God, why would you let this happen?!?

Actually I know why. I don’t know the reason, the purpose or the outcome. But, I know the background and I know the Truth behind whatever the reason & purpose is.

Let me back up, but before I do I want to say that if you’re like me when you hear what’s going on, you might question why. You might feel some feelings of injustice or anger, annoyance, frustration, sadness or nothing at all. Granted you’re far removed from the situation, you’re not physically invested in the lives of the affected.
But I am invested.
I’m in the situation and I love the family affected. So while this situation might seem “foreign” I know it will likely trigger a memory of a time in your life when you, your family, or someone you loved dearly went through something that seemed unjust or a terrible heartache and pain so deep that you had questions, you had uncertainty, anxiety, anger, fear, sadness, etc.

The Story

I haven’t written much about this besides my initial ask for prayer  back in March because it has been a bit overwhelming and I haven’t had the time, but mostly because I didn’t know what to say. In March, when I asked for prayer for Mariko, God answered our prayers. After a week without food or water, and even after vomiting up blood. God did an amazing thing. He kept Mariko from certain death and even gave him health.
We took Mariko to the best clinic in town when we saw that he was taking a turn for the worse. At that point in time he weighed 84 pounds (and the guy is 6’3″).
One of his days there at the clinic, he was literally on death’s doorstep. He was barely able to speak, but he was saying things like “A man know when he’s going to die”, or “I’ve never seen darkness like this before”.

The next day when we came to visit he couldn’t stop talking about what happened to him during the night. An angel visited him.
You might have some skepticism at this point and that’s fine. But after talking with him for over an hour we were convinced it was true.
Plus the physical evidence of it was there. Mariko hadn’t eaten anything in over a week. But there he was sitting up eating a full bowl of food and drinking loads of milk and juice. Mariko, who the day before could barely lift his own arm and claiming that he was going to die, was now able to sit up and eat. And even 2 days later was able to walk fairly unassisted. So when we brought Mariko home, he was happy, getting healthier, still very malnourished, but clearly out of the woods and on the mend.

But only a few days after bringing Mariko back home, his wife Veronica died. Completely unexpected and as a complete shock to us all. It was hard to say the least. It left us wondering & praying even harder for Mariko to recover.

The last month and a half, Mariko’s health was up and down. His TB was under control and the HIV was suppressed, which is good. But there seemed to be other things going on that we couldn’t figure out. He was getting weaker again, but through all the clinics and testing he had joy.

One of those days of testing was spent with me. I took him and his daughter (to help with translating) to Kampala for testing. A 3-hour drive, a 2-hour wait, a terrible process for x-rays, waiting again for results, the the long drive back home.
At the end of it all, after I had helped him out of the car and back into his bed, he said with his weak and soft voice, “Thank you, very much” with a smile. Mariko spent 9-hours getting shuffled around, poked, prodded, asked tons of questions, he must have been so exhausted and yet I’m the one told thank you by him.
Humbled.
All I could do in that moment was smile, sit down on his bed next to him, put my arm around him and say, “Well done today Mariko, thank you my friend.”
That was a week and a half ago.

This last Thursday (4 days ago), Mariko passed away. It was unbelievably hard. It left us with a lot of questions. And it left us gutted and hurting. With Mariko’s death we’re now currently wrestling through what is next and best for the 5 children (the oldest 13, the youngest 2).

It is an incredibly complicated situation and we want the absolute best for them all. Right now, however, there is not an ideal situation. So prayers for this would be greatly appreciated.

So here I am & maybe you too. Questioning why this happened? Why leave 5 children without parents?
Maybe you’re even questioning the “injustice” of it or maybe you’re questioning the goodness of God.
Maybe not.
But let me say this, I praised God when I went into the room where Mariko’s body was lying that Thursday morning. I praised God for His goodness, His mercy, His sovereignty & His plan. And I prayed He’d be faithful to direct us forward. We’re seriously hurting about this loss and for the family, but we’re able to rest on one truth.

The Truth

God is absolutely, universally, and inexhaustibly sovereign over all things. There is no inch of creation that is not claimed, ruled and upheld by God.

