These heroes are human.

It was incredible this week to hear Darrell Johnson introduce this weeks message. “We may be tempted to dismiss Abraham and Sarah as impossible models of faith. BUT this chapter of their lives and Genesis 16 & 20 help us see these heroes of faith as real human beings.” It was as if I was reading this for the first time, with different lenses. I loved the part where DJ describes JB. Phillips- The ring of Truth- "Here are very real people, facing very real life, and really blowing it!” 

When DJ referrs to Lot as being a piece of the puzzle that Abraham was engineering to help God,  I thought… Man I've never paid any attention to this, just read it like his nephew was just along for the ride! Oh man, how many times have I done this? "God does not need our help!

Instead of seeing myself as guilty of “adding to… or engineering” to benefit God, I sometimes think I'm guilty of the flip-side.  “How little can I do, to still be considered obedient?” Andy, you are asking the wrong question!!!  Throwing myself on ... myself. Thanks Kenzie for articulating the frustration of "It has been years, get new ones! Move on already!"

I could hear laughter in the back ground when DJ described the difference between male and female authors commentary on Abraham selling Sarah off for “his own benefit”.  At first I thought he was poking fun at the men’s different description types, but his tone quickly put a stop to that laughter, again further exposing the human-ness of these “heroes of faith” I could see myself laughing out loud at first, and as DJ continued with “Good God man!” I could see myself sinking down into my chair, realizing, “there is NOTHING funny about that”. Shout out to Reid's post sharing more on this topic! Powerful stuff! 

Josh thanks for your post this week about "feeling the burn".  It had me breaking a mental sweat!  

Please be praying for interviews this weekend!  

Fear & Reality

Last summer on the water God definitely revealed my fear of failure as being my biggest pothole and the thing that holds me back from intimacy with Jesus the most. Since summer, I’ve seen that fear manifest itself in so many different aspects of my life: school, relationships, leadership, my future….the list goes on. Just like Abraham, I let my fear be the thing that controls my emotions and my decisions and it is through that fear that I try to engineer God’s call on my life. Instead of throwing myself on God, I throw myself on my fear. I don’t directly disobey God, I just try to help God out and make it so my fear and his plan can coexist…and DJ says that is WORSE than blatant disobedience.

When I actually look at the effect that this fear of failure has on my relationship with Jesus, the only thing I can think of to combat the fear is recognizing the reality of the presence of God. DJ says in our journey of faith we have to be realistic – which means recognizing that reality is NOT confined to what we can see, hear, touch, and measure. Our reality is a real and living God who has conquered fear and who wants us to trust him fully and completely! Josh said it perfectly – “I fear because I lack trust, but I lack trust because I fear.”

I love how DJ closes it with talking about Paul in Romans 8. When I am absolutely CONVINCED that nothing can separate me from the reality of the presence of the living God…that’s when I will stop throwing myself on my fear and start trusting God completely.

But the Lord!

“Do you know anyone like that?”  Me.  “Do you know anyone like that?” Me.  “Do you know anyone like that?”  Me.  As Darrell asked this same question throughout his sermon, my answer remained the same.  Me….guilty.  This especially rang true when he spoke of Abraham “helping” God out in his journey of faith.  “Abraham was engineering God’s call.”  Oh, how I have done this!  I look at what appears to be reality and what seems to be practical, and I make my decisions.  I am what you would call….a planner.  I am constantly looking ahead, planning things out, taking in all the foreseen, and trying to predict the unforeseen factors so I can make a logical, calculated, and responsible decision, so if anyone questions what I have done, I will be prepared with sound logic and reason behind my choices.  Hello?  Hello?  (Picture Owen Wilson clawing the air in Zoolander).  Reality?  I fail, time and again, to take into the consideration the biggest reality of all…GOD!  I am being realistic when I call on the name of the Lord.  “We are truly realistic only when we take into account the implications of the life, death, resurrection, ascension, and coming again of Jesus Christ.”

