New Blog for my Europe Trip!

In case any of you are interested in staying up to date with my trip to Europe, I've created a new blog that will chronicle my preparations, thoughts, and experiences surrounding my trip to Europe.  

The URL is http://amightyfortress.wordpress.com

Currently reading:  Through the Gates of Splendor, by Elisabeth Elliot (The story of the life and ministry of Jim Elliot, Nate Saint, Roger Youderian, Pete Fleming, and Ed McCully and their martyrdom in attempting to reach the Auca Indians of Equador)

I was reading a few chapters today during the ISSMA Concert Band State Finals (yes, some of the band performances were better spent reading rather than listening to).  I was encouraged by some of the testimonies in the book by some of these men, and I wanted to share some of the things they wrote.

First, a spiritual illustration by Nate Saint:

"When life's flight is over, and we unload our cargo at the other end, the fellow who got rid of unnecessary weight will have the most valuable cargo to present to the Lord."

Sounds familiar, right?  Hebrews 12:1-2 came to my mind when I read this.

Next, a reflection on his own conversion experience from Roger Youderian:

"The happiest day of my life was the day I accepted Jesus Christ as my Savior for the remission of my sins, duly repented for, and with God's help I hope and pray for the faith and strength to glorify our Father through my daily living as a witness and follower of Christ.  Searching the Scriptures is my greatest source of hope and inspiration, having yet to learn the full power of prayer.  I used to say, 'This is a great world.'  With this new faith, this feeling has increased a thousandfold and I fairly ache within from happiness and rejoicing in sharing God's manifold blessing which He gives to this world with Infinite mercy and grace."

Later on, Roger wrote to his mother:  

"Ever since I accepted Christ as my personal Savior last fall and wanted to follow Him and do the will of the Lord, I've felt the call to either missionary, social, or ministerial work after my release from the service.  Can't say now what the calling will be but I want to be a witness for Him and live following Him every second of my life."

All five of these men had great passion to live out their lives for Jesus Christ.  They knew what great lengths our Savior went to save us, and wanted to live their lives in complete surrender to Him.  Their lives testify to the life-giving Spirit that dwells within them.  Their lives echo what the apostle Paul said to the Ephesian elders:  "But I do not account my life of any value nor as precious to myself, if only I may finish my course and the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God" (Acts 20:24).

I want to live that kind of life.  There is nothing better than living in complete abandon to the Lord and allowing Him to fulfill His purposes through you.  I long for my will to be wholly conformed to His.  He is worth living for.  He is worth dying for.

A view of the Bosphorus Straight, which runs through the city of Istanbul, Turkey.

I was browsing through pictures this morning, and came across several pictures of my summer spent in Turkey, in 2002. It brought back several memories of the places and people I had encountered. Istanbul was a gigantic place which millions of people...it would have taken no time to get lost there. This picture above was one of my most favorite places to be in the city...it was on a road that travels down into a university that we frequently visited. Looks beautiful, right? Well, from this vantage point, yes, it does. However, anyone can agree with me that when you are only a few feet from it, it actually looks and smells like one of the most disgusting bodies of water that you've ever seen. I'm talking trash thrown into it along with an odor that just makes you want to gag.

Isn't it interesting that our perspective on things really makes a difference in how we view them? I think of an average person who is a helpful citizen, cares for others, protects his/her environment, works diligently at their job, etc., etc. One might look at this person and think that he/she is a great person that makes a significant contribution to our world. But God has a different perspective. When He sees someone, who, to us, is a good person who serves well, he doesn't see goodness. Listen to what Isaiah writes about what God sees:

"We have all become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous deeds are like a polluted garment" (Isaiah 64:6).

Polluted garments? Literally, this really means menstrual rags. Yuck! God looks at our good deeds like that? God has the view that is up close and personal. He made us. He knows us better than we know ourselves. And the reason God has this view of us is because we are tainted with sin. Sin causes us to be separated from God's fellowship, but makes us enemies of God. So, what you and I see as a good person who does great things in life to help others and his/her surroundings, God sees as one who is unclean, defiled, and disgusting in His sight.

Oh, but what glorious truth there is in the gospel of Jesus Christ! Hear the words of Paul, who wrote of the great salvation that delivers us from this bondage:

"but God shows his love for us in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us" (Romans 5:8),

and,

"For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life" (Romans 5:10).

Through the righteousness of Christ, we no longer are viewed by God like Isaiah described. We are looked upon as holy, righteous, glorious sons and daughters of the Almighty. God didn't want it to stay like the way of the past. He wanted us to be restored. And it cost Him His Son's life to make it happen.

However, we must make a decision whether or not we will accept this Christ. We can't just sit here and know that this happened. We must embrace it with our lives and fully surrender our old selves to God. Paul wrote earlier in the letter to the Romans that in Christ, we are dead to our sins. But if we reject Him, we pay dearly for it. Our lives will be spent eternally separated from God because He cannot live with sin in His presence. We have the opportunity now to invite Jesus Christ to enter our lives and save us from our sins. If we reject Him, there will be consequences...eternal consequences. If we receive Him, we have fellowship with God and will enjoy everlasting company with Him and His Son, Jesus, in heaven.

Which will you choose?

I was listening to one of John Piper's sermons about the new birth, and jotted this quote down, which I found very challenging:

"Wouldn't you like it if the first thing that came into the world's mind is 'Christians go first,' instead of bigger houses, more boats, more stuff?!  Why wouldn't we be known that way?  It's because so many [in the church] are not born again.  Scary, right?  We're just worldly!"

More on this later...

Today's sermon in church was amazing!  Our church had an installation service for our new pastor, and Dr. Jim Grier, a special friend and mentor of our church, spoke from 2 Corinthians 3:11-18.  

