Words

My heart is found in the Creator’s arms resting in the place of perfect peace. No need for shadows to stand for me to hide. [I am hidden under the the wings of my Creator.] No need for great walls to be built to protect my body. Resting in deep breaths and a quiet whisper. No need to speak…

Let go of the fixing in your fingers. Let me fix what’s in the places of your heart. Simply do what I say. Drink deep in each day. Drink in deep the air you breathe. Don’t let time steal from you. In rest and peace you will always find greater life and greater joy.

Mexico City in the Rain (first few days)

"In Mexico City there are pictures and words staring at everyone passing by asking for attention (graffiti). Though there are bright colors that stand out, dirt seems to rest on nearly everything making it look older and more used. As of late cold has made its home among us in the streets and in our rooms. The only place I can really escape it is in my sleeping bag. Rain turns black and brown in the road. It bangs against the roof and the door asking to come in. People don’t stare as much as I thought they would, being foreigners, but they do stare. Those whom I’ve met have been very welcoming. Old VW beetles roam the streets, most of them taxis. Buses constantly pass, a man standing at the door telling people it’s destination."

(3/20/10)
These were only the first few days. Mexico City was much nicer than what I had anticipated...when it was sunny, which was most of the time.

The people are passionate, as I remembered from my childhood playing soccer with Mexicans until I was in 7th grade. They're vibrant, the people and the culture and the houses.

YWAM 2009 Update (Australia)

Films and Pictures from Australia

This film is from when I played for an Open Mic Night at the YWAM Perth base.



It took us 2 hours riding buses and a train and then another 2 hours walking to get to this wildlife park (Caversham Wildlife Park). It was so worth the journey.




Here are a few pictures from the base (meeting area, dining area, kitchen area), the city, and random fun:

Shadow & Light

Today I sat down to pray wondering if God would really speak to me or not. I felt kind of complacent, but I wanted to be open. So I sat down and I closed my eyes to shut everything out. I asked Him, “What do you want to show me?” and then I waited. A few random things came to mind. Then I saw a picture in my mind of a shadow cast during the daytime from a flagpole.

It was long and skinny and the light from the sun shone on everything else. I nearly skipped the picture, but then remembered that God speaks to us in pictures sometimes and about things and in ways we do not expect. So I continued to focus on the picture in my mind.

Then I felt God telling me, “Joel, you have a choice. All people have a choice,” and He went on to tell me about how the shadow represented the freedom people had who lived in their way without God, and the light represented the freedom people had who chose to follow Him and live more by His understanding, trusting He is love.

The idea was that the path we can take on our own is wide, most trodden, and seemingly to many people, freer. But in actuality, the path that is less trodden, the one that is pursuing God and living with Him as the center and is thinner perhaps, is the path that has more freedom, joy, truth, love, fullness, etc. It’s where the light dwells.

It is that those who live in the light of God’s understanding have this expanse of freedom while those who live by their understanding are limited.

Limited in changing the world. Limited in serving and loving others. Limited in reducing poverty. Limited in helping HIV/AIDS victims. Limited in experiencing a constant, true love.

Drinking?

“So what is your dream in life?”

“My dream? I want to be happy.”

“That’s good.”

“How about you?” I pondered the question for a second and turned back to face her.

“My dream is to learn more and more how to love God and love others, to learn how to serve other people with love.” The airplane continued to rise. I continued.

“We have so much freedom, me being from the United States and you being from Korea. We have so much freedom, and I don’t want to live using my freedom to satisfy myself. I want to learn how to use my freedom to serve others with love.”

This was about 10 minutes into my conversation with the woman next to me on the airplane. She was 33. Born in Seoul, Korea. A doctor. By the time we had this conversation we had exchanged names, I had learned she wasn’t married, and that she was going to Hong Kong for a 3-day, well deserved vacation. She’s very busy as a doctor and hadn’t had time for a vacation in about a year working at least 6 days a week, sometimes 7. I had shared that I worked with a mission organization and explained why I was in Korea and what I was going to Perth, Australia for (more missions training). She guessed that I was a Christian and I said, “Yes.”

“Have you ever broken a bone?”

“No. Try to keep healthy,” she said in her broken English.

“Well, what’s the craziest thing you’ve ever done?”

“Drinking.”

“You like to drink?”

“Yes, how about you?”

“I enjoy a beer with a meal here and there, and wine goes really well with some meals. I’ve felt buzzed before, but I’ve never been drunk. It’s something I have thought about throughout my life though. I don’t think it’s good when we let things take control of us whether it’s alcohol, cigarettes, watching television…” She laughed, and I could see a glimmer of understanding in her face at what I was getting at. I continued.

“There’s a man who once said, ‘Everything is permissible, but not everything is beneficial.’”