“But the Lord…”  Oh sweet relief!  The living God regularly intervenes on behalf of His people.  I can’t tell you how reassuring it was to hear this.  When Darrell (and the Bible) asks, “Can anything happen today that can thwart God’s purpose in your life?”  I know the answer is “no,” but I can’t help but feel, at times, that I have blown a chance, missed an opportunity, ignored a window of time to act, failed to branch out on a new path and thought, “Well, that’s that! I’ve missed it!” I feel that I may have blocked a chance God was giving me, and wondered if I have thwarted God’s plan and doubted that chance ever come around again.  From my viewpoint I ask, “How could it? There’s no way this could come around again.”  But the Lord?...But the Lord.

After his series of blunders, Abraham returns to the altar he built for God. Darrell describes this space and place as, “Where he had first met God…where God had first made sense to him….He threw himself on God to forgive and renew.”  I couldn’t help but be so grateful that Sonshine provides that touchstone for campers on Wednesday and Thursday nights for students to come and renew their faith.  They can return to the altar where they first met God, when He first made sense to them.  What a gift of space and time Sonshine provides for an amazing renewal to take place.

I feel the burn!

As I think about the biomechanical theory behind weight training, I more easily understand why I have such difficult with the theoLOGICALness behind wait training.  As we (and I use we generally because I would be fooling you all to lead you to think that I actually work out!) lift weights, our muscle fibers literally rip apart leaving a gap to be filled.  Eventually, the proteins and cells within our muscles build scar tissue.  But, then we have to go work out again... and again... and again... and again... and still, WHERE ARE THE RESULTS?

I find myself asking that question over and over again: "God, where are the results to my faithfulness in you?"  And he always responds in the same way, "Wait."  Well, as I mentioned earlier, my lack of obedience to literal weight training probably demonstrates the difficulty I face when attempting to wait train.

But, there is so much truth to the concept of wait training, as described by Darrell.  How quickly am I to give up on a situation because of fear?  I fear because I lack trust, but I lack trust because I fear.  The remedy is so simply complicated: it's to learn to wait and to trust that in my waiting the Lord will be faithful, as he always has been, is, and will continue to be.

As I think about summertime, I always maintain the same fear: Are you sure you want me to do this, Jesus?  I am so unprepared.  I need more training.  I need more this, and that.  I don't know how, or where, or what, or when...  The tendency is to then rely on my OWN ideas, decisions, and thoughts instead of simply waiting and trusting that He knew exactly what He was doing when he entrusted the lives of over 3,000 people every summer to a group of incompetent people.

I need to daily make that decision, as Darrell discusses, to follow and trust His will.  In other words, I need to learn the act of waiting patience.

Checked Boxes and Engineering

It always surprises me that as soon as I think I've "figured out" a piece of my relationship with Jesus, he continues to show me just how much I still need to grow. Even though I've heard, and truly believe the phrase "you never graduate from Jesus school," I still got caught up in thinking that things like trust, forgiveness, love, etc. are just check boxes to complete and move on from.

Given that DJ's main focus has been/will be on trust - this is the most recent box I had "checked" and thought that I was done with. (Haha - that's a funny story...definitely not done yet! =D) Darrell's third point really hit home with this. Faith is a decision every day. Trusting God is a decision every day. I keep telling myself that it's a one-time-thing, or maybe something that I need to focus on when I am really in need of him to come through for me - but every day? Every morning and afternoon? Every moment of every day? That seems like so much.

Another part of this sermon that stuck out to me was Darrell's comments on Lot and why Abram kept him along. Ultimately the conclusion was that Abram was engineering God's call. And no...it didn't stick out just because he mentioned engineering. It stuck out because I had to genuinely ask myself if I was doing the same thing. Am I trying to engineer God's call on my life? And the scarier part is that I think the answer is yes. I don't really know what that means, or the implications of it. But I'm comforted by God's response to Abram throwing himself onto himself... "But the Lord..." I'm comforted by knowing that I love and serve "Yahweh to the rescue". I'm comforted by knowing that the Lord can intervene even when I really blow it. I'm comforted by the grace that God pours out on me. I'm comforted by knowing that God's plan is the only unthwartable one.