Our God is in the heavens;  he does all that he pleases. ~Psalm 115:3
[God] works all things according to the counsel of his will ~Eph 1:11
I know that you can do all things, and that no purpose of yours can be thwarted. ~Job 42:2
All the peoples of the earth are regarded as nothing. He does as he pleases with the powers of heaven and the peoples of the earth. No one can hold back his hand or say to him: “What have you done?”  ~ Daniel 4:35
I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like me. I make known the end from the beginning, from ancient times, what is still to come.  ~Isaiah 46:9-10

And so I can rest on the fact that God is sovereign over all things, big & small. Because I know, ”that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” ~Rom 8:28

And I also know that not even sparrows fall to the ground outside of God’s care (Matt 10:29). Mariko is worth so much more than a sparrow and I know that this did not take God by surprise. Because God says, “See now that I, even I, am he, and there is no god beside me; I kill and I make alive; I wound and I heal; and there is none that can deliver out of my hand.” ~ Deut 32:39

And this leaves me able to rest on the fact that God is completely in control and I really have no control. None. And everything I am able to do is only by His grace that he extends to me. I am so unbelievably thankful to that He has chosen to use my life in the way he has.

Whether I die tomorrow or whatever troubles may come, or the terrible things I see and deal with in the world. I can trust and rely on the fact that God is God, I am just a man and I cannot always see His plan. But He is good and in control.

A typical day for me?

I haven’t been terribly clear on what daily life has been like here so I figured that I should give a weekly schedule of sorts. Let me preface this with that no day has been the same since I’ve arrived and often times the plan for the day has been thrown out the window.

Mondays: Boones work Saturdays so they take Monday off instead. They have “family day” so usually they spend the time together or go on a family outing. I usually take a half-day, mornings are spent doing admin type stuff, then the afternoon is mine. Usually I’ll spend time in town trying to catch up with friends or I grab coffee somewhere. I’ll likely start doing some language learning on these days.

Tuesdays: Workout early in the morning, Quiet time and prayer with Jeremy between 8-9. At 9am I go into Masese and pray (for the people, the ministry, that God will be glorified and known, etc), at 10am there is a group of 30 women that meet with Tamara (Jeremy’s wife) and another woman, they lead them in the Word and then speak with them about the beaded necklaces they’ve made and then purchase them from the women to sell the necklaces in the states. This has provided these women with jobs and an income (which allows them to support their large families). All these women have come out of terribly hard situations like prostitution, alcohol/drug addiction, or only able to provide for their family by picking through trash, etc. But now they have bank accounts, savings, and are completely able provide for their families. It has been great to be able to slowly get to know these women and I’m looking forward to more involvement with them.

Why am I attending the all women’s group? Great question! Well our hope is to have these women transfer into Ugandan based employment. We are not entirely sure what it will look like, but we’d like them to either find other jobs or with their savings start their own business, since US-based necklace sales might not be sustainable. So I’m to begin researching possibilities and then meeting with them in order to hopefully help them develop and determine long-term job possibilities.

Wednesdays: Mornings tend to vary after working out and Quiet time/prayer. The afternoon is filled up with a Community Health Group meeting. The Community Health Group is a group between 5-15 people during a given meeting, they are all volunteers (in that they are not receiving anything or getting paid to come and they want to develop their community for the better). We meet in the late afternoon and Jeremy usual leads them in the Word, and then tries to direct them in vision casting for the future or with some health teaching/initiative.
Wednesday evenings there is a Bible Study that I go to with about 8-10 others around my age and it has been a great blessing to spend time with others in the Word and encourage each other in prayer.

Thursdays: After working out and Quiet time/prayer, Thursdays tend to be a catch up day. Anything that was put of during the week I try to get done, or I try to prepare for anything in the up-coming week, like research, prep work, or meetings. At 5:30 pm there’s basketball and a great group of guys get together to play till about 7pm.

Fridays: After our usual morning routine, I’m going to start leaving the rest of the morning, 10am-lunch, open for language learning. I’ll be learning Lugandan (which seems to be the predominate language spoken around this area), but I’m also hoping to learn Karimojong (which is a large population of Masese), but that’s a little farther down the line. Friday afternoons are similar to Wednesdays where we have the Community Health Group meet and there is a similar agenda. This last Friday I was asked by Jeremy to lead, in preparation for something that will be taking place this coming Wednesday.