We kept talking and then as the airplane leveled we went to doing our own things. I don’t know what she did, but I watched a film. A few hours later we resumed our conversation and at some point came to this:

“So do you keep in touch with your friends from university or high school?”

“No.”

“Who do you drink with?”

“My friends from work.”

“Have you traveled to many places?”

This last question led to her asking me the same in return. We had about 40 minutes till landing. I started with, “I’ve been to many places since March, but none of it was my plan.” She looked at me waiting for me to continue. “There’s a story behind it. Do you mind if share it?”

“Go ahead,” was her reply.

Over the next 10 minutes I shared my life from how I ended up with the mission organization OMS International when I didn’t want to join, and what happened that led me to continuing with them overseas rather than finishing in April.

She listened attentively as I shared about God’s love in my life. As we continued with small-talk she made a few comments about the way I lived my life and the way I spoke about life as well. I would just tell her that it honestly was only because of God, which was the simple truth, a fact that cannot be changed.

With all the good I can accomplish with my own ideas and direction, God’s ideas and direction go much further in sharing true love.

What I in fact had shared with her was simple, my story. Or as some might say, my testimony. We had a lot of laughs and really enjoyed our time together. It was great.

“So, what is your idea about spirituality?” I asked, surprised at how confident I felt asking the question.

“My parents are Catholic, but I’m not. They don’t force me to be Catholic.

“That’s good. No one should have God forced on them. That’s never good.”

During our conversation at one point she asked for my e-mail. I was so glad she asked because I was pondering giving it to her anyway, but wasn’t sure about it and had prayed God would work it out for me to give her my e-mail without feeling uncomfortable.

Before we parted at Hong Kong airport she said, “If you come to Seoul you can e-mail me.” I said to her with a smile, “Ok, but make sure you send me an e-mail so I have yours. I’ve had a lot of people ask for my e-mail and then never e-mail me, so you better e-mail me.” I smiled and said, “Let me know how your time in Hong Kong goes” as I walked away. She agreed to write and turned towards baggage claim.

I can only thank God for our time together because I was so out of it and tired. I hadn’t had much sleep in the 2 weeks prior and I had gotten a really bad cold the day before…bleh. I had prayed that if God wanted to use me, He would do it regardless of my weakness. Then when she sat down next to me I suddenly felt I should say “hello.”

And that’s where it started.

Cut It Off!

“As for those agitators, I wish they would go the whole way and emasculate themselves!” (a.k.a. "cut off their you-know-what")

When I read this I was amazed. Paul, a man who met Jesus in a vision, was sharing his opinion of people who were shifting the focus of new believers from God himself to a method of being with God. I can't help but have a love and respect for the way Paul speaks about this issue in the church.

Paul is writing to new believers in the city of Galatia (around 50 A.D.) expressing frustration towards Jewish teachers who are trying to influence them, non-Jews, to live in relationship with God in the same way the nation of Israel has always done so. The particular issue here is circumcision. (now you know where Paul gets his inspiration in writing the sentence above)

In this letter one of his points is, “When you come to know God, don’t get circumcised!” which is a really big statement for that time.

From the very beginning of the nation of Israel, circumcision has been a sign of God’s covenant and a very important part of the nation’s commitment to God (That may sound weird to you, but it’s true. If you’re curious as to why shoot me an e-mail ... if you’re reading this and you have more insight, please let me know : )

The Galatians have been deceived. These new believers are in danger because they are close to removing their focus from God himself to a "method" of being with God. Even though circumcision has been around for thousands of years as an important part of the Israelites commitment to God Paul states that Jesus will have no value to these new believers if they follow it.

How often do people simply join the crowd in Christian communities? How often do people set their traditions and methods of living with God onto others? Who do we serve? God or methods and traditions.

But we can't stop here. If we want to know the truth we have to keep reading. People don't have free reign to relate to God however they want to or however they feel.

God is beyond traditions or methods or ways or laws, even if they've been around for thousands of years. And Paul knows that if people focus on meeting "requirements" and "traditions" instead of on the truth of who God is and what it means to pursue HIM, they will be bound by those things and therefore unable to walk in the power of the Spirit. But there's more. Paul continues by saying:

"For you have been called to live in freedom, my brothers and sisters. But don’t use your freedom to satisfy your sinful nature. Instead, use your freedom to serve one another in love."

So what does this mean?

I think God is moving. He’s doing something new for a new people. He's being God (one who is above all things, full of understanding, the essence of true love for all people). He's being personal. This is exciting for me because it tells me that people haven’t reached the end of discovering how to relate to God or how He relates to us. It tells me that He’s not closed by a certain way to live with Him, but open to a way of life with all people that grows out of a relationship with Him...

...based on love, faithfulness, grace, forgiveness and truth.

"The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love." - Paul

p.s. -to read this section of the letter you can go to: http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Galatians%205:1-15&version=NLT