Vine and Branches

So my cell group went out to a state forest for a little camping trip last weekend. We had a great time out there. We made s'mores and played some Texas Hold'em. I didn't finish in last place! Whoo! (It's hard for me to take poker seriously when no money is involved.)

The best part of the whole trip, however, was when Corbett, Noel, Drew, and I decided to go exploring. We went down to the main trail first and came across a couple of drunk women who were also walking around. We made small talk with them and were about to witness to them, but their boyfriends started calling after them. Not wanting any trouble with their boyfriends, we ended the conversation and started exploring the woods.

After getting a ways into the woods, we realized we had no idea where we were. We were lost. Corbett, Noel, and I thought it was actually pretty cool, but Drew didn't like it so much. He's not too fond of being lost. We told him that God is in control and that He brought us out there to teach us something.

Then I said, "I have a feeling it's going to rain." Drew was not too happy about that idea. Corbett decided he should pray... for rain. So he did. And not thirty seconds later it started raining! Seriously! God, with His sense of humor, answered our prayer!

We then decided that it would probably be a good time to try and find a way out of the woods. After about ten or fifteen minutes, we came across the original trail we went in on. So, much to Drew's delight, we made it safely out of the woods.

Afterward, Drew shared how God used the experience to break and humble him. He hates being lost, especially in the rain. So God had him get lost in the woods... in the rain... so that Drew would learn that God has everything under control.

We all learned how sovereign God is. Noel made an interesting comment. He said that God was probably looking down on us, smiling, and saying, "I got this, guys!"

Our experience is a lot like our lives. God takes us into the "woods" of our lives... the unknown places, the hard places. He takes us there so He can humble us and show us His almighty sovereign power.

It was a fun, yet humbling experience that I won't soon forget. Our God is an awesome God!

So I've been reading a book called Irresistible Revolution by Shane Claiborne. I had often heard about this book from others, but I would always forget abou tit. So when I saw it at Barnes & Noble the other day, I had to pick it up.

It has been an amazing book already! The first few chapters are about Shane's search for true Christianity. Like myself and many others, he was extremely discontent with the current state of the church.

In his search, he had the privilege to work with Mother Theresa. He spent three months working with the homeless and with lepers. It was there, he claims, that he found real Christians. He looked in their eyes and saw Jesus, and others would see the same in him. That's how I want to be!

I figured in order to be like Jesus and to live like Him, I would have to read about Him. So I'm going to spend some time studying and meditating on each of the gospels. I want to learn to love and to be a real man. Jesus is the epitome of love and godly masculinity.

Anyway, Monday night was awesome at our University of Minnesota Outreach. Our director believes that God is calling us to wait right now. Wait and pray. We focused our prayers on repentance and on seeing God for how big He really is. The Spirit led me to my favorite chapter in the Bible: Isaiah 6. In this chapter, the size of God is seen. His incredible power and glory is seen. It's such an amazing passage. See for yourself!:

In the year that King Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and the train of his robe filled the temple.

Above him stood the seraphim. Each had six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. And one called to another and said: "Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory!"

And the foundations of the thresholds shook at the voice of him who called, and the house was filled with smoke.

And I said: "Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts!"

--Isaiah 6:1-5 (ESV)

I meant to post this yesterday, but I forgot.

I just wanted to post a little blog in memory of those who died on September 11, 2001. You will never be forgotten.

You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about Me, yet you refuse to come to Me that you may have life.

-Jesus Christ (John 5:39-40)

In love, in love, in life, in love
in you, in love, in death, my love
in time, in love, in place, in love
in form, in love, in death, My love
My God, My love, My life, My love,
is yours, My love, My bride, My love
this cross, My love, is Mine, My love
to bear, My love, to die, My love
this cup, My love, this bread, My love
My life, My love, is yours, My love
come drink, My love, My blood, My love
My life, My love, in death, My love
My god, My love, My life, My love
is yours, My love, My bride, My love
this cross, My love, is Mine, My love
to bear, My love, it's time, My love

--Jon Foreman

Sorry for the lack of updates. Between family vacations and moving/adjusting to BCOM, time has been limited. But, thanks to Holly pushing me about it (she's awesome!), I am finally updating again. Hooray!

So I have finally made it to BCOM! I arrived in Bloomington, Minnesota over two weeks ago. The trip from Charlotte to Bloomington was actually pretty fun, despite being alone. It gave me a lot of time to think and pray about what God is going to do with me at BCOM. And it was cool to drive through several different states. With the exception of Indiana (the whole state smells like cow manure!), it was a blast!

So now I'm here in Minnesota, a place full of unknowns for me. Aside from Holly, who is also at BCOM, I know no one here. And I have no idea how I will react to the freakishly cold weather here. I mean it's only early September and I'm already wearing jackets! People still go to the beach in Charleston during September! It's definitely going to be an adjustment.

I've met a lot of cool people so far. My class at BCOM is about 50 students large. It's a small but very diverse group of people. It's going to be fun getting to know these people!

While I've been here, God has been slowly revealing His love for me. Over the SOP, I learned how to dive deep into God and His Word. Here at BCOM, I'm learning how to simply love Him. Jesus said the first and most important commandment is to love God with everything we are. If we do that, then we don't have to do anything else, because it will all fall into place. Growing up in the southern evangelical background, this concept is pretty new to me.

I think that has been a hindrance to me all my life. Growing up in Baptist churches and going to a Baptist school skewed my view of God. I saw Him as a distant overseer who wanted us to follow His rules or else He would punish us. That's a hard person to love. So while I had a grudging respect for God, I never truly loved Him.

But now I know better. Now I'm falling in love with Him. Now there's a reason for my worship. I love Him... because He first loved me. I just finished reading a book called Boy Meets Girl. While the book is about godly relationships and courtship, there was a chapter in the book that focused on the cross. On pages 174-176, the author cites another book called When God Weeps. it's a passage that demonstrates in a powerful way what Jesus truly experienced on the cross. It wasn't the pain of the nails or of the suffocation that makes the sacrifice. It was the fact that Jesus, the Son of God, God Himself, took every single sin of every single human upon Himself. He took the wrath of God upon Himself so that we could live. That is love.