As I'm writing these things, I'm asking myself - am I really comforted by those things? Or am I just writing them because I know I should? Yes, I know that God's plan is unthwartable - but if he ends up calling me to SLO for the summer (or somewhere else for that matter) - will I still believe it? Will I still believe that it was God's unthwartable plan? All I want to do right now is make it work. I want to throw myself on myself and figure out a way (read: engineer a plan) to make sure I'm on the water again this summer. Honestly, that's still my knee-jerk reaction when I think about the summer. And it's so contrary to everything that I heard in this sermon...three times! (yes, I listened to it three times!) God, help me to throw myself completely on you in the face of the unknown.

This whole trust thing is really hard for me. I think I'm starting to get more of a glimpse of the root of that statement, but I'll save that for another blog. :) These studies always seem to come at the perfect time, and I am blessed to be in it with a team of people supporting me and loving me every step of the way. 

Graceland - not just a good TV show!

Wk 2's sermon, "Up and down...But always forward" was really hard to listen to.  So good, but so revealing of our lack of faith in God.  It revealed God's limitless grace poured out on us, behind us, and in front of us. To think that God's grace goes ("walks") before me into all circumstances and situations yet, many many times I will still choose to put faith in myself and throw myself upon myself!!! Like Darrell pointed out, "Every action and decision by mankind is an act of faith.  Their is no faithless person or decision."  Darrell goes on to say every action we choose reveals who or what we have placed our faith upon. "Lord, forgive us for the many times throughout the day we throw ourselves upon everything and everyone else but you!"

It was rough to watch Abraham prostitute his wife out to Pharaoh.  It was even more difficult to see a pagan ruler (Pharaoh) have more integrity and a greater moral compass than Abraham.  But maybe the most difficult part to digest was Abraham's story is my story, your story, our story!  I could go on for days about the way I, you, we prostitute ourselves to other lovers - non gods - exercising a futile faith in non reality only to be led by grace back to the place we started....THE CROSS.  "Lord, I know your grace is being poured out into all circumstances and situations right now, help me trust what I know is true and throw myself onto you!"

I understand "Up and down...But always forward" to be part of the faith journey, it just pains me to see my faithless heart exposed for what it really is...faith in me and not God! "Lord, forgive us for the many times throughout the day we throw ourselves upon everything and everyone else but you!"



  

Rewire my Neurons, Jesus!

I was recently required to read a book for class entitled The Shallows: What the Internet is doing to Our Brains and was struck by what the author shared regarding the nature of our brain chemistry.  He explained, in the context of the internet, that as we adapt to using the internet more frequently, the way our neurons fire and mold into our varying cortexes literally changes our brains in drastic ways.  The neurons within the brain of a person who reads print books versus the person who spends a greater amount of their time reading pixelated fonts literally changes the anatomy of our brains.

As Darrell Johnson spoke of us being sojourners or resident aliens in this world, it reminded me of the fact that as he calls us to different places, to merely "just follow" him, he causes our brains to become rewired.  He restructures the ways in which our synapses fire and respond to stimuli.  In a spiritual sense, as we obey His calling to follow He carefully adjusts our spiritual composition to exhibit the words and actions required to follow Him in the midst of the "drag of the prevailing culture."

However, just as the book I was reading mentions, if we revert to our old ways, of reading print text over the hypertext, our neurons will once again reconfigure themselves.  As we subtly or overtly reject His calling in our lives, no matter how small, our chemical/spiritual makeup reverts to its old ways and we wonder why He is failing to respond to our current situations.  Well, it's simply that as he is rewiring our brains, we pull off the cords He is using and implant our own.  And, as much as I enjoy science, I have no idea how to rewire a brain like the One who authored them all.

