It’s been good because we’re able to meet at 6:00 am in one of the homes, and by God’s grace we’ve been treated well in hospitality by the host home.  This has been a time of focus and of reflection.  Often I have noticed that in the way that “Church methodology or ecclesiology” is set up, people truly believe often that the way they are holding it  is the “only” way.  As we have moved through the book I get a great, and deeper sense that Jesus is the only way, John 14:6 the way, the truth, and the life, and no one comes to the father but by him… however he’s made diversity in His bride to be able to look differently in many many different ways, and yet they need to contain many of these basic elements which often in our American culture are super-ceded by that which demands our attention or the thing that is easier. We compromise what’s valuable eternally with that which takes over as immediately important now, and those things are often what’s important to the flesh.

We are in fact American’s and one of our greatest difficulties is, attempting to live in an opposite way the world is living which appeals to the flesh. This way is primarily to seek comfort, comfort, comfort, at all cost. Our flesh gravitates toward ease. If we can find something and label “comfort with Jesus” on the outside we have in the American mindset, this accomplishes what’s needed in our Christianity. We have eased our conscience, to say that we have Jesus in addition to whatever it is we like to do, or hobby or selfish desire etc. True faith requires us to live with our rest and comfort in Christ, and long for the real comfort of heaven in eternity with Jesus, but not comfort for comforts sake, here and now. 

Our greatest challenge it seems is the subtle, slow, drowning of our Christian faith in worldly possessions, activities, and hobbies. We are easily pulled to those things with a “Jesus” type label or sticker but I heard one preacher ask this weekend, what are we doing that is distinctively “Christian” ?  Matthew 23 comes to mind..

What is it that we’re doing in our lives that we would not be doing if we weren’t Christians and how different does our life look to the world around us?

The Trellis and the Vine is a helpful tool to help re-focus ministry on the main thing which is spiritual growth and discipleship.  Growing and reproducing people who are devoted followers of Christ.  This is done as Jesus did it, and why I believe Jesus came in the flesh and was called Emanuel “God with us.  This is done with human interaction as we see the Gospel lived out.

Here are the questions for the discussion of chapter 8 and 9 which is provided by Mathias Media.

1. Look at the three models of pastoral ministry described on page 94-101.  How would you describe the pastoral model at your church?  Does it fit in one of these categories, or is it a mixture?  Or something else entirely?

2. “Sunday sermons are necessary but not sufficient?”  (ch 8 Page. 102)  Do you agree?  Why or why not?  What Scriptures would you use to support your position?

3. What would your church learn from the example of Richard Baxter? (ch 8 Page 104-107)

4. Look back at the seven people you jotted down in the last discussion.  If you only had time to meet with two of them personally, which two would you choose and why?

5. Read 1 Corinthians 3:5-9; 16:15-18.  What do we learn from these passages about the nature of team ministry?

6. To what extent does your congregation operate with a team of co-workers?  What is going well in this regard?  What could be improved?

7. What are the key things to look for in gathering a team of co-workers?

They were challenging to me personally as we consider all of these things, as I hope they are to you!

We arrived home late Friday evening after an evening with my parents and brother and his wife, out on the town for my Mother’s retirement party. She was honored a week before Mother’s Day weekend. We picked the children up from their other grandma’s and made it home around 10:00 pm. Brandy and I made it to bed by 11:00. The previous day the serpentine belt had come off on our other vehicle and nearly broke, and is now awaiting repair.

We were surprised when in the morning we woke up early and refreshed thinking we may need to attend second service at FCC because of our late night, however since we woke up early, we determined that we had plenty of time and we could even be a bit early for first service. I asked my oldest daughter to grab something out of the van that I needed before we could leave. However, this morning when my daughter walked outside to get something of our van she had the pleasure of delivering some familiar, yet not so good news to us. Kayla was able to tell us that all three of our drivers side windows on the van that was still yet mobile, were broken out. So much for attempting to make it to first service this morning.

We’ve come to expect things to not always go the way we think they should in our neighborhood; it’s part of the cost of not having off-street parking and living in inner city. I also realize it’s part of God being totally sovereign and the fact that we’re not….

However we’ve lost an exact count on our windows being obliterated, this is either the sixth or seventh time our windows have been hit or shot out of our van. No exaggerations, there are fleshly moments when things like this happen and we wonder where do these kids live, who would have done this, and would it be all right to teach them some discipline?

There is also the other side of it, we’ve moved here for the purpose of sharing Christ, to be a light in a dark place, and we know men love darkness rather than light. And though often we feel inadequate in our “doing” of the word, we are doing, and spiritual warfare is real.

“You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? And if you greet only your brothers, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect. – Matthew 5:43-48

So as our flesh calmed down and I began to really consider this morning our circumstance, we prayed for whomever this person was who did this to our van. We were able to see opportunity for hope in Christ that this person might come to know Jesus Christ.
And this evening as we had a new couple join us from our church, and my wife recounted some of her own stories of sanctification. It is a rare time in the Christian walk where “sanctification” does not also mean an increase of fleshly pain as the things of this world are stripped from our hands, and what control we have conned ourselves into believing we have slips through our fingers, we slowly, must come to grips with the fact that God is the designer, and these windows being broken out, our other van being down…. were all designed by the sovereign hand of almighty God for the purpose of His Glory and our sanctification that we may be conformed to the image of Jesus Christ. It is never painless, and the more pain we go through, more suffering, more sanctification carving off portions of our flesh, as we decrease and God increases, He is busy at work bringing us to a greater understanding, brining us low so that we might recognize our God to be God, magnificent, holy, perfect, faithful and yes absolutely sovereign over all things.

Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice insofar as you share Christ’s sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed. If you are insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you. But let none of you suffer as a murderer or a thief or an evildoer or as a meddler. Yet if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God in that name. For it is time for judgment to begin at the household of God; and if it begins with us, what will be the outcome for those who do not obey the gospel of God? -1 Peter 4:12-17

I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death – Philippians 3:10

And he said to all, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it. For what does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses or forfeits himself? – Luke 9:23-25

The bottom line was our windows were allowed to be shattered by God’s design.

