Stronghold

The LORD of hosts is with us, the God of Jacob is our stronghold. –Psalm 46:7

A stronghold is a place that provides protection from attack.  Being firm within a stronghold gives us comfort in that we are protected from the assault that occurs outside of stronghold.  Jacob eventually found his protection in the stronghold being offered to him by Jehovah God after God was able to break Jacob of his past.

Jacob had lived his life as a deceiver by trying to manipulate God’s favor.  Jacob deceived his brother, his father and his father in-law in his attempt to manipulate God’s blessing.  God continued to work on Jacob and brought Jacob to the point at which he had to accept who he was.  God had broken Jacob of his past and it was at this point that He was finally able to use Jacob for His glory.  Jacob was given his new God given name of Israel and God’s promise continued through his seed.

What is Jehovah God trying to break you of?  What is it that He is asking you to leave behind and live for His promises?  That which God is asking us to give up in His name will be returned to us a thousand fold. 

The Look

Peter replied, “Man, I don’t know what you’re talking about!”  Just as he was speaking, the rooster crowed.  The Lord turned and looked straight at Peter.  Then Peter remembered the word the Lord had spoken to him: “Before the rooster crows today, you will disown me three times.”  And he went outside and wept bitterly.  –Luke 22:60-62

Each time is read this account of Peter’s denial of Christ; it brings into clarity the frailty of our humanness.  As followers of Christ, we can profess our devotion to His deity but it is in times of crisis when the true character of our faith is revealed.  I repeatedly ask myself that if Christ were next to me at any given time, would that which I am currently doing deny His deity?  Would I be able to look Christ in the eye and show my devotion to His leading of my life?  Sadly at times, the answer is no.

What I find most intense about Peter’s denial is that he denied who Christ was to His face.  I have often wondered just what the look was that Christ gave to Peter at this moment and what the look was on Peter’s face as he stood face to face with Christ.  At this point, Peter was thoroughly broken as he ran away while weeping bitterly. 

I have had those moments of bitter weeping.  Your entire body clenches and you are not able to control your emotions but at the end of bitter weeping, you feel a complete burden being lifted.  It has been said that Jehovah God is only able to use once you have been broken.  The history of Peter after this brokenness reveals that he was the cornerstone for the Church and it was upon this cornerstone that Christ built His church.

When we break a bone in our body, the point at which the bone heals is always the strongest point on that bone.  When we allow the areas in our life in which we have been broken to be used by Jehovah God for His glory, we soon realize that it is through our brokenness that we are made strong. 

The Lie of the American Dream

I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot; I wish that you were cold or hot.  So because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of My mouth.  Because you say, “I am rich, and have become wealthy, and have need of nothing.” And you do not know that you are wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked. –Revelation 3:15-17

Christ gives this stern rebuke to the church of Laodicea.  This church so repulsed Christ that they made Him want to vomit.  His revulsion was that they were a fence sitter as they saw no need to make a difference in His name.  Too many in this country have deluded themselves into believing the great lie of the American Dream as we have allowed this dream to be defined.  We have taken this dream and allowed ourselves to believe that we should be in want for nothing and we live a life in such a way that we deprive ourselves of nothing.  We have made it our goal to build bigger and bigger barns as we accumulate more stuff and we need a bigger barn to store this stuff.  We force ourselves to go to jobs that we care little about for no other reason than we need some more money to pay for our bigger barn and our stuff.  We are blinded in our abundance and we then wonder why God does not hear our prayers.

We live in a time, in which the church is the most affluent in its history, yet each day, 26,000 children in this world die of starvation and preventable disease yet we allow our finances to go to such things that are only for our entertainment.  There is indeed coming a day and time in which each of us will stand before Jehovah God and have to account for what we did and did not do in this lifetime.  He has given to us great blessing but far too many self-proclaimed Christians in this country are not unlike the one talent servant who hid his talent as he was fearful of the one who gave it to him.  The master threw that servant out to where there was weeping and gnashing of teeth.