Saturdays: Are usually a lot more laid back. I take a half-day and get admin stuff done in the mornings and then usually take the afternoons off. Since getting here I’ve liked to use this time to see other ministries that are taking place around the area.

Sundays: Are wonderful! Church in the mornings and then usually a nap or book in the afternoon and a movie or something fun at night.

Like I mentioned at the beginning, this is really just a rough estimate of my days. There hasn’t been a single day that has been the same, but I really like the flexibility. It’s been wonderful to be learning as I go and to get more plugged in as time passes. Over the last month I’ve really tried to be a learner, and just develop relationships. Yesterday (Saturday), I had a wonderful time with Elijah (a guy around my age), who I think is going to be a future leader in Masese (I think he already is one actually). It was really great to spend time with him and hear his heart for his community. He also had a really encouraging word from God for me, which only strengthened my belief that this is where I am called to be.

Prayer requests/praises:
-Mariko is doing incredibly. It truly was a work of God in his life. And he knows it. It’s a very long story but God has done an amazing work of healing in his life, and we are praying for more. Thank you for your prayers! Continue praying for the family though as they still have been dealing with some incredibly hard circumstances with other family members.
-Fundraising: I’m praying that I can return by August, but in reality I am not sure when it will happen. It is currently a very big  ?  All in God’s timing and I can rest in the knowledge that he has it under control.
-I’ve been heading up the planning for a short-term team to come into Masese and do a health/jigger removal outreach. We’ll be doing it on Wednesday. And we need prayers that it will go smoothly and that God will be glorified in it. There are a lot of intricacies in dealing with Masese, and we really don’t want to do anything that is harming in the long run. So please pray.

A Birthday and My Momentary Life

“The motive is this, ‘Oh! that God could be glorified, that Jesus might see the reward of his sufferings! Oh! that sinners might be saved, so that God might have new tongues to praise him, new hearts to love him! Oh! that sin were put an end to, that the holiness, righteousness, mercy, and power of God might be magnified!’ This is the way to pray; when thy prayers seek God’s glory, it is God’s glory to answer thy prayers.” ~ C. H. Spurgeon

As I sit here, the day after my birthday, I’ve had some time to reflect on the last year. God has been and will remain incredibly good. And while I had a wonderful time on my birthday, it has caused me to think about the coming year. I can only be grateful at a time like this, I’ve been beyond blessed.

And yet, I have to pause and be a bit morose. I pause because at this time I am also thinking of the many who have passed away in the last year and of those who will pass away in the coming year without Christ. For those of us who know Christ, we can rejoice! We have anticipation for him to come again and reign and we will be with Him forever.

But at a time like this, as we come nearer to celebrating Easter, may we who know Christ be able to hear the cry of the lost. May we know the realities of those that are hurtling headlong into a Christless future.

May we be moved with more compassion as Jesus was. May we beg for repentance for those we did not preach the truth to and weep for those we failed to bring out of darkness. May we see the torture, torment and anguish that our savior suffered at Golgotha. And then be spurred onward to reaching those that He died for. 

As I start a new year and as we approach Easter, I am praying that God would give us a vision and mission for this next year. That our desires and plans would be secondary to seeking after His will, that sacrifice would be done joyfully and without hesitation. I pray that God would allow us to hate the things that we currently hold so close and so dear. I pray that we would truly understand what Christ means when he says, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.” (Matthew 16:24)

I am praying that I would realize my momentary life, and despise time-wasting distractions. I am praying that we would all consider the cost, and pour ourselves out, fully relying on God’s provision, and then press onward to fight against the enemy with all our energies for the name of Christ. I pray we would do this in order to make Christ known and cherished to those who currently live in darkness.

These prayers are not necessary only for what we consider the “mission field”, but in our day to day lives. I pray that we would meet the needs of those in front of us, and be faithful in the little things. I pray that the reality that Christ sacrificed himself so that humanity could know, understand, and commune with God would weigh heavily in our hearts. I pray that the reality that there are those without Christ, just simply living or working with us, would burden us so greatly that we cannot help but preach the Good News to them.

