I just finished reading a book called Quo Vadis that is written by a Polish man from the late 1800s named Henryk Sienkiewicz. It is “the story of the love that develops between a young Christian woman and a Roman officer who, after meeting her fellow Christians, converts to her religion. Underlying their relationship is the contrast between the worldly opulence of the Roman aristocracy and the poverty, simplicity, and spiritual power of the Christians.” (Disclaimer: It seems to be written from a pro-Catholic slant so it contains some “interesting” theology.)

What was powerful about it for me was that it put me right in the lives of the early Christians as they struggled to survive underneath the oppressive, anti-Christian reign of Nero. It helped me to see that the truest expression of Christianity is seen in the midst of persecution when the message of forgiveness for our enemies and a hope in the resurrection and kingdom comes out most powerfully. In that day, the church was not trying to change laws or come up with strategies for world domination. They were sojourners in a foreign kingdom witnessing through word and deed of another King who would soon come to destroy Rome and establish His Kingdom.

Inevitably, this refusal to recognize Caesar as a god caused them to be hated by Nero and the people. But instead of recanting out of fear when brought to the stake, the Christians would sing hymns to Christ and their faces would light up with peace and joy. The feelings of the crowd turned from mockery and hatred to sympathy and wonder when they saw the forgiveness and the hope of the Christians. In this way, their deaths were not in vain but helped to spread the good news of the love and mercy of Christ towards sinners.

Tertullian, the early church writer, observed, “The oftener we are mown down by you, the more in number we grow; the blood of Christians is seed,” or, as the famous paraphrase says, “the blood of the martyrs is the seed of the Church.” I do not mean to say that suffering is intrinsically good, that we should somehow strive to have suffering in our lives, or that it is the only way the church grows, but I do want to say that there is something about persecution and suffering that causes the most powerful expression of God’s heart towards humanity to come forth.

In Paul’s letter to the Colossians, there is a strange verse that reads, “Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I do my share on behalf of His body, which is the church, in filling up what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions” (1:24). Is Paul insinuating that the Jesus’ atonement for our sins on the cross was incomplete? No; what I believe that Paul is saying is that the love and forgiveness of Jesus that He demonstrated on the cross is to be continually revealed to the wicked through the sufferings of the saints. When Christians suffer and respond in forgiveness and hope instead of vindication and fear, we show people what Jesus is like that they might repent. John Piper says, “The afflictions are lacking in the sense that they are not seen and known among the nations. They must be carried by ministers of the gospel. And those ministers of the gospel fill up what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ by extending them to others.”

As I write this, I am painfully aware of my fear of suffering and know that I could not suffer in a way that would demonstrate Christ’s afflictions. But I want to. I can only pray that I would experience His love and forgiveness for humanity and the hope I have in the Kingdom in a such a deep way that I would be compelled to suffer with joy and love.

Over the weekend, my friend, Brandon, and I took a short little backpacking trip to the Lake of the Ozarks in central Missouri. The first time I went backpacking was three years ago when Brandon and another friend, Wes, took me to Colorado just before I got married. Since then, we have been back to Colorado two other times. Unfortunately, each time I have gone I have been sick with altitude sickness. Though I love the views and the adventure of Colorado, I don’t think my body can take it. So the rolling hills of Missouri are a good alternative.

We left KC early Saturday morning and hit the trail around 11am. Though we thought the weather at this time of year might be a little chilly, it was blue skies and about 70 degrees. All the leaves had fallen from the trees onto our path making our steps loud and crunchy. We hiked a couple hours in, getting lost a few times because we couldn’t find the path, and set up camp for the night under some cedars on a few patches of dried up grass.

Brandon is much more of an outdoorsman than myself so he’s a good man to go camping with. My interest has been piqued over the last few years and I have found that I really enjoy it. There is nothing like setting up camp in the middle of a forest with only that which you have packed in our your back. The quiet and solitude is like nothing you can find in the busy city. Hanging out with your best friend around a fire and a cup of coffee is something special.

We woke up in the morning a little cold and groggy, but Brandon made a fire and some pancakes while I packed up the tent. After a slow morning of breakfast and coffee, we packed up and found the trail we had lost the day before. A couple hours later we were back at the car, and four hours after that we were back to our wives.

