Psalm 18

The sky is darkened with the threat of an encroaching thunderstorm.  The wind swirls about with its melodious tune making the grass of the fields dance and sway to the sound of nature.  Thunder cracks and lightning breaks forth to illuminate the scene laid before us.

A man not tall in stature, but noble of heart stands alone amongst this impinging darkness.  His sword welded within his iron grasp is ready to do his masters biding.  Fear does not penetrate his thoughts.  Surrounding our warrior is an evil which cannot be matched within our world.  The enemy is grotesque…perverted in ways man cannot fathom.  But these creatures are not human.  Their eyes glow red from the flame of hate which dances about inside of them.  Their teeth are coated with flesh and filth.  Acidic slime forms at the corners of their mouth.  Grungy, falling-out, black hair favors the fortunate few.  Scars coat these demons from head to toe.  The evidence of fear and torture emits from every fiber of their beings.  What’s left of their mind is riddled with this one thought, “Kill this fleshling before me!”   This army is birthed in Hell. 

Our lone soldier knows the odds.  He is not frightened, yet the thought of disappointing his master with a failure grips his heart.  In his last moments before the enemy’s charge he calls upon his god, “I cannot win this battle without you!  Save me from my enemies!  Lord, I need you!”

The sounds of nature create a mellow sonnet as the hounds of Hell begin their advance.  The king’s warrior grips his sword and makes ready his shield in preparedness for the onrushing evil.  More lightning brightens the sky and more thunder rumbles the earth.  However, after the thunder's solo the earth continues to shake.  The surrounding mountains begin to tremble and quake.  Hailstone and flaming coals fall forth from the heavens.  Trumpets sound, and the dark cloud part to show four magnificent godlike creatures soaring downward to the earth below.  Yet, these creatures with four heads, wings of gold, and armor layered with diamonds are the not the leading focus.  Sitting atop these demigods is the most glorious, the most majestic, the most royal and grandiose figure of all.  Yet in his glory, there is a fear the proceeded him…a fear to anyone that should harm His children.     

Our warrior’s prayer has been answered.  His Lord came down from on high to vanquish his enemy.  The evil horde which had seemed so terrifying was obliterated in the blink of an eye and sent forthwith back to Hell.  The battle is won!!!

Psalm 18:3-13

“I call upon the Lord who is worthy to be praised, and I am saved from my enemies.  The chords of death encompassed me; the torrents of destruction assailed me; the chords of Sheol (Hell) entangled me; the snares of death confronted me.  In my distress I called upon the Lord; to my God I cried for help.  From his temple he heard my voice, and my cry to him reached his ears.  Then the earth reeled and rocked; the foundations also of the mountains trembled and quaked, because he was angry.  Smoke went up from his nostrils, and devouring fire from his mouth; glowing coals flamed forth from him.  He bowed the heavens and came down; thick darkness was under his feet.  He rode on a cherub and flew; he came swiftly on the wings of the wind.  He made darkness his covering, his canopy around him, thick clouds dark with water.  Out of the brightness before him hailstones and coals of fire broke through his clouds.  The Lord also thundered in the heavens, and the Most High uttered his voice…”

The scene painted at the beginning was not too hard to create.  All I did (as you may have noticed) was just elaborate on that which David has written here in Psalm 18. 

Psalm 18 has been one of my most favorite chapters ever since I accepted Jesus into my life almost two years ago.  Just recently I decided to memorize it.  Since I have been dwelling upon this chapter God has been revealing some things to me and that is what I want to share.

 The first thing God showed me was the manner in which David prays to Him.  In verse 3 David says, “I call upon the Lord…and He saves me.” David asks for God’s help and God sends it.  The thing though that I caught in this verse was the picture David paints of the simplicity of prayer.  How I see this verse is David just picks up his phone and asks God if He has some time to chat.  So many people today (myself included) think praying is this sacred (to an extent, yes) time of in-depth seeking and asking followed generally with tears and hours of turmoil while we talk with our heavenly father.  Something I realized in this last week and a half of memorizing and studying this passage is something everyone is told as a child…prayer is simply talking with God.  We humans make prayer out to be a complicated thing.  The reason I highlighted the word “talk” is because that’s what prayer is.  My prayer is that for me, and every other believer, that we don’t get so wrapped up in the religiosity of praying that we forget that prayer is a simple matter of conversing with Jesus. 