Christ has commanded each of His followers to go into all the nations and make disciples.  This command was not for the select few but for all.  We, as a body of believers, are to unite and minister to those who are in need.  We are to feed the hungry, clothe the naked, tend to the sick and visit those in prison.  We are not to make our comfort and our excess our god but rather Christ is calling us out of that comfort zone and to fully rely upon Jehovah God’s perfect blessing for our life.  He will sustain each of us and give to each of us that which we need in order to execute His will for our life. 

The Great Divide

Between us and you there is a great chasm fixed, so that those who wish to come over from here to you will not be able, and that none may cross over from there to us. –Luke 16:26

We have allowed ourselves in this country to create a faith in which we marginalize those things that Christ is calling us to do in His name.  We feel justified in our faith when we build bigger barns that we cannot afford and proclaim it as a blessing from God while ignoring those in true need in our midst.  We turn a blind eye and say to ourselves that they have always been that way and will never change.  We make no effort to make a difference as we have kept Christ at an arms’ length as we are fearful of being truly transformed into His image.  We delude ourselves and fail to realize that we have allowed the lie of the American dream as it is currently defined to enslave us.    

There is enough food produced in this world to feed every person in it a 2,500 calorie per day diet yet thousands upon thousands of children starve to death each day.  I believe this to be a true stench in the nostrils of God.  We have allowed ourselves to become the church of Laodicea.  The church of Laodicea so disgusted Christ that it made Him vomit.  (Revelation 3:16)

We are being called into something deeper.  We are being called to abandon self and to live for His glory.  We are to be our brothers’ keeper and lift one another up.  We are to be that reflection of Christ.  When one looks into our face, they are to see the face of Christ. 

Open your heart to that which Christ is calling to you.  Allow His urgings to lead you upon His path.  His promise is that His path is straight and narrow but He will shine that light before us and guide our steps. 

Catalyst

To what shall I compare the kingdom of God? It is like yeast that a woman took and mixed into a large amount of flour until it worked all through the dough. –Luke 13:20-21

We are each called to be an active catalyst in this life. Our purpose is to bring glory to Jehovah God through the work of our hands and feet. Through the exercise of our faith via our actions, His glory will indeed rise. We are called upon to be the yeast of this world. Yeast when introduced into the proper environment creates change. Yeast is the active component in the making of bread.

Christ is the bread of life. When we partake in His communion, we eat of that bread which represents His body that is His church. His church is His bride and His church is wedded to Him in a holy matrimony. For that bread to be made, we as His church need to be an active catalyst to making a change in this world. We are to minister to those in our society regardless of how uncomfortable it may make us feel. To be that true catalyst, we need to be willing to step away from our comfort and do so in His name.

There are those in upon the fringes of our society that are often times overlooked and discarded. This world would have you to believe their existence has little meaning. Christ turns this worldly belief upon its head. His ministry directly impacts those who would be considered the least of those amongst us. Regardless of our position in life, the clarion call of Jesus Christ is to serve those that the world would neglect and to do so in a manner of true love.

When we live this type of life, we are indeed being yeast. We are that catalyst that makes a difference for the glory of God. We are displaying our faith through the work of our hands because if we hear the word of God and fail to act upon it, we are no better than those who perpetuate the lie that the lives of many are inconsequential.

Perfected

Strive to enter through the narrow door; for many, I tell you, will seek to enter and will not be able. Once the head of the house gets up and shuts the door, and you begin to stand outside and knock on the door, saying, ‘Lord, open up to us!’ then He will answer and say to you, ‘I do not know where you are from.’ Then you will begin to say, ‘We ate and drank in Your presence, and You taught in our streets’; and He will say, ‘I tell you, I do not know where you are from; depart from Me, all you evildoers.’ –Luke 13:24-27

The promise is that those who truly know Christ will be invited to enter through that narrow door. That narrow door is upon the narrow path that Christ has asked us to tread upon. It is narrow as we are commanded, “Do not turn from it to the right or to the left.” (Joshua 1:7) Treading upon this narrow path is the best thing that we can do in this mortal life that we have been blessed to partake.

