to be known...

I was watching a youtube video of a woman. She illustrates the story of the woman at the well that is written in John 4. A story about a woman who believes she is unworthy to be in the presence of Jesus and tells Him she is no fit to give Him a drink. He looks into her eyes and tells her He knows her and describes to her a place where she can drink water that is everlasting; a water that will quench her thirst... a drink that will satisify her soul. When she realizes the man that she is encountering, she wants everyone to know. She can't keep it to herself; the message is too powerful to not tell anyone. She discovers a fire that has been lit inside of her; a passion to spread the good news. Tonight I was sitting in Brookies room with about 10 girls and we were talking about the things that were going on in our lives and the lives of our friends. We began to speak about the ways we are seeing God move within our friendships with our sorority sisters, our guy friends, our roommates and people we have never even met. We also talked about the areas of our lives that we are expecting to see Jesus intervene. Because we have seen it first hand, we are convinced that God has the power to transform anything we ask Him to... At the beginning of spring break my roommate Rachael was staying at my house with me and my family because her parents were out of town. She has had some issues with her hearing, so she had gone to the doctor to have some tests done. The doctors had diagnosed her with a hearing problem that was going to result in her having hearing aids for the rest of her life; keep in mind, she is 18. (sidenote: the poor girl has all kinds of health issues. she was once told that she would live the rest of her life sitting in a wheel chair, but by the power of faith and the grace of God she gets to enjoy the simplicity of skipping.) Anyway, we had just gotten home from getting her blood drawn so they could run some tests, and Barb and Craig (my parents) were sitting on their bed when we walked in. We told them the story of the doctors concerns, and Craig was quick to suggest we lay hands on her ears and pray for her to be healed. This past weekend Rachael had to go back home to have more tests done; the results of her tests showed that her hearing was equivelent to the hearing of any perfectly well 18 year old; elimating the need for hearing aids. The doctor was blown away, certain that what the results said was impossible. Jesus had something different to say about it. How cool is it that Jesus knew everything about the samaritan woman who He found at the well? He knew she would be there; He knew she didn't have a husband. He knew she had been married five times, and that she was currently living with a man she was not married to. He knew she was a sinner, and he looked into her eyes and offered her hope. He offered her something solid, something distinct that she would never forget. The woman is an illustration of all of us. Do you ever have one of those days, or weeks, when you feel like your actions are completely out of character? Or you get stuck into a lifestyle for so long that no one believes that you can change for the better? Have you ever been with a group of people who refuse to believe the best for others... and constantly talk about "reality"? It has to stop. In order to be the body of Christ we have to stick together. We must call forth the good in people, and encourage each other to be the best we can be. We are brothers and sisters, and we are only as strong as our weakest member. It is time that we act in a way that draws people to us. We have the gift of eternal life, and it's crucial that we give it away. When we wear the name of Jesus, we are constantly selling him to the world around us by what we say, do, watch... Believe the best for people. Pursue people in a way that you're seeing who they are, not what they do. Be vulnerable. Let people see you. We were created for community. Ask God to intervene, and then watch Him. Through you, His power is spread throughout the world, and He is made even more famous. I once read something that said, "God welcomes us to punctuate our faith with as many exclamation points as question marks. Be careful with the quotation marks." How are you selling Jesus? His message is a message of furious and redeeming Love. Once you encounter Jesus, you can't escape Him. The torch has been lit; spread the fire.

Completely Fearless

A couple summers ago I went to Amsterdam with six girls. The purpose of the trip was to get interviews for a Thesis paper that was being written about Post Traumatic Stress Discorder and the affect it has on prostitutes; however, the meaning behind it was much deeper. We were going because we wanted to intercede on behalf of the women who were behind the windows. We had no idea what would happen while we walked those streets of that dark yet beautiful city, but we knew we were called so we fearlessly walked through the alleys and pleaded to God on behalf of those women. It was almost as if we were invisible; not a single man heckled us or even acknowledged us. We were hiding in the shelter of the Almighty and walking through the valley of the shadow of death at the same time.

The day I left for that adventure, my friend wrote me a letter about the importance of the work that was about to be done in that city to further the kingdom of Heaven. He told me that the characteristics of a disciple were three things: Absurdly Happy, Completely Fearless and in Constant Trouble. These three things have stuck with me since I read them for the first time, and they are the epitome of what I strive to embody.

God proves Himself faithful every single day.

I was talking to a friend this weekend about the things God was doing in his life and his eyes lit up with excitement. I could see how eager he was to tell me about the way he was touching Heaven with one hand and earth with the other. He told me that he was a firm believe in that everything we own belongs to God, not only ten percent. As he often claimed his belief in this, he hadn't ever literally given everything he owned away. He told me that God had been telling him, "if everything belongs to me, then give it all to me." So, he literally emptied his account and put it into his Community Group account, which is used to serve people in the community by financially meeting their needs. He had $0.00 in his account, and thirty dollars in his wallet.

Most of you are probably thinking, "Sounds radical. How foolish of him to have no money to support himself, what is he ever going to do without being able to buy food or pay rent?" The coolest part is that God never calls us to do something that we can't handle. However, he does call us to do things that stretch us to the point that we can no longer depend on ourselves, our success, our jobs and our bank accounts. When we are absolutely reliant on God, we experience the fullness of His provision and His grace.

So, as he was driving down the street one day, he sees a guy on the side of the road kicking dirt. God tells him to pick up the stranger, so he turns around and asked the guy if he needs a ride. The guy gets in the car, and after a long conversation explains that he can't work because he has a disabled shoulder and his electricity bill is due and he doesn't have any money to pay it. so my friend askes him how much the bill is, and the guy says around twenty dollars. He pulls out his wallet, gives this stranger the thirty dollars he has left and he tells him to pay his bill and buy himself something to eat. He prays for this guy's shoulder and he tells him the power of prayer and encourages him to keep believing and to expect God for healing, and it will be his. When they arrive at the boy's destination, he gets out of the car and my friend is left with absolutely no money. As he told me this story, his eyes were big and he explained it as the most freeing state he has ever been in throughout his entire life.

"With every decision, we bring either Heaven or Hell to earth." -Rob Bell

He survied the next couple weeks by eating at school, and refraining from buying anything until his next paid check came in. He was completely fearless.

He knew that if he was going to say He was following God then he was going to do it with his whole heart. He knew it would be easy to preach, and not nearly as easy to practice, but he made the decision to trust in a God who had plans to prosper Him. He knew that the Lord is mighty to save, and he expected God to teach him that first hand.

It had nothing to do with explaining theology, or demanding answers to his questions... it had everything to do with being stretched to where he could bring Heaven to earth for one man who needed his electricity bill paid. It was the drive to take Jesus literally when He told his disciples, "drop your nets, follow me, and I will make you fishers of men."

It may sound radical, it may even be radical; but what will our success driven, money hungry society turn into if we continue to let those things control our lives? It is absolutely crucial that we take a completely fearless approach to living - our eyes will be opened, our hearts softened and our horizons broadened if we give God the opportunity to stretch us. It won't be easy, and certainly not comfortable but it will change the world.

"...I will make you fishers of men." Matt 4:19