prayer, I send a hopeful text message to my dad, hoping maybe I have just enough money on there for one text. And I was right. My Dad (earthly dad) called Richard Bernhard, who called a friend in Switzerland, who charged up my phone with money :) so then bada-boom, I can use my phone again (jeez the worst case scenarios always seem to happen when your worried). So then only a few minutes before I reach Vienna thinking all these crazy thoughts like "where will I sleep, what's going to happen" I remember the number Edith gave me, so I call it and the lady (Miriam) answers the the phone and tells me that she lives in a town called Baden 15 min south of the city and that she would be able to keep me. Now the problem: How in Austria do I get to
"Baden?"
I arrive at Wein Westbanhoff (Vienna West Train Station) and ask about Baden, only to receive greetings from very reluctant, unwilling to help ticket people. Which escorts me into a brief moment of absolute foreigner confusion. So I resort to the next form of help, asking the local Austrians! Some had never heard of the place, others had but didn't know where it was, I also ran into some boys from Ireland who were as lost as I was, then finally I asked the right person who told me exactly what to do and I was on my way in the right direction! I got on a tram and asked a guy my age named Sebastian where I needed to go, we got off the tram, and he helped me throw myself onto the right train just before the doors closed calling out "take four stops than get off!" behind me.
So after all of this miscellaneous adventure I find myself in Baden at around 20:30, but she wont be in town till 22: 30 (these are the time terms that the Europeans use in normal life 20:30 is 8:30pm, and 22:30 is 10:30pm for those who don't know military time :)) Baden is a good sized city, but more on the small side, with a small town feel. I talk ask around for a place to eat and wind up in a place called "Josefplatz," a club/bar/coffee area of the city and sat down for a glass of wasser (water, haha sorry, I just wanted to use the German word) and rest a little bit. Three Austrian girls were were also sitting near me, so I began to talk to them and they invited me to their table, were I learned that "Baden" was named so because the Romans used to use the river (which runs through the center of the city) to bathe, apparently it was high in sulfur, so it has good health effects. And talked about all sorts of things, Baden, travels, Jesus, the politics of world hunger (one of them was going to be majoring in economics) till Miriam came to pick me up.
Miriam was older than me, in her forties maybe; and to my wonderful surprise she was none of the things that I expected, but rather a missionary for Jesus to the Persian refugee's coming into Austria. She is a radical lady who loves the Lord with all her heart. And what I noticed later that night was that I felt safe, as if I were back home in Texas. Her English was excellent, and though she had a small accent, it didn't sound like a German accent. It was so nice to be there, I felt as if I were back home, I didn't feel foreign, and until she would mention it from time to time I had totally forgot that I was in a different country altogether. What was it? I couldn't put my finger on it, things looked, tasted, and smelled so different, but I felt so comfortable. That night I shared my story of how I met Jesus, and told her my heart for the Lord. She is such a motherly type figure, and the Lord is in this woman's house. After we talked she handed me the keys to her house for as long as I was going to be there, and even an all day train pass for the adventure I was going to have the next day: exploring Vienna!
Friday July 10th, 2009 I wake up at 7:30am get ready and tackle the intimidating task: figuring out the Vienna train system, armed with a map, my backpack, and an all day train pass, own that system I did. I traveled from stop to stop, seeing the sights, talking with people, shooting through the veins of the heart of the city, met two other Texans (which makes the Texan count six now) and landed at the last stop, Karlsplatz. Karlsplatz is an area where many of the drunks, junkies, and apparently skateboarding children congregate. I say down at a bench and watch a whole group of people swallow pills, roll a joint, and everyone was drinking, I asked a question to two girls who I thought were completely normal sitting next me me, but when they looked at me I realized that that were almost completely gone on drugs. Heart breaking, I want these people to know Jesus, and everyone like them, and the worst part was that the language barrier between them and I kept me. I wanted to sit and talk with them, hear their life stories, love on them, pray with them, and I'm sure soon I will. Lord, give me that opportunity again.
I came back into Baden to join up with Miriam to go to a birthday party of one of the Persian refugee's. Miriam had been working with refugee's in Austria for over 15 years, so they love her and respect her very much. To be quite honest, I was expecting these people to light a cake, he was going to blow it out, everyone would clap while singing happy birthday, we would eat and boom, be back home within two hours...oh how I was mistaken. Iranian people celebrate with such intensity, they know how to be family, though so many of these people had no family in Austria, fleeing political radicalism, or war torn lives, these people had become family through Jesus. Many were freshly born again, others mature believers, but all from Islamic backgrounds. Miriam said that the refugee ministry was birthed out of a Bible smuggling ministry, when they realized that God was bringing the Muslims to them, they started to concentrate on the refugees. She also shared with me that unlike many of the western cultures who are more likely to be very closed or private about inner feelings and personal matters, the Iranian people shared everything together. They wept together, celebrated together, laughed, and screamed together. So entering to this room full of Persians I was not ready for the experience. hardly anyone was sitting down the whole night! But rather constant dancing, clapping, whooping and hollering, singing together with the booming Farsi music. I don't know if I have ever seen anything quite like it, the dancing was so different, basically you just freestyle on the dancefloor the whole time. So in a scenario like this, if you are sitting down and and doing nothing, it sticks out like an American in the middle of a Austrian Persian birthday celebration! (oh wait!) So everyone urges me to dance...and I do, I dance like crazy all night! I don't know exactly what I'm doing, and I get the feeling that everyone else knows that I don't know what I'm doing, but we all just have fun! Everyone was very inviting, warm, and introduced themselves to me. Everyone spoke either Farsi, or German, or both, but not many spoke English, yet through the whole night I grew so close with the people. All night long from 17:00 to 0:00 when I left we hardly ceased to dance, except once to eat, and another time to give the birthday boy Elohim, well wishes and prayers. It was so great, all of my heart, God granted, and here I was in the middle of Austria, with my new family of refugee's.
God showed me on the way back to Miriam's house why I felt so at home, so at peace. He gave me a scripture "...the peace of God that surpasses all understanding..." I realized, nothing about this place is similar to my home, but that God had put an analogical peace over my heart and mind, feeling secure in Him no matter where I was. I fell to the ground in worship at this realization.
Vine dwelling,
Christopher
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