But, thank Him for new grace, or as Romans 5:30 mentions, "grace abounding all the more."  Just as our brains can be rewired depending on our environment, God can call us sinners home, again and again and again because he continually "rewires" us despite the fact that we daily resist.  I hear people ask, "How can a God allow... X, Y & Z" but I think, "How can a God consistently, continually, and mercifully reconstruct me weekly, daily, hourly, minutely and offer me that new manifestation of grace despite my defiance?"

Just as Darrell says, Jesus is knocking at the doors of the White House, of the U.N., of my house, saying, "I can make this work!  Just follow me!"  And, I respond, "Okay, but how about tomorrow?"  And yet, he still offers me that new grace, over and over again.  Amazing!

I need to tattoo "JUST FOLLOW" on my forehead.

Sometimes I get so frustrated because I feel like all I talk about, think about and act out on are my same potholes. I think seriously Kenzie its been years, get new ones! Move on already! 

Then I realize I have missed the point all together. I am constantly looking for that one verse that makes everything click, or that one sermon, song, person, experience... etc. that will solve all my problems. 

My trust issues are deep rooted in looking for hope, love, safety and acceptance in everything thats NOT Jesus. Ergo I'm constantly being let down. 

So Jesus knocking on my door yelling "I can make this work!!!" is who I am going to let in this time.  

I feel like I have always known the story of Abraham and Sara but not like this. It changes my perspective on who the Lord chooses to live out His will.  Jesus came thousands of years after Abraham responded to His call. We will never know what our obedience will lead to. I always ask myself why I ended up in San Francisco and at this school.... and you know.... who knows?? 

I just have to keep following. 

Love you guys and I'm so excited for what will be revealed to us as a team through this series.

- kenz 

"De-Warted" by the "Un-thwarted"

When Mr. Johnson highlights the incredible breadth of God’s call on Abraham and Sarah he says, 

“As God said in the initial call, go forth from your country and I will bless you and in you all the families of the earth will be blessed.  All? All the families? Why?  Because God’s call on Abraham and Sarah set in motion an unthwartable work of grace which culminates in the birth, life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ of Nazareth.”  

-- I am inspired & encouraged by his use of the word “unthwartable.”  

His light invading darkness -- unthwartable.  His truth dismantling lies – unthwartable.  His strength displacing weakness – unthwartable.  His life invigorating death – unthwartable.  His wisdom redeeming foolishness – unthwartable. His security incinerating insecurity – unthwartable.  

I rejoice this morning that my crusty, cursed fallen life  can be “De-WARTED” by the “Un-TH-WART-ED” gracious sovereign activity of the creator. 

Mr. Johnson challenges me to immerse my warty heart & mind in the living Word of God.  

He exhorts me to lift scarred hands to the creator and to trust God to smooth and heal the callouses and wounds caused by the countless pot holes these wounded hands have dug.  

Mr. Johnson  pushes me to scrub houseboats this summer while quoting Psalm 23:6 – “Surely goodness and mercy will MOP UP after me all the days of my life.”  

It is in the FOLLOWING, that we are blessed.

Similar to many of you, what really stuck out to me in this message was the reminder to leave, trust, and obey - this is how we are called to respond to the blessings in our life.

Thinking ahead to the next few months, I am struggling to trust that I have made the right decision in leaving behind school and family and possible job opportunities here for another summer serving on the water.  Starting to think about grad school applications, I am feeling pressure to do and be more.  I feel myself being squeezed into a mold of what the "perfect student" should look like. I need to take these classes, work this many hours a week, meet with this person, etc. - but not matter what I do, there is always someone who is doing more than me or is better than me.  But through this sermon, I am reminded that He is the only one who can make something great out of this life.  When Daryl described the poster of Jesus outside the door of the United Nations, I thought about him standing outside my door.  I imagine Him saying to me "I can make it work.. I can make this life of yours work!"  Too often  I am trying to make my own name great.  God is calling me to give up trust in myself for trust in Him and His plans so that I can make HIS name great.  Relinquishing control and leaving behind what I know to be safe and comfortable allows me to be blessed and to bless others.  The unknown ahead still terrifies me, but I know that God has blessed me and brought me to where I am today, so who am I to doubt that he will continue to deliver me through these next few months?