The second thing that I took from this passage is the fact that God, in all his glory and might, takes that time to come to earth shaking mountains, trembling the earth, and raining fire to fight an enemy which he has been fighting from the beginning of time for one little human being.  The love Christ has for us is immense…but yet, it is still forgotten.  Christ’s love is what I’ve been reminded of in Psalm 18.

The first commandment is Love God and the second is love your neighbor.  If you bake the gospel down it’s all about love.  Sometimes we have a tendency to forget what God has done for us.  This passage in Psalms has reminded me of the love that Christ has specifically for me as an individual.  Jesus doesn’t love us as a group, He loves each one of us as a separate and distinct person.

So my challenge from God, and I encourage you to join me, is this: remember daily what Christ has done because of love and don’t complicate that which is not meant to be complicated. Prayer: just talking with Jesus. 

 

Home is were the heart is at...or is it?

Some say home is where the heart is at.  Well if that is true then where exactly is my home?  My heart is in several places such as: Wisconsin, Haiti, with my friends spread across the world, with my family, with my cat, with my guitar…you get the point.  My heart is pretty widely spread across this world.  So how can I really say where my home is? Well in the song This World Is Not My Home it says, “This world is not home, I’m just passing through…” That comes from the scripture in 1Peter that refers to us as being sojourners of this land.  So, going along those same lines, when I think of where my home really is in terms of my heart, I come to the conclusion that my home is not where my heart is but where God’s heart is.

This thought was sparked within me as I just returned (to Haiti) from a visit with my family and friends in Wisconsin…where one of my homes is. :)  While there (I cannot lie) I had thoughts of, “I kind of want to stay home.  I miss my family and friends.  I miss understanding everyone all the time.  I miss the comforts that America has.  Living in Haiti is hard.  I’m going back to a lot of responsibilities... “The list goes on.  However, shortly after landing in Haiti I knew that this is where my earthly home is (for now).

 I know this because God’s heart is with the orphaned and widowed as referred to in James 1…and consequently my heart is with them too.  God has birthed within me the desire to give my life to serve these little parentless kids.  Psalm37:4 says, “Delight yourself in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart.”  Well I’m here to declare that God’s promise here in Psalms is so true.  However, when we delight ourselves continually in the Lord, our desires don’t always stay the same.  So the desire of being  a millionaire so we can buy all kinds of things to satisfy our flesh may change into wanting money not to fulfill our lusts but to bless others.  Or the desire to be somebody because you enjoy being the center of attention may change into wanting attention so that you can make Jesus the front of all and the center of everything.   Whatever it is that you think you want, I’m here to testify that once you make Jesus your joy and delight in Him that the things you want change.  The thing I want right now (because God download this within my heart) is to serve the fatherless.  I’ve been doing that ever since I got to Haiti however I just started (when I returned on August 12^th) a new role as being a fulltime caretaker to a little boy and a little girl.   When I say fulltime caretaker I mean that they live with me and I feed, bathe, clothe, play with, teach, correct, and the rest of the things that go along with the whole parenting gig.  Yep that’s right, Shane has become a father :)  These children have been part of our crèche for a couple years now and recently our leadership decided to put them in more of a one-on-one (or in my case one-on-two) care.   Now if you had asked me six months ago when I was coming to Haiti if I thought I would have been a foster dad, I would have said nope.  But God’s plan and desires have a way of directing us (me) to do that which He wants and that which His heart is yearning for.  His heart longs for the fatherless to have a father and while these children are in the adoption process I get the honor of being a father to them.

So my parting thoughts are this: be open to letting God download His heart within you.  Until you do that, you may not know where you want to go or what your purpose in life is.  God always has a plan and always knows what He is doing.  Let his heart become your heart and you won’t be lost for a home, for a purpose, or for that matter, anything in life. 

One Month Of God's Faithfulness

WOW!!!  It truly has been a crazy week.  I’ve experienced this week just a little bit of what it means to be a Haitian.

I moved from my nice, cozy, air conditioned, electricity all day, running water 24/7, unlimited WIFI access, and an actual bed apartment on the white sandy beach to the crèche.  Here I have only a limited amount of water which contributes to showers only a couple times a week…unless I do a bucket shower.  The electricity is limited to a couple hours at night and subsequently no air conditioners.   I have a charcoal grill to do my cooking on and a nice tile floor or a broken down futon with large holes in it for my bed.  Instead of waking up to the sound of my alarm at around 7am I will be waking up now at about 6am to the sound of children running around and playing.   Also, I get a ton of company here at night. I’ve been visited by geckos, mosquitoes, gnats, flies, big nasty spiders, and last night I had a friendly cockroach decide to climb up my arm.  So, it’s been a little bit of an adjustment (and it will continue to be) from the American living I am used to.   However, it is giving me more of a glimpse of what Haitians go through on a daily basis.  Making food takes twice as long.  Cold showers are a treasured thing…at least I’ve been told.  I haven’t had one yet since moving in here.  And then seeing as how there isn’t a washer or a dryer I will be learning how to wash clothes by hand.     

