Repair.

I read this today and thought I would share. If you're a believer, it will have a very significant meaning:

"Instead of the new earth as our eternal home, we offer an intangible and utterly unfamiliar heaven that's the opposite of home.
When we think of heaven as unearthly, our present lives seem unspiritual, like they don't matter. When we grasp the reality of the new earth, our present lives suddenly matter. Conversations with loved ones matter. Work, leisure, creativity, and intellectual stimulation matter. Laughter matters. Service matters. Why? Because they are eternal. Our present life on earth matters not because it's the only life we have but precisely because it isn't-- it's the beginning of a life that will continue without end.

Jesus said, "I go to prepare a place for you." The carpenter from Nazareth knows how to build. He's built entire worlds, billions of them. He's also an expert at repairing what's been damaged-- whether people or worlds. Romans 8 tells us this damaged universe groans, crying out to be repaired. Jesus is going to repair it, and we're going to live with him on resurrected ground. He's going to repair this earth because he's no more given up on it than he's given up on us."

-Randy Alcorn

.

I beat my eyes till they bleed and fill my ears with noise
i cannot understand
those that bask in your riches
And others that wade in a river of pain

while you fill the sails of those you love
and the ones who love breathe in dead air

but every thought seems unfair
where was i when the stars found their shine
i'm lost in misunderstanding or no understanding at all
my reason crumbles like an avalanche in the shadow of Your grace

but every thought rages against the other
death brings us closer to You
or is it further for some
but it's a bitch all the same.

death is not the end
but it feels like a lie that i tell myself to make it ok.
i can't shake the pain when the truth crashes
with the present.
Truth makes us free… but if freedom feels like this
let me bathe in these lies.

but i don't mean all these things
I live for Hope and I love for Love
and I believe it all works for Good
My heart beats in a transparent box
so I can't hide my demons
But You can cage them 'cause You call them all by name.

so Shepard on, your sheep in the valley
I know nothing of your job
but i will follow blindly
and blindly i go

your words are so foreign,
but you drown out the screams.
so for that I will welcome You
and trust You will lead.

-mp

A Quick Thought.

I am reading Forgotten God "Reversing Our Tragic Neglect of the Holy Spirit" by Francis Chan, and I wanted to jot down a few thoughts before I continue. I'm just into the first few pages, but something he refers to really struck me as interesting. And I've thought about this before in passing, but could never complete the thought or really piece together the substance of it until now.

Francis begins the book by suggesting how vital it is that we, with effort, read and study scripture as if it were our first time laying eyes on it.

(With some hesitance, he does point out that it is important to note context and the fact that the scriptures were written to a faith based community. Taking an exegetical approach is also important when reading scripture as well... but these are all normal approaches when handling any type of literature).

But his point is that we should leave our "baggage at the

door" when it comes to taking in what the scripture has to say in order to grasp the full meaning. That means all our presuppositions and influences should not interpret the meaning of scripture. His point-- don't allow ourselves to be spoon fed by other sources (ie. pastors, leaders, parents, teachers, friends, strangers, ect.) when the scriptures are here, accessible to all. We are more than capable of reading them ourselves. And for the most part I agree. Further on, we should ask questions and follow up on what we are taught in church, in school, in music, in podcast... or through whatever medium we hear or s

ee the scriptures.

It is this last part that I have chewed on mainly because I have a bruised past with it. In my early teens, I was in a position once where I was being fed a tainted view of the gospel, and was told not to ask hard questions when it came to the parts of scripture that were hard to digest. In fact, I was just suppose to "have faith" and accept what I was being told. And sometimes, my questions would be answered with other questions with an objective to divert from what my original question was... you with me? In other words

, I was receiving a very manipulated fashion of teaching.

Anyway, thankfully, God opened up (through a painful and detrimental event, mind you) a way for me to leave that environment. God placed me in a community where I was free to ask my questions. Some were answered... some were not. Nevertheless, I was free to ask them without being looked upon as "backsliding" or "doubting the faith" or whatever you would call it.

Back to Chan, he quotes the verse in Acts 17 where Paul was teaching and the Bereans were eagerly listening AND examining the Scriptures to make sure what Paul was saying was indeed true according to the Scripture. After learning many things about Paul and fully comprehending how awesome he was, a man who was so faithful and full of integrity as well, a man that could be trusted, yet the Bereans still tested his words to the Scriptures. Interesting...

