In each post I try to give you a glimpse into what is happening in my heart, what God is doing to train me up as a disciple, and what is currently happening in Everett. I will attempt to weave these three threads together, sometimes through the symbolism of circumstance. I believe God speaks to us at times through the apparent mundane activities we go through each day, and i will try to illuminate these things so that you can get a taste of what I experienced. If you don't believe God speaks that way, read any of the prophetic books of the Old Testament to see how God sent a message to Israel by using the prophet to cook meat in a pot or lay a certain way on the ground for a long period of time. These messages were all symbolic and were intended to communicate messages that would touch the hearts of His people. And I need to say this before beginning...I do not think I am a prophet.
If you have kept up with this blog over the last couple of months you have probably noted my sadness mixed with joy. That pattern has only continued. I have had some extremely low points over the last few weeks where I questioned coming to Washington. I got caught in the trap of believing that nothing was happening and nobody was being impacted by our coming here. Both are lies, but when you are depressed you only see what you want to see, even if there truly is good happening right in front of your face.
My real issue as I have described before is pride, and God has decided that it must die in me. Search scripture and you will find many passages about God's opposition to and open dislike of pride.
Proverbs 8:13
All who fear the Lord will hate evil. Therefore, I hate pride and arrogance, corruption and perverse speech.
Isaiah 13:11
New Living Translation (NLT)
11 “I, the Lord, will punish the world for its evil
and the wicked for their sin.
I will crush the arrogance of the proud
and humble the pride of the mighty.
and the wicked for their sin.
I will crush the arrogance of the proud
and humble the pride of the mighty.
Mark 7:21-23
New Living Translation (NLT)
21 For from within, out of a person’s heart, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, 22 adultery, greed, wickedness, deceit, lustful desires, envy, slander, pride, and foolishness. 23 All these vile things come from within; they are what defile you.”
For one of His committed followers to truly do His work, pride must be gone. Otherwise the work supposedly done in his name is only built on human enginuity and charisma. Once the person is gone, everything falls apart because it wasn't built on The Rock, Jesus.
Psalm 127
A song for pilgrims ascending to Jerusalem. A psalm of Solomon.
1 Unless the Lord builds a house,
the work of the builders is wasted.
Unless the Lord protects a city,
guarding it with sentries will do no good.
2 It is useless for you to work so hard
from early morning until late at night,
anxiously working for food to eat;
for God gives rest to his loved ones.
the work of the builders is wasted.
Unless the Lord protects a city,
guarding it with sentries will do no good.
2 It is useless for you to work so hard
from early morning until late at night,
anxiously working for food to eat;
for God gives rest to his loved ones.
If you know me as a friend or have worked for me you know that I want everything done yesterday. I have always wanted things done fast and done well, and that oftentimes is unrealistic. Change takes time. Growth takes time. Building a body of believers and connecting with members of the community takes a lot of time. No matter how hard I try we aren't going to be as connected in this community as we were in the Humble area. Not yet at least. And meeting people and building relationships in Humble, upon reflection, took years! We didn't just wake up one day and have everything in place. It was built brick by brick, and God did the building. So now I am dealing with the strange discomfort of wanting to do more while, by nature, that relationship building will take many years. The Lord is unmoved by time and not bound by it, but still we catch glimpses of the constant pull of His will, the unstoppable power of his plan. As I have said before, we are passengers on this ride.
Please pray for us. I can't describe it, but we absolutely know when we are being prayed for. The same Holy Spirit that resides in the Humble area also resides in Everett, and He moves in power when we pray.
Mancation
While it may seem like this part of the post has nothing to do with the Lord or with ministry, I ask that you give it a chance. God taught me through a mini-vacation that I took last weekend in New Mexico.
I was fortunate to get to travel to Red River and Taos, New Mexico for a camping trip with a couple of friends from Houston. We do something like this every year to get away from it all. Our variety of camping is backpacking, where you strap on a 40lb pack and hike into the wilderness for miles, carrying everything you need for several days.
For this trip we were greeted with deep snow which had only fallen a few days before our arrival. This creates numerous challenges to hikers because the terrain looks the same no matter where you look. The trail is gone and many times you have to rely on your compass, a map, and some instinct to find your way. We made the decision to hike 3.6 miles in to our campsite and didn't start until 7:30PM, so it was getting dusky when we started. This began one of the most intense trips I have been on.
If you have been in the country at night you know how dark it can be. Add mountains on two sides and it is deepest dark. We all had headlamps to guide us as we trudged through the deep snow, but there is nothing like the light of the sun to help with navigation. And yet the sun had gone down. On top of this challenge was the snow itself. Snow travel takes 2-3 times the energy one would normally exert because you are constantly sinking or slipping, which directs energy away from your attempted forward motion.