He set up the context by giving a survey of God's story through redemptive history, beginning with the Creation all the way through the consummation of the Kingdom when Jesus Christ returns and conquers evil once and for all.  Special mention was made about the cloud of God's presence making His dwelling among His people in the wilderness, then in the tabernacle when entering the Promise Land, and especially in the Temple when Solomon dedicated it to the Lord.  When at Mount Sinai, the Israelites were so overwhelmed by God's presence that they sent Moses up to the mountain to speak to God on their behalf.  When Moses would come down from the mountain to share God's revelation with the Israelites, Moses had to wear a veil over his face because his face resonated the glory of God so brightly.  This veil is very important to what came about from this text, so keep this in mind.

Then, Dr. Grief described one of Ezekiel's visions (Ez. 10) that showed the cloud of God's presence with the Israelites during their Babylonian captivity.  Their rebellion was great, and God was almost trying to restrain Himself from leaving...but in the end, His presence drifted up to the mountain and then out of sight.  God had left His people...a sad and agonizing day in the life of God's people.

But it was not to remain that way.  God made His dwelling among men once again, this time as a man.  This man was the perfect example of what God was like in the form of a human being, yet the Jews would have nothing to do with Him.  They crucified the Lord of Glory, thinking they were rid of this outrage to God's Law.  Yet, Jesus Christ's resurrection and ascension brought about something far bigger than anyone had expected or anticipated.  God sent the Holy Spirit to His people and once again, the first time since Ezekiel's vision, God made His dwelling among men.  This time, it was the Holy Spirit, who made His dwelling in the hearts of those who confessed Jesus Christ as their Lord.

And so, Paul writes this simple, yet wonderful and glorious statement in his epistle:  "But when one turns to the Lord, the veil is removed" (2 Cor. 3:16).  

Remember the veil?  The veil that once clouded our vision of seeing the Lord in His fulness is now removed because of the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.  But take note: the veil's removal is only for those who place their faith in Him to save them from God's wrath, forgive them of their sins, and impute the righteousness of Christ to their account.  Paul concludes this section of his epistle by giving us hope for what the unveiled face means:

"And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another.  For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit" (2 Cor. 3:18).  

What an amazing truth from God's Word!  I am now able to behold the glory of God.  I am being transformed, day by day, into the same image, the image of the glorified Christ.  What did I ever do to deserve such great things?  Why did God look on me, a sinner, and choose me for this?  God's grace is so precious.  He longs to make His dwelling place in my heart and the hearts of His redeemed.  I will never know why, but I can be abundantly grateful and give my thanks to Him for causing me to be a part of His story...the story of the redeemed, from Creation to Consummation.  

Things I need to pray for (in no particular order...well, except #1):

1.  Jesus Christ would be my supreme and most valuable treasure!

2.  God's Word would dwell deeply in my heart (Psalm 119:9-11).

3.  I would be filled with the Holy Spirit to be empowered to live like Christ.

4.  I would hate my sin as God hates it, and fall before the cross to receive Christ's forgiveness.

5.  I would understand God's truth a little more each day and be willing to live it out.

6.  My will and plans need to be set aside and I need to cling to His ultimate will and submit to it with joy.

7.  I would sacrificially love others with Christ's love and forsake myself by carrying my cross in obedience to Jesus.

8.  Grasp a fuller understanding of my identity in Christ.

9.  I would hallow the name of Jesus and be an instrument that leads others to do the same.

10.  Seek out opportunities to share the gospel of salvation with others in my path.

11.  That Christ would return soon!  (Oh, how I long to see His face!)

12.  My joy would be found in God alone and other pleasures would diminish in comparison.

Tonight, I had dinner with my parents and had a very exciting conversation.  We were talking about the future, and they of course, threw in their two cents about how I should find a girl and get married.  Well, I had a few opinions on that issue....I expressed to them that at this point in my life, I am perfectly happy being a single man.  I am able to devote my attention wholly to the Lord and not be consumed by the spiritual, emotional, financial, and time commitments that a relationship requires.  The Lord Jesus is my greatest love and treasure, and He alone deserves my life completely.  Now, this does not mean that I look down upon relationships and marriage, especially for others.  I am just saying that for me, I want to devote my complete attention to the Lord and I simply don't think I can do that if I were involved in a relationship.

Anyway, that's not really what was so exciting about our conversation.  I expressed my desire to eventually cease being a music teacher and commit my life to some kind of overseas ministry.  I strongly desire to reach the lost and share the love of Jesus with those who, perhaps, have never had the chance to even hear Jesus' name.  I have had this desire for quite some time.  I have just been so torn, because I do believe the Lord has gifted me as a music teacher.  But my heart is, especially more recently, not fully satisfied with this.  I really believe that the Lord has placed a burden on my heart to one day go to the nations with the gospel.  I shared with them the desire to follow in the footsteps of such heroes of mine as Jim Elliot, Nate Saint, and BJ Higgins.  They laid their lives aside to follow the Lord's leading in going to the nations.  They embody the meaning of Jesus' teaching: "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." (Luke 9:23-24).

The world we live in is desperately lost and in need of a Savior.  "But how are they to call on him in whom they have not believed?  And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard?  And how are they to hear without someone preaching?  And how are they to preach unless they are sent?" (Rom. 10:14-15).  I'm tired of staying back and watching others go and do this great work.  I long to be there with them.  "The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few," says Jesus.  He needs me to go!  How can I ignore such a great and needy call?  

In Your time, Lord.  In Your time.  Lead me where you would have me go.  I ask for a heart that is obedient and faithful to You.  Jesus is worthy of my life, and I pray to honor Him with it.  Amen.