when i grow up...

One of our favorite subjects on the planet, and one I have written about here countless times, is figuring out our purpose. It's the goal that has launched a million backpacking trips across Europe and an equal number of mid-life crisises. But as complicated as we make it and as difficult as it often feels, Paul felt like it was pretty simple. Here is what he says in Galations 5:13:

"You, my brothers, were called to be free."

That's it. That is our purpose, to be free. Nothing fancy. Nothing complex or difficult or mystically spiritual. Freedom, that is our gift and our purpose. That is the word that is supposed to define our lives. So i believe God is asking you: what do you want to do? with the 5 fish and 2 loaves that i have given you , what do you want to do? how do you want to invest your 70- 90 years on this earth?

So are you living it? Would people describe you as free? Or are you embracing slavery in some way? Are there chains on you people might not see? Because you can go to Europe a thousand times and get the fastest sports car on the planet, but at the end of the day, if you're not free, you're not living your purpose and that's a tragedy. so jesus gives us the freedom to be. and not be enslaved to what the world tells us we should be. so sing, dance, write, but most importantly: be. 

this, my friends, is freedom. 

currently reading: the ragamuffin gospel by : brendan manning. 

Super- Happy -Shiny -Christian Radio

Boy of boy, I get cavities when I listen to Christian radio in the morning it's so sweet and sugary. Not that I'm asking for negativity, but for some reason, we want our morning radio to be like a big hug from a teddy bear.

I think that Christian radio is the audio equivalent of that poster that has the cat hanging on a rope with the line, "Hang in there." And it doesn't have to be. I think that Christianity is a lot more interesting than we make it out to be. I think it's real and honest and beautiful and ugly. But when in one of our most popular mediums we sugarcoat it, we give the world a really weird reflection of what it means to be Christian. And that's just not cool.

also, where in the world is the place of honesty? i mean, do we really want ministers to be honest? do we want to hear their stories of how they were / are struggling with sin? and do we really want the next person that we ask: "how are you" to respond with the truth of how they are really feeling deep down on the inside? that would make us have to be compassionate or atleast act like we really care. and thats exactly why i have pre-programmed myself to answer everyone of those questions with " I'm doing good bro..."

the power of squinting

1 Kings 18:41-45
41 Then Elijah said to Ahab, “Go up, eat and drink; for there is the sound of abundance of rain.” 42 So Ahab went up to eat and drink. And Elijah went up to the top of Carmel; then he bowed down on the ground, and put his face between his knees,
43 and said to his servant, “Go up now, look toward the sea.” So he went up and looked, and said, “There is nothing.” And seven times he said, “Go again.”
44 Then it came to pass the seventh time, that he said, “There is a cloud, as small as a man’s hand, rising out of the sea!” So he said, “Go up, say to Ahab, ‘Prepare your chariot, and go down before the rain stops you.’”
45 Now it happened in the meantime that the sky became black with clouds and wind, and there was a heavy rain. So Ahab rode away and went to Jezreel.
46 Then the hand of the LORD came upon Elijah; and he girded up his loins and ran ahead of Ahab to the entrance of Jezreel.


You know how when you squint, you can see things from far away? Things that were probably blurry when your eyes were normal. But if you squint… if you tighten your eyes and change their position you can see things from afar. Things that were there before but you just couldn’t see them. Things that aren’t close but close enough.
Elijah heard a sound... he heard the sound of the abundance of rain. The drought would soon be over and all they were waiting for was the rain. So he went on top of a mountain and put his face between his knees [meaning he wasn’t looking], and told his servant to look for a cloud. First time he looked… nothing. Second time he looked… nothing. Sounds familiar? First time you prayed… nothing. Second time you prayed… nothing.
BUT wait… on the 7th time he saw something. Something far away. Something very small. So small it probably wouldn’t have been worth mentioning. So small he could of probably missed it. But he saw it. And you know what he did? He said “Prepare your chariot, before the rain stops you”… we all know that in order for rain to stop us from doing anything it has to be bad. It has to be big and heavy. And even though the cloud they saw was the size of a hand, they were preparing for abundance. The cloud could have been blown to the other direction. It could have even stopped somewhere else. But they knew it was coming… that it was for them.
Whatever your waiting for, whatever your praying for… squint your eyes and see, for the vision is yet for an appointed time!! Whatever mountain your standing on top of, and whatever your looking for… squint your eyes, because the Spirit of God is about to raise up a standard! Whatever it is, wherever it is… it’s coming. For eye has not seen nor ear has heard the things that God has prepared for those who love him. The rains about to come… and it’s heavy.
That’s the power of squinting…

The Day Between

Christ died yesterday.

He defeats death tomorrow.

We know that. But they did not.

What were Mary and the disciples thinking/feeling today?

The day between.

