The Devil is Not in the Details!!!

*SCAN THE BLOG... POST AND READ EXPERIENCES UNDER COMMENTS*
The Spiritual Discipline of Remembering:

...And God remembered...
I will remember my covenant...
...And Joseph remembered...
Do this in remembrance of me...

Deuteronomy 4:9 - “Only take care, and keep your soul diligently, lest you forget the things that your eyes have seen, and lest they depart from your heart all the days of your life. Make them known to your children and your children's children—"

God has done so much for me. He has brought me so far (though the distance yet to be traveled is immeasurable). So why do I so often feel like the same adolescent Christian... why do I feel like I'm repeating the grade?

I was talking with a friend recently and God revealed to us some of Satan's schemes. We have both struggled with deep, mind-numbing fears related to death, and we realized that we couldn't place our fears on any exact object. We weren't afraid of pain, or hell, or anything like that. We were afraid of the abstract uncertainty. But what is that??!! It is an uncertainty... and we aren't even certain of what it is we are uncertain of... we found ourselves fearing fear itself. And why should fear be feared? Face it with courage, and it is nothing.

So we found that Satan revels in keeping our minds in the intangible abstract. THE DEVEL IS NOT IN THE DETAILS!!!  he is in the grasping in the dark at slippery uncertain concepts.  And if he can keep us there, we will not affect the tangible Kingdom of God that is here in power.

So what are the details that we need to remember in order to avoid Satan's strategy of the uncertain?  It is so easy to forget.  I believe that we need to develop a discipline of remembering experiences and lessons we have been given by God.  If we can take time to intentionally decide to learn from these experiences, then the schemes of the shifty evil one will be fall to the firm details of God's active presence in our daily lives.

If Satan can get us to forget the lessons and experiences God has given us and keep us afraid or controlled by the uncertain abstract, then he can keep us at square one.  We will forever wonder why we still feel like a Spiritual Adolescent... or Infant.

So let's begin our new spiritual discipline by playing the "Remember When" game here.   I'll begin:

I remember when the Youth was traveling up to Dallas for YEC.  We were considering canceling the trip on the day of because of flooding rains to the North.  We decided to try to make it, and we gathered to pray.  I felt a strong urge to pray that God would part the waters and let us drive on dry ground.  But I was afraid... what if it didn't happen?  What would people think about my faith.  So I prayed a generic (abstract) prayer for safety out loud.  We drove through on dry ground.  I will forever remember God's lesson that day.  I shared my fear with the youth and we praised God together.  I pray that I will build on lessons like this and remember who I have been before God, who I am in God, and that I am pressing forward to new lessons and experiences with my risen, living Savior.

Please share a memory with us as a comment... what will you remember from your relationship with God today?

The Bible as Story: Center and Inside Up

Story 6 and 7: A double shot for missing a week!

HEY!!!  Sorry I missed a week.  I crammed two summaries into this video.  Enjoy!!!

Story 5: Choice!

Story 4: INVITATION

Story Part 3: Broken

Story, Part 2: Source

Well, every story has a beginning. The beginning of this story just happens to be THE BEGINNING.

When you walked in the door at Haven you were immediately met by images of breathtaking landscapes - windy arctic snows below whispy cloudy skies; orange-tinted African plains full of giant felines on the prowl; a flock of a thousand white birds soaring over sunset tinted wetlands; tropic waterfalls hundreds of feet high -

Some of you created objects out of clay... you took a hunk of goo and turned it into a recognizable (for the most part -ha!) form.

Once we got started every one began drawing their idea of the perfect world. Some drew Earth with people holding hands around the perimeter. Some drew the planet in Christ's hands. Some drew scenes of animals and/or people (or mermen?), while some of you were more abstract drawing symbols such as a heart surrounding a question mark.
Then you were asked to hand your image to another person, and they added to it. Some of you were pretty sad to see your work changed... after all, this was like a reflection of who you were... and some one changed it.

