They will know us by this...

I have been reading this book called, 'The Furious Longing of God,' which has helped me see the value and magnitude of God's love.  We often forget or look over what love, especially the love of God really is.  I have been reminded at how the love of our Father must transform us, in order that we might love and respect others the way the Father loves us.

Here is an exerpt from Brennan Manning...

'Jesus said you are to love others the way I have loved you, a love that will possibly lead to the bloody, anguised gift of yourself; a love that forgives seventy times seven, that keeps no score of wrong doing.  Jesus said this, this love, is the one criterion, the sole norm, the standard of discipleship in the new Israel of God.  He said youre going to be identified as his disciples, not because of your church going, Bible-toting, or song-singing.  No, you'll be identified as His by one sign only: the deep and delicate respect for one another, the cordial love impregnated with reverence for the sacred dimension of the human personality because of the mysterious substitution of Christ for the Christian.' 

We often forget how crucial this is... we will be known by the way that we love and treat one another!

Ubuntu!

I have to thank Luke Parrott for this video.  I saw this on one of his blog posts last year and fell in love with it.  This word and everything it stands for makes me come alive.  Ubuntu, Ubuntu, ubuntu! 

Sorry for the heavy posts, im working on being more light hearted and that's exactly what this video is.  I just need to be me, in order for you to be you, because we are all connected.

Life is too short to be serious all the time.  Im discovering that I am serious majority of the time.  I am working on just living and laughing and enjoying the people around me.  I understand there is so much pain and hurt everywhere which affects me greatly, but i must let joy overflow.  If i become too serious and overwhelmed with all of it, bitterness will ultimately destroy me. 

both sides of the coin

The reality of where i am if finally setting in.  It's heavy, its hard, it sucks, and it forces me to ask, "where the Hell is God in all of this?"  As i dive in to some of the issues that are plaguing Denver, they just keep going... deeper and deeper and deeper.  How do i just enter life with people without thinking they should change or do things differently?  How do i not get frustrated with people who seem like they don't care about the people around them?

I'm learning that the issues are too much to bear if we try to do this on our own, we MUST look to something greater.  One night as I was out walking, overwhelmed with the pain surrounding me i stopped to talk to a homeless man who was selling the Denver Voice.  As the conversation progressed, he asked if i was into God, i replied, "He is a pretty big part of my life."  He responded, "well, He should be EVERYTHING!"  He proceeded to tell me that God had provided him with the boots he was currently wearing.  He said he had been complaining about his old boots because they were very old and had holes in them.  The next morning there was a new pair of boots sitting on the steps next to where he was going to be selling the voice.  It's those little things that force me to ask, 'is God at work around us all the time?'  Are we just missing him, because we think things should be done a certain way?  God will take care of His people whether we choose to be used by him or not.  I believe that He desires to Use us, but doesn't ask us to do it all.  It is far too big without the power of God. 

Is John 14 really true, and if so do we really believe it?

'Don't you believe that I am in the Father, and the Father is in me?  The words i say to you are not just my own.  rather, it is the Father, living in me, who is doing his work.  Believe me when i say that i am in the Father and the Father is in me; or at least believe on the evidence of the miracles themselves.  I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what i have been doing.  He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father.  And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Son may bring glory to the father.  You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.'
                                                                                                    -john 14: 10-13

I struggle with this verse, but i have to believe this and believe that He is everywhere, or else what i am doing is completely meaningless.  I can't deny where i have see Him show up, but at times i really question where i havent see him show up.  The power of the Holy Spirit is beyond me, but i desire to know what it is and have it dwell within me so badly.  I want this verse to make sense and believe that I really can help and serve people because it is really God serving them through me.  I desire to know what this means and live it out!

I'm currently feeling the way i did when i returned to the States from Mexico after spending a semester there teaching english.  I wrote this when i came back and i feel like it applies just as much now as it did then...

Easy Christianity

How Easy is it to be a Christian here?

Everyone believes the same thing with complete seperation and seclusion from the world.

Flat screen T.V's, enough food to feed an army, never worried about going hungry or being persecuted.

It seems so easy and safe here.

Do we realize how blessed we are to be living this life of luxury?

They are the true believers when their faith is more than an under the breath prayer before dinner,

that is merely routine.

They rely on God for Everything!

Money

Food

Shelter

Safety

When is the last time you were worried about getting fed?

Or where you were going to lay your head at night?

WHen is the last time you were the only believer in the room and had to stand up for your faith?

Is your faith real?

Has it become something you use only when youre stressed, worried, or overwhelmed?

Has it merely become something to fall back on when its convenient?

I dont understand God, this doesnt make any sense.

Im sitting in a multi-million dollar while they are sitting in their shanty.

They are hungry and wishing for the life i have.

They could only dream of this education, and people here think they deserve it.

Help me to understand this injustice.

It makes me crazy

Confused

And why me?

why was i chosen to have this life?

WHy have i been blessed to see both sides?

what do i have to offer anyone?

I have nothing!

I am nothing without you!

What is Christianity here?

It seems as though we are constantly

looking at everything we do wrong and repenting all the time.

I understand we are human, but should

we spend this much time trying to fix ourselves...

Or fix our eyes on the Father and His Glory

and let that be what really changes us.

This is not a religion of right and wrong

or of constant repentance...

it is that of a Loving Relationship with the Creator God.

He created us to love us and for us to return that love.

He did not create us to try to be that better person.

'what do i do with that?'

Im in a position where i want to educate people on the realities of the brokeness in our world, especially some of the hurts that are so close.  I have no idea what the urban world is like, i have been involved for only a few weeks.  I dont know the roots, the people, the reasons and im not going to pretend like i do.  i have been exposed to many of the issues that plague denver which has given rise to tension within me, as to what i do about it. 

