Stepping into following

Leaving the Stanford celebrations: From the sumptuous receptions at night by the fountains, the enormous and extravagant Commencement ceremony, the small and intimate department awards, quiet conversations in shady groves,.... and heading back to my job with the County. What a study in contrasts! From the highly motivated and youthfully optimistic in the California sun to the basement of the Courthouse pulling staples. As I asked the Lord how to accomplish this transition gracefully, I received the following.

“Come, follow me," Jesus said, "and I will make you fishers of men."
Mark 1:17

• “If you will give God your right to yourself (Rom 12:1), He will make a Holy experiment out of you. God's experiments always succeed.”


• “It is God who engineers circumstances, consequently there is no whine but a reckless abandon to Jesus.” (Excerpts from My Utmost for His Highest, June 13)

God is not asking me to give Him my gifts; God is asking me to commit wholly to Him where He has placed me, to follow His Son.

“Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.” John 15:4

Into a new land

What a wonderful three days it has been with Aaron here at Stanford; entering into the just praise and frequent celebrations of all he has accomplished in the oh-so-brief 2 years here. As I asked the Lord to show me how to best participate in this, his final day at Stanford, and the culmination of an amazing chapter in Aaron's life, I received the following:

“who through faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice, and gained what was promised; who shut the mouths of lions” Heb 11:33

• Aaron has by faith done all of these things, and his faith has grown by the repeated choice to step into, to choose, and to do, really difficult and dangerous things.


• The Lord will trust him with similar acts of faith at Oxford as he continues to live at the intersection of his heart's desires, God’s gifts and life.
  

“Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be men of courage; be strong. Do everything in love.” 1 Cor 16: 13-14
This is the blessing and the call as Aaron follows God’s call into a new land, a land he has not seen and where he must trust God to make a way, keep him safe, guide and direct him as he is a part of forging God’s kingdom on earth.

God alone can...

..predict the future.

Aaron and plaques: In 2003, when still in high school, Aaron was invited to apply for a special scholarship to Stanford. After months of working on the scholarship, and then being asked to fly down for the final interview, we were told Aaron was not selected. But as we walked past the fresh plaque for the 2003 graduates and we stopped to pray, we each had a unique resonance about this spot, a sense we would be returning. We have, the end plaque to the right is for Aaron’s graduating class.

Halls of learning: “Do I belong here, do I have what it takes?”, are questions Aaron asked frequently in his first year. The resounding answer is Yes! As we walked around today, we talked to and “ran into” a number of profs who affirmed Aaron. As I am typing this note, Aaron is rehearsing his acceptance speech for this evenings induction into Phi Beta Kappa. This fulfills a prophecy which I received, and prayed over Aaron, on March 18, 2004.

The celebration: Tomorrow night Aaron will walk across this stage and receive his degree from Stanford, with Honors. It is a long way from being thrown out of Middle School; God is forging a very good story. The journey is just beginning…..

God, who has called you into fellowship with his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, is faithful.
1 Cor 1:9

All sin can do is..

All sin can do is threaten us with death

“All that passing laws against sin did was produce more lawbreakers. But sin didn't, and doesn't, have a chance in competition with the aggressive forgiveness we call grace. When it's sin versus grace, grace wins hands down. All sin can do is threaten us with death, and that's the end of it. Grace, because God is putting everything together again through the Messiah, invites us into life—a life that goes on and on and on, world without end.” Rom 5:20-21

“Never again will death have the last word. When Jesus died, he took sin down with him, but alive he brings God down to us.” Rom 6:6

As I was walking through Stanford’s campus yesterday evening, I was struck again with how resource rich this institution is. There are almost no limits to what a student can strive for and experience. And this stirred up old longings and regrets for what I did not experience and accomplish. As I asked the Lord to meet me in this place, sitting in the early morning quite of campus, He led me into the above passages, explaining that in our children, He has broken the grip of sin, and is forging a new “foundation of faith”. A new family line which will not be resource constrained, but will live in the miraculous resonance which occurs when believers join their will with His gifts, being guided by the Holy Spirit as an integral part of forging His-Story.

All sin can do is threaten us with death… God is forging a new story, and so we can live free from regret; asking "what next Abba?"

Thank you Lord for "the aggressive forgiveness we call grace".

Why God?

Sunday early

I’ve been looking forward to going for a long, easy weekend bike ride for over a month. The anticipation heightened by having spent three weeks in down town Seattle, getting my exercise by running up and down Capital Hill in rush hour traffic – the anti thesis of biking around Lake Whatcom in the early morning light.

So, I finally get on the bike his morning, and with the first turn of the crank, the entire drive train locks up. I experience an immediate rush of anger, frustration, why me God, how come, etc. Ultimately, I ask God “why are you doing this to me?” Following are some notes from the book “Cry of the Soul” which addresses this well.

Our desires consistently extend beyond our needs. But we live in a world with limited resources, and the universe is not equitable. Some people have greater wealth, greater joy, greater relationships….. this leads to our feelings of envy and jealousy.

• Envy is wanting what others have, jealousy is a desire to protect what we do have and fear others may take away from us. P. 110


• At their core, envy and destructive jealousy arise from the perception of loss or the fear of abandonment - especially the abandonment of God. P. 118

Some days I feel exactly like David did in Psa 88. I cannot see from here how He will meet me, or how I will get a chance to glorify Him in this, but I believe that I will. Stay tuned.

Just the way you promised

I've been thinking about what I believe to be true about God and trying to reconcile that with my feelings of embarrassment, frustration, humiliation, anger etc. which I encounter frequently. I understand from John 15:1-4, and the entire Book, that I am designed to abide in Christ, to live in a much freer, deeply satisfied fashion, and I long to live this way. As I was asking the Lord to help me understand, what I understood was His encouragement to get to know Him. As I asked "How Lord", the following portion of Psa 119 came to mind.

With your very own hands you formed me;
now breathe your wisdom over me so I can understand you.
When they see me waiting, expecting your Word,
those who fear you will take heart and be glad.
I can see now, God, that your decisions are right;
your testing has taught me what's true and right.
Oh, love me—and right now!—hold me tight!
just the way you promised.
Psa 119:73-76

Just the way you promised, which includes...

Learning to learn from the heart,
Mark