On that day, there indeed will be many who will claim that they have lived a “good” life. They believe the lie of all lies that all one needs to do is lead a “good” life and they will receive their reward. Nowhere does Jehovah God tell us that we just need to be “good” and that is enough to come into His presence. It is the desire of Jehovah God that each of us live our life for His glory. He truly wants us to come into His presence but in order to do so; we must perfect in order to stand before the Great I Am. As much as we may try, we can never achieve perfection.

We may use the word perfect to describe something in this life, but even that falls short. It is celebrated by fans of baseball when a pitcher throws a “perfect” game but even that fails to meet the mark of true perfection. Would not a true perfect game thrown by a pitcher be one in which he threw 81 pitches that were all strikes and none of the batters were able to make any contact with the pitched ball? I have also heard it described that a golfer shot the “perfect” round of golf. If that were indeed the case, would he have not shot an 18? We all have had those “perfect” moments in our life but they too vanish like a mist.

Jehovah God desires that each of us spend an eternity with Him but in order to do so, we must spend time in this life relationship with Him and His son. There exists between us and God, a great chasm that we are unable to bridge. He gave us His son, Jesus Christ, to be that perfection and to be that bridge that enables us to come into His presence. He is calling each of us to take that step through that narrow door that Christ has revealed the path that we are to tread that will lead of us to that door. Let this be the day in which you tread upon that path and stand firm without going to the right or to the left.

Anxiety

Anxiety in a man’s heart weighs it down, but a good word make it glad. –Proverbs 12:25

As I anxiously wait for the direction I am to go, I have allowed myself to become crippled by the fear of the unknown. I find myself wondering aloud, what is it that I have done to create this situation? I know that my failure to trust in the Great I Am to lead me in the direction that He would have me to go is a sin in the sense that I have failed to rely upon His direction for my life. He has laid upon my heart some fantastic dreams. There is indeed a reason those dreams exist. I need to let go and understand that if He is laying it upon my heart, He will certainly provide a way in which these dreams will be reality.

Make this the day in which you give it all to God. He will not disappoint.

The Day of Days

Today is the day of days. This is the day in which we stop to remember the ultimate and perfect sacrifice that was given for all mankind that we may finally come into full relationship with the Creator of all. He gave to us His son who revealed the path that we are to take in order to live a life that is worthy of being called into His kingdom.

On this day of days, the curtain was torn at the Holy of Holies and the Great I Am allowed all to come into His presence. No longer would the presence of God be shrouded. His spirit was now living the temple and would soon be indwelt among the many believers.

As this day was about to end, another celebration was about to commence, the Feast of the First Fruits. This feast recognized that Jehovah God asked for first portion of one’s harvest as a sacrifice and in faith, He would provide the remainder of the harvest. He asked that the best was brought to be sacrificed. Christ was perfect in all accounts and the best that could be offered. Many would argue that as the day ended, Christ was not buried but He was rather planted. Paul declared, “Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who are asleep.” (1 Corinthians 15:20)

After this day of days, things would forever change in this world. The true revelation of Jehovah God was complete. Christ tells us, “Come and follow Me.” Are you ready to give up all this world has to offer in order to live for the King of Kings?

Pure Religion

Pure and undefiled religion in the sight of our God and Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world. –James 1:27

To be pure means that something is free from that which would contaminate its being. Christ in His teachings makes it very clear that we are to care for those within our midst who are unable to care for themselves. When we allow the Holy Spirit of Christ into our lives means that we have submitted our being to something that is far greater than our self. Christ is very clear in His intentions for our life but we allow our faith to become polluted by the world and try to formulate a faith based upon our belief system rather than that which Christ has called us to do in His name.

In our society, orphans and widows do still exist. Sadly, many have turned a blind eye to their distress and we too often fail to reach out as we are commanded. There are too many men who have turned their back upon their responsibility of caring for the women with whom they have fathered children. Many single mothers and their children are living on the edge of our society but too many are more content with allowing themselves to be stained by the world.

