Free to be Bound

When it rains it pours, and we got drenched for a couple days which cooled things off quite a bit. God showed once again that he can take the gray things and make them beautiful:

We didn't have class this week but different revival groups have been heading out to their retreats at various times. We leave in about an hour, which is why I'm writing on Thursday. Most of this week has been spent hanging out with friends, doing homework or getting ready to do homework (it takes a certain amount of mental preparation for me, and many times I don't make it past that stage).

A few people from my revival group got together and watched the first two films from Darren Wilson, who has been traveling the world for the past 7 or so years trying to find God at work. The first film is called Finger of God and is a great place to start if you want to discover some of the supernatural things that God is doing in the world. There have been 2 more amazing films since then and I think another is coming out in the near future.

The thought that came to me this week is how against our nature it is to stay within boundaries, but how much freedom we can experience if we agree to be bound by certain things. Humans are built to explore. We aren't okay with not knowing what's out there. Christopher Columbus, Lewis and Clark, and many other heroes showed us that it pays to expand our boundaries now and then. But what I'm talking about is the value of recognizing a place you don't want to be and setting up boundaries to stop yourself from getting there.

Think about juggling on a mountaintop. Sounds exciting right? Juggling requires you to look up and therefore you aren't really paying attention to what's below you. A choice would have to be made in how much freedom I want to allow myself on that peak. I would choose building a fence that restricts my movement over a tumble that ends my life. It's a boundary that would allow me the freedom to move about without worrying about where the edge is.

Dad and I, raising a fist to celebrate this boundary

In Christ we have complete freedom. Paul mentions twice in 1 Corinthians that "Everything is permissible - but not everything is beneficial" (1 Corinthians 10:23). This is why we set boundaries. God has already punished Jesus for every wrong thing I will ever do. But I don't want sin to taint my part of the relationship I have with God. I am free to do whatever this world has to offer, but I am also free from doing those things.

"It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery" (Galatians 5:1). Live in this freedom because when you are free to be bound, you are bound to be free!

Song of the week is God I look to You by Jenn Johnson. 

Get Weak

Gray clouds are covering the skies of Redding and we're supposed to get rain for the first time since I've been here. It feels wonderful outside.

The Mose bros finally found an Indian restaurant within walking distance downtown, so we went there Monday (and they went back the next two nights, asking for more spice each time). This is Ebi:

Yesterday was our last day of class until September 30th. Here's what class looks like:

Bill Johnson started off his session with a moving testimony and it gave him so much joy that he started laughing and enjoying God. This went on for about 5 minutes and then he said "Let's just lift up praise to God." That led into an hour and a half of spontaneous worship and praise. That man loves God's presence and is teaching us to do the same.

Next week is retreat week. Every retreat is only 3 days long, but they are layered throughout the week since there are so many students (around 2,000). I'll be spending a lot of time with my revival group (60 or so of us). After we get back we'll be on a more "normal" schedule, so I'll be at school 4 days a week from 10:30am-4pm.

Lately I've been thinking about strength and how much people love it. We spend our whole childhood growing up to be strong. We spend our whole adulthood convincing others that we've achieved this, whether it be through a strong job, a strong family, or strong friendships. If we don't think we're strong enough, we build up walls around us for an extra layer of protection, so that nobody can harm us. As Christians, we especially want to look like we're doing things the right way. After all, we're called to be pure, joyful, and loving. What would people think if they found out we were anything else? Then we read this verse:

2 Corinthians 12:9 - "But he said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.' Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me."

I remember hearing a story once about a theology professor putting a lamp in the middle of a classroom and then putting a box over it. He turned off the classroom lights and it became dark. After turning the lights back on, he passed the box around the room, allowing each student to inflict some wound upon the box. Everyone took their turn punching holes or ripping off part of the box. Finally he placed the box back on the lamp and turned off the lights. This time, the lamp shone through the box and lit up the room. The box could boast in its weakness because its identity in that dark room was in the light of the lamp. It revealed the lamp to the world.

We've been learning a lot about honor, and what it means to live in a culture that is willing to confront its members for better of for worse. Part of this means being open and vulnerable about our lives. One of Bethel's core values is "Salvation creates identity." If we truly believe this it not only reminds us how we are to live but it gives us freedom when we mess up. I can share my mistakes with others because through salvation I now have the identity of one who never made a mistake. And that's where God shines the brightest in my life.

I think God wants us to get weak and open up to those close to us so that he can shine through us more. The testimony is a powerful thing, and it's only made possible because humans mess up and need fixing. The routine action of humanity after making a mistake is to get defensive and hide everything bad about ourselves. That's the easy way out, but not the best way out.

A box that is beaten up lets more light shine through it and a broken cup spills faster. We have something amazing inside of us. Our purpose is to spill it out. But if we spend too much time trying to make ourselves look good, we'll distract others from what really matters. And those walls we build to keep people out? They also keep God in. He respects our free will so much that many times he will only move if we ask him to.

If you open up, you will be vulnerable. You may get hurt. Allow that to happen. There is freedom in trust. Jesus is our identity. When people expose our weakness, it exposes his greatness.

The song on my heart this week is He is Yahweh written by Dean Salyn.

Fresh Starts

Everybody loves a fresh start. A break in the pattern. By slipping out of any chain of events we allow limitless possibilities to break into our world. A fresh start allows you to color outside the lines that were drawn from months or years of life before, to explore new boundaries and horizons.

This season of my life finds me in Redding, California. Spelled just like it sounds. The journey has taken me over the Golden Gate bridge:

...in and around Whiskeytown Lake:

                ...by and over Burney Falls: (hiking over)

                                    ...and through the Redwood Forest: (That's Mom and Dad!)

It's definitely quite the change of pace. I'm a student at Bethel School of Supernatural Ministry, a school in its 16th year, run by Bethel Church. We just had our second day of class today and one more day tomorrow to finish out the week (no school on Fridays). I'm living with 3 other guys in my class: Aaron (Texan, straight out of Frisco Vineyard, coffee addict), and the Moses brothers (aka the Mose Bros). They're from India and this is their first trip to America. So far they love it or are very good at hiding their disdain.

As I think more about it, I realize that a fresh start is not as far away as it looks. It doesn't have to look like quitting your job or moving across the country. I did because this is an opportunity that I didn't want to pass up, but really every day is a new chance for a fresh start. In fact, a Christian's life should always be a bit unpredictable. Jesus says in John 3:8 that a person born of the Spirit is like the wind. "You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going."

The wind has no routine, but it does not blow anywhere that the Father does not allow it to blow. It stays within the boundaries of his will yet gets to experience utter freshness daily. We are free to start new friendships, traditions, and patterns whenever we want to. If you need a change, pray for change. Then go get it.

One thing Bill Johnson (senior pastor of Bethel Church) has taught us so far has been to give thanks for what God has already done, even if it seems small. After years of drought, Elijah saw a cloud the size of a man's hand and new it was a sign that an amazing rainstorm was coming. He got excited and had faith that God would provide. Whatever your next step in life is, praise God for the one you're standing on right now.

My thoughts are filtered through music and there is almost constantly a song in my head, in my heart, or in my mouth. The current one in all three is Build Your Kingdom Here by Rend Collective Experiment.