In THE BEGINNING God created the heavens and the Earth. It doesn't matter how God did it... what matters is THAT God did it. The ancient Jews wrote Genesis not to speak on scientific theory, but to speak to who God is and what His creation is like. We can learn a lot about who God is from the way Israel talked about our story's beginning... our story's source...

Our Source. God made it all. There was just God, and then He spoke... and it was. What an amazing beginning! God is not creation, but He is the creator of all things... And God said, "It is very good!"

And what an incredible creation!!! From lands frozen near the poles - with penquins, polar bears, whales, fish, etc. - to the barren deserts - full of lizards, snakes, hawks, cactus, rodents, etc. From the Tropics to the Rio Grande Valley. From the depths of the sea to the peak of Mt. Everest. From the dog to the platypus. From the tropical rainforests, to the thousands of species in your backyard. And all of this extending out into the mysteries of outer space... God's work is inconceivably amazing. What a big, intelligent, personal, beautiful, artistic, and loving God.

All the other creatures God spoke into existence... He said a word and there they were. But He fashioned mankind with His hands. First He made Adam from the dust, and breathed life into his nostrils (face to face!!! What a great and relational God!)... then He fashioned woman from Adam's rib. Humanity has a special place in God's creation. We are created in His image.

When the rest of creation looks at humanity, it should be reminded of the One True God. Together we should reflect the very image of the Almighty! And yet... wars rage in the East. Violent crimes plague our cities. Mothers kill babies, and children starve in Africa.

We have such an amazing Source... what is the deal now??? Did something happen to God's image just like your drawings from the beginning of our Biblestudy? Stay tuned next week to find out! 6:30pm at Haven (FBE's Youth Group)

Check out the clay sculptures.

Story. Part 1

All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right. God uses it to prepare and equip his people to do every good work."
- 2 Timothy 3:16-17

All In One Accord

Yeah... Ok... Dumb joke. But it had to be done.

This past Sunday we looked at 1 Samuel 8 and Acts 1.

In 1 Samuel 8 we heard Israel crying out for a king to rule them "like all the other nations." As God's people, we have a rich history of trying to dodge the responsibilities of relating to God ourselves and standing out among the nation(s) to draw people to God.

What if the way we approach church today reflects that dark past? What if we approach our church structure in such a way that we mimic the world, and find people to go to God on our behalf... instead of going to God all week long and standing out as a representative of Christ?!!!

In Acts 1 we catch a glimpse of Jesus' followers awaiting the baptism of the Holy Spirit after Jesus' ascension back into heaven... and even without this baptism... they were all in one accord... devoted to pray and wait on the Lord.

They hadn't received the Holy Spirit and yet they were of the same mind... devoted to prayer. Unfortunately that sounds like the exact opposite of many of our churches... but it doesn't have to!!!

Haven, let's spend the week in Christ's presence together! Although we may be miles apart, together we'll devote ourselves to prayer and to waiting on the Lord. And when we come to the building at 201 E. Samano, we'll have done "church" all week long. We'll gather together to build each other up and worship our Lord... we will hear and obey... and the world will know that Jesus Christ is Lord by our lives.

Gospel Presentations

We should be ready to give an account of the Gospel.

Your personal testimony is your best witness.

But it is a good thing to meditate on different ways of presenting the good news of Jesus Christ and what his life, death, and resurrection means for all mankind!

Remember... we are not trying to convince people about an idea... we are introducing them to a person. You have to know a person before you can introduce them to someone... You should be walking with Christ if you expect to introduce Him to someone!!!

The presentations in these videos are very probably not how you would present them to a friend. It is up to us to take the information and translate it to someone how they will receive it best.

And never forget... Walk in the Spirit. Follow Him. He is the one who calls, the one who saves, and the one who preserves. Trust the Holy Spirit to do the work in yourself and the other person.

Web site for 3rd Gospel presentation - http://www.matthiasmedia.com.au/2wtl/

Last Wed. Finishing with love...