Most of Christ’s calls against those living a life of sin were against the religious leaders who would exercise their authority over others in an un-Godly and sinful way. However, Christ does reserve a condemnation for the sinner who simply wants to build bigger and bigger barns. In the parable of the rich landowner, Christ tells of how the man said, “I will tear down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my goods.” (Luke 12:18) We have become a society in which our goods are more important to us than those who Christ is telling us to serve. Our stain is that we have allowed ourselves to believe the lie of the world that we deserve all that we have accumulated and we are not to use this blessing for others. We have been blessed with homes but we are not content and we need to build a bigger home and then we need more and more stuff to fill that larger home. One care is not enough for us so we need another one for no other reason to display our greed.

Christ reserves His sharpest rebuke for the church of Laodicea where He tells them that their actions make Him want to vomit. We go around believing that His command to “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations” (Matthew 28:19) is only reserved for just a few. We allow ourselves to believe that Christ did not mean me. Christ is not telling us to go permanently but He is indeed telling us to GO. There are simply too many orphans and widows in this world in distress that need to be cared for in His name.

How much longer will God allow this nation to exist? We sit around and bemoan that things are not going well and we look to the false promises of man to lift us up but we ignore the truths and promises that God has revealed to us in His written word. Dedicate yourself to understanding that which God is calling you to do in His name and then GO and DO IT!

Living Stones

As you come to him, the living Stone—rejected by humans but chosen by God and precious to him— you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. For in Scripture it says: “See, I lay a stone in Zion, a chosen and precious cornerstone, and the one who trusts in him will never be put to shame.” Now to you who believe, this stone is precious. But to those who do not believe, “The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone,” and, “A stone that causes people to stumble and a rock that makes them fall. They stumble because they disobey the message—which is also what they were destined for. But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. –Peter 2:4-10

Opening our hearts to Christ forever changes who we are. We have been divinely created, each of us, in a specific and unique way. That uniqueness is the spiritual DNA that God has placed in each of us. He has made each of us to be stones as no two stones are alike. Each of us has a specific place where each stone is to be placed in order to build up His kingdom. All of these stones, when properly placed, are all held together by the perfect capstone, Jesus Christ.

God did not create us to be bricks. Bricks are all made to be the same. It was the vanity of man that believed that they could build a tower of bricks that would allow man to be the equal of God. God destroyed their plans as they were trying to build the tower of Babel. Bricks also represent bondage as Pharaoh kept the ancient Israelites enslaved for no other reason than for them to make bricks for his worldly kingdom.

When each of God’s unique stones are properly placed, we strengthen one another as we build upon one another to support each other in His structure of the church. We strengthen ourselves, we become a mighty force that cannot be moved.
Each of us has a story to tell. Each of us can be used by God to do amazing thing. We just simply need to let God lead our hearts to be that building stone that He has called us to be in His name. He just asks each of us to Go and take that step of faith in His name. We cannot waste any more days and we simply need to acknowledge that we are indeed His hands and feet.

To him who overcomes, to him I will give him a white stone, and a new name written on the stone which no one knows but he who receives it. –Revelation 2:17

That day when each of those who were to the right hand of Christ receives their unique God given name will be an incredible day of great joy. I envision that after each of us pass through the gate, we will be lead to that place that Christ has prepared for each of us. At that place will be our white stone with our specially chosen unique name. Each of us after learning our name will return to the throne room of Jehovah God and all will bow down and worship Him in unison.

Journey

Delight yourself in the LORD and He will give you the desires of your heart. –Psalm 37:4

Delight is defined as an overjoyed ecstasy and rapture, an overwhelming feeling of true joy. God has laid some deep desires upon my heart and has indeed placed me at the crossroad of my life. I stand before this path trying to discern the best way to proceed. Both paths will take extreme diligence. Once I start out upon this new path I know there is no turning back. I pray daily for discernment, patience and peace. God is faithful in His promises and I know that He indeed will make a level path for me to tread upon.

Seasons

There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven. –Ecclesiastes 3:1

As I move through this thing called life, I realize that God blesses me with new things that build upon one another. I have developed new passions that drive me to understand in a more profound way why it is that God made me the way that He has chosen. I do know that the reason for my life is to give Him all honor and glory. How I do that though is what gives me hope in seeing His glory.