One of the first things I learned in my Hermeneutics was that S

cripture is THE PRIMARY source. You can read credible books, listen to the most intellectual, hip, relevant pastor/speaker/teacher, sing the most theological hymn.... but without YOU actively holding their message side by side to the Scriptures,.. you are just taking them at their word. Spoon-feeding at its best.

My point--If a man like Paul, during his ministry, was tested in the things he said by what the Scriptures proclaimed... then we shouldn't listen to any

message without testing its content in light of what the Bible says. Further more, teachers, pastors, theologians, ect shouldn't feel offended when their audience or congregation dust off their Bibles and open them to test their message with the Scriptures. In fact-- in acts the Bereans are regarded as receiving Paul's message eagerly. I'm imagining them as having a zeal or excitement to hear Paul so that they could hold what he was saying to the content of the Scriptures. I imagine them thinking if what Paul was saying was true, then this made for incredible revelation! A fulfillment of the prophecies of old! (And obviously, Paul was speaking in accordance to the Scriptures).

I recommend:

Here is a list of books that I've indulged over the past few months. It is a vast array from fiction to theology to autobiography... but nevertheless, these are some pretty great books that I have enjoyed. (The books are in no particular order, but I start with the last book I completed.)

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

9.

10.

(In the process of reading now, and so far so good...)

Light on a hill.

I lift my eyes From the depths of despair,

To a light on a hill that casts oppressing shadows and glares.

Where are your hands? Where is your heart?

Your thumbs are in your pockets, and your mind is a whore.

Your deeds amount to little, but your faith is apparently, transparently strong.

And when you finally wake to find me, I'll be gone

Yes... in your Great Awakening, in your greatest charity, you'll find me gone.

What are your prayers but pledges... what is your love but law--

You'll see these chains won't bend for pride, and your status quo won't change me.

Yes, dirt can breath and dirt has life, and this dirt is my soul you see.

And if you can't work the dirt and sow the seed, your labor is in vain to me.

Because this dirt can breath and this dirt has life, and this dirt that you see- it bleeds.

Oh Righteous is the crown you wear, you placed it there yourself,

And if higher ground is what you're after, your ladder will not get you there.

Buildings made by man's due strength can fall and tumble to the ground,

As do hills by salty seas.

So if you dim the fluorescents of your marquee and open a window to my plight,

Lift your body through the window sill and run with all your might,

Place your toes in the mud of my poverty and be a more radient Light.

*Just something I've been working on since this morning. Still a work in progress. It's inspire by Vincent Van Gogh's The Church at Auvers.

In his painting, the church is bleak, and there seems to be no doors. No way for some to find refuge within it's walls, and no way for believers to go out and

be a refuge for others. A true picture of what many have experienced.

"The foreground of The Church at Auvers is brightly lit by the sun, but the church itself sits in its own shadow, and "neither reflects nor emanates any light of its own."

There are many motivations to do ministry and/or missions, but I believe that the main motivation for missions or ministry (and I almost think that these two words can be used interchangeably) should be Love. Because pure love abides in Christ... and 1 John tells us that God is love, and where there is love... there is God (1John 4:16).

Now, for some, the only example of love is what is seen on TV sitcoms or read in a Nicolas Sparks novels... or the Twilight series. Oh, how those examples pale in light of the Love of God. We, humans, try to portray Love the best we can... we want to be captivated and allured. We crave either crave the pursuit or or the act of being pursued, and since the beginning, God has pursued us. Throughout history, we have played the role of ‘hard to get’ while seeking love ‘in all the wrong places’. But- God not only pursues us, but He beckons us to pursue Him- knowing that He is our fulfillment, and we will find peace, joy, love, and forgiveness in HIM alone.

But unfortunately, daily we read stories and see media segments on people who claim they are ‘christians’. They pervert scripture to justify murder, sexual/mental/physical abuse, theft, selfish ambition, and gain of power. Unfortunately, this is what most of the world knows of ‘Christianity’. If your skepticism of the Bible and those who claim to follow Jesus is built on such accounts, I beg you to search out the Truth for yourself. Pick up the Bible (preferably, a translation that suits you; I recommend the English Standard Version) and read it. The Bible is not only living and relevant and divinely inspired, but it’s also a work of literature and deserves to be read in context like anything else in print. Not only that, research the culture and time period that the events take place... it will help put much into perspective.