It was refresing to be able to have a short get away of adventure and nature. I find that it is good for my heart and mind to remove myself from the busyness and rapidity of life to enjoy God’s creation and reflect on His goodness. I definitely look forward to doing it more in the future.

(Pictures to come…)

Here at IHOP-KC, we have been praying for the ending of abortion in America for 3-4 years. For the past two years, we have widened our focus to include the subject of sex trafficking of women and children. In the days ahead, I believe that the church will become a refuge for those who have suffered injustice in many different ways. We will be a people who discover James 1:27 and live it out with the heart of Jesus.

Jesus cares about every girl trapped in sex slavery. He cares about those who are starving around the world because of the economic oppression greed and corruption. He cares that unjust wars have been fought since the dawn of time. He really really does.

Yet what He considers to be the most unjust thing is not any of these things, or anything you may be thinking of. The most unjust thing is forsaking HIM- every other evil in the world is a result of that central injustice. As believers, messengers of reconciliation, bringing men into right-standing with God must remain our central activity, in many forms and ways. If we pursue justice without the gospel as our central concern, we would not be doing justly.

To save a girl from slavery; to fill an empty stomach; to clothe a naked one without telling them about the love and salvation of Jesus is unjust. It would be like placing a band aid on a corpse; meeting a temporal need without giving life. In all of our actions and activities, we must proclaim the hope of His glorious appearing and His invitation to live in the everlasting Kingdom of His well-being.

I also believe that those who pursue justice without the glory of Christ and the salvation of humanity as their central concern will become disillusioned and hardened towards injustice, bitter and angry at God, and/or will fall away from the faith.

So to sum it up, I believe that the church will not be able to understand justice nor act justly until:
1) We see that God cares about the injustice more than we do. He sees and feels it all.
2) We believe that the gospel is God’s answer to this injustice.

The Lord has both Jocelyn & I on a journey in understanding His heart and our own unbelief. I am writing this not to preach, or to give a theology of justice, but to put up “flag of remembrance”. As the Lord leads us into His purposes for our lives, I want to remember that justice is about the glory of Jesus.

As of two weeks ago, I have been serving IHOP-KC at the Forerunner School of Ministry for two full years; a long time at IHOP-KC. I have worked in the Academic Affairs Office as an administrator, and while I have enjoyed serving the school, I have always known that God would have something different for me.

For the past couple of months, I have felt that a change was coming, and Jocelyn even told me that she felt it would come suddenly. It sure did! A couple of weeks ago, I was asked to be the Project Manager for a new department starting at IHOP-KC called “IHOPU Press”. This department will publish theological books on the themes of the IHOP-KC message, and oversee the development of course books for classes taught at IHOPU. My current boss will be directing IHOPU Press so I’m excited to be able to continue working with him.

When I graduated from FSM, I felt that my “calling” was to teach at FSM, which was one reason why I agreed to work there. However, over the past couple of years, and having had the odd chance to teach classes, I have discovered that my joy is in writing and I want to have a voice through writing. (I know that I need to write more on this blog.) Working at IHOPU Press will allow me the chance to be involved in the process of developing books with the hopes of one day doing some writing of my own.

I’m really excited to help develop materials that will deepen and broaden our message. I believe that God is breathing on the message of prayer, intimacy and end-times throughout the church, and it will be fun to play a small role in seeing this happen.

I’m in the Prayer Room all day on Tuesdays. This may sound glorious to some, but to me, it feels like a prison. Today, I’m constantly reminded of my own weakness:

And He has said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.” (2 Cor. 12:9)

Long days in the Prayer Room always remind me of how weak I am, especially when I am fasting. It’s days like today that I realize that prayer is not about being strong, but about being weak and turning to God for His strength. It is about humbling myself and saying that I cannot do it. I just cannot give up.

Embracing weakness goes against everything our culture and my own flesh says. Yet resting in weakness and humility is the place where God can dwell, and where He loves to dwell. I have nothing to give Him today. Just my time and my weak prayers. Sometimes all I can give is the desire to desire Him. Is that enough? I sure hope so.

I had a revelation a couple of weeks ago that made me understand myself more. I have lived with this sensation for all of my life, only being aware of it when I was able to become aware of things.

I realized that I am not in control of my life.