I have been reminded of how I have grown and changed through the years. Recently, I have been reminded of a season of my life from my youth. Although I did not follow God during that season, I am able to look back at that time and realize that God was indeed using me during that time for a reason and a purpose. Some of my experiences from that season of my life are what motivate me today to be a true difference maker for the body of Christ. I realize that even though I had turned my back upon my Savior during that season, He still loved me and only desired that I turn to Him.

God has put different people in my life at different seasons for a reason. Those relationships are important to me and more important to God. I must strive to be a catalyst in any and all relationships to point someone towards our creator as He desires that all come to know Him.

As I look at where I stand today in this season, there is no way that I would have chosen the life that I now live several season back but I know that is alright. What is important is that I use my lessons from my various seasons to grow and learn and to be that man that I have been called to become.

Patiently

I waited patiently for the LORD; He turned to me and heard my cry. –Psalm 40:1

I find myself seeking His answers for my life. I seek to understand why I exist in this place and in this time. What is my purpose? Why is it that I struggle to find that sweet spot in my life? I know that place exists and I know that He desires that I fully place myself within that spot.

As I struggle to obtain answers, I also find myself with a trapped feeling that I will never come to the full realization of what I am to do in His name until it is too late. I know that this is the time when I must take action and take a risk for my faith in my Savior.

I am very attracted at this point in my life to those writers who have a deep insight into their personal sweet spot. I find a deep sense of satisfaction that they have found their way and are executing their plan for their life while journeying the direction of the path that has been laid before them. They have taken that risk and are being rewarded. I know that the idea of taking a risk also has the connotation of possibly failing but it is far better to have risked something and failed then to have never taken a risk and be enslaved by the mediocrity of what this world deems as safety and security. I have been in that place of safety and security for too long and I know that it sucks the very marrow out of your existence.

I know that my step of faith will be rewarded. I know that all is required is to take that first step and do so in His name. As I embark upon that journey, I must do so boldly and not in fear. I must be prepared for any eventuality that will result. My journey is my faith and by not taking that step, I am declaring a weakness in my faith in what He desires for my life. LORD, please just help me to figure this out.

Light

Let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise the Father in heaven. –Matthew 5:16

I have a place that I enjoy spending time at which is in a heavily wooded area. I refer to this place as my God Spot as when I am there, I spend my time simply reflecting upon His being and my part within His kingdom. This time of year, a canopy has been created by the many trees from the new growth. As I sat there this day, there was a portion of light that was shining through the trees. As I gazed into this light, I was able to see things in that beam of sunlight that I was not able to see when they were not in the light. A gentle breeze was blowing that was moving stuff from other plants through the aire. This stuff became visible to my eye as it passed through the light.

Christ calls us to be the light of the world. When we open our hearts to His being, the light of Christ will radiate from us for all to see. Light has many great properties that have a positive effect. Light will shine the way in darkness and reveals the way we are to go in order to get out of a dark area. Light creates warmth. Without light, nothing would be able to grow. When we expose our bodies to light, it helps our skin to produce vitamin D which helps our body maintain an emotional balance.

I spent a year in a very northern part of the world. During the summer months, daylight extended past 11 pm. I enjoyed that time of the year as the opportunity to be in the light for extended time was quite enjoyable. However, during the winter months it was dark by 4 pm. I noticed a difference in my overall attitude and emotions. I have read that during that time of the year in these parts of the world, there is a problem with depression due to the limited time of light.

When we are the light of Christ, we allow others to see Christ through us. When we are radiating His light, we are allowing ourselves to be used for His glory to make a true difference in the lives that we touch.

Heart

I will not enter my house or go to my bed. I will allow no sleep to my eyes, no slumber to my eyelids, till I find a place for the LORD, a dwelling for the Mighty One of Jacob. –Psalm 132:3-5

The dwelling place I have found for the LORD is my heart. I have come to understand that in order to give Him the space that He deserves, I must make certain that He has the space. I must clean out from my heart those things that interfere. I must make my heart an open vessel for His presence.

God is very clear. He does not desire a portion of my heart, He desires all my heart. He is jealous of those things that I have allowed to come before Him. Through Christ, we are told that we are to take up our cross and follow Him. In our western way of thinking, do we really understand the meaning of this? I think that the church in America in many ways believes that we are only to take up our cross with those things that don’t have a direct impact upon the way that we want to live our life. Nothing could be further from the truth. The cross signifies death and to take our cross and follow Christ means death to self.

