Cleaning Your Mirror

"If ever you come near, I'll hold up high a mirror.
Lord, I could never show you anything as beautiful as You"


I've been thinking lately about mission, vocation, purpose, plans, etc...really for my life, but in general as well. Last week I did a quick study, looking for scripture with distinct direction, rules, or demands (if you will) for life. I don't mean a "moral code" of some type, frankly I don't agree that such exists. However, the Bible does give us some very practical guidelines for what many call Christian Living (Isn't that the title of a magazine or something?). Anyways, the point is this: There are certain truths in the Bible that point you towards living in a manner "worthy of the gospel". (Titus 3, 1 Timothy 6, Philipians, etc...Paul was brilliant huh?)


They all have a common thread; each was perfectly exteriorized by Jesus. He is the empitome of each quality that you will read. Which brings me to the title - Cleaning Your Mirror.

The truth is evident, Jesus is our moral exemplar, but do not limit Him to such a simple role. He is indeed the Savior of the world, the Son of God. (*Please give that a moment and feel its weight, read it again if you need to.)



"In the New Testament the art of life itself is an art of imitation..."originality" in the New Testament is quite plainly the prerogative of God alone; even within the triune being of God it seems to be confined to the Father. The duty and happiness of every other being is placed in being derivative, in reflecting like a mirror. Nothing could be more foriegn to the tone of Scripture than the language of those who describe a saint as a "moral genius" or a "spiritual genius" thus insinuating that his virtue or spirituality is "creative" or "original". If I have read the New Testament aright, it leaves no room for "creativeness" even in a modified or metaphorical sense. Our whole destiny seems to lie in the opposite direction, in being as little as possible ourselves, in acquiring a fragrance that is not our own but borrowed, in becoming clean mirrors filled with the image of a face that is not ours." - CS Lewis



And St. Augustine adds to this concept, "...pride does not only go before the fall but is a fall - a fall of the creature's attention from what is better, God, to what is worse, Itself..."


It's not good enough to just "be moral", not to mention its impossibility, but it is about becoming like Christ, not so you can be seen as righteous, holy, or spiritual, but so that He, by His grace, might be reflected through you with all attention on Him.


Right now, many of us live with our mirrors turned upside-down. So that, when the sun shines upon you, a shadow of yourself is cast upon the ground in front of you. You are being called to first, turn over your mirror, then continually clean and clean. So that now, when the sun shines upon you, it is reflected onto others for exactly what it is, the Son.




Philippians 4:23

We are far too easily pleased...

I wrote, about a year ago, a little dialogue to myself, concerning how I am too easily pleased in life and about the nature of joy. What things make me happy? A short self-analysis quickly made me realize two things. Firstly, I read what Jesus said, "I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full." aka Jesus = pure joy. And secondly, if this is true, I am far too easily pleased.


The creator of heaven and earth sent His son into the world for you and I, for His glory, and told us, "Here is pure joy, just accept it, it doesn't get any better than this!" But, continually, everyday really (just look into your life), we decide we'd rather have what the world has to offer us, than what the creator of the world has to offer us. We deny the real thing and go for the cheap, fake, immitation, that always fades. Here's the absurd question: Why do you do it?

What a stupid circle we constantly run around...You try and try to find joy in the world: drinking, drugs, sex, ambition, relationships, family, work, friends, sports, goals, school, etc. Yet, you miss what the scriptures say, that you are a fellow heir of "all things" in Christ. Feel the weight of that! God says, "Here, my beloved, it is all yours! You get it all, just come to me my child." Well, little kid! What are you waiting for! Why would you eat dirt when you've been offered the place of highest honor at the Lord's table? Seek the Lord and abide in Him. Realize that your father has an abundance of joy for you and when you abide in Him, you cannot escape that joy.

You don't get some of it, you get it all...go and read your Bible. Read John 15 and abide in Him, 1 Corinthians 3:21-23, Romans 8:17, and Hebrews 1:2. That should get you started, then go, search, and find it for yourself.

Stop settling for things that fall short and accept the never-fading love and joy that is offered in Christ Jesus.

"Indeed, if we consider the unblushing promises of reward and the staggering nature of the rewards promised in the gospels, it would seem that Our Lord finds our desires, not too strong, but too weak. We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us...we are far too easily pleased." -CS Lewis

Half-hearted creatures, you and I...yet we are heirs of the world. Thank you, Abba.




Hey Jess, you're beautiful.

Abre los ojos...

Currently, I'm back in Vina del Mar. Home, for the remaining, short, 3 1/2 months, that I have left here in Chile. Time is moving along, fast.

Pichilemu was an unreal experience and let me first acknowledge the community at the base. It was evident upon arrival that it was a community for Jesus. I was super encouraged, daily, by how they prayed together, worshipped together, built together, well...lived life together. That was the first time, in my short life, that i've seen a community of Christ working for the same purpose - Him. Since I left without much preperation, I also left without many preconceived notions of what would come in the week. I was well pleased and well awakened. I'll do my best, in short, to impart my experience upon you. I'd also like to do my best to steer away from my work and just make you aware of how much the Lord is working down there.