Nonetheless, despite all of the changes and differences one thing hasn’t changed…and that’s God’s faithfulness.  This week I was reading through the story of Moses and time and time again God proves faithful and true to the Israelites.  I have felt like the Israelites ever since I’ve been in Haiti.  Moving to an entirely different country where the culture is totally different than anything I am used to isn’t always an easy thing.  Yet, just like how God proved true to the Israelites through every circumstance, He has done so with me as well.  Just some examples of His faithfulness within this first month here: God has provided finances for me to be here.  He has given me creativity with what to share with the kids every day.  He has helped me adjust to the totally new everything here in Haiti.  He provided a fridge, a microwave (boo radiation…but I’ll use it some :p) a soccer ball and a basketball, a dirt bike for me to use, a coffee pot (probably the most important item ;) and most of all, He has given me peace about everything here and He has shown me that He never leaves or forsakes His kids. 

After Moses and the Israelites crossed the Red Sea they (millions of people) worshiped and praised God.  Last night, as I sat on the rooftop I read Exodus 15 which is titled The Song of Moses.  It is an amazing chapter and an amazing song about how God is faithful to those that follow Him.  I want to share a few of those verses with you. 

Exodus 15:1, 2, 6, 7, 11, 13, 17, & 18

“I will sing to the Lord, for He has triumphed gloriously; the horse and his rider He has thrown into the sea.  The Lord is my strength and my song, and He has become my salvation; this is my God, and I will praise him, my father’s God, and I will exalt him.  Your right hand, O Lord, is glorious in power, your right hand, O Lord, shatters the enemy.  In the greatness of your majesty you overthrow your adversaries; you send out your fury; it consumes them like stubble.  Who is like you, O Lord, among the gods?  Who is like you majestic in holiness, awesome in glorious deeds, doing wonders? You have led in your steadfast love the people whom you have redeemed.  You have guided by your strength to your holy abode.  You will bring them (your people) in and plant them on your own mountain, the place, O Lord, which your hands have established.  The Lord will reign forever and ever.”

This song blessed me a tremendous amount…and I hope it does with you.  I would suggest to all those that haven’t read through Exodus in a while to do so.  It’s a story we’ve heard a thousand times, but there is so many truths and if you’re like me, one looking for God to prove Himself faithful, then it’s a great book to boost your confidence in Him. 

So to wrap up, it’s been one month since I’ve been here.  The time has gone by so fast.  And since it has been a groundbreaking month I thought it would be fun to do something different on my blog.  So, within the next couple of days up to a week, be looking for a surprise on hereJ  I’m sure you will enjoy it…whatever it is ;)  

Stay strong my friends and know God IS faithful…no matter what you are going through.  So until next time my fellow soldiers…

My new room :)

Hunting For Jesus

So if any of you are from Wisconsin then you will know that last week was a very important week in the life of us Cheese Heads.  I’m not talking about Thanksgiving and the gluttonous amount of food that we eat.  And I’m not talking about the three Packers games that were played since the 17^th.   What I’m talking about is the nine day long season that has most Wisconsinites pressing pause on life.  Well if you haven’t figured out what I am talking about then I’ll just tell you.  What I’m talking about is Whitetail deer hunting.  Yep! These wild creatures have many men and woman in Wisconsin(myself included) running to the woods for nine days to spend countless hours sitting, just waiting for the chance to shoot this animal.  My reasoning is for the adrenaline rush that comes from the hunt.  Others have their reasons too.  Some hunt for food, for sport, or just for the pure joy of spending time in the woods.  Whatever it is that attracts us to this sport it has control on a lot of people’s lives for a week.  Good honest people that hate getting up before 5AM are forced into rising before the sun is up to go sit out in the cold of November to wait for hours on end just to shoot an animal.  Yeah, it’s crazy :p  

 So in my many hours of pondering while I was out in the woods last week I had a thought: what if we put the passion that we do into hunting for deer into hunting for Jesus?  I think God gave me this thought and once it popped into my mind I too was like, ‘’Wow!’’  It’s a valid question.  So much time, energy, and money is invested into hunting and nine days of people’s lives go on hold while they’re hunting for deer.  What if we took out nine days of our lives to go hunting for Jesus?  I think the end result would be life changing.  There’s nothing wrong with hunting at all.  I was just thinking how the world could be impacted if our zeal for hunting would be changed into zeal for Christ. 