“If Jesus Christ be God and died for me, then no sacrifice can be too great for me to make for Him.” ~ C.T. Studd

“If a commission by an earthly king is considered a honor, how can a commission by a Heavenly King be considered a sacrifice?” ~ David Livingstone

“For God did not send his Son into the world m to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God. And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil. For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed. But whoever does what is true comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his works have been carried out in God.” ~John 3:17-21

Prayers appreciated

 It’s the middle of day 5 of my time here in Uganda, and things are progressing really well. I’ve already started feeling settled, and seem to have a slight routine started. No day has been the same however, and I don’t expect it to be. Evenings have usually been the same, spending dinner with the Boones and then hanging out, chatting or playing card games after the kids have gone to bed. 

It’s been great to be apart of this family, unbelievably welcoming, accommodating, flexible and all-around fun. It has felt like “home” quickly, I’m so blessed by them, and I’m loving being called “Uncle Luke” by the 3 kids. We’ve been having a great time.

I’ve been shadowing Jeremy mostly over the past few days, especially when we went for a run, but seriously though it was more like in his dust. The elevation is something I’ll need to get used to. Conversations with him seem to be unlimited and they’re always good. It’s been great to have a brother in Christ that I can relate so well with, especially after leaving North Minneapolis (where I was living with an awesome group of guys and in a great community), so God has blessed me once again with community here, and it seems that I’ve only scraped the surface. There is a decent number of 20-somethings here in Jinja working in various avenues. So I imagine once I get plugged in it will be even better. 

In terms of ministry, I’m beginning to feel like this whole thing is finally real. I got announced as the “new” missionary at Church yesterday, so I guess it’s official and somewhat surreal. It feels right, and God has been so good to make this transition seamless. 

However, today is a hard day. The Boones have opened a spare room behind our home as transitional housing for families in need – whether battered women & children, homeless families without relatives, or the very ill. There is a family currently staying in the spare room on the property, as the family was all fighting off TB and the parents and youngest are HIV+ as well. They were not getting the right care or treatment in Masese, and were recently moved in so that a better eye could be kept on there condition.  The father, Mariko, just finished fighting off TB, and then caught Malaria, which seems to be out of his system, before I got here he seemed to be finally bouncing back from it all, but in the last 3 days Mariko hasn’t been able to eat or take his meds. He is wasting away. So today we decided to transport him to a hospital. Skin and bone, and unable to walk, Mariko is still fighting and we wish we could do more, but we can’t. 


It’s points like this that prayer is all we can do, and when working in Community Development and Relief efforts it can sometimes be overlooked. We have no intention of letting that happen and we want so badly for Mariko to heal, he truly cares for his family but can’t. His wife, although slightly healthier, does not seem to desire to really provide or care for her children or husband, or even care what happens. 

Please join us in prayer, please intercede with us! We’re pleading for God to transform this family and the community they are from.

We care deeply for their salvation and restoration back to life. Mariko is barely surviving, and we just ask that you would lift him and his family up in your prayers. That is all we can simply do, and it is a mighty thing to do, to fight in prayer on behalf of others. So we remain faithful and steadfast in our commitments here and I ask that you will do the same where you are and lift this situation up to the Lord.

“Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:6-7, NIV)

“It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God—that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption.” (1 Corinthians 1:30, NIV)

“I myself will tend my sheep and have them lie down, declares the Sovereign Lord. I will search for the lost and bring back the strays. I will bind up the injured and strengthen the weak, but the sleek and the strong I will destroy. I will shepherd the flock with justice.” (Ezekiel 34:15-16, NIV)

 “To the only God our Savior be glory, majesty, power and authority, through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all ages, now and forevermore! Amen.” ( Jude 1:25, NIV)

Jet-lagged realities, the beauty of being up early.

I’ve arrived. I’m up early this morning, sitting in my bed, enjoying jet-lag.

First, I’ve never really struggled with jet-lag before, even with all my travels I haven’t had a major problem. But this morning, I’m up at 4am. And I’m sitting here knowing full well that I’ll be out running a few miles with Jeremy soon to start off my day.

How can I be enjoying jet-lag? Well it’s been a wonderful 2 hours of sitting in thought and enjoying my Savior.

Enjoying the undeserved gift of salvation, and the undeserved blessing of sitting here in Uganda knowing that God is good and faithful to act. Excited to see how He continues to work and I pray that I can be a conduit of His love and glory here.