I bused to Santiago friday night and left early saturday morning, with two ladies from England, for Pichilemu, we stayed on the right side of the road as best as possible. Great drive. I worked for the first 3-4 days in a small town called Espinillo, about 40min inland, alongside David (from Switzerland) and other Chileans from the area. We ate, we built, we shared stories with eachother, talked about Jesus, about His love, how He has changed our lives, and we laughed a lot. As David left wednesday and I headed back out on the Municipalidad de Pichilemu truck, 40min through the mountains on the dirt roads, to work with Emilio again, the newfangled foods we had ate over the past 3 days got the best of me (later, I would find they did the same for David). After a quick trip to the "hospital" in Pichilemu, I shelled out my last few days there in the bed, and another unspecified location. By saturday, my last full day on the JuCUM/YWAM base in Pichilemu, I was up enough to throw on the trendy 80's sport coat we found in the pool room and attend the amazing wedding of Nathan and Coni. It felt nice to return home on sunday evening, where Monica made me a special batch of Chilean chicken noodle.

That was in short.

I've always found it super difficult to connect with desperate situations when I am miles aways in the USA. I love my country, but sometimes we neglect the real needs of others (I'm no Benedict, relax). It's been unreal to be in Santiago, Vina, and Valpo and see buildings broken, apartments completely vacant with all the windows smashed out, sidewalks torn up, and streets a wreck after the earthquake here, but it was entirely different to dig for a foundation of a house we would see completed in 3 days, for a couple that lived self-sufficiently in the mountains, away from the aid of a city. We were working next to a home with every wall completely fallen out and those people had been sleeping in tents for weeks. I saw a different viewpoint of life...

These things affect real people. God's people. Do we have a responsibility to help them? I was there, but there's no novelty in that. I'm the Lords hands. Had I not been there, he'd have put someone else there. I'm only a servant, thankful He chose me. Praise Him, I'm still "driving nails". Thank you for Grace.

I'm not proud of what I've done. I'm happy about it, and glad I was used to help. I'm not boasting in what kind of work I did last week. I'm just happy to have toiled for Him. I'm not asking for approval or applause. I'm telling you that the glory is His.

When's the last time you served?
How often do you serve?
Are you satisfied when you give your "10%"? or do you feel more 'spiritual' when you give 20%? Is it enough if you just give some money? (then head down the road for a $4 latte - hah, i've learned to really detest starbucks)
Do you really love God's people?

These are awfully formed questions, but they make me think. The notion of them all is similar. Do you love others and serve whole-heartedly or are we all, again, confronted with lies that say we must compromise our love and get more of what we want? Stop running around the cul-de-sac of life.

I'm grateful that daily I'm being transformed by the Gospel, from the inside out. Scriptures like Philippians 4:11-12, Colossians 1:21-22, Luke 18:9-14 etc...are all beginning to make more sense to my infant mind and, in addition, a book I've been reading has really opened my eyes to a new facet of life - serving. I recommend it to you all. The Irresistible Revolution by Shane Claiborne. (Thanks Josh)


I am truly thankful for my time in Pichilemu, for the people that I met, and for the love that was shown daily (sick or well). Thank yall, Dios te bendiga.

If you want to get involved in any way that you feel led, please do. There is much to be done still. Check out the JuCUM website and these videos on youtube. Real stuff.

http://www.jucumpichilemu.cl/homes_of_hope.html - change the language on the left of webpage.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3-Eo8t4HChQ&feature=player_embedded



Thanks for reading.

Pichilemu

This post is quick:

In just a bit, I am leaving for Santiago to stay with some people and in the morning we are leaving south for Pichilemu. There is an organization there called JuCUM who is affiliated with YWAM -based in Richmond...huh! And they are helping build, cloth, etc, those in the southern area who have been affected by the earthqauke on Feb. 27th. I will be there until April 11th working. Probably will not have much if any internet access etc. So, please keep me in your prayers, keep the people here and in Pichilemu in your prayers, and pray for God's word and mission to be shown to these people, for glorious things, for peace, and for love. Our God is an awesome God. Remember this day, Good Friday, and celebrate on Sunday - HE IS RISEN!!!

I love you all, thank you. Jessica, you're gorgeous!

"Be ye perfect..."

So, this morning was slow, but good...I was helping Monica in the kitchen with some dishes as she was cooking and I was thinking, "I could just stop now..." And then, I was reminded of something a friend said once about his work around the house..."But, I'm not going to do anymore, I've done my part for the day." Maybe I overthink, as Jessica says I do all of the time, but regardless, this statement moved my mind.

How often do you say, "I'm through, I've already done my part."? Perphaps, this is a good season to evaluate this statement.

Jesus.

What if He had chosen when His time was up? What if He had decided He had done His part?