This is going to be a short post, but this is the thought I had.  I’m not here to convict anyone or say you shouldn’t hunt.  I was just given the thought and the challenge that I should be investing my energy as a soldier of the Cross into hunting for Jesus.   

Seeking Jesus Christ

            Wow!!! It's been too long since I've posted something.  I will try and do better at keeping up regularly with this.  What I'm going to share with you is something that God was teaching me back at the end of July. So...back at the end of July I was out visiting some of my friends at Ellerslie (the discipleship school I was at last fall.)  While I was there God taught me quite a bit. One of the things God was teaching me on was the subject of Hell…yeah, not so fun.  The lesson God had for me was very sobering and convicting…but it was needed.
            We listened to a sermon by David Wilkerson (the link is at the bottom) called, A Call to Anguish.  The message, to say the least, was convicting to the core.  Christians in our world today, me included, say they care.  We all feel for the orphaned and the widowed and would love to help…if it’s convenient for us or makes us look good.  When in reality, we should desire to help these hurting people because God has given us His heart and that’s what He burdens for.  This in essence was the lesson God was and still is teaching me.   How can I say I care or even really say I’m a Christian if I can listen and hear about the hurting millions around the world and go right back into my day to day tasks and plans and not even give one more thought to them?  How can I spend countless hours wasting time watching the latest TV show or playing the latest game I got on my iPhone?   I can’t, not if this is something I truly care and am burdened for.  And this isn’t something that I can desire to burden for on my own.   Something I’ve learned is that I may have my own plans for my life such as going into Brazil and rescuing little children off the streets where they’re being hunted just for fun, but if it isn’t God’s plan for me, then all I’m doing is just another humanitarian act of goodness.  Yes, as Christians we should want to do that and yes for some of us that may be our calling, but my point in all of this isn’t just to come up with what we want, but to pray that God would show us what HE wants.  Once we find out God’s plan for our life then move on that, then and only then will we be blessed and we’ll help make changes for eternity.
            This all is what I’ve been convicted on.  I spend (or used to spend) lots of my time at night watching TV shows on Netflix.  God convicted me on how I use my time.  If I care, which I do, then I need to make changes that match my talk with my walk.  Instead of focusing on the show, if I choose to spend that time on prayer or reading, how much impact will I have on the world?  That answer is kind of hard to answer, for we will never know the full impact we’ve had on people until we reach Heaven.  But this brings me to the second part. 
            While I was in Colorado, I listened to a message called, “Preparing For The Battle”.  In that message, Eric Ludy was talking about how the home is the training grounds for the mission field.  He said, “If you aren’t preparing yourself at home, if you aren’t serving and helping with the needs of your family and community, then you won’t be ready when you’re overseas doing supposed mission work.”  I was challenged by that.  So often I hear a message and automatically want to fly over to Africa and help feed the starving children.  I never really have looked at my home as a place for preparation.  I keep thinking if I go out of the country I’m going to have a great adventure and I will be doing God’s will when the facts are He may just want me at home.  My mission field may be the lonely man down the street.  My life may be complete when I help lead just one straying sheep back to the shepherd.  And you know what, if that’s all I do in this life, well then praise God!!!  Something I’ve been truly praying for is that God’s heart would be mine...that I would truly rejoice for that which He rejoices in and weep for that which He weeps.    
            Our home is boot camp.  It’s a place we can “train” and prepare for the coming battle which is for sure to come.  I’m the kind of person that would love to be out of my house( I love my home and family, so don’t take this wrong) and would love to be on the other side of the world serving God.  This may happen, but until then, I need to take this time He has given me at home and make myself ready to go, so when that day comes I AM ready and not just thinking I am.
            So my encouragement to you all who are reading this is live in today.(Matthew 6:34)  Don’t be preoccupied with all the details of figuring out what you THINK God is calling you to do and focus on seeking Him and getting to know more of our Savior and as a result of that He WILL show you where you are supposed to go and what you’re supposed to do.  (Proverbs 3:5-6)

A Call To Anguish