I can already say that God has proven himself faithful and strong, as God planned for me a day off in advance to take care of everything! He’s sovereign, and I wondered how I was going to spend my day tomorrow!

http://conservativeintelligencer.com/cultural-reformation-from-the-bottom-up/

Marxists love the phrase “from the bottom up” – the idea of grassroots reform that overcomes nefarious capitalist overlords. It’s generally just posturing, of course. Marxism is most often an elitist faith imposed from above on unwilling or uncomprehending masses.

Nevertheless, I think the concept has merit, especially for conservative Christians. We’ve devoted tremendous energy to political reform — top-down attempts to change American society. Reality is, though, that our politics are a reflection of our culture. Real change, lasting change, will only come by changing the culture itself. Given the paucity of Christian conservatives among the nation’s elites, such a cultural reformation will of necessity come “from the bottom up.”

A lot of Christians are already hard at work. Redeemer Presbyterian Church in Indianapolis is a perfect example of what we should be doing. Rather than giving up on the city, Redeemer has teamed with two other urban PCA churches to start a “city-church” comprising ten congregations by 2015. At the same time, they’ve organized the Harrison Center for the Arts, which:

“. . .seeks to be a catalyst for renewal in the city of Indianapolis by fostering awareness, appreciation, and community for arts and culture. Harrison Center tenants include: 23 local artists (studio space), VSA Arts, the Harrison Gallery, The Advent Project, and the Nature Conservancy.”

In addition to their center for the arts, Redeemer has helped organize a fantastic charter school in which “a diverse student body is classically trained, with instruction in Latin, logic and rhetoric, and appreciation for visual, musical and dramatic arts.”

Christians like this can change the world. To crib a phrase from another cultural revolutionary — Let a Thousand Such Churches Bloom!

What local churches, organizations or people do you see practicing cultural reformation from the bottom up?

There is also a codes violation inspector that comes to offer his services, for abandoned housing, or trash in the neighborhood which rest in the yards of the local unconcerned citizens. There are sponsored events such as the upcoming ChalkWalk for youth who are troubled, or don’t have anyone pouring into their life. We have all of these groups and people interested in their own agendas getting together to promote them and although all of these things are well and fine in and of themselves, I even applaud so many giving such an effort, these efforts treat only the symptoms and suppress the truth of the real problem of sin, and forgetting our God.

The truth being that we have forgotten our homes, that we have forgotten our families, and we have forgotten most of all Jesus Christ.

Ichabod, Ichabod / The glory is departed is a line from Robert Browning’s poem Waring, seems to be the charge of many churches in the NorthEast KCMO, but not all of them. For the most part the Glory of God has departed from churches, from the families, and from the homes, especially in the city. It is in the city where the burbs are going and we do not realize it. We suppress and suppress as God reveals wrath from heaven.

Romans 1:18

For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth.

We then wonder why there are so many spiritually orphaned children in the streets. With their Televisions, Gameboys & peers parenting them. No one pouring into their life, each person living his own dream to such a selfish extent that we have suppressed all truth, making ourselves a slave to debt, and addictions, on the street, and then wondering why oh why are there so many children, and most of all no one testifying to them about the reality of Jesus Christ. Not a false ‘Ichabod religiosity’ which has no power to change their life but the true Jesus the True savior.

The secular mind believes if only we can give them something to strive for, if only we can give them hope for the future, yet we attempt to do this with exterior means. We attempt to fill these children with programs and activities. So many of these things are form without substance. We have the imitation of the things of God, the imitation of love, the imitation of Christ, but without the reality of Christ.

So to answer the question, “What’s Missing in The Inner City?”

• Parents are missing.
• The Centrality of the Home is missing both inside the church and outside the church.

And inside the home, “What’s missing?” – The Gospel

What does that mean for Christians? It means we must seek the truth, go after it like you’re searching for silver. What else does it mean? It means that the intensity of our love for God should weigh heavy as we see all those around us in the city and outside of the city who are walking by us and at some point falling off into a Christless eternity.

We must be equipped to live it out in our own lives and then take it out to the world, so that all of these external elements attempting to do the things which only God can do in the heart, which is cause repentance and belief. Our responsibility is to be the means which carries that out into the dark and dying world with the truth & testimony of Jesus Christ.

We send our children to FCA – a 3 day a week school, but this is a home school conference. However for those that don’t homeschool this message is an important one and I urge you all to have a listen and think for yourselves what are we doing to place Christ first in our own families, and then what are we doing to show others what family is supposed to look like?

Recently I was given a cd with this message from Voddie Baucham. I want to encourage everyone if they can to listen to the below message and if you can not, take time to come to listen to Voddie Baucham a week from today.

May God encourage you to place Christ in the center of your home, and then to share Christ and your home with others.

This is a link when Voddie will be in Kansas City. http://www.midwesthomeschoolers.org/voddie_baucham.htm#Voddie

The Centrality of the Home by Voddie Baucham
http://www.gracefamilybaptist.net/

If that link doesn’t work you can right click and download it here. http://downloads1.revivalgodsway.com/15/SID15607.mp3
In February of 2006, a group of more than 1,000 pastors and church leaders gathered for the Southern Baptist of Texas State Evangelism Conference in the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex. During the second night of the conference Voddie Baucham, who had preached at the previous year’s conference, was called upon to stand in for Dr. Tim LaHaye who had become ill a few days earlier. No one was ready for what happened next.

In a message State Director of Evangelism, Don Cass called “Truly Prophetic,” Voddie Baucham set the auditorium ablaze. The challenge he issued cut straight to the heart of the crisis in contemporary Evangelicalism.