Just follow.  Such a simple response that in this moment is bringing me comfort.  It is a reminder of what He has done and brings hope for what He will do.  Because it is in the following that we experience blessing, not in the staying.

Love reading all of your posts throughout the week and looking forward to the rest of this series!

That Reach and Speech

Today after church I picked up some Chinese food from Panda Express for lunch and, along with it, the standard fortune cookie came.  My fortune today:  “Now is the time to set your sights high and ‘Go for it!’”   I had to laugh a bit in light of the sermon we listened to this week.  I couldn’t help but hear God’s voice slightly alter this good fortune and say, “Now is the time to set your sights high and….FOLLOW ME!!”   Daryl spoke these words, “It is in the following that we experience the blessing, not in the staying.”  That one went straight between my eyes!  As I have been slowly pondering a career switch, I find myself just doing that…pondering – no action.  More and more, I have been feeling the rumblings, convictions, and whispers from God to start going forward.  It is time to start following God, and exploring what He could have for me on this road of change.  It is time to stop staying, and put one foot in front of the other.   “I am in the way you are going.”

 At the beginning of his sermon, Daryl refers to God’s call to Abraham and Sarah by saying: “That reach and speech set in motion a journey that has life-transforming implications not only for that man and woman and that family, but for the whole world.”  The words “reach and speech” sent my head spinning in fifty different directions.  One word that came to mind was “potential.”  Oh, what potential we all have to hear and respond to God’s callings in our lives.  If only I would listen, or risk in my life enough to unleash what He has for me and for how He wants to use me.”  Are there life-transforming things that God wants to do in my life that I have ignored or been too scared to step out and do?  Have I ignored His reach and speech?  Answer:  Yes. A second thought that came to mind was the eucharist - the time we enter into holy communion with God with the broken bread and poured out wine.  That is His “good caress” – His reach and speech to us.   Thank you, Lord for being in our midst through action and word.  The Kingdom of God is here!!

 “I can make your name great.  I can make it work…..I can make this work!”  I couldn’t help but picture Christ hanging on the cross and Him thinking, ‘Can’t you see?  I can make this work!  I AM making this work!”  I AM saving all of humanity right before your eyes!’  The image of broken bread and poured out wine once again meets us face-to-face.

 One final thought about this week’s sermon was particularly thought-provoking and spoke right into a fear that often crosses my mind living in L.A.  Daryl quotes J.B. Phillips saying, “Don’t let the world around you squeeze you into its mold, but let God remold you from within.”  I feel this “drag” of the prevailing culture often and find myself praying, “Lord, please keep me from the glitter!!”  There is so much to get caught-up in here in L.A and, at face value, can be quite attractive.  But God’s screaming whisper tells me, “Leave it!”  Help me to leave it, Lord.  Remold me from within.

 End note:  Daryl mentions Henrietta Mears in his sermon as a woman who led, trusted, and obeyed God’s call upon her life.  My dad got to work with Henrietta Mears while he was in the Young Adults group at Hollywood Pres.  Through her, God influenced the lives of many, including my dad’s.  J

 

 

 

 

 

God's Passion to Bless

 Where do I start, there were so many times that as he was speaking I was transported back to summers on the water and when I was seeing the upcoming summer. So much of this brought me through my journey serving Jesus on the water at Sonshine. What an awesome experience to sit and reflect back.

I am very much appreciating, and in my own life, seeing the theme of "being set free from the drag of the prevailing culture." It is so easy to do what is expected, do what we are "supposed to do" but what I love is that reminder that we are called to "not let the world squeeze us into their mold" but to "just follow"! What a simple statement with such impact and depth.  Especially for my time in life right now, the prevailing culture has made very clear what is expected of me but as I think of that and reflect on this sermon what I must do is ask myself, "in these things am I following Jesus". As we prepare for the summer, as we prepare to journey with boat drivers, trainees, barneys, campers and each other Jesus wants us to just follow Him.  God's passion is to bless and we get to experience those blessings, and our charge? Follow Jesus. As the Summer of 2015 is approaching I hope that my attitude and preparation is not waiting for it to come but moving towards the summer as I follow Jesus, because as Darrell said, "It is in the following that we experience blessing not in the staying".