Knowing full well that I deserve judgment, and that without the cross there is only condemnation. But I’m celebrating in the fact that with Jesus’ sacrifice these are no more. So in the times that are good (like now) and the times that are bad, I will boast in the cross. I will boast in His wonderful name, I will boast in the Son and that He reigns. Who am I that you would choose me? And what is my life if I’m not praising You. So Father, please keep me faithful to your call, continue to work in me, allow me to count my life as loss for the sake of Christ, that I may know You more.

Philippians 3:8-10

⁸ Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ ⁹ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith— ¹⁰  that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, ¹¹ that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead.

At long last, a post and some news – To Uganda For God’s Glory!

Some of you may be expecting this, and to some this may come as a surprise. I am excited to be sharing this news with you, I have been accepted into  Equip International and will be serving in Uganda.

Since April 2011, I have felt a strong call towards overseas missions. As I have shared with many of you, I have been feeling God leading me toward East Africa. After much prayer and seeking God’s leading, Uganda quickly became the place I felt drawn to.

God has proved to be faithful as always and has answered many prayers. The most exciting news is that I’ll be leaving very soon. I have tickets purchased for Tuesday, March 13! I plan to return to the USA on May 29^th to receive some further training and orientation with the mission, continue support raising, and also have some time with family and friends (including my parents who return to the USA in July), before I return again to Uganda for a 2-year long term.

Why this preliminary 2+ month trip?

There were many factors that have played into this decision. One of them is that I can use these intervening months until the Equip course and orientation in June to get started in Uganda and get acquainted with my role in ministry as well as begin developing the necessary relationships needed to continue working in the area.

I will be working just outside of Jinja, Uganda in the slum community called Masese. I will be working alongside a wonderful family, the Boones (http://www.boonesinafrica.com/), and by going to their website you can see more about Masese and the work that I’ll be taking part in. Another big reason for going for this preliminary two month time is to have some overlap time with Jeremy Boone, working alongside him and learning from him before he and his family head to the USA for a 6 month-furlough (probably) in July.

When I had the opportunity to visit Masese this last October, it struck me with the worst conditions I have ever experienced in my life. It is an urban slum filled with hopelessness. Masese Slum holds the worst of village and city life and the combination is deadly. Unthinkable povert, hunger, tropical disease, inadequate health care, and lack of infrastructure combine with population density, unemployment, no land ownership, every kind of communicable diseases (AIDS, TB, etc) as well as rampant alcohol addiction and prostitution. These are only some of the many physical concerns that plague Masese. There is also a clear need for Christ. Many within Masese do not know or want to know about God and have openly rejected the local church that is within the community.

The desire and expectation moving forward with working in Masese is two-fold. My desire is to help with Relief & Development initiatives within the community as well as Discipleship & Evangelism.

There is a lot of work that can be done, but I’m praying for guidance and wisdom over the next few months as I become more plugged into the community and work, that I’ll find the opportunities that are best suited for me and where, with God’s help, I can make a lasting impact for the Kingdom. Please be praying that I will be able to raise the support to return to Uganda in July, that Christ will be exalted and His name made known, and that the people in Masese will be transformed physically and spiritually.

 

 

A wonderful reminder.

A reminder of the weight of Christ’s sacrifice and love.

You don’t need to wait!

I am finite.
I am dependent.
I am weak.
I am impatient.
I am wicked.
I am barely able to keep my head above water.

My God is infinite.
My God is sovereign.
My God is powerful.
My God is patient.
My God is perfect.
My God can walk on water.

I am in a beautiful place. Where I should always be. In my Father’s hand, at His mercy, and crying out to Him, trusting in the plan He has (Proverbs 3:1-12). Praise God for in him are all things, and he works them according to His good purpose (Colossians 1:17 & Romans 8:28). I praise God for his mercy and love towards me. And because of that I can step out boldly for Him, and proclaim the gospel (Philippians 4:4-9; Philippians 4:13).

So I continue praying, because I know that there are many things ahead. I am reminded of something I heard this past week, “some of you are in a holding pattern to wait to do something significant in your lives!” “You don’t need to wait to fully participate in the plans of God. They are right now!”