This message has since been heard around the world. Emails from Singapore, Australia, Southern Africa and Central Europe have flooded in along with those from the United States as God uses this message to shake the foundations of ministries, institutions and individuals alike.

There was a time in my teenage years, in which I had become so disconnected with my parents in my own rebellion toward them, that I spoke little to them. The “culture” within my family was a bit focused on “self” if you could imagine, to the point where often if we were home and eating we all had our own televisions in our rooms and if we couldn’t agree with what was on Television which was much of the time we went to our rooms and each turning on our own channel watched what we wanted. This could be any time, after school, after church it was just the way things were at the time.

So I’ve once again been contemplating on “The Proximity of The Body” with one another, and how we as American’s work in applying God’s word from the things we hear, read, listen to, such as sermons.

This evening a picture came into my mind. What is our level of application in proportion to our knowledge of the thing we’ve heard? And to what degree from our understanding have we shared with someone with a lesser degree of understanding the truths that have been revealed to us? Am I pointing to discipleship? Yes but not exactly that. I know that in some cases there won’t be an “application” that you can latch onto and “do” in all sermons.

Perhaps some of you would say, “yes I do that” and you contemplate the sermon with your spouse or even perhaps your children, you frequently share what the Lord is doing in your life in sanctification perhaps or with your small group?

Let me ask another question, how many of us are content, even satisfied to some large degree to have the knowledge, or having heard the sermon to meditate upon a great truth of God without actually having put it forth in either sharing this truth with someone else or putting it into practice within our own life?

Imagine for a moment the woman at the well(John 4), after having been told that Jesus was the Messiah holding with inside herself this truth and telling no one. The truth is the most transforming, amazing thing in her life just happened she experienced meeting He who saves, and the God of the Universe in the flesh, can you imagine it for even a moment if this would happen to any of us, what our response might be or even should be? Part of the transforming power of the Gospel is that Jesus Christ through His Holy Spirit so often uses truth of who He is and His message from God’s word, or the pulpit as a propellant to spread the Good News to others.

What has the culture of the United States done to quench the spirit? We have taken our spiritual food in as if the preaching of the Word were like entertainment, and we allow it to sit upon us as if it is a hefty meal on a Sunday afternoon, and it now no more moves us to tell others about Christ or to be different than we once were but we weigh these deep theological truths and understandings in our own minds and then we sit back and often take a nap, admiring simply the meal itself.

So we take our meal back to our rooms only to mediate for a moment and get some sort of deep satisfaction often like one gets from watching the tube, as if they had participated in something which happened to “someone else” never having been moved by the Power of the Gospel nor having to make any changes whatsoever in our lives. We chew some more on the meal and then to forget soon within a week or two what was said or what it was that we ate altogether, perhaps to be rediscovered again in a few months if the recipe is made up again for a similar meal time, and to be admired but not applied once more.

I believe part of the meal time is to come together as a family and then even as a church family to bring these truths into realities of true, deeper, Christ centered, Christian living. This is so easily said, but as I grow older I don’t think there is a substitution for meditating on the word, and allowing the word of God, or the sermon, to so reach the depths of your soul that you can hear the Lord’s conviction in a real way. The reality of the conviction of the Holy Spirit lived out within the Body as we move closer toward sanctification and Holiness.

Many many times I think this is done in community fellowship within the body. This fellowship is like gathering around the table at dinner time and processing the meal, savoring the meal and then not sitting back and keeping the meal just between you and your family, but the fact that there is so much food to go around you soon get your fill and you have food to give to others, much like two fish five loaves which never ended.

This is realizing that this food is truly from God and that it is by God’s hand that you have an abundance of truth in the meal of which you are compelled to impart to others people. You gently get wrapped up in the lives of the fellowship of the body of believers, in which this abundance of food is put to use, and then more so you share it with the lost in teaching them to come to the meal which is only truly satisfied at the cross of calvary….

I want to draw one more comparison, in how this Americanized thinking has taken place in “The Church’s” understanding of Missions.

It is far easier to find a missionary to support, to sit back and know that they are a million miles away with only e-mail to keep track, and with financially supporting them, not that these are invalid or bad things in and of themselves, in fact there is a very valid and a great calling for those who are truly “holding the rope” if you will for those in the field. However, this can also be used and often is used, as a mode of justification for being a spectator of missions within a local church, an ease of the conscience to send money, eat the meal and admire from afar.

And when this latter motive is present, it is much like sitting and watching, and ensuring ones safety and comfort at the cost of propagating the gospel or sharing the meal. This can be in fact sitting in your room watching the missionaries on T.V. as they do the work and as you justify your meal in lethargy because of it’s great taste.

Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. – John 12:24

If sending money for you isn’t part of this “self-death” process of dying to self in order that life may be produced we must examine ourselves.

Church planting would possibly be sharing the meal with your family, and then locally the lost, but most do not view local church planting and missions on the same plane. Both are started with the intention of sewing the gospel into a place that is in great need of the gospel, yet often it seems the romanticized mission abroad is held in higher regard. I in no way shape or form want to take away from Missions abroad only expand the minds and thinking about local missions. It again starts with me, and my thinking, and whom I’m telling about Jesus Christ, and then in our churches, and then into our towns, cities, states, and then the world!

We say to the individual new missionary, “If you’re not sharing Christ here before you go, you won’t be doing it on the field.” However, we don’t say to our churches, “If we’re not planting churches locally, then we won’t be planting churches on the field?” And I ask myself why? Are we more interested in sending someone away and watching them, as a possibly praying spectator, never having planted a church in our own culture or preached or taught on home soil and yet swiftly we are willing to send them off? So that we may see if they are truly prepared for the field? Now there is truth that many many missionaries have gone before with out this preparation, but it also does not negate the fact of our responsibility in it, nor the poor view of our spectator mentality when it comes to home missions.

So my three points to dedicate to prayer are:

Not to be gorged with food admiring the food and not sharing with the congregation as brother’s and sister’s hearts are knitted together, and then not sharing with the world who are lost.