- "Los"

if you're in the "day between" where you feel hopeless and you really don't see results of the thing you were hoping for, please remember always that Sunday is coming. 

specifically, if you feel that you are called to the ministry, but you haven't been "doing your best" lately, i want to encourage you not to forget that Sunday is a coming and God hasn't changed His mind about you and the way He wants to use you. i know Peter felt like he had to make a career change when he denied Jesus, but Jesus came back and realigned him with his call. so i pray he does that with you / us. 

i also want to open up the "comment" section for any thing that you have on your heart , whether it be an anonymous confession or something that will edify the rest of us feeling like were in the day between, go ahead. 

-noel

Dancing Toward Bethlehem

"And what a relief to see your friendly smile.  It is like seeing the face of God."- jacob to esau.

If there is only enough time in the final minutes of the twentieth century for one last dance I would like to be dancing it slowly with you,

say, in the ballroom of a seaside hotel. My palm would press into the small of your back as the past hundred years collapsed into a pile of mirrors or buttons or frivolous shoes,

just as the floor of the ninteenth century gave way and disappeared in a red cloud of brick dust. There will be no time to order another drink or worry about what was never said,

not with the orchestra sliding into the sea and all our attention devoted to humming whatever it was they were playing.

by Billy Collins, found in Sailing Alone Around the Room

i'm grounded.

I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.../ the joy of the lord is my strength...

what i learned today:

if daddy is not happy, i'm grounded .

if daddy is pleased, i can do anything.

so i make it my aim to be well pleasing to Him.

our real freedom is released unto us in our pleasing our Dad.

so the majority of the world is grounded because we forgot what got us in the garden in the first place. [ God placed Adam in the garden because He took pleasure in him and wanted to "walk" with him ]

there's no real freedom outside of this.

Jesus wants to walk with me and you again. he's always wanted to.

47.

so this is what i've been burning on for the last few days:

47 million babies have been killed since abortion was made legal.

is there any greater problem in society today? protesters will fight and shout for hours on the subject of bringing back our troops from war and yet say its alright to kill babies. did you know that this whole "keep abortion legal" campaign thats been going on for 40 years now started as a feminist/hippie movement? they argued that since a man had a choice to leave a child and leave it uncared for, then the female also has the right to leave a child uncared for or even KILL it. sounds evil right? it is.


47.

honestly, the only reason i would have to vote for mccain is because of his stance on abortion & homosexuality. but i do not see politics as the way we will overturn abortion. i honestly dont. G.W. Bush has probably been the most righteous President since Ford, and yet even He couldn't make abortion illegal.

i think the way we will see this overturned is through fasting & prayer. we can pray that the hearts of the nation [and church] will be broken over this subject and just like awareness has been raised on the topics of Darfur and mass-poverty and such, do our best to spread the news of this tragedy.

"cry aloud, and spare not" .

[ the pope has recently declared abortion to be wrong, except in the case of rape and/or other uncontrollable circumstances, but who made him God? abortion [murder] is wrong in all cases ]

p.s [prophetic sidenote] : when Moses and Jesus were babies, Satan sent out abortionists to kill all the babies... he tried his best to kill these two men. Since then, there has not been such a great assualt on babies until this generation. what does the devil see coming that we dont seem to know about?

sounds like an army of righteousness is being born...

47. justice.

write it down somewhere, keep it burning in your heart. pray.

enlarged

Romans 8:22

All around us we observe a pregnant creation. The difficult times of pain throughout the world are simply birth pangs. But it's not only around us; it's within us. The Spirit of God is arousing us within. We're also feeling the birth pangs. These sterile and barren bodies of ours are yearning for full deliverance. That is why waiting does not diminish us, any more than waiting diminishes a pregnant mother. We are enlarged in the waiting. We, of course, don't see what is enlarging us. But the longer we wait, the larger we become, and the more joyful our expectancy.

Waiting is hard. It really is... and its one of the things God makes us do the most.

What is it that is birthing inside of you? What spoken word from God has been growing and growing inside your spirit yet it seems like it's never going to come out... like its never going to happen. We feel the pain, we feel the birth pangs...we feel the weight of having to carry this around, we have people wanting to "touch our stomachs" in excitment yet they don't know what its like to hold it within us. They don't know the pain. They don't feel it kicking, they don't feel the pressure. And us... all we can do is wait.

What dream inside of you is patiently waiting to be fully developed so that it can be birthed out? What promise are you waiting for? What dream are you carrying inside?

There is a pregnant generation. Pregnant with spoken promises from the heart of God. Some have aborted them, not being ready to carry on such a call. Some have had them prematurely... risking to lose it all... and some of us are still waiting. Knowing that we are ENLARGED in the waiting.

The Kingdom is within you. When it starts expanding... it will either expand you.... or break you. - Jason Upton.

Just hold on....