I have been blessed with many things and one of those blessings is my life. I truly believe that I have been placed in this time for a reason. I know that God indeed has a plan for my life and it is purpose to pursue that plan with all my heart and all of my strength. He will reveal His plan for my life in His time, not mine.

I rejoice in His being. I am overjoyed when His still voice guides me along the path that He has laid before me.

The End?

“No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.” –Matthew 24:36

I have watched with a certain level of amusement a group that is proclaiming that the end is to occur this Saturday. I firs began to notice bumper stickers and t-shirts proclaiming May 21, 2011 to be the day that Jesus Christ will return to claim His people and God’s final judgment of earth will commence several months ago. These past few weeks, I have heard radio commercials that proclaim that May 21st is indeed that day. At the end of the commercial, you are directed to this group’s website and amazingly when you log on, a pop up window appears asking for donations.

I guess the obvious question that I have to ask this group that if indeed May 21st is the day, what would be your need for my money. My understanding of the rapture is the belief that all God’s people will be taken up and removed from the world in order that they will be saved from the great tumult and destruction that will occur during God’s final judgment of earth. So, if this coming Saturday is the day, what would be ones need for material gain?

I will admit that I am somewhat alarmed at the pace with which things appear to be accelerating. Jesus Christ tells His apostles that “Watch out that no one deceives you. Many will come in My name claiming ‘I am he,’ and will deceive many. When you hear of wars, and rumors of wars, do not be alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be earthquakes in various places and famines. These are the beginning of birth pains.” –Mark 13:5-8

Is May 21st the end of the world? I have no idea and I have no intention of making plans that it is the end. This I do know for certain, we are one day closer to the end then we were yesterday. Have you made certain that you are right with God? Are you about doing His business for since we do not know the day or time of His return, the best thing that we can do is to make certain that we are doing His work in preparation for that day.

The Ambassador

We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making His appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God. -2 Corinthians 5:20

Those who seek to truly follow the ways of Christ are described as His ambassadors. An ambassador is one who goes to a foreign land to represent the leaders of their nation who have sent them. They understand how their presence speaks to those who they are in contact with daily as they represent those who have sent them. Their mission is to represent the concerns of the leaders of the nation that has sent them out. They are also in their position to lend an ear to the land with which they temporarily reside. There needs to exist a certain level of trust in this relationship between the ambassador, the nations leaders that he represents on their behalf and the country that he is reaching out to as his nations representative. An effective ambassador understands these dynamic relationships while being sensitive to their concerns. An ambassador also needs to make certain that the embassy they manage is an inviting and open place for those who come to seek safety.

Christ tells us that we are not to be of this world although we live in this world. As those who have made the choice to follow Christ, they too have been placed in a foreign land. We are to present ourselves in such a way to represent the true concerns of those who have sent us. The concerns of Christ are that all would come into a personal relationship with Him and to live their life to follow that which Christ has asked us to do in His name.

I fail to understand why we make following Christ so hard. Christ tells us that His yoke is easy to carry. There are only three things that Christ asks us to do in His name. He asks us to “Love the LORD you God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself’” (Matthew 22:37-38. His final command is to “Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And surely I with you always, to the very end of the age.” (Matthew 28:18-20)

As ambassadors for Christ, we need to understand the reason that we have been placed in this time. We need to make certain that we too understand the dynamic relationship that exists between us, Christ and those who we have been sent to reach out to in His name. We always need to make certain that we are ready to lend that ear and truly listen to those in our midst and share the concerns of He who has sent us.

His Final Fate

He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away. –Revelation 21:4

Like many, I awoke Monday morning to the news that Usama Bin Laden had met his final fate. I found it surreal as I watched intently of the reports of the operation that was launched to seal his fate. I was amazed at the efficiency displayed by men who trained years for such a mission as this.