Meditate Meditate Meditate, that we may hear the conviction of the Holy Spirit and be moved to change.

Pray for our own testimony, our churches, our local missions, and our missions abroad that God may be glorified in all.

But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth. -Acts 1:8

For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like. -James 1:23-24

These doctrines have humbled me in so many ways where once I thought I had answers to so many things God has shown me otherwise. God confounded the wisdom of the once thought wise Jason and demonstrated to me His love for me in that while I was/am still a sinner, Christ died for the ungodly(AKA me).

*To clarify for the perhaps to the somewhat picky Calvinist, not because of some worth I have but because He chose me from the foundations of the world by His own reasons*

God has corrected me through these doctrines, He’s shown me where I am prideful, and in so many areas where I live an ego-centric, or “me” focused life. He’s shown me that I must take the whole bible and how I am unable to pick and choose.

Although much is still yet to be revealed to the understanding He’s granted me, and much to be fought out in the disciplined living He desires for me, and by The Spirit’s conviction in me, God has undoubtedly turned my thinking and life on its head.

God clarified what he means for me through the humility of these doctrines, that I must be teachable, able to take correction. That this correction, although it stings, hurts for a short time is like a chastening in which a son needs to be conformed and transformed to God’s standards. This is God’s way of chastening the sons whom He loves. This is what God’s doing in men who seek out correction, and don’t react in a way that would justify their fault and blame a circumstance or a person.

In so many ways these doctrines have cleared a once blurred vision of who God is and how God is toward man. They have helped clarify His love, His wrath, His patience, His long suffering, and His mercy. These are just to name a few of the many attributes.

I no longer can with any confidence in myself justify, my quickness to speak, my lack of mercy, my own impatience, or my anger which is unlike God’s. He’s shown me how much love I truly lack for God, and for men. For many years I was looking at God as a being only semi in control of the world, thinking that ultimately though God saved me that I was still center of the universe, what a ghastly sinful thought.

So ultimately, an understanding of ‘The Doctrines of Grace’ have drawn me so much closer to God than I believe I would have ever been otherwise.

These changes flow out of not my own desires but His, and they flow out of the person of Jesus Christ, the God of the Universe. God has used these doctrines to dip me down into the endless well of living hope, only to look up from the well and look upon Jesus Christ.

I’ve been accused of having rose colored glasses at times, as if I see the world differently than some. It’s not as if I don’t see so many things that are wrong going on around me, however…. It’s been said that I hope too often in men, that I hope in “the church” way too much, and even that I hope in the “hood” or the urban area of Kansas City to a hopeless fault, but I don’t see it like this….

I do not hope in the visible lost man but I hope in Christ that God will call him/her. I do not hope in the visible Church that men see but I hope in the invisible bride of Christ that God is forming into His unspotted church that He alone, God sees entirely, and I do not hope in me because there is no hope without Him, so I hope in Christ.

I hope in Christ to conform and transform my life to the image of the Son, anything less is to be blinded by the things of this world, and be disillusioned about God…

I see this hope for lost men as being “Hope IN Christ”, and HOPE for the Church as being “Hope IN Christ”, and HOPE for my neighborhood, with crime all around and drug deals and robberies as “Hope IN Christ”, and yes even my struggle with those who have hurt me or have lied to me as not hope in them but still yet “Hope IN Christ”.

At the least when we are discouraged by what ‘’seems” to be happening in this physical world, let us remember to cast our “Hope” on our Saviour Jesus, for there is no other true hope.

God teaches us how to hope, what to hope in, and for, through Christ.

Romans 4:18
In hope he believed against hope, that he should become the father of many nations, as he had been told, “So shall your offspring be.”

Romans 5:2
Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God.

Romans 5:3-5
More than that, we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame(disappoint), because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.

Romans 8:19-21
For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God.

Romans 8:23-25
And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the first fruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. For in this hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.

Romans 15:13
May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.

1 Corinthians 9:10
Does he not speak entirely for our sake? It was written for our sake, because the plowman should plow in hope and the thresher thresh in hope of sharing in the crop.

1 Corinthians 13:7
Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

Yesterday I attended the funeral of Luke Hausmann. This family from the outward fruit and countenance continue to demonstrate Christ, even in this incredibly difficult time in their lives. One person described the “accident” that took place as, “unbelievable, one moment there and the next moment something falling from the sky to take his life.” This is a bit of a paraphrase.What I saw in this young man’s life from his funeral is a young man who had an “Uncommon” obedience to his father. A passion and love for the Lord Jesus Christ and a personal genuine desire to see the gospel of Jesus Christ extended to the ends of the earth. It was noticeable, in the upwards of five to six hundred attendees at the funeral that Luke was well loved, and had impacted many lives in his short 23 years.

At 23, this young man had been used by God to completely help transform another young man who otherwise would be on a very different path. Luke also started his own painting business in town and in this endeavor he saved up his money not for the things of this world but to spend the money to build schools and bring the love of Christ into other countries, including Afghanistan, Cambodia, and Thailand.

So as I was wrapping my mind around a 23 year old entrepreneur/missionary’s life being taken and in my reading this morning my mind did a backdrop, and of the state of “The visible Church” in America, even in our own doctrinally oriented congregation, as compared to what this young man not only was doing, but was living before men.

We have much to be made aware of in our continual seeking and attempting to be satisfied in this life by the things of this world.

It makes Luke’s life and yes even his death in this life seem all the more inspiring to me. Either we will truly remember what God has done in our lives and what he’s doing, and we will fill ourselves with the living waters of Jesus Christ and be moved to action by Christ and who Christ is, or we will continue to hew out broken cisterns for ourselves which hold no water, and we will never be satisfied.

So I’m reading this morning in a lesson:

Jeremiah 2:13

For my people have committed two evils: they have forsaken me, the fountain of living waters, and hewed out cisterns for themselves, broken cisterns that can hold no water.