Is it your prayer to fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel of Christ? Is it my prayer?

I want it to be. I want total abandon and total flexibility for Christ. I want to walk in a manner worthy of the calling I have received (Ephesians 4:1-7).

So please pray this for me and for yourself (like Paul asks for himself), so that we may boldly proclaim the mystery of the gospel.

“…that words may be given to me in opening my mouth boldly to proclaim the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains, that I may declare it boldly, as I ought to speak.”
(Ephesians 6:19-20 ESV)

“that I may declare it boldly, as I ought to speak.”

This isn’t simply living a different life than those around you. How do you declare something? With your mouth.
How do you speak? With your mouth. So may we live lives worthy of our calling as disciples and may we speak boldly.

Praying that we may continue (or just begin) to speak boldly the gospel of Christ.

(On a side note, proclaiming the Gospel has been weighing heavily on me. I’ve never evangelized before, at least not purposefully. I haven’t sought it out. But after this last week, and after thinking through my thoughts which are above, I knew I needed to speak out more boldly about my faith and I resolved to do it on the flight back to Minnesota from Georgia. And so I prayed first. Most of the day Thursday I pray as I went about my day. That evening was my flight.
Johnnie sat next to me. He is a University student in Edmonton, Canada. I got a chance to speak with him during the flight and then as we were disembarking I felt God place it on my heart to give him my Bible. I asked if he had one, and he said yes. But then proceeded to tell me that his friend is a Mormon and gave him one. Well that was a whole conversation that I wanted to have but couldn’t, so I quickly explained that Mormonism is wrong and that their Bible isn’t truth, maybe more brash and quicker than I meant. I then gave him my Bible and asked him to read it.
So please be praying for Johnnie, he is a great guy with some big dreams, but how much greater if those dreams were based from clear understanding and faith in the Savior, the supremacy of God, and bringing him glory.)

Blessed are you, O Lord, forever

“Blessed are you, O Lord, the God of Israel our father, forever and ever. Yours, O Lord, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the victory and the majesty, for all that is in the heavens and in the earth is yours. Yours is the kingdom, O Lord, and you are exalted as head above all. Both riches and honor come from you, and you rule over all. In your hand are power and might, and in your hand it is to make great and to give strength to all. And now we thank you, our God, and praise your glorious name.
“But who am I, and what is my people, that we should be able thus to offer willingly? For all things come from you, and of your own have we given you. For we are strangers before you and sojourners, as all our fathers were. Our days on the earth are like a shadow, and there is no abiding. O Lord our God, all this abundance that we have provided for building you a house for your holy name comes from your hand and is all your own. I know, my God, that you test the heart and have pleasure in uprightness. In the uprightness of my heart I have freely offered all these things, and now I have seen your people, who are present here, offering freely and joyously to you. O Lord, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, our fathers, keep forever such purposes and thoughts in the hearts of your people, and direct their hearts toward you.
- (1 Chronicles 29:10-18 ESV)

Unbelievably thankful for the undeserved blessings I have received throughout my life. One of which is family.
Reflecting on my Christmas spent in Georgia. It was extraordinary. My time with family there was some of the best I’ve had and it is wonderful and encouraging to see God working in their lives. I marvel at His sovereignty and love.

Life is hard and our family is far from perfect but I am so thankful that God placed me into your lives. I love you and am praying for you all.

Jesus wants the ROSE!!

The point of the gospel?
2 Corinthians 5:21 “God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.”

In 2009, Matt Chandler spoke at the Desiring God Pastors Conference, the full message is here. About a week ago one of my cousins recommended this video to me. This is a powerful message and the reality of Christ. And yesterday another cousin posted this to his blog.

I couldn’t agree more with how Barnabas puts it:

 ”Every person is that wilted, broken flower. Maybe it is sexual deviance or dalliance. Maybe it is lying. Maybe it is arrogance, apathy, legalism, lawlessness, anger, passivity, or something else. But each of us has lost  our petals and are nothing more than a trash heap worthy busted stem.”

So may you be encouraged and may we all realize that “Jesus wants the rose!” And may this be our hope and our joy. And may it be our reason for proclaiming the gospel to the lost. May we celebrate in the grace of God.