Well, even though we concluded our series on Love, I hope we aren't "finished with love." That would be to miss the point of the entire series.

Our conclusion was broad, but I'll try to narrow it here... and conclude with a video we made a few months back.

Love is an important concept. John (the Son of Thunder) says that God is love. Paul gives us an amazing look at Godly love in 1 Corinthians 13, and says in Romans 5 that God demonstrates His love in that while we were yet sinners Christ died for us.

And Jesus said that the most important commandments are: 1) Love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your mind, all your soul, and all your strength. 2) Love your neighbor as yourself.

Love is important.

God is love. This is a tricky statement. It doesn't mean that we should think that God fits into our understanding of what love is. Here is what it means: God shows us what love is - and Godly love is life.

God shows us what love is by his very nature. God is One. God is Three. The Trinity is crazy!!! One God. Three persons. Perfect unity. God is relationship. God is love.

Godly love, then, is found in his nature... it is found in the Trinity. In the Trinity we find full individuality... the Father is not the Son, the Son is not the Father, Neither the Father or the Son are the Spirit. But they are fully unified as only One God. They are not three gods. Yahweh is One God.

Love... is fully retained individuality accepting perfect unity.

Humanity is created to be the image of God. Together, we are to represent God on Earth. We are supposed to be so unified, that we reflect God to the rest of creation. How far we have fallen from that unified image!!

We cannot regain that image without the unifying love of the Trinity governing our lives. Loving God means giving our identities to Him. Jesus is the Way to the Trinity's Unity. We give Christ our selves just as he gave himself for us on the cross. He preserves our individuality as we abandon our very selves into Him.

Love... is fully retained individuality accepting perfect unity.

Jesus prayed in John 17 that we would all be one... even as he and the Father are one. He prayed that we would be in them even as they are in each other. Reality is about entering into the Unifying love of the Trinity... together.

Humanity will not do this... until YOU do this. Die to yourself. Love God. Love People.

Love Looks to Things Eternal

1 Corinthians 6:1-8




The Corinthians were taking each other to court over issues that should have been settled among their Christian brothers and sisters. These weren't cases of murder. These were cases of simple wrong doing... people being defrauded.

Paul appeals to them saying, "To have lawsuits is already a defeat for you... Don't you know that we are going to judge the world and the angels?!!"

The Corinthians were fighting over stuff. Paul tries to remind them about the eternal destiny that they now share as Christians. It's like he was saying... "We are going to judge the world with Christ, and you are going to fight with each other and go to the world's court against each other over little worldly things??!!!"

If we can remember to focus on eternal things... love, relationship, hope, peace, joy, kindness, self-control, gentleness, etc. we won't bother fighting over things that don't matter in the long run.

Love has an eternal perspective.

That is why Jesus endured the cross, despising the shame... for the joy set before him... he endured it. Though all the wisdom of the world would call Jesus to call upon the same power he used to create the world to defend himself... he had every RIGHT in the world to do so... but he wasn't focused on his immediate reputation or comfort... he was looking to eternal things... to the Joy set before him... to the salvation he was spreading... to his love for his father and for us.

Trying Something New...

Well... I've been thinking about these videos... and I decided that if it were up to me, I'd rather scan a written blog than watch a video for 5 to 10 min... So... I'm going to try to post a typed summary every monday and thursday, a maybe a video when it will be interesting.


Haven... Start Reflecting!!!
Last night was pretty neat. We went around the circle and reflected on how we began to attend Haven and what Haven is to us.

It was so interesting to hear how everyone found Haven. Most were drug to church by their parents, some discovered Haven through friends, and apparently Carl is eternal... before Haven he was... God brought us all here with so many unique stories...

But the consensus was that Haven is... well... a haven. It is a safe place for us to escape the world and find peace... it is a second family. It is a place where we are loved and accepted. We can recharge in order to charge out into the world once again...

