whatever you wish

If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. - John 15:7 (ESV)

What are you asking God for?

I got asked that question soon after reading the verse above. It challenged me to wonder whether my heart and thoughts were truly in line with God. If they are, the desires of my heart are his desires, and am I asking him to begin to fulfill our desires?

Well, there came an opportunity to put it to the test. I had the chance to meet with the President of San Jose City College on Thursday. I knew this Wednesday when I was asked the above question. So I begin to pray about what should I be asking God for. I thought about a friend who shared about his service of the community by being a chaplain for the San jose Police Department. I also thought about another friend who reminded me of the verse that says, something close to, when our good deeds shine before men they will glorify our Father in heaven. With both these thoughts in mind my prayer for the meeting was, "God give me favor in the eyes of the President to serve and care for the students on campus that they might glorify you."

Even though the meeting was not intended to be about a "chaplaincy program" I brought it up when asked if there was anything else we wanted to talk about. Then the door opened, the President had served at another college where they had been multiple tragedies. He shared about how he had no idea what kind of emotional effect these tragedies would have on his students, workers, and the campus. They are prepared to take care of immediate situations, but are not always equipped to handle the emotional aspects, so he was excited that we "obviously" knew how to do that.

Now I have more meetings with the people in Student Affairs to find out how we can foster this kind of care across the campus.

So I ask you, what are you asking God for?

goodbye

To say goodbye is to reap
the harvest of relationship.
To reap some sweet fruit
and even bitter grief.

To say goodbye is to leave
the family that you love.
To leave behind those who
have known you every thought.

To say goodbye is to weep
for the moments lived and lost.
To weep for what once was
and may never be again.

To say goodbye is to hope
the loved ones you leave will fly.
To hope that now they are
in better hands than yours.

To say goodbye is to laugh
for those memories bad and good.
To laugh holding each other
for the moment cannot end.

To say goodbye is to pray
that God’s will is done.
To pray that as each day passes
love is spread.

To say goodbye is to wish
for more of what has past.
To wish that heaven will
be where we meet again.

Goodbye my friends.

god is green

I have been working my way through Mars Hill Bible Church's current teaching series, "God is Green." At the center of the series is a book called Serve God Save The Planet by Matthew Sleeth. His story is a provocative one, while his speaking style is not so engaging. Both Rob Bell and Sleeth use the Scriptures (mostly OT) to reflect God's delight in creation, and His delight in restoring creation (NT), as a foundation for a call to Christians to live more simply. Specifically to work counter to the driving forces of our culture which call us to consumption, exploitation, and entitlement.

What role does God want us to play in caring for, preserving, and restoring the planet?

wonderfully terrible

Have you not known? Have you not heard? The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary; his understanding is unsearchable. — Isaiah 4o:28 (ESV)

As I meditated on the love of God today (I listen to a devotional podcast called pray-as-you-go that is awesome) I heard this verse being read. We were asked to reflect upon the words that stood out . . . "unsearchable understanding" definitely caught my attention.

What makes God's understanding unsearchable?

First, and most simply that His understanding is quantifiably more than a finite being can grasp.

Second, could it be, that His understanding is so complete that it is terrifying in nature? Could it be that His understanding of just who I am is so in depth that the very truths that I am unwilling to see or believe about myself are "unsearchable" because I would faint at even the thought?

How wonderfully terrible if true . . . and I believe it is.

George McDonald wrote of God, "He is not safe, but He is good."

setting sail

For some time I haven't written. For two reasons. First, practically, my laptop is dying. Second, personally, I have had much going on I was not free to share publicly.

As many now know, I am moving on from South Hills, the church I grew up in and have served on the pastoral staff for the last six years. From the first days of talking with Crossroads Bible Church the words from God were, "It's time to set sail." An unnerving way of letting me know that the last three years of "harbor," in other words safety, support, and nurturing, were over. A new adventure awaited with unknown outcomes, and unseen storms.

While I wrestled with this picture, God would give me no other leading but, "Will you trust me? Will you trust my voice?" He even went as far as to have the missions speaker at Hume Lake (where I took high school students to summer camp) say, "Once God reveals His plan have the faith to follow."

So here I am. In transition. Finishing the work I began at South Hills when I volunteered in the Children's Ministry at 8 years old. I have known students in the high school group since they were 4. It is amazing what God has done.

If this has been a harbor, imagine what will He do when we hit the open sea?