God was Israel’s fountain of living waters, where God delivered them from Egyptian bondage; He led them through the wilderness wanderings and also brought them into the land of milk and honey – Jeremiah 2:6-7

We have such short memories, and we forget what God has done, why is it we need reminded so often? From the beginning with their own priests and rulers they forgot, and as we can tell our leaders today have forgotten their God. Although they are still acknowledging God they aren’t acknowledging that you can know Him, or how to lead, by the true standard of the living God.

And from one generation to the next, each generation passes and we forget unlike other nations that were true to their gods – Jeremiah 2:8-11 I think how loyal so many of the others are to their God’s who are creations of man. The J.W.s in the city, the Mormons, the Buddhist, and last but not least the Muslims are plenty, and faithful to their congregations in the inner city, and I imagine the burbs as well. I mourn sometimes that we worship the one true living God the creator, and not the creation of man and yet we show ourselves not strong, and often not even weak (that the Lord may be shown strong), but we do not show ourselves at all.

We are careful to wrap our worldly idols, (overeating, covetousness, materialism etc) in sweet small Christian looking justifications as to ease our conscience but in doing so we are “commonly disobedient” to our Father in Heaven.

We forsake our God, the fountain of living waters hewing for ourselves broken cisterns that can hold no water, cisterns were tanks for rain water, hewn (cut) out of stone, at best, they could only offer stagnant water.

Consider this Spurgeon quote:

“Men are in a restless pursuit after satisfaction in earthly things. They will exhaust themselves in the deceitful delights of sin, and, finding them all to be vanity and emptiness, they will become very perplexed and disappointed. But they will continue their fruitless search. Though wearied, they still stagger forward under the influence of spiritual madness, and though there is no result to be reached except that of everlasting disappointment, yet they press forward. They have no forethought for their eternal state; the present hour absorbs them. They turn to another and another of earth’s broken cisterns, hoping to find water where not a drop was ever discovered yet.” — C.H. Spurgeon

This to me as a backdrop to Luke Hauseman’s physical death unto “gain” (Phil. 1:21), shows the sinfulness of fallen man, and absolute beauty of the redeemer to use Luke’s life to touch hearts of men. Luke unlike so many of the youth and adults of this day who try to drink out of these broken cisterns, obeyed his father Dave Hausmann and His Father in Heaven, so much so that in his life, Dave was speaking to his pastor even before this tragedy had occurred, in admiration of his own son. This is a testimony, which is dear, that a Father would see the value of a son’s life and his love for Christ marvel the handy work of his Father in Heaven.

We as a nation and in the “said” community of Christendom in the U.S. continue to forget our God, and seek after that which does not satisfy, it makes Luke Hausemann’s obedience to his father and His heavenly father that much more brilliant like a diamond against a black velvet backdrop that sparkles for the whole world to see. May Christ be Glorified in Luke’s death and may we remember Luke’s example as he pointed others to Christ.

Please Continue to Pray for the Hausmann Family.

I knew very little of the Fosters, I met them through a friend of an acquaintance of a friend via e-mail that I received. You see, I have received some very strange questions and looks for having moved my family down into the North East, Kansas City area, (aka ‘The Hood’) where there is high crime, and difficult circumstances. Thanks be to God however, that we haven’t had anything serious happen to us, however we’ve had several difficult experiences while we were down here from finances, to remodeling, to crime which has plagued our neighborhood in one way or another. It was when I read the e-mail below, did I experience a sort of like mindedness that I was drawn toward.

Scott and Jen foster moved specifically into the city of Chicago for the purpose of ministering to the needy, when all of a sudden God granted them to be parents of three most beautiful black children. Being caucasian themselves they soon found themselves in a new direction although somewhat out of the city their hearts continue to be for those who need Christ. It was through this e-mail someone sent me from church, that had me while I was on this business trip to Detroit, look them up and attend their church. I will blog once more on that experience before I close this series of post.

A few weeks back in our home shepherding group, someone asked “do we seek out suffering?” Some said yes, some said no, some said you really need not seek it, it will find you out. I’ve been pondering in my heart since that time, “Or do you do intentional things in Christ by faith that in one sense guarantees you some suffering, although the suffering itself is not the goal, it is a means God uses to conform you to the image of His son, and by avoiding it you are assured one thing, to know Him less.”

In a sense this family had done what so many “Missionaries” on the field do with out being explicitly called “Missionaries”, they decided to walk toward a hard and difficult road in faith. They chose to swim up stream, the down stream of comfort. Not because of anything other than they are choosing to believe this is not our “resting” place, that our home is in Heaven. It was this going against the grain of comfort, shirking the bow to comfort if you will, that I admired about them. They have a heart for the lost, and needy which to me exemplified a portrait of Christ, going where others dare not go, as people scoffed at Christ for talking to the lowest of low in society, these folks have sought it out. This e-mail is in transition of their life as they attempt to grasp at what God is doing as they move from Chicago to Detroit, with their newly adopted children to show them a different yet real life with Christ as center. It was an honor to have met them and I hope to see them again.