As I digested the news, I also found myself conflicted on how I should react. As an American, I was happy to see that public enemy number 1 had finally been brought to the only justice that he and his kind could understand. He was a man filled with hate and rage for those who thought differently then what he believed. I found great irony in the reports that his final moments were that of a coward as he placed between himself and the warrior there to execute justice a woman. There are also reports that he had the look of fear in his final seconds.

I also found myself sad that another soul had been lost who had not acknowledged Jesus Christ as their savior. Satan was able to win one more battle in the souls of the living. Jesus Christ was very clear when He proclaimed “I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” –John 14:6. I have to wonder if the fear on the face of Bin Laden as he knew his final fate was near was the fear of he knew what waited for him on the other side of his earthly life.

What was I thinking?

Many people have asked me “What were my thoughts of Haiti?”

What could I possibly think of a country that has such a severe level of poverty that it is unimaginable to the vast majority of people in our country? What could I possibly think of Haiti when I saw children with distended bellies due to the result of malnutrition? What could I possibly think of Haiti where the average yearly income for a Haitian family is less than the average weekly income of an American family? What could I possibly think of Haiti when everywhere I would look I would see garbage and debris? What could I possibly think of Haiti when well over 95% of Haitian homes lack running water and electricity? What could I possibly think of Haiti when just obtaining basic medical care for most Haitians is non-existent? What could I possibly think of Haiti when I saw many Haitians who get up each day to simply scratch out an existence not unlike the countless chickens that roamed everywhere that were doing the same thing? Maybe that is the way that the world would think of Haiti but I found myself thinking of Haiti with a different mind not rooted in the world.

The thoughts that grabbed me the most were those that were on a much different level as I found myself thinking of Haiti the way of Christ. What would Christ be thinking as He was sitting amongst the Haitian prayer group that meets each morning at 4 am as they pray for their fellow Haitians to come to know the one true savior? What would Christ be thinking as He witnessed the smiles of the many children? What would Christ be thinking as He watched the family that was overwhelmed with joy as they received their new 2 room home that lacked running water and electricity but they understood that it was because others loved Christ more than anything else that with through a labor of love this home was built? What would Christ think as He watched young school children receive a nutritious meal and an education that would give them hope and joy in their life? What would Christ be thinking as He spent time in an orphanage that gave some children a chance to make a life for themselves off of the streets of Port au’ Prince by learning about their savior? What would Christ be thinking as He watched families that resided in the surrounding tent cities with young children receive from the hands of others a nutritious meal? What would Christ think as He watched young Haitian mothers who were given essential items for their young infant child so that their child could start their life in a positive direction as they joined with those who chose to go in prayer? What would Christ be thinking as He was amongst the Haitian Church in Grand Goave as they celebrated His life as both young and old sang, danced, raised their hands and prayed aloud for an entire 3 hour service?

I think that Christ is pleased when He sees that all of these things that were done to make Haiti a better place as they were being done in His name. I think that Christ is thinking, “Well done my good and faithful servant!” Although I know that I personally will never be able to change Haiti, I do know that by my being there it did indeed change just one small part of Haiti with those lives that were touched by my following His command to GO. My being there allowed one more block to be added to His church as He rebuilds His glorious temple here on earth. What I think of Haiti is that it has changed me in a way that I have come to understand that which Christ would ask me to do in His name. I find myself asking in a more deep and profound way, Lord what would you have me to do now and I patiently wait for His answer.

What now?

I have returned from my time spent in Haiti. Haiti is a place that changes ones outlook on that which they thought they knew. Haiti is a place that provides the perfect opportunity for God to speak deeply into ones heart. I certainly received His wisdom and guidance for my life but I find myself asking deeply and continually, ‘God, what would you have me to do now?’

He has certainly laid deep passions upon my heart these past few years and those passions are no longer an ember but are now a full fledged raging fire. Visions and dreams are what are now consuming my thought life and my mind is racing. I know that God is the maker of visions and the fulfiller of dreams when all my faith is placed in His direction for my life. I know in my heart He has something even deeper for me to experience the more that I trust in Him. “Since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, for our God is a consuming fire.” (Hebrews 12:28-29)

I know that wherever I am to go for God, I know that is the place where I will find His glory burning brightly.