Radical Trust

This Footsteps of Faith series is going to be something else! I was definitely surprised by the focal point of Abraham and Sarah when it first began because I do not know a lot about it, but was stoked and challenged as DJ spoke. Similar to you guys, when DJ was responding to all the questions that we have in response to Jesus calling us to step into being uncomfortable as "JUST FOLLOW...JUST FOLLOW", I immediately thought about the journey of Sonshine from preseason to season and then to leaving the docks and continuing that radical trust in the person of Jesus and keeping our eyes fixed upon the cross! Last summer I was definitely challenged and I continued to learn new lessons on placing FULL TRUST and control in His hands, not my own. This brings up the concept of role vs. character and when I try to fill a role and not a friendship with the person of Christ, I am filling my own desire and selfishness. It is so encouraging to know that Jesus walks with us and leads our path, and all we have to do is follow!! (although that is not always as easy as it sounds haha)...Followership is now, not when I hit the docks...Followership is now, not when I am out on the water. He is the same loving God at Sonshine as he is in our hometowns and I gotta keep that in mind constantly! Love y'all!
In Christ,
Connor Rozean

Grace, Rebellion, Judgement, New Grace

Man, so much of this stuck out to me.
First:
"I will make your name great. I am the ONLY one who can make your name great! I will rebuild this broken world. I will build the city for which you long."
To me this translates into "I will drive boats this summer. I will shop of Costco. I will float Barneys. Just follow."
But God, I don't know if I can do it.
You don't have to do it. I do it. Just follow.

Recognizing that God could run all of Sonshine without us is humbling and also relieving. We know that he is the one pulling ski runs, he is the one tugging on staff members hearts, he is the one coordinating logistics. All we have to do is follow him. That is not to discredit how hard, scary and painful that can be. But it takes away the fear of failure- because He is the one in control. He sees the path, he knows the way, he is the way.

Second:
I feel like I am constantly at war with myself. Some days I am so fed up with constantly having to fight my sinful nature and tendencies that I just want to be done with this and in heaven already. But then he graciously reminds me of why I am here. To follow.
But God, don't you know what I've done?
Yes. And I still love you.
But what if I rebel again?
I still love you.
Why can't I just come to heaven already?
I am not finished with you yet. Follow me.

It is so hard and a daily battle to continue to follow him. But then I am reminded of the radical, scandalous love affair that I have with him and though I'm still trying to understand that whole thing, I know that he is good and he loves me.

Inspiring response to "go"

The "I will make your name great" section of DJ's sermon grabbed my attention.  I was "running" through downtown Woodbridge as I was listening to this part of the sermon. I was blown away how God flipped the phrase from the people who were building the Tower of Babel and how he was going to make Abraham's name great.  I got to thinking about different cities I've gone through (driven, walked and explored) and hearing DJ say, "can you name one city that is working?"  No not one. And to think that Abraham and his wife Sarah were so sensitive to the calling to "go from your country, your people and fathers household to the land I will show you. " Abraham's response? He went as The Lord had told him.  

Abraham's response was not " let me check with ... Or... Are you sure? Or... That sounds hard... " Lord is that my response?  Father forgive me! I desire for my response to followership to be like Abraham's. 

 DJ talks about the " writer of the book of Hebrews recognizing the connection between the tower and Abraham... God says I will build the city for which you long." I feel like I am going to learn a lot through this series about our incredibly history. Thank you everyone who had posted already, I'm excited to continue listening each week, and reading others responses as we share in this online community. 

Leave, trust, obey!! Just do it

Wow I am so excited for this sermon series! It's incredible that God still uses Abraham and Sarah's story from thousands of years ago to teach us what it looks like to follow.