My point, skepticism should cause us to search out Truth- not dismiss something on the account of being burned by ignorance. Those who have done the inexcusable (misusing scripture by adding or taking away) only proves the validity of scripture itself (Mt. 24:9-24; 2 Pt. 2:1; 1 John 4:1-- Jesus said there would be people who would do this).

Don’t be lazy and just write christianity off as tainted and corrupt... pursue God. What do you have to loose? I promise that you would only gain the greatest Love you’ve ever known.

Back to motivation, it’s always good to keep the things that motivate us in check, so that we don’t become blinded by ourselves. In terms of ministry, Love should always be a motivation (it’s awesome to have several things that motivate us to do good i.e. poverty, injustice, ect., but Love should always be one of the motives). Even better-- Love should be a motivation in everything we do: our work, our family, our friendships, and our time/money spent. While I type this, I realize certain situations where I have absolutely failed at this just over the past month. And we all will, so don’t get cheeky and think you’ve got this Love thing down. It’s constant re-examining. Sure, we can be nice and kind and selfless and think we are in the clear by thinking that our good deeds will outweigh the bad, but then your motive is not out of Love. It is out of self satisfaction and guilt. Don’t be fooled. Being motivated by pure Love is saying “I’m going to look into the eyes of the the most rotten and detestable person I know and see that it is me staring back. And I will give my life for that person to live even if it’s just for a day. I love them that much.” That kind of Love is only the precursor of the Father’s Love for us. And that kind of Love is a great motivation!

“How deep the Father’s love for us, How vast beyond all measure, That He should give his only son, And make a wretch His treasure, How great the pain of searing loss, The Father turns His face away, As wounds which mar the Chosen One, Bring many sons to glory...” Stuart Townend

My Valentine- Summer 2007

I opened my car door and stepped out. Immediately I shielded my eyes. "Who would wear such a bright shirt?" I wondered.
I put on a smile and walked in the direction of a tall, limber guy wearing a bright yellow shirt with a cobra printed on the front. "Hey, I'm John." He said. He looked like a walking highlighter in plaid shorts. I gave him a friendly, christian hug and thanked him for deciding to help me out. Then I saw that Max was with him and hugged him too. "A familiar face!" I thought.

We made our way into the church to get set up. I was running on less than 4 hours sleep and had only been back in the country for 14 hours. It was the making for a long week. I had been asked to help put together a youth VBS service, and Petty (as everyone else called him) had agreed to help me out. We had never officially met, and I had no idea if the dude could even play an instrument much less sing. But here I was, desperate for any help I could get.

I showed Petty around the fellowship area.. aka, the gym. We plugged in all the usual: projector, speaker, mixer, mic... all you need for a make-shift one man show! And I was throwing in my little bit of knowledge here and there, not knowing that this guy was and still is a brilliant musician and audio tech engineer. Sometimes I think back and blush with embarrassment. (In case you didn't know... I'm married to the guy now). I frantically ran around for two hours trying to get everything in place before time to start. I barely said a word to him as I busied myself in the details and technicality of how everything was suppose to go.

It wasn't long until the kids began to arrive and the stressful part was over. All the preparation was done, and now I could just mingle and talk to teenagers. As I walked around, I noticed how Petty introduced himself to the youth and went out of his way to get to know them. He just seemed like an easy person to be around. I stood to the way side watching him, and then I chuckled to myself at how crazy and frazzled I must have appeared to him. "He must think I am a crazy woman with looks to match." I thought. The first night ended up going pretty well, and I told him that He was better than I had thought he'd be. It came out a little weird, and what was meant to be a compliment undoubtedly came out as an insult. I tried to explain what I meant, and I could tell he was getting a kick out of my rambling. He just smiled and said "thanks."

The next four days were great! Petty turned out to be a great musician and singer. We got to know each other pretty well over course of those days, and we continued to hang out even after VBS was over. I could totally tell he was starting to like me... and I must admit that I kinda liked him back.

This all happened coming on 4 years ago. Today is Valentines Day, and honestly, I've never been that big of a fan. But I can't help but reminisce on the first day I met Petty-- my boyfriend, my best friend, my fiance, my husband... my Valentine. I hate being sappy, but I do love this boy with all my heart... always.