Does everyone have to work on the front lines of the issues?

If i know that Jesus spent his entire life with 'the least of these' and the 'unworthy' what does that mean for my life?

What does it mean to wade in our own pain?

Does awareness bring change?  Does it bring reality to situations... and does that matter to people anymore?


The voice and direction i feel most led is to educate people, like me, to the realities of the pain and brokeness that is drowning the human race.  Sure i might bring light to a specific group that is suffering, but my hope is that the equation of awareness and integration in specific issues will ignite a fire in all of us.  I desire to see people love and take care of one another.  What if spending time with the homeless allowed you to see something entirely new within yourself?  What if the exposure with one sub group of the 'least of these' ignited a passion within you for a completely different group or brokeness.  Like i said before... I will continue to show you things when i learn about them.  When i learn some of the issues and catch glimpses into the lives of the broken, i will share. 

I want to educate, not spread guilt.  My eyes are just now being opened to these realities and i desire to share my perspectives...

'Low Places'

Sometimes we are forced to look in the 'low places' in order to find reality. Its the low places that are dirty, messy, and full of guilt and shame, but ironically enough is where we find the most grace. I recently heard it said that, 'grace flows downhill and it pools in the lowest places.'
On Wednesday we took a tour of 'underground' denver, where most people wouldn't dare to go. We walked along the Cherry Creek, that flows right near downtown, seeing million dollar condos right next to squats under the railroad tracks. We went inside tunnels where street kids will go just to escape from the city for a while. We saw their pain in the darkness of these places, drug wrappers, needles, bottles of alcohol, and graffati. 
If we are truly following Jesus, we will look into these low, dark places to meet these people right where they are.  Even if we aren't on the front lines working with them daily, we still need to be aware of their existence and the reality of their situations.  We need to treat them with dignity when we meet them on the streets.  Look them in the eye, ask them their name and give them the dignity not only of a human, but as a child of God.
I'm still learning about the issues of homelessness and poverty and Im excited to share those things when i learn them myself, but what i am learning is that every piece of trash that you see on the ground has a story connected to it.  That piece of trash didnt just randomly make it there on the ground.  There was somebody drinking that bottle of booze... Maybe it was even on the 2 dollars that you gave them out of the goodness of your heart.  Furstrating?  Of course, but is it possible to look past the trash and see the person behind it.
Since my time in Denver, we have been talking about pain and the importance of recogonizing it in our own lives.  It seems that we are so busy and have distractions around every corner to keep us fromfeeling and recogonizing our own pain.  We rarely want to look into the 'low' and painful areas within our own lives, but we must step into and wade in our own pain before we can ever fully know and give ourselves.  If i never acknowlege my own pain, i will never see it around me.  This is a very uncomfortable idea, but allows us to be raw.  I believe that this quote sums it up...

'in your own pain, there you will find mine as well...'

I won't understand your situation, but if i recogonize the pain in my life i can empathize with what pain feels like. 

My prayer is that I would see everyone through the eyes of Jesus... I challenge you to pray this prayer this week and just see what happens...

If you have any questions or anything you want to share, please do.  I love learning from others and asking hard questions with people.

Here is a short video of one of the 'low places' that we went into...

"Release and Receive"

Well, I have been with the students for 11 days and things have been pretty great. Last week we were in Durango doing an orientation, stepping away and allowing us to grow and learn together in a pristine environment, before stepping into what seems like chaos.

An orientation in Durango wouldn’t be right without a trip up to Ice Lake Basin, where we took some time to enjoy the incredible creation of the Father.

We ended orientation with this trip, giving us time and space to process what we had been discussing and trying to prepare our hearts and minds for what a transformational year that lies ahead.
The first few classes, taught by Millie and Greg, who serve under the umbrella of Mile High Ministries http://www.milehighmin.org/ were focused on who we are as individuals. We were asked to take a look at what was filling our time and energy. We were asked to take a hard look inside and leave behind anything necessary in order to take full advantage of the experiences before us.  

“Release and Receive.”

We were given this prayer to help us with this process of allowing ourselves to be emptied and filled again…

“a cup must be empty before it can be filled.

if it is already full, it cant be filled again

except by emptying it out.

in order to fill anything, there must be

a hollowed-out space.

otherwise it can’t receive.

this is especially true of god’s word.

in order to receive it, we must be hollowed out.

we must be able capable of receiving it,

emptied of the false self and its endless demands.

when christ came, there was no room in the inn.

it was full. the inn is a symbol of the heart.

God’s word, Christ, can take root only in a hollow."

-William Breault SJ

I guess now the question remains… will I allow myself to be emptied out, in order to be filled by what and who truly matter in my life?

will I allow my heart to be hollowed out, letting go and releasing the past in order to be filled by Him and receive what only He has for me?
　

new perspectives

well, i thought i would try this new thing that people have been raving about for the past few years...  Im a little slow when it comes to new technology and all that it has to offer.

I recently started a new job with the Kivu Gap Year http://www.kivugapyear.com/ and wanted to share my experiences through this program.  I will be living with 8 students in Denver and will be working in marginalized communities.  we will be exposed to the denver that lies bihind the philistine curtain that our culture dances in front of. 

So come, I invite you to walk through this experience with me as i ponder, ask questions, struggle, and laugh. 

however, there is one thing i have to say about bloggers... they take themselves too seriously.  The only reason i am starting this it to share how my world is going to be rocked the next few months and i pray that someone might be blessed by seeing life through a different lens... new perspectives... but please don't take me too seriously, im just a guy trying to figure out how to put one foot in front of the other.