We stopped numerous times to check the compass and to look for a trail; all the while the clock continued to tick and it was getting very late and very cold. I was usually at the back of our group which was somewhat advantageous because I could step where the others had stepped and was more likely to have solid footing.
At about 10:30PM we continued to trudge onward and upward and I was beyond exhaustion. Simply moving my legs hurt. Taking a step hurt my feet. Carrying the load hurt my back. And there appeared to be nothing ahead but more trees, more snow, and more darkness.
I began to despair but decided all I could do was walk and pray. Turning back was not an option because it would be extremely dangerous to go off by myself in the dark. On my own I would probably get lost, have to retrace all of our prior steps in my exhaustion, and would have no shelter since I wasn't carrying our tent. To move forward I could at least follow the lights ahead of me which emanated from the headlamps of my friends. If they got far ahead I could still follow their footsteps I had people to follow and one of them had done snow travel before, so I had hope, although at the time it seemed very small. I was not in control at all. We eventually reached our campsite at 12:00AM, spending 4.5 hours to go 3.6 miles.
What does all of this have to do with Jesus? Everything The Lord showed me that this hike resembles what our family is going through right now. We march forward through deepest darkness on all sides, in a city that is literally separated from God. We don't know the way to go other than to follow the steps of the One in front of us. The light we have is just enough to see a little of what is around us and is only enough to help us travel safely. We cannot see what is in the distance. We hear footsteps ahead of us as our Leader moves, but we are the followers. The going is incredibly slow, painful, and strenuous, but we have an eventual destination that we are getting closer to. We cannot turn back, because the past is behind us and there is nothing there for us. We must keep moving forward, one painful step after another. Sometimes it appears that we can go in any of two or three directions, but there is only one trail. And that trail is often the one with the fewest footprints on it.
What an amazing symbol of our experience following the Lord. Is he mean to do these things to us? No. He wants fully committed soldiers. Has he abandoned us? Never. He always has been right there to show us the way when we needed to know it. Has he denied us adequate resources to follow him? No. We have everything we have needed at exactly the time we have needed it. I still can't explain how we made this journey financially! What this God wants is...us. And 99% commitment is not good enough. So He will march us in the small strength we have and in the limitless strength that he gives until he remakes us into the followers He wants us to be.
We march on.
This is largely symbolic of the road ahead for us.
2 Timothy 2:
2 Timothy, my dear son, be strong through the grace that God gives you in Christ Jesus. 2 You
have heard me teach things that have been confirmed by many reliable
witnesses. Now teach these truths to other trustworthy people who will
be able to pass them on to others.
3 Endure suffering along with me, as a good soldier of Christ Jesus. 4 Soldiers don’t get tied up in the affairs of civilian life, for then they cannot please the officer who enlisted them.Current Happenings at EFC
We have been moving many of the residents of Family Tree Apartments over the last month or so. The complex is being renovated and they are forcing all residents to move to a different location so that their current unit can be gutted and redone. This has been a great chance to connect with many of the residents and their families. I am amazed every time I go over there with how many people I am able to meet. God is truly in this, because within minutes of pulling up I am usually talking to at least 2 residents who have attended EFC and while we talk, at least 2 more show up to talk who haven't been to church. God is moving in that place.
I discovered that we have a halfway house for former drug addicts that is within about 5 blocks of our house. I am hoping and praying for a connection to form over there so that we can possibly make connection with some of the residents. Please join me in prayer over this.
Amanda continues to be heavily involved in a women's Bible study that has attracted a number of women from around Everett. She is even hosting a women's retreat this weekend at our house! She meets regularly with several ladies throughout the week for discipleship and friendship, and the bonds are continuing to grow. Please pray for this blossoming ladies ministry.
Amanda and I have begun meeting with the community pastors at EFC to plan the mission trip to Everett that Humble Area's First Baptist Church is planning. We are planning for a large VBS event at Family Tree apartments and many opportunities for street ministry here in Everett. We anticipate a number of people from Humble will join us at the end of July for this event, and the most exciting part is that we are planning this so that it will have a long-term impact on the ministry of EFC. Please pray with us that the Lord would lead the right people to come work with us, and that we'd do the activities that He would have us do. We want nothing less.
Habakkuk 3
Even though the fig trees have no blossoms,
and there are no grapes on the vines;
even though the olive crop fails,
and the fields lie empty and barren;
even though the flocks die in the fields,
and the cattle barns are empty,
18 yet I will rejoice in the Lord!
I will be joyful in the God of my salvation!
19 The Sovereign Lord is my strength!
He makes me as surefooted as a deer,[e]
able to tread upon the heights.
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