My point for the evening was this: Even though we have so many different stories bringing us to Haven, WE are Haven. Though our stories are different, here WE are. At one point, WE weren't a group... WE couldn't say "WE" about us... but now... WE are a "WE." We are Haven. Haven is not our upstairs area. Haven is not just a church group. Haven is a group of people that God brought together...

And Haven is so important to us... it is our safe place to meet with God and with each other.

DON'T BE SELFISH!!!

Take Haven with you!!! Don't leave it at church. Don't build up metaphorical walls around Haven at church and keep that safety, peace, acceptance, and life with Christ to yourselves!!! Go and be God's Haven for His lost children... for the hurting, the poor, the angry, the weak...

God has given us a vision. He is speaking to us. He is calling us to join Him in His work of loving people... of Redeeming people. Will we join Him? Or will we only follow Him with our words... will we hoard our safe place to ourselves??? Will we follow Jesus only when it feels good and is comfortable???

I'm asking Haven to be Haven outside of the walls of the Church. I'm asking Haven to prioritize God and His people above school events. I'm asking us all to be what we claim to be... Christians... followers of Christ... the very image of God. How will you reflect God for Haven today?

Love is not a balance...

God hurt me yesterday. He showed me just a little how my love is weak... How my love is so often empty... How what I call love... is not love at all... it is selfishness disquised within duty.

I realized that I feel guilty a lot because I see love as a balance - you know... like the balance in Montey Python's Search for the Holy Grail where they see if the "witch" weighs the same as a duck... That's how I saw love.

Sometimes I thought the goal was to have the scale balanced in relationships... sometimes I felt like I should always have my side tipped a bit heavier full of lovely actions... either way, my goal produced guilt, awkwardness, and emptiness... it did not reflect true love.

You see... God demonstrates His own love for us in that while we were still sinners... still in our sin... still dirty... still making ourselves enemies of Yahweh... Christ died for us. There is no scale for that love.

If we have a scale to measure our love against others, then our love is blackened by self. Every action is measured up against the actions of others. We are consumed with self. We are consumed with outward things. God looks into our hearts, and he desires us to do the same. We love the leper not because the leper is lovely... just as God loves us.

We are going to be discussing love the next few wednesday evenings. I pray that our ideas and goals of love will be uprooted by God, and that He will plant a new and fresh seed of love in our hearts. That we would carry His kind of love to the world... That we would leave empty religion and actions behind... and be marked by love... just as the Holy Trinity is love... that each of us would be marked by love, and so as Christ's body here and now... we would be love to a suffering world.

In Christ's Love,

Nick

Zephyr Vids!!!

Camp Zephyr Video

I'll have it up on YouTube in better quality soon...
For now, check it out on our website.

Confession, Holiness, and the Image of God

Don't forget to head over to havenconfession.blogspot.com

Life is worth living. Death is trivial.

(Video on the way)
My reflection on the first chapter of Dorothy Sayers' Letters to a Diminished Church.

Here is a video of me reading this blog (a video of some thoughts I had while I discussed this blog with Beka is below the text).

Life is worth living, and death is trivial. This is the conclusion from an encounter with the risen Christ. We find that we live in his life, and our death is swallowed up in his victory. Don’t get me wrong. We shall surely die. But what is death on this side of the resurrection? We have tasted of the love and life of the Eternal Creator of mankind who stepped entirely into his creation. Jesus of Nazareth... the man who was born with animals… amongst blood, tears, and the sound and smells of a manger. He stepped into creation through creation itself – being born from a woman and in such lowly conditions. This is our God. Our God lived a human life. Our God died.

And we shall surely die. The day Jesus was born he began his temporal march toward the cross. The day we were born we began the heart-beat countdown. Each fresh breath drawn draws us nearer to our last. We shall surely die. But what is death in light of the death of our God? – in light of his luminous resurrection? Without the work of Christ, death had power. Death had authority. Death had finality… an unswerving judgment. Death was to be feared.

