Arrivederci

As of 4:15 on Sunday afternoon I will no longer have my feet on American soil. I will be embarking on a 2 week trip to the land of my maternal ancestors. The plan is to start north (Milan/Tuscany area) and work our way south (northern coast of Sicily) before spending the last three or so days in Rome. Along the way I plan on fully indulging in the wonderful dishes. My mom learned to cook from her grandmother (an immigrant around the turn of the century), so my taste buds are more than ready. Odds are I may come back a few pounds heavier, but I sure it will be more than worth it.

I am also excited to see the historical landmarks and rich history flooding most Italian cities. However, I learned yesterday of an opportunity that potentially tops anything I will experience. My great grandmother was born in Palermo, Sicily which is exactly where my tour is expected to stop. My mom's cousin relayed some details about possibly obtaining my great grandmother's birth certificate to bring back home since all of her descendants live in the states. My great grandmother passed away a few years ago (after reaching the ripe old age of 105), and it would be a special treat to not only visit her hometown but see her certificate now almost 115 years old!

I don't know what the Internet options will be over there, but I plan to post things when I can. Either way, I am extremely excited (now that my brief passport scare is resolved) to see more of God's creation and creativity evidenced in the many wonders I will observe.

(a rough sketch of the trip)

(the sound of peace)

Over the last month I have been engaged in a number of conversations with those close to me about where I feel God is calling me. While nothing has been written in stone as of yet, I am seeing His faithful hand guiding. Areas of concern or confusion are slowly clearing as I study, pray, and seek counsel from those God has placed around me. Because of this I can declare with Isaiah,

You keep him in perfect peace
whose mind is stayed on you,
because he trusts in you.

~Isaiah 26:3

For the first time in a long time my heart, mind, and soul know peace.

Something we don't do enough of

Psalm 136:1

Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good

I Thessalonians 5:18

Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you

How many times do I simply take the time to thank God for all that He has given me? If I am honest with myself, I probably spend more time complaining about the things I don't have than praising Him for the things I have been blessed with. Each day gives us enough things to be thankful for regardless of our current struggles and trials. We worship and serve a God who is supremely good in all He does whether we recognize it or not. I have compiled a list (nowhere near exhaustive) of the blessings I have to be thankful for based solely upon today.

1. salvation through Jesus Christ: I would be dead without it (literally)

2. the Bible: opens my eyes to further love and understand Him each time I read it

3. Sunshine

4. the ability to run

5. food: summer time food tastes so good

6. kids: they are fun to be around and make you laugh

7. pools

8. comforts of a home

9. family: mine consists of some of the most fun people to be around

10. music

11. friends: they challenge and encourage me

12. breath

13. laughter: sometimes there is nothing better

14. forgiveness: I mess things up a lot more than even I am aware of

15. books

16. Cheerios: they taste good and are props for good entertainment from my niece

Again, I could keep going on and on if I wanted to. For the sake of my readers (and my sleep), I like the sixteen I compiled. They are all over the map, but worthy of praise nonetheless. God does lavish us with a plethora of gifts we often take for granted. Maybe we should make lists such as these each day to keep our minds fixed where they should.

Forgetting the Gospel

I received Greg Gilbert's short book, What is the Gospel, for my birthday. A number of the blogs I read mentioned it as a good reminder for Christians as well as a brief synopsis for the lost. In our day, the gospel has been pulled in all different directions to the point where professing Christians are not proclaiming the same gospel. By way of making it more "user-friendly" to our unfriendly culture, the gospel has lost the nature of its good news. Gilbert's book described this problem, and then went about reminding of us the truths we should be proclaiming as ambassadors for Christ.

Gilbert summarized the gospel into four major points: God, man, Christ, and response. God refers to the one who created us, and to whom we are, therefore, accountable to. Man summarizes the problem facing all of creation. We sinned against God and have no hope of fixing the problem. Christ (the good news) is the only One who can fix the problem. Through His perfect life as the God-man, death on the cross in our place, and resurrection signifying victory over sin and death, we can experience the blessings of God and not His wrath. Our response is to then confess and repent of our sin while surrendering ourselves to the rule of Christ in our lives.

While this seems simple enough to share with others, the real problem comes with convincing ourselves of no longer being in desperate need of the gospel. We (and by we, I really mean I) think the gospel is a "once and done" event. We recognize the first three points and respond in faith. Then, we think it no longer applies. I see it in my own tendency to take advantage of the amazing grace given to me as well as live under the yoke of sin. The gospel never gets old no matter how new or old the Christian is. We are constantly sinning, and in need of God's grace to forgive us. The moment we think we are too good for the gospel is the moment we begin preaching something other than what is outlined in the Bible.