Sometimes I will sit and contemplate all the things that are happening in my surroundings that I have absolutely no control over. Like now for instance. I am typing on a computer that is just working. Nothing I am doing is making it work. All of the parts are working together and I have nothing to do with it. One day, it will not work because something will break and then my feeling of being out of control will be enhanced and exposed.

That’s just a silly example. But it gets really crazy if you start thinking like this too long. It may sound like an exercise that could lead to hysteria, but I feel edified by it because it leads me to consider greater things.

What really matters is to consider the leadership of God in your life. When I think about all the things that are out of my control, I realize that God is in control. A person who denies God will either deny that he is out of control or boast of man’s ability to control the life he is living. That is destructive because it is a folly that leads to death.

The leadership of God over my life is so beautiful and perfect that I cannot explain it or comprehend it. It does not mean that my life is free from trouble or pain, far from it. What it does mean is that He leads my heart into faith, hope and love time and time again. He leads me to encounter Him in surprising ways that make me worship and love Him.

When I choose to go a way that is destructive, He does not let me go too far. He always leads me back and shows me a different way that is much better.

I’m really thankful to Jesus today because He has chosen me and loved me. He is working in me that I might be conformed into His image on that day. I’m really thankful that I’m not in control because that would be horrible.

Jocelyn and I are traveling to Arroyo Grande, California (outside San Luis Obispo) tomorrow for a week. We are visiting my brother and his wife and 3 boys, whom we have not seen for almost 2 years! The last time we saw them was right after our FSM graduation.

They live in a sweet little surfing town just down the road from the beach. It’s not warm enough to go swimming, but it’s such a pretty area. It will be nice to spend time with family and enjoy our nephews.

I read 17 chapters of Leviticus today, and 10 yesterday. I’m on a new schedule of reading 10 chapters of the Bible a day and Leviticus was it. Normally, I would kind of groan out of boredom while reading the book, but this time, I actually enjoyed it.

My big revelation is that to keep the Law, a Jew had to make a sacrifice for their sin. This means that built into the Law was the expectation that a person would sin. Does this mean that “keeping the Law” was not, to not sin, but to repent and make a sacrifice when you did sin?

If this is true, than the prophets cry of, “to obey is better than sacrifice” (1 Sam. 15:22; Hos. 6:6), takes on a new meaning. “Obedience” was to actually make a sacrifice with a repentant and believing heart, meaning, you possess the knowledge of God. When the prophets were negatively referring to “sacrifice,” they were not saying the institution itself was rotten, but that it was not effective without obedience, a repentant heart.

Anyway, that was my day in Leviticus. I can’t wait for Isaiah or Romans.

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I am in the Prayer Room this afternoon glued to 2 Peter 1. The whole chapter is about the hope we have in the resurrection and kingdom of Messiah at His coming, and the qualities we are to produce in preparation for that kingdom. Right when you think it cannot get any better, Peter throws out this little nugget:

“For we did not follow cleverly devised tales when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of His majesty…So we have the prophetic word made more sure, to which you do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star arises in your hearts.” (2 Peter 1:16, 19)

What is he referring to? The transfiguration. Peter is giving his firsthand understanding of Jesus’ transfiguration (Matt. 16:28-17:8). When Jesus said that some of His disciples would see “the Son of Man coming in His kingdom” (Matt. 16:28), He was not referring to the establishment of His kingdom. He was showing these three disciples that He was the promised Messiah who would one day come to establish the long promised kingdom.

As they were coming down from the mountain, He tells them how He would suffer. Yet they should not lose heart or faith in Him because He had shown them His ultimate and final calling. He was the promised Messiah, the seed who would crush the head of the serpant.

The coming of Messiah is no “cleverly devised tale.” It is the lamp we are to set our eyes on in the midst of a dark world. Our hope is to be set fully on the power of His coming because it is sure. When Jesus revealed Himself as the Messiah on that mountain, He was giving reason for the disciples to believe the prophetic word. So Peter says, “We have the prophetic word made more sure.”

No voice of doubt should dissuade us from this hope. No good idea or method should sway our focus off His coming. We are to live in preparation for His coming kingdom (1:11). We should not give up hope for “He has granted to us His precious and magnificent promises, so that by them you may become partakers of the divine nature” (1:4), that is, the resurrection.

Praise God! For real.