Dear Friends,

Time has been flying swiftly as I’m sure all parents are thinking, “I can’t believe it is October already!” We have done much traveling and fairly well settled on a new church and, therefore, residence. I say ‘fairly well’ because we know we cannot take one step unless God directs our way and provides for our needs. We are currently scouting for rental homes in the Detroit Michigan area. I have some relatives living there and my uncle is the pastor of a Very Special church. We have desired to be members of their church for …several years, but the time and calling was never right. Now we believe it will be the perfect place for our family to grow (spiritually, maybe even exponentially). We have much to learn from them — a Missions-driven church with some older (than me) , wiser saints and servants.Before visiting Detroit we were dreading our move, hating to leave our ministry and friends here in Chicago. However, we now have peace and even sweet anticipation for what new task God will have for us there. I cannot speak highly enough about this church, but with a desire to keep this short I will stop there.Because I do not know how much longer I will be writing these updates, I wanted once more to try to articulate the driving force behind what we do, where we go, and how we live. I hope to get back on track with the missionary bios after we move, but for now indulge my need for an open forum, a sounding board, if you will. I know many of you understand and live out of this, and probably can express it much better, but I feel… compelled to repeat (at the risk of sounding like a broken record) these things.I have to first say that any wise and insightful comments come directly from my father, whereas anything heretical or off-the-wall comes from myself. Also, when I talk about my life I am of course refering to Scott’s life as well, although any sin references belong to me alone.Now: all my emails – from the very first one I wrote in Palmdale have been requesting prayer for myself and my chosen path for following God. I have been trying to express a Pattern for the way (I believe) people should live their lives. I am not attempting to lay out a specific outline or course of action for any or every believer. But only perhaps dialogging about a way to think about life. Some call this a world view. These thoughts will, must, influence the way a person lives. But for each person the road will be different. The issue – the hang-up, the crux, the turning-point can often be the disconnect between the theology we say or think we have and the things we actually do and love and desire and pursue. I believe that living out our theology requires self-conscious intentional decisions about our life. It requires that we intentionally decide to pursue the cross and not our own selfish motivations. If we do not pursue the cross, we will pursue our flesh – there is some Logic principle there, but I have long forgotten it.My husband and my pursuit of the cross has lead us to Chicago, to adopt 3 kids, to move to the Ghetto, and now to move to Detroit. If we did not pursue these things they wouldn’t have come after us. The Bible absolutely tells us we must seek out trouble. If we did not pursue trouble in the form of attending foster care classes, 3 crazy children certainly wouldn’t have ever landed in our laps! But Christians are called to find trouble. Now the kind of trouble we seek out depends on our God-given talents, our interests, occasionally our income. But it is imperative to realize that there is a difference between trouble that comes because of the Fall, such as disease (I don’t suggest injecting ourselves with AIDS) and the trouble that comes with following Christ (such as working in an AIDS colony). Go with Christ outside the camp does require some form of going – seeking, searching for, locating trouble. In one way it doesn’t really matter where I live or what my calling (job) is — only that I guarantee (and others can tell better than I) that if I live like this Something is going to change. And it doesn’t change once. Life isn’t static. We can get quite comfortable here, doing our part, and then fight God telling us it is time to move on – which we did. It might seem we are doing what God has called us to, and we were, but now it is different and we must change.We all fear pain, we fear rejection, we fear failing. And these things keep us from changing the things in our lives that don’t match up with our claims to be Christ followers. We Americans avoid pain at all cost. We think it is an unnecessary evil. But, in fact, pain can be our greatest friend. It reminds us, first, of sin: The Fall, personal sin, that all is not okay in the world. I personally hate watching commercials about malnourished children in Africa – it hurts too much. So, I turn them off. We do this all the time in our lives. We insulate ourselves from pain – we move away from bad neighborhoods, we throw away Compassion letters, we turn off the TV, we stop our ears from the cries of our next door neighbor. But God calls us to engage in pain.Pain also keeps us humbly dependent on God. Something our flesh hates! I admit I was not ready for the amount of daily/ hourly pain my kids give me. Their broken views of life, their bedwetting, their previous tantrums and biting, their constant lying, their inability to socially move past a certain level — it is all very painful and my flesh hates it. Sometimes it literally gives me a headache. When I came to the realization that my kids (having been adopted as older kids with a past) will never really see me as “mom”, but rather a caretaker who they do love, it really really hurt. It hurt my pride and my flesh. I was told this was the reality of adopting older kids – who know their mom and naturally want their mom! But I somehow thought we would be different. No, it is part of the pain of raising these kids. Sometimes I want to quit! Anything to ease the pain, the humiliation, the daily feelings of failure. But there are things God calls me to do no matter the cost to ourselves. Am I doing it? Or am I afraid? Although I could give more reasons for pain, this will be last. It is best: pain makes us long for heaven and not worry about our physical lives. This seems contradictory and it can be. When we don’t rest in Jesus, when we take our eyes off Christ, then, like Peter, we sink. We hate the pain, hate our lives and hate everyone else. Our lives become bitter because of the pain. I have been there too much for such a young chick! Disregarding our lives allows us to go and do things we wouldn’t have done before. It’s the whole “if you had only 1 month to live what would you do?” scenerio. We often think, “when the kids are grown I will become a missionary” or “when the kids are gone…” or “if I had a million dollars I would give to the Red Cross and support an orphan and…” of course we all want to sound holy, so we don’t add the part about the swimming pools or the vacations or the Romanesque indulgences we would really heap upon ourselves.I have thought about these questions quite a bit. I think if our station should change in one of those ways we should be able to continue to some extent doing what we are now. We should be imperfectly doing it now with the limited time and limited resources we do have! I actually try to live like I am dying. I try to teach my kids by example what a Christian servant does. I try to live like I have a million dollars because my Father owns the cattle on a thousand hills. If I received a million dollars I would be able to increase what I am doing now. If I had a month to live I would probably be ashamed at how little I have done, how little I have sacrificed. I would see my puny little life and begin with fresh vigor to live for Christ. I think it is delusional to say that if we had more time (retired) or less responsibilities (kids grown) or more money (win the lotto) or motivation (dying in one month) we would change. The Bible teaches that when we are faithful with little God will give us more. If we are not faithful with the time and money and responsibilities we have now, He isn’t going to suddenly give us a big task when we are 60 (generally speaking). There are exceptions. I can’t recall the number of times I’ve heard young people say they want to be missionaries (myself included!) and then get entangled in the things of life: children, jobs, rose gardens, Costco — all good things! But not the best thing. These take precedent, they often become little gods, and our first love grows cold. This is heart-breaking. Of all those young people I’ve personally known who stated their desire to become a missionary, not one has gone — yet. Not one. We must be radically committed to Christ in all areas of our lives, during all stages of our lives. As I am beginning to understand, this gets very complicated with children. Raising them can be a huge sacrifice and service to