Apparently, the problem of forgetting the gospel is nothing new. As I read through The Valley of Vision I am amazed and challenged to see how many times remembering the gospel is a plea made in prayer. My heart should reflect the humility to acknowledge my own neglect and ask for a daily understanding.

Give me to feel a need of his continual saviourhood...I need the same counsel, defence, comfort I found at my beginning...O let me never lose sight of my need of a Saviour...May I always feel my need of him...No poor creature stands in need of divine grace more than I do...Grant that I may always weep to the praise of mercy found

in the wake

Despite being six years removed from my days as a church youth member I still hold a fondness for retreats. I love the reorienting of our lives around Christ, and the continual work He is doing within us. I also remember the difficulty of coming back with the hopes of maintaining the "high" from the days prior. The desire is as high as ever, but it eventually wears away as the days drag on. Even though I am older and, supposedly, wiser I must admit a similar mentality creeping in.

Retreats make living out the gospel drastically easier. The natural direction for conversations revolve around Christ and His Word. God's admonition to the Israelites in Deuteronomy 6 becomes a reality. Whether waking, sleeping, eating, walking, or playing Christ is nearly always the center. This time around, I received the blessing of being a leader. It was an encouragement engaging in such conversations with the students or simply watching the students do so on their own. Now comes the hard part of pressing on in this spirit despite the reality of being thrust back into modern culture.

As our group of leaders departed, our prayer for the students revolved around taking the spirit of fellowship, communion, and growth into everyday life.

As for me, I went into the week with the purpose of being there solely for the students, my small group of 8 in particular. Little did I know God wanted to do some work in me while I served Him. Not long into the week, I became increasingly aware of one thing: God is not human.

Sounds basic and simple, right? The theme of the week revolved around trust. The focus started off horizontal, but quickly moved vertical. In my life, I fail to differentiate between the two. I like to place my trust in God at only the same level I place my trust in people. I place the finiteness of mankind upon the Creator of the universe. Instead of turning over everything to Him, I fear He will let me down like everyone I have ever known has done at some point in my life.

Proverbs 3:5-6 was the theme verse for the week. Obviously, I don't have the truths of those verses down yet, but the week showed me where my struggles really lie. I don't trust in the power of the God of the universe to sustain my every need. I can't wrap my mind around the truth of His sovereignty and faithfulness. The scars of human relationships have transferred over to my view of Him. And where God has me right now my trust is being tested. He is calling me out of the boat in order to step onto the water and run to Him.

For this to happen, I need daily reminders of who He is for the purpose of humbling me and shining His holy light directly at my lack of trust in Him.

The Lord reigns, let the earth rejoice; let the many coastlands be glad! Clouds and thick darkness are all around him; righteousness and justice are the foundation of his throne. Fire goes before him and burns up his adversaries all around. His lightnings light up the world; the earth sees and trembles. The mountains melt like wax before the LORD, before the Lord of all the earth. The heavens proclaim his righteousness, and all the peoples see his glory. All worshipers of images are put to shame, who make their boast in worthless idols; worship him, all you gods! Zion hears and is glad, and the daughters of Judah rejoice, because of your judgments, O LORD. For you, O LORD, are most high over all the earth; you are exalted far above all gods. O you who love the LORD, hate evil! He preserves the lives of his saints; he delivers them from the hand of the wicked. Light is sown for the righteous, and joy for the upright in heart. Rejoice in the LORD, O you righteous, and give thanks to his holy name! ~Psalm 97

What is there not to trust about that?

I just spent another great weekend with the family at the Lake. There is nothing better than spending time laughing, playing, and enjoying fellowship by the water. In addition, I am also nearly finished The Holiness of God. It has been an excellent and extremely humbling read, which I hope to post about in the near future. For now, I am off to Harvey Cedars for a week of spiritual renewal with my youth group at West Shore. I am excited to reconnect with a number of my guys as well as hear what God wants from me. The topic for the week revolves around the issue of trust. Thankfully, I have that part down pat...I wish. Truth be told, I am excited (and a bit nervous) for what will come from this week. At this point, I am fairly confident of where God wants me, but I doubt the timing of it all. This week may leave me feeling more uncomfortable than I may desire. One I do know is that God has me there for a reason, whether to help the youth grow in their love for Christ or to move me closer to where He desires.