Well, I guess it's about time I wrote here again. I've been away on a mission trip the last week. It's been a pretty crazy schedule this summer so far. This youth ministry has planned more in a summer than I want to be a part of (even more than I would plan as full-time, and they are volunteers!), but it has been a great time of getting some extended time with some of the students and getting to know them better. I know that I've established some relationships that I wouldn't have if I hadn't gone on these trips.
There is too much to dump on what the Lord has been continuing to show me lately. I guess I'll start with the mission trip last week:
We went to SC to an Indian tribe called the Peedee. They are a small tribe and are not officially recognized by the US Government (I think there are many reasons for that, blame is on both sides if I understand correctly), and because of that, they don't have much to live on. Many of the families just have absolutely nothing for homes, and there are many broken relationships. I had the privledge of spending 3 days with them as a member of the ministry team there. We just spent time with them every evening doing a basic youth group meeting, just hangin' with the utes and trying to teach them so basics. I got to preach the first night on the Prodigal Son and I think it connected well. I am always humbled of how God uses me in that capacity. Somehow in the midst of that I ate some wet dog food (it was for an illustration...I don't know why it came to that, but it connected REALLY well...it's a long story that I'm not getting into here), and needless to say, I NEVER want to do that again. God was moving though...it's so sad to see how gifted these students are and all they need is some loving, caring adults to believe in them. It was amazing to me that after spending 3 days with them (we also went to their schools as well...they started last week...sheesh...isn't that early?), they just didn't want us to leave. It made me wonder how much love, care, and encouragement these kids get, probably not much.
With that I had an opportunity to talk to a young adult there. He was being asked before we got there to step up as the youth leader. They have a small church (their sanctuary fits about 75), but about 25 come to their youth group. It's been a total God thing. Just pray that they can get a mass vehicle...a lot more students would come if they only had transportation to get there...we spent 2 hours just picking students up and taking them back before the meeting time.
I didn't know why I was on this team, I was expecting do to some construction type work (which pretty much what everybody else was doing), but I volunteered for this when no one else did. After just one night, I was seeing how God was using me here. I had a lot of time to talk to this person who was they were pushing to be "youth leader (let's call him Joe)." He said that he just didn't feel skilled enough, and you could tell he loved these kids. I then asked him a couple of questions (I think this came from Doug Fields, and I've used it ever since):
1. Do you truly love Jesus? Do you want to follow Him with all you've got?
2. Do you like being around teens? Do you want to love them and care for them?
He said yes to both questions and I said, "That's it." He just looked at me in disbelief. He told me that there has to be more to it than that. I told him no, that's basically how it works, the rest if just fill-in. You make mistakes along the way and learn from them. That's pretty much what I told him. I also told him I'm an avid reader and would send him stuff when he wrote to me. He was really encouraged and it looked like it was all the push he needed to step up. The next night he shared his testimony and it was just incredible to watch these students draw to him and his story. I was sitting in the back with joyful tears because of how the Lord used this idiot like me to push someone into leadership. I know it's going to be hard for him, but God knows exactly what he was doing and now Joe knows that he has a mentor in PA to pray for him, encourage him, and love him. I am still in awe of how God orchestrates all of this. It's hard for me to look at things like this and think that it CANNOT be anything but a God-thing. You know what I'm saying?
With that there are many other lessons that God continues to pour out. Humility, brokenness, listening, and passion keep coming forth. I continue to read "Uprising" very slowly, and it's continuing to rock my world. I'm only through 5 chapters and I started it about a month ago. It's just one of those books you have to spend time with for awhile. I am so convinced that it is a must read for every Christian that I purchased a bunch of copies for my leadership team to go through together. It truly is a "revolution of the soul" type book. There's a link on the side here if you want to go check it out. I was reading on humility last week, and by far I think it's the best chapter on humility I've ever read. Here's a taste:
"Humility begins by emptying ourselves of ourselves. It is about coming to God without agenda and without reservation. If you are still relating to God through negotiations, you have not yet found the path of humility. If your question is still 'How much can I keep?' or 'How much do I have to give up?' you're still at the pool of Narcissus. The quest for honor begins with a humility that leaves us empty. This is not an emptiness that makes us hollow, but a humility that makes us teachable."
There's so much more in there, but just get the book and read it, and take it slowly...you really need to. Working on character is not an overnight process, it is a lifelong process, but it's becoming clear where it's going. The thing that scares me about it is the whole notion that Jesus said the path is narrow to get to the Kingdom, and for me as I continue to read the Scriptures that path is feeling a bit more narrow than I originally thought. As I continue to see and search what God is calling us to, it's a lot more than I think our churches are preaching about. At the same time, letting God control you is the most freedom you can ever have. When you are operating by the Spirit, there is an "aliveness" that you have and eyes for the world that you know are God's eyes. You are heartbroken for those people around you, yet at the same time passionate to share this wonderful message of the gospel through your life and actions with them, showing them that there is hope.
That was the biggest thing that came to mind. I pray hard for them in SC, there is not much hope to go around, but I continue to not only think of them and the rest of the world who is the same, but those people who are right outside my doors. Those people I see and talk to on the street everyday, who are looking for the same thing...life, hope, peace, and love. We have a great opportunity to show them Jesus, and it's not an easy road, but it's exciting thinking of the possibilities of what God can do.
Which brings me to the final thing I'm continuing to become aware of, a spiritual war that is taking place. I've heard so much talk on spiritual warfare that sometimes I think that those who are passionate about it are just a bunch of kooks. At the same time, the Scriptures are very clear that the war is amongst the unseen, and Satan is the master of this world. The reason it has become more real to me is because I feel I've been fighting with the wrong weapons. My pastor actually gave a message on this last Sunday (isn't that odd? :) ), and said something I've never heard before, but rang true deep down in my soul, "Satan and his forces like to suggest things that are really sound reasonable." He used the example in 1 Chronicles 21 where God told David not to count his army. Satan then tempted him to take a census. It sounded reasonable, "Don't you want to know how many you are fighting with so you can account for them if any is lost? Don't you want to know what numbers you have so you know what you're fighting with and whether not you have enough to REALLY win?" I mean, that's sounds reasonable doesn't it? But look who that focuses on, US...not God. How many times have we made decisions because they sound "reasonable?" Do we ever think that if we hear something from the Lord that seems not to make sense, and we squelch it, that we really are not following the voice of God? I think the fruit of the results is the evidence. Is the fruit more of self or more of God? Well, there's so much on where you can go with that, but this is getting long enough for you to read and for me to write. So I'll stop there.
One thing for sure, this war is real, and it's right in our face. Satan is winning in our nation, and it's time for us to humble ourselves and fight with the right weapons. The Scriptures say that we can't look down our noses at people, but we can at Satan and his forces. So why don't we claim the identity that God has given us, the authority and power from Him that He gives when we humble ourselves, and fight this war with the spiritual weapons He wants us to fight with? Ok...I'm off my soapbox now.
It's been long enough, and I need to read through some other things. Pray for me this week, I think I have to go to the doc...I strained/pulled/partially tore my Achilles. It's been extremely painful for 6 days now, and not getting any better. I still can't walk well yet.
Continue to pursue the footsteps of Jesus, you will have life if you do!
and less of me...
Grace,
Lambo