God. They can also become a stumbling block to following Christ and living only for Him. Their lives can become our idols. But I don’t think they have to. Not because I am such a great authority. But my parents did an excellent job of raising missions-minded children and serving in the church while we grew. They taught by precept and example. Some day I will finish a book I am writing on ways to serve while parenting and ways to teach your kids to serve. Well, it is a series of recollections and insights from my parents, grandparents and relatives. I have a treasure-trove to work from!I sometimes receive emails telling me that my updates convict and challenge them. Is it because they feel called to move to Chicago but aren’t doing it? I highly doubt it. Is it because they feel called to adopt children but aren’t doing it? Probably not. I obviously don’t know what it is convicting people. I do know when I was a girl every time a missionary came to our church to give a presentation, I ended up with tears streaming down my face, my heart crying out “Send me, Lord!” I know that when I finish reading about some great Christian man or woman I see all my sins and flaws larger than life. I know sometimes the things I write convict myself because I am not living up to the truth I expound! The conviction isn’t about living “my” life. It is about connecting your beliefs with your circumstances. Truth, from any quarter – even an idiotic 25 year old, will always convict a humble, sensitive heart. Conviction is a sign that God is speaking to me and I had better drop everything and listen! It doesn’t have to be a sin issue, although when I run like Jonah it becomes one! It could be God tugging on my heart to do or think through or sacrifice something. I am always frustrated, confused, searching, unhappy, discontent when I am not serving God the way He wants. Always. When I find myself convicted it is time for soul-wrestling and, like Jacob, I wrestle until I have peace with God. Then I usually have some hard work to do. But I’m now happy and the work becomes pleasurable! In our busy, media saturated life it can become hard to hear God speaking – whether He is calling through a book, a sermon, or a song. And even when we do think He is pulling on us, we are so so so so quick to discount the voice as “emotionalism” or “unwise” or “impractical” that we disobey. I suspect that some of us, myself being the chief of hypocrites here, have gotten so used to immediately denying the Holy Spirit’s call that we’ve piled up sin upon sin upon sin. Like I said I am at the bottom of the totem pole on this one.One thing He has taught me is how many things I am doing that are actually for myself! So many things that I chose to do because others would see them and they were relatively easy. David would not sacrifice to the Lord that which cost him nothing yet I was giving God my puny pittance and calling it a Great Sacrifice. Often in my life I have caught myself thinking I was really giving God something this time. And then I see how pathetic it really is. Am I offering God something worthy of Him or am I giving Him my left-overs? Theologically, of course, we can’t “offer” Him anything because He owns it all anyway! But I do tend to get self-righteous with my offerings. Am I counting human kindnesses as sacrifices to God? As in, when I let Scott have the last piece of pie, do I figure I’ve sacrificed for the day? That is pretty pathetic, but I do it. It isn’t sacrifice – it is just part of living with my husband. Living without air conditioning is frustrating, but it isn’t sacrificing for God. I’ve needed to redefine sacrifice as something which costs me and is done for the delight of serving my Savior, not something that is just part of life.I want to give an example of someone I greatly admire who was neither a missionary or a pastor, yet seemed to grasp this elusive doctrine I speak of. This is about a doctor whose name I don’t even know. He lived in the South, I think Mississippi. He had a lucrative medical clinic in the better part of town and a free low-income clinic. He lived in a trailer park, in a small 2 bedroom trailer. While all his medical pals played golf and went on yearly vacations to exotic locals and enjoyed catered conventions, this man faithfully worked at his low-income clinic, drove his junker car to his mobile home and ate his wife’s home cooking. They rarely entertained, rarely went out, and never went on vacations. Their 2 children came to visit them with the grandkids and tried to convince their father to retire. He refused. He continued working until he died and when he did it was made known that except for a small amount set aside for his wife to live on, he was broke. His check book, however, revealed much wealth given away over his lifetime. Sometimes to one of his staff or his patients, some times to a struggling family member. He supported many missions agencies, struggling interns, overseas medical aid projects, etc. Every Christian’s path is different, but all of them should be dynamic. We should look, act, think, desire differently than non-believers. Not as a works salvation, not to be seen by men, not because we have to, but because we have a God worthy to live and die for.I love collecting stories about Godly men and women. I love reading modern missionary updates. But if all I do is sit back and read them and enjoy them and soak it all in, then my own life will be a failure. This next move to Detroit is about following God to the next task, the next risk-taking adventure. We take our mission field with us now. And there will be opportunities to serve in any place we land. As my dad once said to me, “It doesn’t matter where you live and what job you have as long as you are serving God with your life.” The real question I ask myself every day – morning and evening, is am I serving God here, now, today? If not, then something has to change. My attitude, my sinfulness, occassionally my ministry, less often my location. I know my heart is deceitfully wicked – oh how deceitful! So I question my motives all the time. Why do I want to get involved in this ministry? Why do I want to quit? Why is it so hard to give this up? Am I content doing a little task, if God so chooses – or do I have to have the grand in-your-face tasks? Am I afraid to leave my comfort zone? Do I fear ridicule? Am I being driven by love for God or love for myself?I know even my best intentions are tainted with sin, so that my offerings are as dirty rags, but what is driving my decisions? When I’ve engaged in this soul-searching it is exhausting. But it also clears the conscience and gives humility and boldness and a sureness in the way. I am far from consistent, careful, or good at this. I get tired of fighting with my flesh, my pride, and my chocolate cravings. But when I ponder on eternity, fixing my eyes on Christ, I cannot give up my theology or its outworkings. I will never “settle” for mediocrity – my husband won’t let me! My conscience won’t let me. My family won’t let me. God won’t let me. He just doesn’t let me get cozy here on earth. And I will some day be eternally grateful. I don’t think anyone ever entered eternity thinking they wished they’d served God less. No, I think we will all see Jesus and wish we had done more, more, more, ever so much more! Well, I don’t know if this is even worth sending. I read voraciously and am really just repeating sermons, books, and tapes that others’ have given. I don’t really have any original thoughts. I hope this doesn’t come across as arrogant and self-assured. It isn’t intended that way. I am a very foolish, unsure, insecure, pessimistic child. But I do have faith in a God who continues to surpass all that my finite mind can imagine. I long for a strong Christian church that knows the joy and passionate zeal for God that I have been exposed to from my reading, from my relatives, from my parents, from sermons. If we could only be convinced of these truths I think our lives would be very different. I have to admit that the Christianity I read about in times past, in missionary biographies, in letters from saints in Closed countries puts my life to shame. They live and breathe Jesus Christ. I can’t even conceive of the kind of faith and love and holiness they possess. And when I think I am not so bad it just proves how proud and calloused my heart is! Pray for me that I would not lose my passion for Christ, but that it would grow greater and greater until it consumes my life! This is my prayer for all of you, as well. May we be caught up into glory as we worship our great God.I hope God will strike out anything unnecessary, any stumbling blocks, anything that won’t cause us to look at Christ. All I want to do is bring the body of Christ closer to Him. What arrogance and presumption to think I can. God must write anything worth reading. Don’t bother with the rest! –Humbly in Christ’s service, Jen