He didn't choose, the Father chose. But He certainly had his 'moments'. Before He began to shed tears of blood on the Mount of Olives he asked, "Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me. Nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done." There was pain for sure...but He never said, "I've had enough." Instead, He proclaimed that the Lord's will would be done in His life, regardless of His personal or momentary circumstances. Even with His last breath He announced the Lord's will, "Father, into your hands I commit my spirit!" Christ, the most self-less man to ever walk the earth, never once uttered those arrogant words, "I've done my part." The truth, it's not even your part...and though you may be "satisfied" with what you've done, your not finished.

In Isaiah 53:10, the Bible says that "It was the will of the Lord to crush him." It wasn't until Jesus breathed His last that Abba could say, "I am pleased." Pleased Him...What? Well, be thankful, because it pleased the Lord for love of us! His GIFT! His SON! That he would crush His only begotten son... for YOU.

Love...remember that four-letter word this Friday, this season. You are Loved, by a God who doesn't want just some of you, He wants it all. It's not until you give it all that He will be satisfied. It's not until you give it all that He can fully love you. That He can look at you after having said, "Be ye perfect", and agree that you are...

Jesus says, "You have free will, and if you choose, you can push Me away. But if you do not push Me away, understand that I am going to see this job through. Whatever suffering it may cost you in your earthly life, whatever inconceivable purification it may cost you after death, whatever it costs Me, I will never rest nor let you rest until you are literally perfect - until My Father can say without reservation that He is well pleased with you, as He said He was well pleased with Me. This I can do and will do. But I will not do anything less." -CSL

This is a brilliant time to rejoice in the love that your Father has for you. Thank you Abba, for never thinking of quiting on me...

This Way or That Way

These stray dogs are all over the place in Vina and Valpo. They've got a lot of precedence here and although it's really sad to see them malnourished, beaten up, and sleeping in the streets everywhere, I've grown quickly to enjoy watching um...they do some funny stuff. Sometimes they randomly go crazy and a few of them will just start chasing a car and barking, but the ones, like this one, on the beach are my favorite. They just run up and down the beach all of the time, chasing the seagulls, and it looks like they are having a blast...maybe I'll jump in there one day.

So, if you know me, or have talked to me at all since I've been away, you know that I've thought a lot about the why? and the what? There's been all sorts of directions to take, things to do, places to be, things to see, and also, things not to do, see, or take...but recently there has been a lot of comfort in life and where I am. I am still praying often (and I think you should to, have you not yet found it) for what God has for my life, my vocation, but right now, I am eased. A verse I was shown today helps a lot with these ideas, but also is just reassuring and I like it - Isaiah 30:21 - ..."This is the way, walk in it." You're on the road, so don't just stand there, walk...or run.

It brings me back to one of the shortest, yet most powerful words in the world - Go.

So, my friend, GO! What honestly are you waiting for? What am I waiting for? Sure, you can make an excuse for everything...and no matter how valid that excuse might be, at the end, it is still an excuse. So let's not make excuses...What if Mary tried to make an excuse, "Well, sorry God, I'm just to young, I'll be mocked, what about Joseph?" Pretty valid excuses for her maybe, but...she did the exact opposite when Gabriel came to her as a teenager and said she would bear a child. Her response, "Ok, how's it going to work?" Well, the angel told her and once again, no excuses. Mary said, "Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word." (Luke 1:26-38)

Have faith like Mary... Go!

Thanks girls, for suggesting I post tonight, your brown-eyed teacher is gorgeous huh!?

There is no other stream...

Life's good here in Vina. The weather is awesome, and I went surfing yesterday at Renaca. Getting there on the Micro was half the fun - packed in there with 50 people and a surf board haha...I love it.

Today, after waking up late for class this morning, running to the metro, then speed-walking to my building, to show up and there be no class...I'm here back at the house with some coffee, writing. Just laugh huh...

I was reading something while on the metro back to the house that started some thoughts. CS Lewis is explaining to some degree, Hell's invention of the "Historical Jesus," and in his writing he says this, which started the thought:

"Instead of the Creator adored by its creature, you soon have merely a leader acclaimed by a partisan, and finally a distinguished character approved by a judicious historian."

What I hear the brilliant theologian saying here is, what have you done to Jesus? Jesus is not just history or a great moral teacher. He is your creator. For those who have a relationship with our Savior, my question is: Do you worship Christ as the Creator? - you are His creation. And for those who do not have a relationship with your Savior, my question is: Do you believe in the truth? That Jesus is your Creator and you are His creation?

There is no following Jesus as a moral teacher or as a cool historical figure...He is the Christ. The root of this is whether you believe it to be true. The Bible gives an account of facts. Luke, for example, was a great historian and physician, who was paid by a very rich man to go, learn, seek, interview, and discover the truth about Jesus Christ. He did just that and wrote about it, in two books of the Bible...it is truth. Do you believe it or not? (And I'll leave the rest, again, to Clive) "...once this question is really before you, then your natural inquisitiveness must make you want to know the answer. If Christianity is untrue, then no honest man will want to believe it, however helpful if may be: if it is true, every honest man will want to belive it, even if it gives him no help at all."

So you see, it's not about you really. It is however about Him. It doesn't matter what you gain or loose...do you believe the truth or not?

"There is no other stream..."

Love you Jess.