But, Death, who are you now? You are the gateway from present eternal life that is seen as in a mirror dimly to the crystal clear life lived in a spiritual body… our new, resurrected, “fleshy-and-glorious” bodies. But I am content now to walk with my Lord here… in this life.
I am content here in this life, because the Christ eternally blessed human life as he lived. Human life is now made worthy of the Eternal Creator-God’s participation. If life is worth the life of the Eternal Word, then it is worth my living. For those of us who have encountered the living Christ, we know that life is worth the living and death is trivial.

We may say, "But my parents are divorced." "I have cancer." "My friends have betrayed me." "Children are starving this very moment in Africa." "Unborn children are being massacred this very moment in America." "I’m mentally handicapped." "I’ve been psychologically raped by deficient parents… or foster parents." "I was viciously tortured and murdered, alone and terrified." "I’m sucked into a depression as thick and black as tar… I am empty inside." "What part of this life is worth living!!??"

Jesus says, “Life is worth living.” His eyes water as he reminds us of his words, “My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?” Jesus knows divorce. He reminds us of Judas’ betrayal and how his closest friends abandoned him at his arrest, torture, and murder. Jesus knows alone. He bore the cancer of sin. He became sin. All disease and death stemming from the fall swallowed him in sin as thick and black as tar. Or better said, he swallowed every disease and death stemming from the fall and became sin as thick and black as tar. He sweat drops of blood. Every abortion, every child who starves so the West can slobber over Blue Belle behind plasma screens in air-conditioned homes, every child destroyed by darkened parents… Jesus absorbed all of sin’s pain, judgment, death, and sting on the cross. Sin’s emptiness swallowed the cross. Christ’s resurrection filled the void with redemption.

We have hope. Life is worth living. There is light. There is strength, and dignity. There is life and it is Christ. He is life. He is hope. He is light. He is grace, mercy, truth, redemption and reconciliation, vindication, peace, purity, purpose, power, and perseverance. He is light. He is our future. He is our present. He is alpha and omega, firstborn of all creation and firstborn of the dead. He is creator, sustainer, the judge of the quick and the dead, and He is the re-creator. He is Love.

Atrocity is not ok. Jesus has not ascended to the Father so that we would be free to sin, but so that we would be free to move with the Spirit beyond our atrocious pasts toward his future of redemption. Life is worth living, and it is worth redeeming. Life’s redemption was worth the life of God. Live your life as Christ would live it.

And as we live our lives under the umbrella of Christ’s Cross and Resurrection… what is death. This trivial trail from mirror redemption to crystal glorification? All we can do is echo the apostle and say that to live is Christ, to die is gain. Live life with no fear but the fear of God. Oh majestic fear that feeds the fires of courage deep within the caverns of my soul… the fear that produces perfect peace… the fear that brings true inner death and so breaths full inner life. Life is worth living and death is trivial.

Lord, continue to make my life worthy. Preserve me from death only that I may die daily in your love so that I may present your renewed humanity to mankind.

Some extra thoughts I had about this blog:

A WEEK LATE!!!

Hey guys! I hate that I missed a week, but I'm gonna try to double up this week to make up for it...
I'll post the review from Sunday some time tomorrow or Wed along with the daily studies from week 3 of our confession studies. Remember that all the studies can be found at fbechurch.com/havencontemplate in powerpoint format.

For now... enjoy this video on unity (featuring the magical drawing hand of Jon Alcazar!!!)

Week of 6/14/09

Remember to visit havenconfession.blogspot.com

Haven Rewind 2 6/9/09

Hey guys!!! Remember to work on those Haven Contemplate Bible Studies...

I'll be posting each day up here. below the video.




Here are the uncut videos from Rewind 2...

Rewind 1... Intro to Rewind and to Confession

Spread the word... like a wild fire across a gasoline field in a drought... tell your friends about this blog... tell the world!!!! muuuhahahahahahaha... oh... sorry. But seriously... tell everyone.
This video is also found at havenconfession.blogspot.com