It's difficult for me to understand how hard it must have been for Abraham and Sarah to leave their fully established lives. They had no idea that the entire future of humanity would come to depend on their leaving, trusting, and obeying. As soon as they had developed a sense of security, God comes and says "Go to the land which I WILL show you." Not the land that they had already seen or already knew about, but the land which God WILL show them. Such trust!! Leaving the known for the unknown? Familiar for unfamiliar? Secure to insecure?? I've been thinking about what that looks like for me. If I am content with staying where I am, I won't have the opportunity to experience or become the blessing. As DJ says, to be a disciple of Jesus Christ in our time is to be a sojourner, foreigner, and a resident alien in one's homeland. It's in the following, not the staying, that we will be blessed to be a blessing. 

This is so scary to me! I'm in the middle of trying to figure out what I want to do in school, if I want to stay in my major or switch and pursue something completely different and I'm having the hardest time trusting God 100%. I'm terrified that I'm going to make the wrong decision and it feels impossible to lean on the Lord when I don't know where he is taking me. I have to recognize that this familiar culture that I'm surrounded with is often not in line with the vision that God has for me. My family, this society, my friends, etc. no longer have the last word in discipleship! Leave, trust, obey. He doesn't promise it will be easy or without sacrifice, but he promises he will be leading us. 

God's Particular Redemption Plan..... "TRUTH TAZE:

One of my favorite teachings in the last ten years is the teaching in this message that describes what I’ll refer to as the redemption pattern we see in people/civilization prior to Abraham.  Mr. Johnson describes the pattern as grace, rebellion, judgment, and then new grace.  He uses the verse Romans 5:30 as an illustration of the pattern and paraphrases this truth by saying “where sin is running out of control, grace is running even faster ahead of it.”  He then torpedoes me with his account of the Tower of Babel where the story concludes apparently with a Grace Vaccuum.  Instead of new grace filling the rebellion and judgment with redemption and grace Babel appears to spiral into the void. No light, no truth, no hope, no grace.  Mr. Johnson captures the forlorn emptiness with this quote from Gerhart Fan Ruhdt. “The whole primeval history therefore seems to break off into shrill dissidence.  And the question urgently arises is God’s relationship to the nations finally broken?  Is God’s gracious forebearance now exhausted?  Has God rejected the nations in wrath forever?”  He then drops this crazy cinematographic moment on the desolation spiral with this quote “the camera which had been spanning all these universal themes zooms in on one man and on one woman in one particular city of the earth.”  The fact that God’s universal, cosmic plan finds it fulfillment through one particular dude and His wife stings the psyche.  To think THE grand plan for space and time can find its root in human particularity – Abraham’s life, my life, your life leaves me dog faced twisted with wonder and amazement.  The scope of what God does through our particular lives is beyond imagination.  I wouldn’t believe God works to the extent that He does through us without the grace inspired testament of the law, prophets, & apostles. 1 Cor. 2:9  “What no eye has seen, what no ear has heard, and what no human mind has conceived”^[a]—  the things God has prepared for those who love him—“  Romans 11:35 - Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways! To think that God redeems all creation through particulars like you and  I is one of THE emotional/spiritual jolts that plows me into stunned worship.  It is one of a select few TRUTH TAZES whose beauty & power inspires instantaneous absolute praise (For me at least) I LOVE THIS GOD!

Journeying in the Unknown

This sermon spoke deeply to where my heart is at right now. Continuing to think about it yesterday and today after I listened on Monday morning has been encouraging and challenging. 