The company I work for sent me to Detroit, Michigan this week, I arrived home late last evening. I brought with me my bible, and two Jim Elliff Books, “Pursuing God—A Seeker’s Guide“.

I remember about 6 years ago I went on a missions trip to ‘El Valle’ Mexico, near Culiacán, Mexico. During that trip I prayed that God would sit me next to someone whom I could tell about the Missions trip, needless to say it did not happen. My knowledge of the bible at the time was new, my view of God was small, my understanding was dim. I say all this to note that on that trip to ‘El Valle’ there wasn’t one person who sat next to me on any of my plane rides, in which I was able to share Christ.

I had not traveled much since that time, and this time I was traveling for work. I prayed to the Lord, “please grant me the opportunity to share Christ with someone on this trip.” It was a different prayer than the one several years back, I can’t really describe it but the motives were different. I remember looking back, of desiring in my heart to tell someone what “I” was doing. I realize now that in my desiring to tell someone about the missions trip I did not have God in mind, I wanted people to think well of me. This our heart, this is mine, and I thank God that he did not see fit to let me make a fool of myself to tell anyone what a good person I am for going on this Missions trip. May God forgive the vanity of the heart, and the pointing of me to myself, this flesh is so wicked at times and its motives are so ego-centric it can be overwhelming when he allows you to see glimpses of your depravity, however this time it was not about me.

This time God saw fit to answer, because He had matured me and helped me realize that I am nothing but a tool in the hands of God if He allows it.

I met a man flying through Detroit. He was from Belgium originally, but living in New York, named Dirk. I did not catch his last name but we had an opportunity to talk about Christ. He belongs to a Heretical Church called the Unification Church. We began the conversation about politics, but he saw my bible and we soon moved to spiritual things. I confess I knew little of the Unification Church at the time, but I could tell it was in the realm of all roads lead to Rome theology by the things this man was saying little did I know how far away this church is from Christ. We both discussed our perspectives, and this gentleman seemed generally interested, yet seemingly forming his opinions based upon only his own experiences and the things that he had heard about Christ and the things that his church taught but he knew very little about the bible.

He conceded to me that there must be an absolute truth but that we can not know that truth. Then he proceeded to tell me that the meanings of words are put into the words by the reader and not by the writer. So we went over some basic things, some scripture. I went through with him 1 Corinthians 1:18 and he said there is truth in this but he’s not sure what it means. I said to the man that we are all subjective beings but God is the one who put meaning into the Word of God and it is his Objective truth that we must bring to our subjective understandings. It is the the responsibility of man to those who understand and have been chosen by God to conform out lives to the meaning that God has placed in scripture crucifying the flesh and checking all the time our motives in our understanding and grasping at the revelation of Christ because ultimately it is God who grants us wisdom and understanding. I asked him some other questions, so what then saves you? He replied referring to the scale system, if he does enough good in this life then he will be saved, and we went to the 10 commandments. We spoke of breaking one law breaks them all and the whole purpose of Christ was to pay the penalty for the wrath that I deserve. He seemed generally intrigued as if he’s never had this type of conversation before, things he had never heard before. The plane began to land and I explained the essentials of Christianity and that if we deviate from belief in Christ and this Christ that we are following a Christ not depicted in the Holy Scriptures. There were no professions of Faith, there was no immediate conversion, but God ordained this plane seat for Dirk and I to meet. I left him with the Jim Elliff book, and we parted ways. As he got off the plane the man forgot his laptop. I brought it up out of the plane and found him, as he was catching a connecting flight, and he said, “Thank you so much Jason you’re my savior.” I said, “No it’s not me Dirk.” —- It was a God moment, I know no other way to explain it but I chewed on this much of the week.

As I prayed this time, giving thanks to God for this opportunity, God reminded me of the time where I had prayed to him before, when I was asking Him for someone to sit by me on the trip to ‘El Valle’. It was as if God was saying to me, ” This is for my Glory Jason and not your own, you are only a tool in my hands, and before you were not prepared for such an encounter.” I remembered and prayed and confessed my sinful prayer before and how it was so much more about me before and how I hear my father’s reproof once again. He is so Good and so Merciful to put up with a pathetic sinner such as myself, but then he said one other thing to me this weekend, he reminded me of Romans 5:8

—– I don’t know how to explain it but this was God’s way this weekend of demonstrating to me how much he loves me, God shares His glory with no one, and when it is about Him, for Him, and by Him he allows us to be the means, to share in His Goodness. I am still amazed by His Grace.

I have more to tell from the KC to Detroit trip I will write on at a later time, quite the adventure for a three day trip!