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November, 2008

  1. My Rock. . .

    November 20, 2008 by Nate

    I wish I could put into words the kind of emotional roller coaster I’ve been on these last couple weeks. Life has been so unstable, and I feel like the portion of my life spent in turning the page to “Chapter 2″ can be defined as a huge trial.

    Those of you who know my personal struggles would call me sheltered or naïve. What I’m going through right now pales in comparison to what many are dealing with. Perhaps I am sheltered. I thank God that I haven’t experienced some of the trials my friends have experienced. But those of you who know me well also know that I have a tendency to bear the trials of others. I carry their weight on my shoulders and suffer their pain as if it were my own.

    I had no idea just how earth-shattering the transition to “Chapter 2″ would be for me. Or that one person could impact my life so profoundly and be the catalyst for the change. Thanks to one person, my life looks nothing like it used to, and the course I travel will never be what I had envisioned.

    Don’t get me wrong, I’m excited to see what God has in store, but I feel like I’ve lost all stability in my life. But I know I can find it again.

    God promised that, even though life may be completely unstable, he is an immovable rock. The prophet Isaiah wrote these words:

    “Listen to me, you who pursue righteousness,
    you who seek the Lord:
    look to the rock from which you were hewn,
    and to the quarry from which you were dug.

    In all the instability of my life, my God, my Creator, my Originator, the Heart from which I was born—He is completely stable. And no matter what comes into my life, He will always be there.

    We used to teach the children at Liquid Kids the song “My Rock.” The chorus is as follows:

    You are the Rock
    You are the steady and unchanging
    The way You care for me is wonderful, amazing
    I can depend on You, trust in You, rely on You
    You are, You are my Rock.

    No matter how unstable my life becomes, no matter how many times I turn the page to “Chapter 2,” no matter how difficult those page turns may be, God is my Rock.

    Category Church, Friends, Personal, Scripture Musings, Spirituality | Tags: | 2 Comments

  2. Soles4Souls. . .

    November 10, 2008 by Nate

    Speaking of BHAG’s. . .

    Fellow blogger Anne Jackson turned me on to a fantastic charity.

    You guys know me fairly well, so you probably know that I have a heart for charities of all kinds. (See my posts on Love146 and charity: water.) This is obviously no exception.

    The 50,000 Pairs in 50 Days Challenge

    This particular charity comes with a challenge: raise enough money to supply shoes for people who need them. I’m betting most of my readers take this simple necessity for granted. Just like water, we often assume this need will be met. Unfortunately, too many people around the world go without shoes day after day after day.

    So, here’s what I’m asking you guys to do with me: click the banner above and just donate $5. It goes a long way. $5 is enough to donate a pair of shoes. I also want you to check out the “50,000 Pairs in 50 Days” group on Facebook.

    Spread the word about this. We’ve got 50 days to get this done! I know you guys can do it!

    Category Social Justice | Tags: | 1 Comment

  3. (Twenty) First Century Church. . .

    November 8, 2008 by Nate

    At the beginning of the First Century, a group of ragamuffins were given a crazy mission: take the Word of God to the whole frickin’ world.

    In 1996, a couple guys coined the term BHAG, or Big, Hairy, Audacious Goal. That’s what Jesus gave his first followers. It was crazy, and I’m betting those eleven guys were thinking stuff like, “What the heck did I get myself into? Why couldn’t I have said ‘no’ three years ago?”

    But it was totally worth it; 3000 people became Christ-followers in a day. This new Jesus movement was spreading like wildfire, and nothing anyone could do would be able to slow it down, let alone stop it.

    But don’t think that no one tried. Plenty of people gave it a shot. But everyone was powerless to shut these radicals up. A wise teacher of religious law said these words during the beginning of the Jesus movement:
    the-pharisees-conspire-together-giclee-print-c12015015

    “Men of Israel, consider carefully what you intend to do to these men. Some time ago Theudas appeared, claiming to be somebody, and about four hundred men rallied to him. He was killed, all his followers were dispersed, and it all came to nothing. After him, Judas the Galilean appeared in the days of the census and led a band of people in revolt. He too was killed, and all his followers were scattered. Therefore, in the present case I advise you: Leave these men alone! Let them go! For if their purpose or activity is of human origin, it will fail. But if it is from God, you will not be able to stop these men; you will only find yourselves fighting against God.”

    To this very day, the Jesus movement continues to spread like wildfire. Check out the Chinese underground church. Look at the Russian believers. For 2000 years, the Jesus movement has continued to spread.

    luthers-95I firmly believe we’re in the midst of a massive surge in Christianity. Every few centuries, something big happens that sets the Faith on fire. In the Sixteenth Century it was the Protestant Reformation. In the Eighteenth Century it was the Great Awakening.

    The songwriter Brooke Fraser put it this way:

    I see a generation
    Rising up to take their place
    With selfless faith
    Selfless faith

    I see a near revival
    Stirring as we pray and seek
    We’re on our knees
    On our knees

    There is a revolution coming, and I believe it is already among us. Millions of people are already stirring the metaphorical fires of revival within their own hearts, and when God begins to move in people whose hearts are broken for what breaks His, the movement is unstoppable.

    Let’s bring it home and make it tangible. New Jersey is America’s #1 most densely populated state. Yet it ranks near the bottom in church attendance. “A spiritually dry region,” Tim would say.

    But like the First-Century Church, which surged like a tsunami through regions that were dying of spiritual thirst, the Twenty-First-Century Church is on the brink of doing the same thing. With the vision of taking church to the people (instead of taking people to the church), Liquid is about to surge through New Jersey.

    For months, I’ve been itching to post about this, and FINALLY we’ve officially announced our vision for UNSTOPPABLE 2010. God is doing something amazing through His church in New Jersey.

    Can you “see the King of Glory” at work here?

    Category Christianity, Church | Tags: | 1 Comment

  4. A beautiful weekend. . .

    November 3, 2008 by Nate

    Nothing is more beautiful to me than hearing story after story of how God is stirring the hearts of individual people. I can’t help but shed tears of joy over each soul that Christ restores.

    On October 26, 2008, 62 people pledged their loyalty to Jesus in the city of Morristown, NJ. Even remembering makes me cry.

    Category Church, Friends | Tags: | No Comments