The last couple months of my life have been filled with questions of the future, with unknowns and with fears. Job searching had taken over my thoughts and I was consumed by doubt and fear of what God had planned for me after graduation. In the midst of that, I knew my heart longed to be out on the water again this summer. So I was trying to devise ways that I could make that happen. "If only I could get this job, and then stay there for this long, then they'll let me have my summer off." But there was still so much that was unknown. During that time I was hearing God telling me to wait for Him, to wait and trust. And when I got a call from the company I was hoping to work for (and actually just started working for yesterday - woohoo!), I was relieved. I thought that all the anxiety, all the fear, and all the unknown would be gone. God was calling me into this new place, promising His blessings (just as he did with Abram). But truthfully, those feelings - yup, still here. It's still so unknown. I still feel like I'm ill-equipped and too inexperienced to be working right now (but hey, that's how I felt going into serving at Sonshine too - and that seemed to go okay...I think!). I still think about what this internship may or may not turn into in terms of long term jobs. I still think about the unknowns of life, and it still freaks me out.

But, in this new stage of life, in the midst of the unknown I hear God's call to "Followership" like Reid talked about. This is the conversation I hear myself having with Him (similar to Reid's...but more personal!)

God: Come and follow me.

Me: Does that mean I'll be on the water this summer?

God: Just follow.

Me: Can I stay in SLO?

God: Just follow.

Me: But I'm not ready for "working life" yet?

God: Just follow.

Me: I don't even have housing for January.

God: Trust and follow me.

I'm reminded of the story in John 1 where Jesus' disciples ask him where he is staying that night and his response is "Come and you'll see."

Come with me into your new office. Come with me into your last few weeks of school. Come with me into your new housing situation. Come with me in leading your high school small group. Come with me in leading the college group. Come with me into this summer [where ever you will be].

Come and you'll see. Journey with me.

My performance-based self hates that so much. Because I just want to do things. I want to make things work. But as DJ said in the sermon - those things I desire, those things I try to do on my own, only he can do them, and he says he will do them, according to his plan and in his timing.

It's so simple, but oftentimes so hard. "Just follow."

JUST FOLLOW!

"Blessed to be a blessing" definitely blessed me this morning!  Especially the very end.  Darrell goes through a bunch of questions in response to God's call on our lives.  God speaks "Go into the land which I will show you".  We respond with - "This is crazy God! Move from the known to the unknown? Move from the familiar to the unfamiliar?  Move from the secure to the insecure?  This can't be your voice!  This can't be your call."

God: "Come follow me"
Us: "Where we going?"
God: "Just follow"
Us: "What will happen along the way?"
God: "Just follow"
Us: "Will it be long?"
God: "Just follow"
Us: "But I cant see where we are going!"
God: "I can...I AM the way we are going....just follow'

"It is in the following that we experience the blessing NOT in the staying!  It is in the following we become a blessing NOT in the staying" - DJ

All throughout the witness of scripture, the roles that humanity fill (Man, women, husband, wife, son, daughter, employer, employee.......any role) are always described or explained in the context of Discipleship.  Wondering what God says about being a student, a teacher, a father, a husband, a wife, employee of Sonshine?  Colossians 3:23-24 - " Whatever you do, do your work heartily, as for the Lord rather than for men; knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance.  It is the Lord Christ whom you serve."

The roles that you and I fill everyday are always understood through the lens of discipleship.  "JUST FOLLOW"  Life does not work any other way.  The blessing is in the following NOT the staying!   As we go through today may we see our day through the lens of discipleship.  We we follow with reckless abandon the one who bids us to JUST FOLLOW.  May Jesus' reminder guide our steps, "If anyone wishes to come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.  For whoever loses his life for my sake, he is the one who will save it.  For what is a man profited if he gains the whole world, and loses or FORFEITS himself?" - Luke 9:23-25

Just follow.....I AM is the way we are going....just follow and I promise you two things this summer.
1. You will be blessed
2. You will be a blessing

Happy "Followership" - what a great boat name!

-Reid  

 

On your marks, get set, GO!

Wow - summer 2015 is upon us.  We are 10 weeks away from the Admin Retreat.  This sermon study and Blog is for us to journey together In The Footsteps Of Faith.  Just like all of our training blogs, this platform is for you to process in community what God is speaking to you through the material.  If you have any questions or difficulty accessing the sermons please let me know!

-Reid