Effort

"Now we cannot . . . discover our failure to keep God's law except by trying our very hardest (and then failing). Unless we really try, whatever we say there will always be at the back of our minds the idea that if we try harder next time we shall succeed in being completely good. Thus, in one sense, the road back to God is a road of moral effort, of trying harder and harder. But in another sense, it is not trying that is ever going to bring us home. All this trying leads up to the vital moment at which you turn to God and say, "you must do this. I can't."
C.S Lewis, Mere Christianity



"Many things - such as loving, going to sleep, or behaving unaffectedly - are done worst when we try hardest to do them."
C.S Lewis, Studies in Medieval and Renaissance Literature

Rich Young Rulers in Training?

All the wisdom necessary to unlock my soul,

But, my feet are fixed in cement

The young, rich ruler has taken residence in this fragile jar

It was once filled with prodigal clay

Too proud to yield the the truth that permeates their guilt-inducing pleas

My comfort has not left me blind,

But, instead inclined me to ignore the least of these

In doing so,I ignore Him

And become poorAgain
Luke 18:18-29
18A certain ruler asked him, “Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?”
19“Why do you call me good?” Jesus answered. “No one is good—except God alone. 20You know the commandments: ‘Do not commit adultery, do not murder, do not steal, do not give false testimony, honor your father and mother.’[b]”
21“All these I have kept since I was a boy,” he said.
22When Jesus heard this, he said to him, “You still lack one thing. Sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”
23When he heard this, he became very sad, because he was a man of great wealth. 24Jesus looked at him and said, “How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God! 25Indeed, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.”
26Those who heard this asked, “Who then can be saved?”
27Jesus replied, “What is impossible with men is possible with God.”
28Peter said to him, “We have left all we had to follow you!”
29“I tell you the truth,” Jesus said to them, “no one who has left home or wife or brothers or parents or children for the sake of the kingdom of God 30will fail to receive many times as much in this age and, in the age to come, eternal life.”
Matthew 25:31-46
31“When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory. 32All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left. 34“Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. 35For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, 36I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’
37“Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? 39When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’
40“The King will reply, ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.’
41“Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. 42For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, 43I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.’
44“They also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?’
45“He will reply, ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’
46“Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.”

Father, forgive us.

According to UNICEF, 26,500-30,000 children die each day due to poverty. And they “die quietly in some of the poorest villages on earth, far removed from the scrutiny and the conscience of the world. Being meek and weak in life makes these dying multitudes even more invisible in death.”Source 4
Around 27-28 percent of all children in developing countries are estimated to be underweight or stunted. The two regions that account for the bulk of the deficit are South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa.
If current trends continue, the Millennium Development Goals target of halving the proportion of underweight children will be missed by 30 million children, largely because of slow progress in Southern Asia and sub-Saharan Africa.Source 5
Based on enrolment data, about 72 million children of primary school age in the developing world were not in school in 2005; 57 per cent of them were girls. And these are regarded as optimisitic numbers.Source 6
Nearly a billion people entered the 21st century unable to read a book or sign their names.Source 7
Less than one per cent of what the world spent every year on weapons was needed to put every child into school by the year 2000 and yet it didn’t happen.Source 8
Infectious diseases continue to blight the lives of the poor across the world. An estimated 40 million people are living with HIV/AIDS, with 3 million deaths in 2004. Every year there are 350–500 million cases of malaria, with 1 million fatalities: Africa accounts for 90 percent of malarial deaths and African children account for over 80 percent of malaria victims worldwide.Source 9
Water problems affect half of humanity:
Some 1.1 billion people in developing countries have inadequate access to water, and 2.6 billion lack basic sanitation.
Almost two in three people lacking access to clean water survive on less than $2 a day, with one in three living on less than $1 a day.
More than 660 million people without sanitation live on less than $2 a day, and more than 385 million on less than $1 a day.
Access to piped water into the household averages about 85% for the wealthiest 20% of the population, compared with 25% for the poorest 20%.
1.8 billion people who have access to a water source within 1 kilometre, but not in their house or yard, consume around 20 litres per day. In the United Kingdom the average person uses more than 50 litres of water a day flushing toilets (where average daily water usage is about 150 liters a day. The highest average water use in the world is in the US, at 600 liters day.)
Some 1.8 million child deaths each year as a result of diarrhoea
The loss of 443 million school days each year from water-related illness.
Close to half of all people in developing countries suffering at any given time from a health problem caused by water and sanitation deficits.
Millions of women spending several hours a day collecting water.
To these human costs can be added the massive economic waste associated with the water and sanitation deficit.… The costs associated with health spending, productivity losses and labour diversions … are greatest in some of the poorest countries. Sub-Saharan Africa loses about 5% of GDP, or some $28.4 billion annually, a figure that exceeds total aid flows and debt relief to the region in 2003.
Number of children in the world
2.2 billion
Number in poverty
1 billion (every second child)

Time for change.

Me[last] .